Returning to the good life

[kulbaen]

Hey all, my name is Derek and I was a huge advocate for Atkins for many years when I was body "sculpting" as they say. I used it to get lean and cut, but now I'm needing to get back to that and lose quite a bit of weight that I've gained after almost 3 years of hospitalization and therapy. A lot seems to have changed since I last did this Way of Life eating and I see that many new products are on the market using Splenda.

Does anyone know how the "Aquafina Flavorsplash" (Grape specifically is the one I drink) should be counted? I'm not sure if I count it per serving as I would Splenda packets or if its like the Sparkling flavored waters.


I've just started my induction and am eating mainly omelettes (egg, cheddar cheese, bacon, and sausage) and grilled chicken breasts. Tearing through water, but find that I can drink the flavored waters in mass quantity whereas "drinking" water takes me a good hour to go through 20 oz. This is why I am concerned how to count the flavored waters. They're a huge boon if they're somewhat permissable.


Thanks in advance for any support and I hope to be a positive impact on this wonderful community. The forums are a great source of motivation and information which I'm thankful to have found this time around.


P.S. Starting pics coming soon.


Male 6'1"
SW: 235
GW: 200 (Lean)

[liv]

Welcome Derek
I hope this works well for you.
Sweetened water is not something we should have on Atkins. We are trying to get away from sweets. Only plain water counts as water. So man up and drink it.

If you have splenda (and you are limited to only three a DAY - in total) count it as one carb each. But drinking sweet water is not helping your bloodsugar.

And don't forget to eat your veggies (do I sound like your mother yet )

[blueberrylady]

Welcome to the board, Derek!

You are better off to stay away from the flavored drinks because too much can stall you weight loss. It doesn't take long to get over your sugar addiction and learn to like plain water, and your body will thank you for doing it because water is what it really wants and needs.

Good luck to you!

[grecogl]

Glad you are here Derek!

[kulbaen]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! I do appreciate it!

What do you guys think about adding Taco Bell Mild Sauce to browned hamburger meat and a bit of cheddar cheese? Kind of like having a burrito in a bowl, lol! I used to do this when I was on the plan before. It appears that the sauce doesn't have anything harmful, but I wanted to run it by everyone here since I'm still in the induction period. Or even better, would wrapping it all in one of THESE be okay?

I'm trying to add to what I've been eating which is just Omelettes (which are starting to get old), Water (80oz. a day, purified drinking) and Veggies (which I still have to choke down and get used to since I never ate any off the list before). I'm definitely not starving myself, but I'm sure I'm below the mark on the Veggies... but workin on it.

By the way, my girlfriend brought up Carbsmart Ice Creams (for when I'm in Maintanence), has anyone tried them? She said she tried a sample and the chocolate tasted just like a Frosty from Wendy's at only 4 net carbs for a cup. Something to look forward to?

Thanks in advance for the help with this, I love having this BB to come to for support and a sense of community. I hope everyone's doing great!

[liv]

Whether or not you can eat something on Atkins depends on if it is on the allowed food list. On Atkins we ONLY eat what we are permitted to eat those first two weeks. So of there are some illegal stuff in the sauce (like sugar) it would not be appropriate for induction. The wraps are obviously illegal. No grains till way out there.

Good work on those veggies. Keep at it. Veggies will make you healthy in the long run.

Ice cream - I have not had it. Most icecream here is sweetened with maltitol and that stuff makes me gassy and worse so I have kept away.

[kulbaen]

Not sure if this helps any, but the ingredients for the Taco Bell Mild Sauce is:
Water, Tomato Paste, Vinegar, Spices, Salt, Xanthan Gum, 0.1% Sodium Benzoate (As Preservative), Natural Flavoring (Soy). Contains Soybean.

I'm literally talking about taking the lil packets that you get from Taco Bell and just adding one to some ground beef for flavor with some cheddar cheese. The biggest obstacle I'm having is finding more flavorful or interesting ways to prepare the food. I'm a bit limited on what I can eat since I can't eat shellfish or seafood (massive allergy), so I've stocked up on chicken, hamburger, porkchops and eggs.

I've been perusing the recipe sites, but most seem to be for making faux versions of high carb foods. I'm trying to find small additions to the basics but am unsure looking at the list how you would combine the list into a meal.



So far, I've eaten the same thing each day since I started 9 days ago. My carb count per day is around 10 - 15 which is probably terrible. I have been eating:

• Two big 4 egg omelettes with 0 carb non-sugarcured bacon in them (that I eat in halves 4 times per day)
• 2 carbs based on per serving from Sucralose sweetner in a Aquafina Flavorsplash drink (though the label says 0g carbs, I think I'm counting this right since it says 2 servings per bottle). This is my once a day treat drink after I drink 80oz. of water.
• the few carbs that I'm getting from the vegetables that I tend not to finish
• My inbetween snacks are 6 strips of bacon for fats.

I take a multi-vitamin and workout by doing a routine 3 times per day of 300 jumping jacks (to excellerate heartrate), then 25 pushups, 50 situps and 50 sidebends/toetouches. Like I say I don't starve myself, but man, I could use some variety now. lol!

Sorry for the long posts and what may seem to be redundant questions. I review the list over and over, but when I look at it I just don't see how they would piece together into appealing meals for me. I've been used to hospital food for the last 3 years and that always had starches, fruits and other bad stuffs. I'm trying to just stick to meat/egg with cheese, veggie portion (hardest part) and water.

P.S. She said the Ice cream was sweetened with Splenda and she knows I'm not interested in trying anything sweetened with anything else, so she's looking for that specifically. She sent me a link to it, and it says 4 net carbs per serving (1 cup). It has sugars listed though so I'll have to see when I get there how it works out. Gotta make things work now and worry bout later... later. lol! One day at a time, right?!

[liv]

The sauce is looking good I think.

One day at the time for sure. Keep looking for recipes and ideas. And get a bit creative with the veggies.
If you have not seen it yet:


Here is a good webpage to look at
Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Home

Also check out this thread with induction recipes.
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...n-recipes.html (Never ending induction recipes) (Never ending induction recipes) (Never ending induction recipes)

[Desertthorn]

Linda's recipe site has a great taco seasoning recipe, I make up a big batch and use it for my fiesta bowl. Actually she calls it burger in a bowl, fry up a batch of hamburger, then take however much you want, add anything from the refrig that sounds good and legal.

[kulbaen]

Sweet! Lovin what I see there! Thanks, you guys! Thats exactly what I was looking for.