Hi Everyone,

I'm soo happy, I've just found this part of the forum, I thought everybody is from the U.S. here...
So, I'm from Hungary, Europe and thanks for I could join to you guys!
(And remember...my English is not original.)
No low carb food is avaliable here (except artificial sweeteners) so it's not too easy LCing here, but I'm keep trying!

Just some information for those who are intrested in this theme.
As I've mentioned, no LC products are available here in Hungary, except 1 type of lowcarb chocolate which is extremely expensive...the hungarian translation of Atkins' book is available here (although I haven't read it yet).
LCing here is not easy. Of course we can eat meat, cheese, fish, LC fruits and all types of veggies, it would be easier if I could buy some other LC stuff, for example baking mix, LC muffunis, or peanut butter without added sugar.

My english is not so bad, what do you think?
I have to practice it 'cause hubby and me are planning to move to NZ within 3-4 years! (okay, shut up, who cares about it?!)

Hi clavicula

My father was Hungarian, but I do not speak the language

Your English is great, so you wont have any problems when you move to NZ

Dont worry about low carb products. You dont need them for now.

Just stick with your basic meats, fish, vegetables, eggs etc.

You can do it!

Hello Clavicula,

Welcome to this site. Your english is good. My sister used to live in Hungary, north of Budapest, she taught english in a school. I got the chance to visit her there in 1993, and had a nice time. I remember lots of bread there, not so many vegetables.

I don't use the low carb products that we have here. I stick to eating eggs, meat, lots of vegetables, small amount of nuts and fruit.

Good luck and welcome

Hello clavicula. I was in Hungary in 1984 to look for ancestors. Found a few too but not alive, of course.

Where do you live? My family was from villages in Tolna.

GOod advice - stick to real food. Lots of people stop losing when they get the LC food products. If you want to see exactly what things are on the plan, go to www.atkins.com and clcik on "How to do Atkins".

Hey,

Well, Tofi it's a thrill I'm from Tolna county as well....I knew that there are hungarians on every continent, but It's nice to hear, you have (or had) hungarian relatives.
Now I live in a beautiful mediterranian city called Pecs (200 000 person live here) in the south part of the country, but just 70 kms away from Tolna.

Yeah, people eat a lot of bread here, the bread industry is an ancient tradition, you cannot buy 2 loaves of bread with the similar taste...
Hungarians still thinks they have to maintain the respectabilities....

It's a relief to hear that low carb products are not really necessary, but anyway, now as we became Member State of the EU, we're gonna be full loaded with LC products....whatever, I'll keep your advices and will eat natural foods.

Hi Clavicula!

Don't worry about not having low carb junk - there are many on this forum who stop loosing (stall) when they eat power bars, power drinks etc. - better you stick to the basics, and you will be fine. I am doing South Beach, not Atkins, and just visited sort of around Hungary (Romania, Bulgaria and Greece), and found those places WONDERFUL for low carbing.

Little side story for you - oh, these Americans (I am now both German and American): Michael Jackson visited Ceaucescu's huge Palace (for which he displaced 50,000 people and distroyed wonderful 100 year old houses), which has a balcony overlooking the capital city, from which MJ shouted with all his heart: "Welcome Budapest".

I got the impression Romanian kitchen is basically austria-hungarian, so hopefully some of this is true in Hungary too? They had eggs, fish, cold cuts, all kinds of cheese, plain yoghurt, red and green peppers, cucumbers for breakfast, meat or fish and potatoes (you leave them alone!) and veggies for dinner - breakfast is easy, you just don't eat bread, and Lunch dinner is easy because you just leave the potatoes alone.

I don't want to convince you South Beach is better, but if you are interested in that diet, pretty much all you need to know is at the following Website:
http://www.mizfrogspad.com/south_beach_diet.htm
- maybe there is a similar site for Atkins?

Good luck! And welcome!

I've heard about the SB diet, and found it intresting. Now I decided to stick strictly with Atkins, but later who knows? Anyway, thanks for the site, I'm gonna read it.
You are right, Hungarian kitchen is quit good basic for this diet, contains many types of meat, chicken, fish (ok, not tuna or salmon or other sea fish but carp, minnow, bream, catfish for example), many-many types of cheeses, yoghurt, sour cream.....
Cauliflower and cabbage are often used here, with all the low carb, non starchy veggies that the Atkins .com recommends.
Yeah, okay I had to forget potatoes and amazig types of breads but it is getting easier with every day....now I clearly see I was a carb addict. My life is lighter without them.

And -finally- I don't want to hurt any americans but I suspected that MJ is not a smart person.

Hello from Belgium!!!
Yes, Hungary has just joined the EU, but I seriously doubt it's going to be flooded with all kinds of low-carb foods in the near future... We don't have any here in Beglium.... Nor that much in other EU countries, except for the UK... But anyway, I would agree with many others in saying that you don't really need all these special low-carb foods... There are lots of other things to eat! I would recommend you to visit the recipes' section of this forum for more ideas!

Hey AndreyV,

Well, you are right, I really don't mind that I won't be able to eat low carb stuff, there are so many foods we can eat anyway.
I just thougt it would make a refreshing change to eat low carb bread, or ice cream...but I really try to vary my dietary regimen as much a s possible, so it's not boring even without low carb products.
Have a great day in Belgium, and keep up with your good work...

PS: I like your avatar!

I think I have to maintain this thread, because I have started it, so I decided to write here some intrsting things about Hungary...not just low carb stuff (but mostly I swear).

Here is a letter hungarian people got from A Schwarzenegger:

August 1, 2004

To the people of Hungary,
I am pleased to extend warm greetings on behalf of the people of California.
Hungary is a home to a vibrant and thriving community of artists, whose contributions have enriched the nation and enlievened the world's cultural landscape.
Since the Golden Age of cinem, hungarians have achieved remarkable success as visionary artists working in diverse disciplines of the motion picture industry. With such celebrated filmmakers as Michael Curtiz and George Cukor, and actors including Bela Lugosi, Tony Curtis and Paul Newman, Hungarian-Americans have carried the tradition of imaginative artistry with their visually stunning, evocative contributions to world cinema.
Since the inception of the distinguished Academy Award, 136 hungarians have been nominated as gifted experts of their craft. I salute you for your efforts to pay tribute to the pioneers of Hollywood, and I thank you for promoting cultural understanding between our nations through the arts.
On behalf of all Californians, please accept my best wishes for every continued success.
Sincerely,
A. Schwarzenegger

Well, I think it's kind from him.

Hi clavicula!

That's a nice piece of information on Hungary! And thaks for your kind comments!

Regarding LC bread, I found some recipes on the forum that say that soya lechitin (hope, I spelled it correct) may be used instead of wheat flour in baking. I really don't know if it tastes any good, but I did see it in the stores here, but it is very pricy - about 8 euros for 800 gr.... Maybe, you have it in Hungary too. Grounded almond nust may be used in baking too... These are just some ideas... And ice-cream... I don't think we are lucky enough to find any low-carb varieties in our part of the world... But if one could get one of those ice-cream machines, it might be possible to make this treat using artificial sweetners...

Best wishes from Belgium!

PS: I am trying to keep up the good work, I swear!!! But the closer I get to my goal weight, the more tricky it gets... Anyway, I won't give up!!!!!!

I found soy lecithin (in Hungary it is called soy milk powder contains very few carbs) 1 Euro/lb. Not really expensive, what do you think?
And something else called gluten. (this is the part of the wheat that causes gluten enteropathy) No carbs in it and looks like flour. (Maybe this can be the Atkins bake mix's basic ingredient)
But I put the deep in my cupboard. I am afraid it will cause stalling for me.
I can understand you it is hard for me too to keep up, but I won't give pup too!

Hello there!!!

Good for you, Clavicula!!! Lucky you, you have soy lecithin for such a low price! I can only dream I could get some of that stuff at 1 euro/lb! And where did you find it and gluten? A special food-supplements store or a regular supermarket? The lecithin I've seen here was in a store called Kruidvat (kind of cheap) in Belgium and it was expensive even there! But anyway, I am not thinking about buying it now, because I want to reach my goal first (6 more kilos) and then to start introducing new foods in my diet. I had a pretty unhappy experience with getting too much into trying different recipes before (LC chocolate truffels, cheesecake, etc.). I think they got me stalled for some time, but I am doing well now. The weight is comming off, but extremely slow. But that's what supposed to happen when we approach our goal weight!
And hey! Since you are Hungarian, could I ask you for a recipe of Hungarian goulash? (guess you spell it differently ) I know it supposed to be very good and I hope it's also low-carb! And if you have any other nice treats (mostly of meat, fish or vegetables) that are Hungarian, could you share the recipes please? It's always good to learn about different cultures, even through gastronomy!
Thanks in advance!

Bye for now,
Andre

Sorry I was so busy nowdays, I try to find the original gulyas recipe for you.
Yeah, you are right it is definietly low carb....without the bread!