Too few Carbs / No Veg?

[dxbfatguy]

Okay.. so how about dietary supplements (vitamins, etc.) as opposed to eating your veggies? My daily schedule doesn't always give me the opportunity to eat what I want when I want to..

If I come home late, I settle for water until I just go to sleep, instead of eating.

Is that still no good?

[soon2bslim]

WELCOME!
Recently there was a thread mentioning to plan your veggies and add the protein around it. I have found that this works well for me, it let's me focus on the vegetables and make sure that i get enough which is usually a challenge for me, and now i eat less protien than i did when i was on Atkins previously, but the veggie/fat/protien ratios aremore on track.

Pick vegetables that u like, plan to prepare them in appetizing ways, and then have chicken or eggs or meat or cheese, whatever acceptable protein w/ it. But having just those veggies alone is ok too, as long as u get some protein during the day. You'll have a new appreciation for vegetables too!

Good Luck! Healthy Eating!

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by dxbfatguy

Okay.. so how about dietary supplements (vitamins, etc.) as opposed to eating your veggies? My daily schedule doesn't always give me the opportunity to eat what I want when I want to..

If I come home late, I settle for water until I just go to sleep, instead of eating.

Is that still no good?

As I have said... no vegetables = not Atkins. Plus, you might spend painful hours in the bathroom.

And as you have said... vitamins and minerals are dietary supplements. This means they are meant to supplement your diet, not to replace micronutrients you should get from food.

If you have time to eat anything else, you have time to eat veggies too. A lunchbox would solve the problem at work; you can pack a salad or just some cucumber sticks, pepper strips, etc. Or you could have veggies for breakfast and dinner, if it is absolutely impossible to have veggies for lunch.

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by soon2bslim

But having just those veggies alone is ok too, as long as u get some protein during the day.

Not quite.

From Ch. 8:

2. When you eat higher-carb vegetables, such as yams or winter squash, do so along with proteins and fats. They will slow the passage of carbs through your digestive system and minimize their impact on your blood sugar.

Adding some fat and/or protein to a salad minimizes the impact of the carbs on your blood-sugar level.

[dxbfatguy]

Originally Posted by Georgiana

As I have said... no vegetables = not Atkins. Plus, you might spend painful hours in the bathroom.

And as you have said... vitamins and minerals are dietary supplements. This means they are meant to supplement your diet, not to replace micronutrients you should get from food.

If you have time to eat anything else, you have time to eat veggies too. A lunchbox would solve the problem at work; you can pack a salad or just some cucumber sticks, pepper strips, etc. Or you could have veggies for breakfast and dinner, if it is absolutely impossible to have veggies for lunch.

Yes Ma'am! I'm scared of veggies and this is why:

This is not my first go at Atkins. I have gone on it (or my own version of it, so let's just call it a low-carb diet) and I lost weight and was happy.. maintained it for awhile and then some other things happened in my life that unfortunately led to an accelerated weight gain.. fast-forward a few years and here I am.

Ever since, every time I try to go on Atkins, I experience severe stomach pain. I mean, really bad pain, to the point where I can't function. I thought it was an ulcer (or beginning of).. but that was not the case. I would eat a baby carrot and not 30 minutes would pass before I would experience this excruciating pain. I don't understand it. So, I have never been able to do Atkins for more than 2-3 days before I give up, due to the pain.

This time around, I no longer seem to have this issue. Don't get me wrong, like I said before, I am eating vegetables, but not with the consistency that would be ideal. A lunchbox doesn't work for me since I'm mobile and don't always control where I will be at any given time.

So, I try to have a breakfast that has some veggies (omelets work for me) and sometimes a tuna salad for dinner too. I then get to the point where I can no longer look at eggs! Example: yesterday, I ate 2 things only:

1. 10 strips of bacon (spread out through the day)
2. 10 black olives

That's it. I'm not happy with myself, but that's just how my day went. Today, I plan on getting my veggie on and will make it a point to incorporate it into my diet.

Question is: cooked veggies are okay or do they have to be raw?

[chinadoll]

Veggies can be raw but your calorie intake is going to make your metabolism tank. If you continue this way you won't lose. End of story. Lots of folks have busy schedules and travel all day but if you are serious about taking off the weight then you need to make a serious effort to plan and do it right.

Why not a lunch box or cooler? Stock it with cheese, raw veggies, cream cheese, a dip, olives, dill pickles, cooked chicken breast. There is no excuse for not getting enough food and not enough veggies.

You aren't doing Atkins based on your menu post from yesterday. You have to put in the effort to get the results you want. That may mean some extra work and planning on your part.

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by dxbfatguy

Ever since, every time I try to go on Atkins, I experience severe stomach pain. I mean, really bad pain, to the point where I can't function. I thought it was an ulcer (or beginning of).. but that was not the case. I would eat a baby carrot and not 30 minutes would pass before I would experience this excruciating pain. I don't understand it. So, I have never been able to do Atkins for more than 2-3 days before I give up, due to the pain.

Have you seen a doctor?

Which veggies give you this problem? Carrots are not allowed on Induction anyway.

This time around, I no longer seem to have this issue. Don't get me wrong, like I said before, I am eating vegetables, but not with the consistency that would be ideal. A lunchbox doesn't work for me since I'm mobile and don't always control where I will be at any given time.

What do you usually have for lunch? Do you bring your own food?

So, I try to have a breakfast that has some veggies (omelets work for me)

Quiches and frittatas are good too. And they are also good cold, so you don't have to cook an omelet every morning.

and sometimes a tuna salad for dinner too.

What is in this tuna salad? Do you just make it with tuna and mayo? Maybe you could have it with some spinach and tomatoes?

I then get to the point where I can no longer look at eggs!

Why do you eat eggs then?

Example: yesterday, I ate 2 things only:

1. 10 strips of bacon (spread out through the day)
2. 10 black olives

That's it. I'm not happy with myself, but that's just how my day went. Today, I plan on getting my veggie on and will make it a point to incorporate it into my diet.

Veggies are good for you... you know this. And not giving your body proper nutrition will slow down your metabolism. So it's important to eat enough and to eat your vegetables.

As for yesterday... You see, having a quiche in the fridge would have saved you. You could have had a slice of quiche for breakfast... bacon and olives for lunch, if that's what you want/have available... and some chicken salad for dinner, for example.

If you buy a whole chicken, you can cook it whole and eat from it a few days (keep in the fridge, of course). Take an empty glass bottle (0.5 L) and clean it of any sticky labels. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and whatever else you like. Put the bottle inside the chicken and then place the bottle in a pot/tray filled with water. It should look something like this:



Cook this at the oven at 375 F (190 C) until the skin gets crispy and chicken is done. It will be obvious when it's done.

You can add chicken meat to a veggie salad. Or you can make a chicken salad with mayo and have some veggies on the side. However you like to eat chicken. The skin won't stay crispy in the fridge though (or at least I'm not able to keep it crispy).

Question is: cooked veggies are okay or do they have to be raw?

Cooked veggies are perfectly fine.

[Georgiana]

And about veggies... measure them raw. And make sure you are properly counting the net carbs (total carbs minus fiber). You can use FitDay or the USDA database.

How much water are you drinking?

[dxbfatguy]

My tuna salad includes lettuce, cucumber and tomato (salad.. not tuna+mayo)
I've seen doctors.. all I can confirm is that it's not ulcers.

I feel like I'm the bad kid being attacked here I'm just not very good this food thing. I really am trying. This weighs quite a bit on my mind. You have to understand, my wife has maintained her amazing body ever since we met for 10 years now. And I mean, AMAZING body.. so every time I think about how I let myself go and she hasn't, I feel ashamed.

Veggies is the order of the day. Got it.

[dxbfatguy]

Originally Posted by Georgiana

And about veggies... measure them raw. And make sure you are properly counting the net carbs (total carbs minus fiber). You can use FitDay or the USDA database.

How much water are you drinking?

I drink about 6-10 glasses of water a day (large glasses ~500ml).