NEWBIE! Help pretty please!! :)

[Lozzy Gozzy]

Hi everyone!

I posted on here a while ago, questioning whether to do atkins, never followed through and went running back off to calorie counting (which I've lost 7 and a half stone through doing)

Basically, nothing I do is helping me lose weight anymore where calorie counting is concerned, I go in fits and roundabouts of barely eating and binging, and after eating barely anything this week I'd like to stick to something where I can eat and I know I'll lose weight, so here I am

Soooo... I'd love to lose a couple of pounds before christmas (I'm not expecting miracles, just something would be amazing! ) I'm looking at this as a short term weight loss thing and then back to calorie counting to maintain. So was wondering...

(1) If I did Atkins induction phase for a couple of weeks would I lose weight after calorie counting? Basically, has anyone else switched from calorie counting to atkins??

(2) If I went back to calorie counting after atkins would I pile it back on or do you reckon I'd be fine because I'm still restricting my diet??

(3) Is there anything sweet you can eat on atkins??

(4) Am I allowed squash or should I just have plain water to sup??

(5) Basically, can I just eat as much as I like as long as I don't go over 20g of carbs a day??

(6) How come you're not allowed low fat things like margerine and mayonaise?? But you're allowed full fat?? (that one I'm reeeeeally confused on!! )

I've read the stickys here and people's diaries and I'm pretty clued up on how it works, what I'm allowed etc etc, but I'm just a bit confused whether it'd work as a short term thing to get rid of some weight and alongside calorie counting afterwards?

Any help would be MASSIVELY appreciated!!

Hope you're all well and having a good weekend!!

x

 

[LVLLM]

Hi everyone! hello

I posted on here a while ago, questioning whether to do atkins, never followed through and went running back off to calorie counting (which I've lost 7 and a half stone through doing) well done you!!! thats amazing - your pics are fab!

Basically, nothing I do is helping me lose weight anymore where calorie counting is concerned, I go in fits and roundabouts of barely eating and binging, and after eating barely anything this week I'd like to stick to something where I can eat and I know I'll lose weight, so here I am

Soooo... I'd love to lose a couple of pounds before christmas (I'm not expecting miracles, just something would be amazing! ) I'm looking at this as a short term weight loss thing and then back to calorie counting to maintain. So was wondering...

(1) If I did Atkins induction phase for a couple of weeks would I lose weight after calorie counting? Basically, has anyone else switched from calorie counting to atkins?? - yes you should lose as you will going to low carb and go into ketosis which makes your body burn fat not glucose

(2) If I went back to calorie counting after atkins would I pile it back on or do you reckon I'd be fine because I'm still restricting my diet?? you dont calorie count on atkins (well only if you get to a point where you stall) you would need to stay on a low carb diet after or you will probably put it on IMO. low carb is for life

(3) Is there anything sweet you can eat on atkins??jelly, home made ice cream, loads of treats you can make with splenda - mims (have a look in mim thread) (basically muffins made with flax) very high cocoa content chocolate, atkins bars - you might find you dont want anything sweet

(4) Am I allowed squash or should I just have plain water to sup?? - check the carb content on squash - lemon one from tesco is only 0.7g carbs per 100 so that would be ok

(5) Basically, can I just eat as much as I like as long as I don't go over 20g of carbs a day?? - the 20g of carbs on induction whould be mainly from green leafy veg - around 15g of them. have you read the sticky called 'are you thinking of starting atkins'? that tells you all. you do move onto more carbs as you progress through the diet

(6) How come you're not allowed low fat things like margerine and mayonaise?? But you're allowed full fat?? (that one I'm reeeeeally confused on!! ) you need fat in this diet to burn as energy as unlike other diets you shouldnt have glucose from carbs etc to burn. also have you looked at the labels on low fat mayo etc - they are full of sugar - i cant actually stand low fat stuff now its so sweet!!! you can have marg though

I've read the stickys here and people's diaries and I'm pretty clued up on how it works, what I'm allowed etc etc, but I'm just a bit confused whether it'd work as a short term thing to get rid of some weight and alongside calorie counting afterwards?

Any help would be MASSIVELY appreciated!!

Hope you're all well and having a good weekend!!

x

hope this helps

 

[Lozzy Gozzy]

Helps? It more than helps! You're a STAR!!!!!!!! Thankyou sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!

I'm uber glad to hear that it should work! I just want to shift at least something before christmas... I'm going to start tomorrow! To be honest, I'm going to give it my best shot ever and try and be 100% for 3 weeks, which will take me roughly to christmas (I'd always planned on eating what I want over christmas... it's christmas! ) But if I find it works for me I'll go back to it after new year!

I know you don't count cals on atkins but do you reckon that after doing atkins, say if I went back to eating about 1200 cals a day on anything I'd still put back on? Because I'm eating carbs again?

To be honest, I don't eat too many carbs atm anyways because they're sooooo high in cals!

Eeeee I'm so excited to know that this could work for me!!

And that totally makes sense with the low fat stuff! I knew they put allllll sorts into it to make it taste better to compensate for less cals... tut!

It's great to hear I can have sugar free jelly (I live off that stuff because it's sooooooo low in cals! ) and I'll check around all the sugar free squashes!

I've read loads of your posts on here, you seem like such a lovely supportive person!! And you've done so well! That's amazing! I'm uber jealous of your current weight!

Do you typically lose a bit more in the first couple of weeks??

Thankyou again so so much for replying... you're ace! xx

 

[Lozzy Gozzy]

Ooo and I'm going to Sainsburys later to do a shop... basically if I buy meat, cheese, eggs, sf jelly, squash and sweetener and some of the acceptable veggies I should be set?? (as long as I check the carb content of everything! ) x

 

[LVLLM]

no problem at all and thankyou so much this site is my life and we are all lovely on the atkins board! sometimes the conversations move from dieting to all sorts of stuff! once ketosis kicks in (couple of days) you should lose quite a bit of water weight thats why most lose a lot in the first week or so. Beware atkins flu - yacky taste in mouth, no energy, headaches etc but trust me get through it and you will feel amazing - being in ketosis makes me feel soooo much better much more energy!

Yes get plenty of meat, veggies, cheese, full fat mayo!. milk is very high in carbs so either have black tea/coffee or use double cream or soya milk. best veggies are cabbage, kale, spinach, spring greens i log my stuff on fitnesspal so i can keep check of my carbs.

there are loads of yummy recipes on the recipe thread - esp the cheeseburger pie - also 'what we are eating today' thread gives me loads of ideas.
good luck!!!!

 

[LVLLM]

oh get bacon and eggs too and mushrooms and low carb sossies (black farmer ones are low) try and get sausages under 1g carb per sausage if possible

 

[Lozzy Gozzy]

no problem at all and thankyou so much this site is my life and we are all lovely on the atkins board! sometimes the conversations move from dieting to all sorts of stuff! once ketosis kicks in (couple of days) you should lose quite a bit of water weight thats why most lose a lot in the first week or so. Beware atkins flu - yacky taste in mouth, no energy, headaches etc but trust me get through it and you will feel amazing - being in ketosis makes me feel soooo much better much more energy!

Yes get plenty of meat, veggies, cheese, full fat mayo!. milk is very high in carbs so either have black tea/coffee or use double cream or soya milk. best veggies are cabbage, kale, spinach, spring greens i log my stuff on fitnesspal so i can keep check of my carbs.

there are loads of yummy recipes on the recipe thread - esp the cheeseburger pie - also 'what we are eating today' thread gives me loads of ideas.
good luck!!!!

Ooo okay, I'm going to scan through the recipes for inspiration! And I've just written everything down you've said on my shopping list! Thankyou again!

Everyone does seem really nice and happy on the atkins forum! Everyone's really lovely on calorie counting too! In fact everyone's lovely on the whole blummin' minimins site!!

Thanks for the warning about atkins flu I think after last week eating so little and having no energy and feeling poo that it can't be much worse! lol

Do you buy the ketosis testing sticks?? And are you on maintenance now then?? Bet you're a right skinny mini! Can't wait to be your weight!!

x

 

[flutter-by-us]

Hello and welcome - Vicky is giving you loads of great advice and help (she is a star!) but I just wanted to say hello and good luck hope you enjoy food after all that calorie counting! Though you've done spectacularly!

 

[LittlemissD]

Good Luck. I have come over from a VLCD and I had all of your concerns as well, but I think even if I put on a few lbs in the first week, I should be ok afterwards, and well to be able to eat food is just amazing. You can get the Ketostix from any chemist, but be careful as Boots refused to sell them to me, as they asked what they were for. So my hubby went to another place and said I was pregnant and the midwife had said to get them (I had a lot of ketones in my urine whilst pregnant, as I suffered so badly from morning sickness) so they just handed them over. I'll be keeping an eye on your loses hun, and wow you have done soooo well so far. xxx

 

[LVLLM]

yes i get the sticks - im not at goal yet so carrying on till then and then try and maintain - although over xmas its going to be hard. will come back after then and may lower my goal to ten! we will see.

 

[Lozzy Gozzy]

Hello and welcome - Vicky is giving you loads of great advice and help (she is a star!) but I just wanted to say hello and good luck hope you enjoy food after all that calorie counting! Though you've done spectacularly!

Aw thankyou for the welcome!! She really is a star!

Thankyou for the luck! I'm sure I'll need it!

Congratulations on your weight loss! I'd love to be the weight you're at now!! x

 

[Lozzy Gozzy]

Good Luck. I have come over from a VLCD and I had all of your concerns as well, but I think even if I put on a few lbs in the first week, I should be ok afterwards, and well to be able to eat food is just amazing. You can get the Ketostix from any chemist, but be careful as Boots refused to sell them to me, as they asked what they were for. So my hubby went to another place and said I was pregnant and the midwife had said to get them (I had a lot of ketones in my urine whilst pregnant, as I suffered so badly from morning sickness) so they just handed them over. I'll be keeping an eye on your loses hun, and wow you have done soooo well so far. xxx

Ooo it's nice to hear from someone that's concerned with calories!

And thankyou for the warning! I'm sure I've read that on here before... maybe you wrote it!

How long are you planning on staying on atkins and why did you stop the vlcd?? Just wondering because I'm still a bit :sigh: over what's going to happen and that I need to sort myself out big styleeee!

xx

 

[Lozzy Gozzy]

yes i get the sticks - im not at goal yet so carrying on till then and then try and maintain - although over xmas its going to be hard. will come back after then and may lower my goal to ten! we will see.

That sounds like a good idea

What's your plan for over christmas? Are you going to allow yourself what you fancy and then get straight back to it after new year?

x

 

[ladyfelsham]

Hi Lozzy and welcome, you have done amazingly well so far and I know you will love Atkins eating

I started a thread a while ago called Low Carb Contest - the lowest carbs in the things we love, so have posted that below to help with your shopping.

Ask lots of questions - I did when I first started

Susie

Meat
- Debbie & Andrew Garden Herb sausages 0.2 carbs per sausage (pack of 6=1.2 carbs) - Tesco
- Jamie Oliver Italian sausages (Asda, Tesco) - 0.9g for 2 sausages
- Asda extra special pork and chorizo sausages 0.6g carb per 100g (similar to Morrisons, which are lovely too)
- Black Farmer Premium Pork Sausages - 1g carb per 100g so 3 sossies = 2g carbs
- Red Dog Chilli Frankfurters 350G - 1g carb per 100g
- Tesco's finest pork chipolata's, £2 for 12 pack, 1.8 carbs per 2 sossa's
- Iceland's own quarter pounders, £2 for 4, 0.5 carbs per burger so 2 per full pack!
- Asda extra special pork sausages with cheese and caramelised onion 3 carbs per 100g
- Waitrose german salami - trace per 100g
- Unearthed (Waitrose) Italian salami milano - ditto
- German bockwurst sausage (Waitrose) - less than 1g carb per 100g

Dairy
- Alpro soya organic unsweetened 0.1 carbs per 100mls
- Hellmann's real mayonnaise 1.4 carbs per 100mls
- Tesco mayonnaise 1.4g per 100g
- Tesco chevre - 0.5g per 100g (the whole cheese is 100g)
- Iceland's grated mature cheddar, £2 for big bag, 0.9 carbs per 100g....
- Creamfields mature cheddar 0.1 carbs per 100g (Tesco online)
- Boursin garlic soft cheese...150g pack...2 grams carbs per 100g....so 3 per pack?

Cupboard
- Walden Farms whipped peanut spread - 0 carbs - Low Carb Megastore
- Value chopped tomatoes 3 carbs per 100g - Tesco
- Gia sun dried tomato puree 0.5 carbs per 100g - Tesco online
- Free from worcester sauce - 15.9 carbs per 100g - Tesco
- Schwartz hollandaise sauce - 0.4 carbs per 100g - Tesco online
- Josephs maple syrup - 0 carbs - Low Carb Megastore
- Atkins Endulge crispy milk chocolate - 1.8 net carbs per bar - Boots
- Greentop Quality pork crackling - bag of six, less than 0.1 carbs per (small) bag - Poundshop

 

[LVLLM]

That sounds like a good idea

What's your plan for over christmas? Are you going to allow yourself what you fancy and then get straight back to it after new year

?
xmas day ill have an atkins breakfast and then probably eat what i want the rest of the day. Boxing day and thereafter ill only have one carby meal per day - not a problem i love my meat and veg anyway.
after xmas back on strict induction LOL

 

[ladyfelsham]

Think I'm going to do the same (although I'm miles off maintenance) - it's Christmas, I've had a rough year and I've been swayed by ad after ad for brandy butter icecream and mince pies mmmm LOL.

Then back on strict induction again on Boxing Day

 

[LVLLM]

good plan. ergh mince pies
ive changed plans im going to my friends at xmas to northumberland so ill have xmas day and boxing day off and nice long walks with the dogs and home and induction on the day after!

 

[flutter-by-us]

Mincemeat pies are food of the devil!

 

[ladyfelsham]

LOL mince pie philistines, more for meeee

Northumberland sounds nice Vicky, and the walk with the doggies. One of the nicest Boxing Days I can remember was doing a London Walk all round Holborn and Spitalfields with a big group of friends - and then a pub dinner to warm up, of course

 

[LittlemissD]

The reason I changed from a VLCD was because my husband did not like me not eating. I have a 4 mouth old son that I am running around after and he just felt i needed more. Also Atkins is more a way of life and thats what i need. I need to change my eating habits completely. I would not eat all day and then just pig out in the evening. I would eat 3 or 4 bars of chocolate, it was so unhealthy. I love this diet, because I am just not craving things. I feel satisfied and I can sit down with hubby and we can enjoy a nice meal. He is allergic to wheat and gluten so we never use to eat much anyway. We have just had chicken curry and cauliflower rice, it was gorgeous. How has your weekend been? xxx