Hey there...new here!

[stacey1]

Hey there! My name's Stacey. I'm 34, live in FL, single, and have a 4 yr old son. I'm going to school for Ultrasound and will be done with my program this Dec and can't wait!!! I also work part time in a DUI dept signing people up for DUI school.

My mom and I were going to start Atkins next week (she's done it before). She gave me the book to read today and it got me so excited and inspired that I left my house tonight at 7pm and went to Walmart and got a bunch of stuff to start tomorrow! I didn't see any reason to wait a week to start losing. I'm so excited and can't wait!!!

There's only one small problem but I believe I can get through it. I don't even vegetables...not even lettuce so salads are out. So it looks like I'm pretty much going to be eating meat, cheese, and eggs. I'll have to get creative.

I'm looking forward to learning all I can and getting to know you guys!

[Big Teazy]

Hi, I'm tom. I just started my diet yesterday. I haven't read the book, only looked up stuff on-line. I'm also quite excited but I'm wondering what to expect really... And, is it okay to drink diet sodas with no carbs while in the induction phase? I have strictly been eating meat and cheese and I've been enjoying the little bit of sweet you get in a diet soda. If you know, let me know. Good luck to you!

[Georgiana]

Tom, don't steal the girl's thread, will ya'? :P Just kidding, but it's still a good idea to create a new thread, so you'll receive more attention. But now that you are thread-conjoined twins, I will answer you both.

Stacey, I'm afraid you'll have to go back to Walmart and buy some veggies. This goes to both of you. Atkins is not a diet which you follow for a few weeks or months, looking to lose a few (or more) pounds. It's a way of life, meant to teach us new dietary and lifestyle habits, so that we not only fit in a smaller pair of jeans, but also improve our overall health. You probably see where I'm heading. Eating meat, eggs and cheese is not Atkins. Atkins, the way Dr. Atkins wrote it, not the way the media is mutilating it, has four phases. The first one, Induction, lasts for at least two weeks and involves eating meat, eggs, cheese, but also vegetables and a few other things (find the list here (What foods can be eaten on Induction?)). While you don't have to eat everything on that list during Induction, this phase of the "diet" does have some rules. One of them says you should be eating 3 cups of vegetables per day -- maximum 1 cup from the "Other Vegetables" list and the rest from the "Salad Vegetables" list. Another rule says that most of your net carbohydrates (i.e. total carbohydrates minus dietary fiber) should come from vegetables. These are rules -- you either follow them and do Atkins OR you follow only some of them and do your own low carb diet. However, Atkins is probably not only more efficient, but also more healthy. Being skinny and sick is just as bad as (or even worse than) being overweight and "healthy".

If you don't like salads, that's perfectly fine. You don't have to eat salad. Or lettuce. Or raw vegetables. You can include them in scrambled eggs, omelets or quiches, you can saute them, you can fry them, boil them... and if you still hate them, just close your eyes, hold your breath, and get the job done. The good thing when cooking veggies is that many of them significantly reduce their volume. Measure a cup of spinach, raw, and then cook it. You'll get something so tiny that you won't need more than two bites to be done with it. Then you'll get green and bouncy -- yay, you!

Here are some ideas for getting your veggies in. There are many more in the recipe section of ADBB: Atkins Food and Recipes - Atkins Diet

1. Scrambled eggs with tomatoes and Camembert cheese (I guess you could use blue cheese or something else instead, but I just love the stinkiness of the Camembert cheese )

2 eggs
2/3 cup chopped tomato
1 oz Camembert
butter

Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the tomatoes and cook them for a few minutes. In the meantime, scramble the eggs. Break the Camembert in small pieces and mix it in the eggs. Pour the egg-cheese mixture over the tomatoes and cook (as you would with any scrambled eggs).

2. Faux mashed "potatoes": Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes

3. Cauliflower pizza (make sure you stay within the cauliflower and cheese limits): The Lighter Side of Low-Carb: I Can't Believe it's Cauliflower Pizza Crust!

4. Stuffed jalapeno peppers: Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes

5. Jalapeno poppers: Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes

You can also use veggies to make dressings (e.g. garlic, peppers, tomatoes). Just be inventive.

Tom, you should really read the book. Here's the link to it on Amazon: Amazon.com: Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution: Robert C. Atkins: Books

If diet sodas are sweetened with aspartame, that's not good. Dr. Atkins wrote we should avoid aspartame whenever possible. Even if sweetened with sucralose, be careful with them -- we have seen many people on the Board being stalled by them or just slowed down. In the end, it is your choice. However, do not count them towards your water intake and make sure you add them as part of your sweetener intake (limited to 3 servings per day). As a rule of thumb, 8 oz of diet soda is 1 serving of sweetener. But as I've said, they stall many people, so you've been warned.

Water. Make sure you drink plenty of it. You should drink 64 oz plus another 8 oz for every 25 lbs you want to lose; if you have 50 lbs to lose, that would mean 80 oz of water per day. Another way to approximate this is to drink half of your body weight, in ounces; so if you weigh 180 lbs, that's 90 oz of water per day.

Any other questions?

Welcome to the Board btw.

[blueberrylady]

Welcome to the board Stacy and Tom!

Georgiana has given you some great advice and finding veggies you like just takes a little experimenting.

There are so many out there and they are so different that's it's impossible to lump them into a general statement of 'I hate veggies', so try some you've never eaten before and I think you will find some that you love. I know I did! Spaghetti squash is wonderful and you can do so many things with to spice it up if you want to and there are so many more. I think that if you give them a chance, you will be surprised.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[stacey1]

Thanks a lot for the warm welcome! As far as veggies go, I think I have a "veggie phobia." I'm not joking either. The only veggies that I like that are on the list are green beans. I love them so that's no problem. Can I just eat them? You made me laugh Georgiana when you said to close my eyes and hold my breath to eat the veggies. I'll try that! Usually, if they stink or just look gross, it's not going in my mouth! But I'll work on that. Who knows, I might just end up liking something new! Thanks for the push!!!!

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by stacey1

Thanks a lot for the warm welcome! As far as veggies go, I think I have a "veggie phobia." I'm not joking either. The only veggies that I like that are on the list are green beans. I love them so that's no problem. Can I just eat them? You made me laugh Georgiana when you said to close my eyes and hold my breath to eat the veggies. I'll try that! Usually, if they stink or just look gross, it's not going in my mouth! But I'll work on that. Who knows, I might just end up liking something new! Thanks for the push!!!!

Green beans are on the "Other Vegetables" list, so they are limited to one cup. You still need 2 cups from the "Salad Vegetables" list. Can you find jicama? It's a root vegetable with a slightly sweet, apple-ish taste. Really yummy.

Mushrooms are really nice. I prefer them cooked. You can hide them in scrambled eggs or inside an omelet.

Peppers are great and if you cook them they reduce their volume too. Here's a recipe with peppers, green beans and cheese. You'll have to skip the bread crumbs and substitute milk with cream.
Howstuffworks "Green Beans with Blue Cheese and Roasted Peppers"