After reading Atkins several times through and following the induction diet for 5 weeks, I just read the Andrew Weil book "Eating for Optimum Health". Now at some points in the book, he outright contradicts Atkins. But for the most part you can balance the two philosophies. At least, that is what I am trying to do. He agrees that refined carbs are killer, as are processed fats. While I prefer a higher protein diet than he recommends, I can use his suggestions to make the healthiest carb choices possible.

I am now allowing myself up to 35 grams of carbs a day which I will probably stick with for a month and then gradually increase. I'm still way in ketosis (dark purple) so I won't worry too much about ketosis.

My family is distinctly a non-veggie crowd. But, I decided to give it a shot. Last night I served lime scallop shish kabobs with a plate of broiled shitake mushrooms and parmesan. I also served a bowl of sauteed soybeans with some salt. The first question was "What the hell did you do to the peas?". I explained that soybeans (endamime) are Japanese junk food and they eat it like peanuts. To be honest I didn't expect my family to eat it at all, but they cleared all the plates and asked me to make more soybeans to eat while watching the movie last night. My jaw hit the floor! Today for lunch I served my daughter peanut butter and jelly with a few soybeans on the side. She ate them! I'm in shock. They do taste soooo good and they are so healthy.

Well, I am trying to pay attention to the glycemic indexes and gear my eating toward a mix of new foods. I also started to drink unsweetened green tea which I really love. I think I can develop a healthy lifelong eating plan out of all the information.

That's quite a challenge for an old time tuna casserole kind of gal, but I do believe it can be done!

Hi Patti

I have only been on this for a short time, so have a lot to learn. Just a question are soy beans low carb, and allowed on this WOE.?

Hi All,

A recipe and nutritional info on edamame from this site. The rest of the recipes are super-carby though.

http://www.strongwomen.com/

Edamame (pronounced ed-a-mom-ay) are blanched soybeans in pods. The beans are light green, about the size of baby lima beans. They have a sweet, nutty taste that is similar to that of fresh peas. Serve as a snack or appetizer or toss them into salads and stir-fries. Look for edamame in the frozen foods section of Japanese grocery stores or well stocked supermarkets.

Edamame
Serves 5

1 pound frozen edamame

Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the frozen edamame. Allow the water to return to a boil - approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the edamame with cold water. Chill in the refrigerator for one hour before serving. The beans pop easily out of the pods, which are not eaten. Remove the beans from the pods for use in salads or stir fry dishes.

Nutrition information per serving (1/3 cup):
100 calories
5 g total fat
0.7 g saturated fat
6 g carbohydrate
9 g protein
3.5 g fiber

Patti, it's great that you are discovering what works for YOU.

From my personal experience, it's better to make changes one at a time, like testing for food allergies. No more than once a month. Things can get blurred when more than a change is done in a short period, which may confuse the results and lead to wrong conclusions.

In addition, combine your changes with your charts, this will help draw parallels. For instance, one can try a supplemet and lose weight, thinking that was the reason that broke their stall. But looking at the chart, one can see that a stall occures every x amount of weeks, and then a sudden drop, nothing to do with that supplement.

Or, it happens that at the same time, a friend went on vacation and gave you their dog to look after It is a known fact, brisk walks are great for weight loss, and dogs force you to walk. Funny starange things like that can be captured by careful charting of your progress, daily intak and exercise, measurements and methodical experimentation.

By the way, this is a general comment on experimentation to share with others, you have more experience in this than myself

Wa'il