My first time on Atkins

[DanasTwins]

Hi!



This is my second day and I am hopeful. I've read a lot on this forum about Atkins diet and its success and decided to do it.



I started the induction without reading the book (I bought the book form amazon.com and didn't get it yet). After I read more from here I fear I am not eating enough. As far as I understood I have to exercise at least 1 hour. Well, my daily exercise is about 1-1.30 min of walking my 4 mo. twins and if I can find anymore strength at the end of the day some abs.



My questions are:

1. Can have a decaf with spenda in the morning during the induction?

2. Do I have to limit the salt intake during the diet?

3. Is it my exercise enough?

Dana

[not2late]

hi and welcome.

RE: decaf and splenda.

This is from the Induction Phase Acceptable Foods List:

Acceptable Beverages
Be sure to drink a minimum of eight eight-ounce glasses of water each day, including:

Filtered water
Mineral water
Spring water
Tap water
Additionally, you can have the following:

Clear broth/bouillon (not all brands; read the label)
Club soda
Cream, heavy or light (limit to two to three tablespoons a day; note carbohydrate content)
Decaffeinated coffee or tea*
Diet soda made with sucralose (Splenda); be sure to count the carbs
Essence-flavored seltzer (must say "no calories" and should not contain aspartame)
Herb tea (without barley or any fruit sugar added)
Lemon juice or lime juice (note that each contains 2.8 grams carbohydrate per ounce); limit to two to three tablespoons
*Excessive caffeine may cause unstable blood sugar and should be avoided by those who suspect they are caffeine dependent. Everyone should try to avoid caffeine. Grain beverages (coffee substitutes) are not allowed. Alcoholic beverages are also not permitted during Induction; those low in carbohydrates are an option, in moderation, in later phases.

Since you don't have your book yet, you might want to print the information on these pages:
What foods can be eaten on Induction?
What are the Rules of Induction?

RE: salt

Some people don't have to monitor their salt intake because they aren't "salt-sensitive". You might want to avoid highly salted foods or avoid adding salt, because salt can cause water retention with some people.

RE: exercise

It really depends on how you are exercising too. For example, are you pushing your twins around in a stroller as you walk at a leisurely pace (1 hour/mile) or are you pushing them around while walking at a brisk pace (3-4 miles/hour). A brisk walk will burn more calories and condition your heart more. You might also want to consider adding weight-training to your regimen. Weight training can be as simple as doing arm presses, bicep curls, etc. using 1 pound cans of food or gallon jugs of water. You might want to visit the Exercise Forum to see what others are doing for their exercise regimen. By the way, the more you exercise, the more you increase your stamina and endurance so you'll be able to keep up better with your twins when they become more mobile.

RE: eating enough food. There is a free service at fitday.com that you can use to track your food intake and exercise. You might want to open an account and use that to see how you are doing.

[Moochiecat]

Here is a link to help you learn about Fitday and what it can do for you.
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5235

Are you breastfeeding? If you are, please check out the pregnancy forum and talk to the ladies there about that. I have no experience with that and I'm not sure if a person should breast feed during Induction.

[DanasTwins]

Thank you not2late.
I opened an account at FitDay.com. As if for today I already had 7g carbs. Starting oct. 1st I'll start going to gym ... hope to see better results after that.

[DanasTwins]

Hi Moochiecat!
Thank you for your concern. I am not breastfeeding anymore. No more milk ...( The twins sucked everything!
And another question if you don't mind ... from where are you all getting this nice weight graphics (I'm walking to Disneyland)?

[YaniBoni]

HI!
Im Yani and I just wanted to say WELCOME! I am also new to the board and I love it! there is sooo much motivation, help and good information here! it is awsome! Ohh they also have a post where you can post what you eat and members can comment on! it is great! ohh and the journal is awsome too! Welcome! and Congrats on your twins! I am also a new mommy (for the 3rd time!) my baby is almost 4 months

[tabekat]

welcome dana.

i love my morning decaf. You can use Splenda as long as you count it. Another good sweetener for decaf is Stevia - a natural herb found in health food stores that is many times sweeter than sugar and doesn't raise your blood sugar.

your hope in atkins is not misplaced. if you eat heartily of the foods on the approved food lists and follow the instructions to the letter you will soon find yourself lighter in many different aspects.

[Isabeau]

Hi and welcome! I'm a mum of twins too, although mine are sixteen now. You will survive! Until you get your book, read all the stickies in the induction forum and feel free to ask lots of questions. Here's to your success!

[Moochiecat]

One of the other mods (who is not online anymore...sigh) made my counter for me. You can post in the Technical Forum to see if anyone out there is able to make one up for you.

[Laurenfra]

Hi Dana and welcome to Atkins and ADBB.
We have a lot of twins around here mine are girls 9 years old.

Tickerfactory has some OK tickers but nothing nearly as nice as Moochies.