hi all,

i'm a little confused. i've been doing induction for over two weeks now. i've been eating what dr. atkin's says is ok, but am getting mixed messages on what is ok. i ordered products from the atkin's catalogue that are supposedly approporiate for induction (phase 1 of atkin's). while you are not allowed to eat nuts during induction, the catalogue says that the atkin's brand banana NUT muffins are ok during induction. so how am I not allowed to eat nuts but i can have banana nut muffins?

am i even allowed to eat a 2 carb muffin for breakfast? or a 2 carb slice of carbolite cheesecake for desert during induction?

another frustration: i have not strayed from induction but my ketostix are barely in the pink even though a week ago they were purple. what is going on? does TOM have any affect on ketostix?

i was put on medications this week and was told to stop excerisicng for for two weeks. can this afect ketosis even if i'm under 20 carbs a day?

finally, i read in a post today that an atkin's bar may in fact have 7 grams of carbs instead of 2 because of hidden carbs. what are hidden carbs? wouldn't the atkin's people know about these hidden carbs?


any advice, feedback would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

My suggestion is to eat whole foods only during induction. Yes, Atkins sells muffins and bars and shakes and goddess knows what else, but Dr. Atkins, got to love him, is in this to make money. He would only be able to make money from his books, if it wasn't for all these products he sells. I'm not opposed to anyone making money, but I am opposed to his giving conflicting messages.
Do induction by the book. After that, if you want venture into the land of low carb substitution products. Most of them taste like sawdust anyway, LOL.

1. I know what you mean by the atkins foods saying they're ok during induction. But despite the labeling, you should stay away from them for now.

2. That goes for the lowcarb bars also. They have hidden carbs and cause stalls in alot of people.

3. If you're eating anything different this week that you wern't eating last week.. TOM probably has something to do with it too. And if you're drinking a ton of water, you're still in ketosis, the water is just diluting it so its not showing up so dark. It's not a how dark you can make the sticks game..lol

So yea basically just stick with REAL foods, meaning not lowcarb fake foods or any processed deli meats kinda stuff and good luck.

The best advice so far has been given already.

Follow Atkin's by the book. Forget the frankenfoods, you don't need them even if you think you do. I have been pretty much bread free, for 17 months now and you know what? I don't miss it. *IF* I do have a sandwich now and then I feel gassy and bloated and sometimes depending on the bread, migraines.

There are many things you can have for breakfast, that is the beauty of being an adult. We can eat pretty much anything we chose provided it is a food on the 4 pages of the induction list in the book. Get yourself through the first two weeks of induction first. It is only 14 days of strict dieting and then the world opens up.

thanks for the words of wisdom, tips and advice.

back to whole, induction foods only!

good luck!

My $.02 addendum (not like you need it, everyone on this board is soooo helpful ) -- try not to exercise during induction. You'll be tired enough with the withdrawals, and your body needs time to adjust to the use of ketones as fuel. It took me a month, actually, before I felt ready to begin exercising again. It's a way of life, not a diet, so as long as you see the big picture you'll do just great

-Jinkster

Hi LoCarber!

I found a good article here about the sweetener "sugar alcohols" found in those bars (MALTITOL, SORBITOL, ISOMALT , etc.) and it has a calculation you can do (ACK! MATH!) to find out the REAL carb content.... here's the calculation, along with a link to the full article:

Sugar alcohols do have carb calories, and the body will use these as fuel, or store as fat, whether or not insulin is involved. You need to look at the total CALORIES for one serving of the product. Subtract from this total the number of calories from any protein in the product (prot = 4 cal. per gm), then subtract the calories from any FAT in the product (fat = 9 cal. per gm). What's left is the calories from carbohydrate ... divide this remainder by 4 (carbs = 4 cal. per gm). If the number you get is bigger than the number of carbs declared on the label, the product has hidden carbs, and it's most likely the polyol. Calories do not just disappear into thin air!

http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips010.html

Good Luck!!!

I love the low carb tortillas, but I bought a few extra products to try. The Atkins bars are sort of ok, but if you look, the thing has way to many carbs after you deduct the dietary fiber, but the labeling only tells you to count 2. I think that is kind of shady on the Atkin's business folks. If we have to count splenda as a carb, then we should be counting ALL the carbs that are not fiber in the rest of the foods...even if they are made by the Atkin's folks. I bought one and made it a point not to have more than a small piece in a single day.

Also, I agree with Atriana's comment that most of the low carb substitutes really do taste like sawdust. I made pancakes with the Atkins low carb bake mix and I really, really thought I was going to gag after the first bite.

Good luck!

Kristi

Thanks Kirist...I'll save my $9 or $12 or whatever is was for a box of baking stuff at the nutrition store. I was skeptical about that stuff anyway... now I'm glad I only bought some bars.

The info on the hidden carbs is FINALLY what I've been looking for...I've asked about those carbolite bars for ages...don't understand how the "effective carb" count works. I will try the formula on the "low carb" stuff I have and see what I'm really doing! Thanks Wallylu for the answer .

Anyone have an idea for LC "smores" for when we go camping?? I put aside a few of those little LC chocolate bars, but what about the graham crackers and marshmellows?? Or is there something just as yummy I could do over the fire late at night??

(sorry Kristi ...was typing too fast and didn't Preview!!)