Trying to find my way with Atkins

[possysmith]

Hi
I have been on Atkins for two weeks and posting on the official Atkins site. I am very confused about exactly how to do Induction. Lots of people at the official site are having trouble losing weight on induction. We have been told to eat 20 net carbs a day of which 12-15 net carbs must be vegetables. Some of the people who haven't lost any weight on induction have wondered if they should just do the Atkins diet the way it says in the DANDR 2002 book- 2 cups of salad veg and 1 cup of other veg. We are told that this way of eating is incorrect and now we count carbs and they have to be net carbs with 12-15 GRAMS COMING FROM VEG!!! So I have no idea as to what kind of carbs I'm supposed to have or how much. I need help please. I am going crazy. Could someone please tell me how much carbs to have and how to count them. Am I counting 20 net carbs? Within the 20 g carbs am I supposed to be having 12-15 g net of veg? Why aren't we just doing the cup thing the way Dr Atkins stipulated, his version seems like lower carb, it this a better version? I'm going to go by the DANDR book and eat two cups of salad veg and 1 of other veg until I have this carb confusion worked out. I have about 40 pounds to lose. I have had a look around your site and I must say that you are a really nice group of people. I felt very intimidated on the official Atkins site. Oh, I should let you know a few things about myself. I'm 33 and have a 19 month old daughter. I have PCOS but have a perfect m.cyle when I eat very low carb. My body seems to thrive on an Atkins type diet.
Regards
Suzanne

[dreamof145]

We follow the DANDR 2002 edition in the ADBB. Dr. Atkins' states that you eat no more than 20 grams of carbs a day.....most from the salad greens or other vegetables. (Three cups of loosely packed of salad, or two cups of salad plus one cup of other vegetables)

Use the induction list and eat only whats on that list. Exercise, water and supplements are a must also in keeping your body working in top condition so you'll be able to lose effectively.

You'll find lots of supportive people here to share the journey with. Knowing you have encouragement and friends who want to see you succeed is a big plus in doing this program. You aren't alone! Welcome and get involved with all the resources here to make your new WOE (way of eating) exciting and fun. There are challenges, journals, recipes, forums on life/health issues, motivational posts/photos (Loser's Lounge - main Atkins' forum) and lots of friends to share your success. There's also a PCOS forum from others who have a lot of information that you can read and post to.

Keep us posted on your progress. Best wishes!!

[sillygirl]

Hey Suzanne! I'm glad you found this site, if the other site is giving you misinformation. You are right, during induction it's 2 cups of "salad veggies' off of the approved list, AND one cup of "other" veggie.

When you start bumping up the rungs as per Atkins, you will see that Rung 1 is even more veggies!

Keep your eyes out for a veggie challenge coming up!

[sallyseachange]

Welcome Suzanne! Nice to have you aboard.

Ditto what Silly and Becky said. And... you count only the net carbs (good news, right?), which means that you subtract the fibre from the total count.

Happy losing!

[possysmith]

Hi

I'm feeling really silly, but I still don't get it. If I ate two cups of lettuce I would be getting tiny amounts of net carbs. Then 1 cup of other veg like say cauliflower and tomate mixture would be a very low net carb total. I'd probably get about 8 net g of carbs from that amount of veg. I originally was eating that way as Dr Atkins said in his book 2 salad cups and 1 other veg cup, but then I noticed that the leaders on the official Atkins site were saying cups are out and weighing net grams are in and the veg has to be 12-15 net grams or else you won't lose weight. When I started measuring by weight in net carb terms and making sure I ate 12-15 net grams of veg and only small amounts of other carb containing foods, the veg on my plate doubled.

So are you all eating small amounts of veg like 2 salad cups and one other veg cups or are you eating mostly your net carbs in veg which fills your plate up half with vegetables?

I don't know how to explain this clearly but the two ways are really different.
If I ate for instance 4 ounces of cheese, 3 teaspoons of splenda and 3 ounces of cream, that would be 10 net g carbs already. So I wouldn't be eating mostly veg ????

Perhaps you could give me a typical days eating, so I cn see how you break up your 20 g net carbs in the day?

Is it impotant to make the 20 net carbs mostly veg and only use small amounts of other carb containing foods.

I'm so sorry for being annoying!!!
Sue

[bbopman200]

From what I understand it is NET carbs.

Example:
A meal has 30 carbs
It also has 20 fiber

That would mean you can subtract the fiber from the carbs leaving you with 10 NET carbs

[possysmith]

Hi

I thought I would measure the amount of net carbs that 2 cups of salad veg and 1 cup of other veg would yield. Here is the breakdown of the net carbs.

1 cup of cos lettuce tightly packed = 50g which yeilds .6 net carbs.

1/2 cup of mushrooms = 50g which yields 2 net carbs.

1/2 cup of red peppers = 60g which yields 3 net carbs.

1/2 cup of pumpkin = 70g which yields 4.5 net carbs.

1/2 cup of cauliflower = 50g which yields 1.3 net carbs.

Total net carbs is 7.

I really gave generous portions, packed things in and chose the higher carb veg where possible, but still only got 7 net carbs. So we would need another 13 net carbs to make it to 20.
4 ounces of cheese is 4 net carbs
3 ounces of cream is about 2.5 net carbs
2 eggs is 0.3 net carbs so if you had 6 eggs that would give you about 1 net carb
1/2 small avocado is about 100g? so that would be 2 net carbs
mayo is 0.4 per 25 g I would have about 1 net gram a day.
3 splenda is 3 net carbs
Total is about 13.5

So if I combine the veg allowance with the extra nat carbs from other foods I can get about 20 net g of carb a day.

However coming in at 7 net carbs, veg is not the predominant food in the day. Though if you incluse avocado it bumps the veg up to 9 net carbs. The other foods make up most of the diet at about 13.5 net carbs.

Is this a good Atkins nutritional plan, because this would be the nutritional breakdown for the day. I just wanted to check that I will be doing the diet correctly.

Atkins Nutritional Inc (official site) won't allow people to eat less than 12 net g of carbs of veg and suggest 12 -15 net carbs. However this actually doubles the amount of veg and allows only 5-8 net carbs of other foods like cheese and cream.

So on this site are we eating the 2 cups of salad veg and 1 cup of other veg which makes about 7 net carbs and the rest we need to get from other foods?

I am curious as to why ADBB has chosen to follow the 2002 DANDR and not the updated Atkins Nutritional Inc version. I think I read somewhee on this site that going by the book is more effective than the ANI version. I hope that my questions aren't too irritating, I just want to know what to eat, so that I can make the Atkins approach successful.

Regards
Suzanne

[sallyseachange]

ADBB follows DANDR 2002 because that was the last version that was written by Dr A himself, in its entirety. Other versions have had "other" hands messing around with them.
Atkins Nutritionals is a business... and they look to their dollars more than to your health. They push their bars, shakes and other products, even for induction when there are clearly ingredients in them that are not induction friendly, and they stall many people.

Here at ADBB we reckon it's better to just go by what Dr Atkins said himself... i.e. before his death.

As for the carbs... however you measure (or weigh) you simply deduct the fibre and count the carbs that are left. So, according to fitday one cup of spinach has a total of seven grams of carbs and five grams of fibre. Seven minus five equals two. You only count 2grams of carbs. So, in induction, if you only eat that one cup of spinach in a day (no, pls!!! Instant starvation mode!!!!) and nothing else, you could conceivably eat another 18 grams of net carbs before you start counting the following days ration.

Usually by eating your three cups of veggies (two salad and one other veggies) plus maybe some eggs, cream and/or cheese, most people seem to get up to around 14-18 grams of net carbs in a day... and that's just fine.
I wouldn't stress too much... just follow the plan as it's supposed to be done, eat the legal veggies in the right amounts, and you'll be fine.

[mish711]

Man, I'm starting monday and all this counting is confusing me!

[possysmith]

Hi Sally

Thank you for your time and patience! Your clarification of the carb issue was excellent, I'm so glad you understood my dilemma. I was worried that my metabolism would slow down if I was eating too far below the 20 net carbs. We were told at ANI that induction was at 20 net carbs, not 17, 18 or 19. I'm also glad that my weight loss won't be slowed down by the small amount of veg on induction (about 7 net carbs). They really put the fear of God into us at ANI!! If you aren't losing weight, the lead moderator barks "if your not eating 12-15 net carbs of veg, your not doing induction and you won't lose weight". I can't tell you how glad I am that you are such a nice bunch of people. I have been really traumatised by the Atkins Nutritional Inc discussion group.
Where do I post further questions like 'how long do I stay on induction'. I would like to keep in touch with familiar moderators for support, is this possible?
Suzanne