veggies question for atkins pros

[lilykinz1]

For those of you who have been on Atkins for a while, I'm wondering about veggies. I would like to eat more than just three cups of lettuce/day (romaine is my fav, in big salads!), but I know that is against induction rules. Are low-carb veggies prohibited in induction in amounts more than 3 cups because they add carbs or for another reason? I'm just curious because I feel like I would feel better with more veggies and less meat. What do you think?

[ValidRouge]

Its so that you learn what 'normal' portions are. After your first two weeks, you can add 5 net grams of vegetables....thats a LOT of romaine lettuce!!! Give it time, do it right and you'll be successful!!

[pstansel]

Actually I was wondering that same thing tonight. Why is lettuce so limited? Raw lettuce has what, 1 carb per cup?

[not2late]

Lettuce isn't the only veggie on those veggie lists. There are about 54 veggies on both lists, about 20 on the "salad" list.

While all the vegetables during Induction need to be measured raw, it doesn't mean you can't cook them after they have been measured.

Furthermore as one of our former mods here used to say, lettuce is just crunchy water. Meaning it has very little nutritive value when compared to the other vegetables on the lists.

As Valid alluded, many of us don't eat "normal" portion sizes because we're used to the outrageously huge portions in restaurants or elsewhere. 1 serving of vegetables is 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked. According to the USDA recommendations of 5 servings a day, you get that on Atkins Induction if you opt for the 2 cups salad list and 1 cup other veg list plan.

[pstansel]

Yeah, I guess it just would seem to me that they could have said you can basically eat all the lettuce you want. Because if you can eat enough lettuce to actually matter, god bless ya!

[IrishIrish]

Atkins isn't just about the weight loss and counting carbs. There are far more nutrients and vitamins, not to mention fiber, in other veggies besides making lettuce the only veggie one consumes. Part of Atkins is learning how to eat as a way of life.

[pstansel]

Again... I'm not disagreeing with any of that. I'm simply saying that wrapping lettuce up with all of the other veggies strikes me as a bit odd given what it is. I'll stop arguing this point now since I guess I'm not making myself clear.

honey you can eat anything you want in life and as much as you want!..that is exactly why most of got fat and are here...if you want to relearn portion control then try this the way it was written in the book and stop arguing with yourself about it

[not2late]

No it's not that odd. But I think the way we define "salad" is a bit odd. A salad is simply a mixture of veg, fruit, meat, etc. For some reason, we now associate "salad" with lettuce. So when people read 2 cups salad vegetables, they assume 2 cups of lettuce. Which isn't entirely correct.

Also lettuce is a relatively bland vegetable that most people don't object to. So I can see the logic behind including lettuce in the "salad" list. However, there are about 20 other vegetables on the "salad" list that are far more nutritious than lettuce and can be eaten in place of it.

What I think is most unfortunate is that people don't like vegetables for one reason or the other. I've read diary accounts of people who lived before the age of processed supermarket food, and their enthusiasm for having the first meal of fresh vegetables in the Spring (after eating only dried or canned vegetables and fruits during the winter months) was equivalent to people raving about a double fudge chocolate cake today.

[not2late]

Adding... I think that our lack of enthusiasm for natural, minimally processed foods has contributed to our lousy eating habits and our current health problems. That's why I think while we are on this diet, we need to re-evaluate our eating habits and formulate good ones.

I'll admit, I kind of shudder whenever I read a post like "I can't wait til I get to OWL so I can eat low carb ice cream" or "I can't wait til I reach goal then I'm gonna eat normally again." I'm not saying we should never, ever, ever, eat pizza or ice cream when we are at goal, but I'm saying that we have to look at those things as special occasion foods and the whole natural, minimally processed foods as everyday foods.