Help!

[LLCS1206]

Hello all... i'm new to Atkins and have a couple questions I wanted to ask you guys. If you have an answer or simply a comment I would love it so please let me know!

I just recently was on a very strict diet before I switched to Atkins. I was eating 1,000 calories a day no added salt, no oil, no butter just weighed portions of chicken and meat and tons of vegetables and fruits. So far I have completed my first two weeks and am only down 2lbs. I don't know if it's from the whole salt thing going from no salt to salt or what not. Anyone know?? I'm starting to think this may not work for me?

I really have been enjoying the Atkins Advantage Bars and Drinks and was wondering if those have hindered your weight loss? I don't know where I heard that they do from but I like to use them but am not sure if I should.

Thanks!!!

Lisa

[msanjelpie]

Atkins Advantage Bars and Drinks are not allowed on induction and they are probably the reason you are not losing... As soon as you cut them out and eat only real food, you should start to see the scale move.

As long as your sodium intake is the same each day, it shouldn't effect your fat burning process at all. However, if you have a day with really high sodium, it can cause you to retain water, but again, fat is still being burned in the background...

[Georgiana]

Also, if you're not eating fat, you're not doing Atkins. Atkins is a high fat diet, not a high protein one.

Take a look at the sticky threads in the "Atkins Diet 14-Day Induction" and "FAQ" forums.

[LLCS1206]

Thank you to all for your kind advice. I have to say I'm very upset about the miscommunication regarding the bars and drinks. I feel like I was totally fooled. In the book it says dr can't vouch for anything that doesn't have his name on it and they do, they also say on the package that you can use this product in all phases of atkins. Supper annoying! Ok now that I just got my anger out I have another question. Do any of you use lunch meat? I found many lunch meats that i have been using.. salami, pepporoni, ham and they hall say 0 carbs. Is that ok? Because I know in the book it says lunch meats are iffy.

Thanks a ton!!

[msanjelpie]

I eat salami, ham, bologna etc... but only in moderation because they do have a lot of sodium and I don't want to retain water...

[Georgiana]

Look for "illegal" ingredients in them, like sugars (corn syrup, dextrose, etc.) and fillers (esp. in bologna).

[evervescent]

Merely to offer up a different opinion/experience when using the Atkins bars/shakes. I have used them since the beginning and have been very successful. I don't know if I could have stayed on the plan without the shakes as I am not a breakfast person and they are the only things I can stomach in the morning. My D14 just started Atkins less than a week ago and I allow her one bar a day. She is down 6 lbs.

Everyone is different. Additionally the Dr. has us both on Metformin for insulin resistance. If you're losing with the goodies then fantastic. If you're not losing anything than cut the goodies out and see what happens.

[Georgiana]

Dr. Atkins himself was not a proponent of the Atkins bars/shakes. If you read his biography, it says there that the creation of the Atkins bars was a "deal with the devil" and should be used only in emergencies. Even today, when the guys from Atkins Nutritionals were questioned about the stalling effect of bars on so many Atkinseers, their reply was that they do not recommend the use of bars/shakes more than twice a week. If you go on atkins.com and see Colette Heimowitz's replies to the questions posted in her blog, she almost never mentions Atkins bars. The point is, Dr. Atkins wanted his diet to be all about eating real, natural, minimally processed foods. And there's a reason for that.

When you are substituting meals with bars or shakes, even in the assumption that you are not stalled by them, you do not learn how to eat for life (unless you plan, for e.g., to keep drinking Atkins shakes for breakfast for the rest of your days). Furthermore, while you might lose weight and even improve your nutrition status, you are not improving your eating habits.

Do yourself a favor and do not choose frankenfoods for your meals and snacks. Fix a few things you can "stomach" or grab on the run (soup, quiche, muffins, crackers), things that are in accordance with the Rules of Induction (unlike the bars and most/all shakes) and that will teach you and your daughter lifelong healthy eating habits.

[evervescent]

Wow, opinionated much.

[not2late]

Also be aware that it is the collective experience of ADBB that the bars and shakes, etc. have a tendency to slow or stop weight loss in some folks.

So you may be able to eat the bars and shakes and lose weight, but are you losing at your true weight loss potential? You may lose "faster"/"easier" without the bars/shakes.

And as Georgianna noted, eating those bars/shakes to replace a meal---a meal of real food----doesn't really teach you about proper nutrition.