Active Low-Carber Forums
Atkins diet and low carb discussion provided free for information only, not as medical advice.
Home Plans Tips Recipes Tools Stories Studies Products
Active Low-Carber Forums
A sugar-free zone


Welcome to the Active Low-Carber Forums.
Support for Atkins diet, Protein Power, Neanderthin (Paleo Diet), CAD/CALP, Dr. Bernstein Diabetes Solution and any other healthy low-carb diet or plan, all are welcome in our lowcarb community. Forget starvation and fad diets -- join the healthy eating crowd! You may register by clicking here, it's free!

Go Back   Active Low-Carber Forums > Main Low-Carb Diets Forums & Support > New Members & Low-Carbers > Newbies' Questions
User Name
Password
FAQ Members Calendar Mark Forums Read Search Gallery My P.L.A.N. Survey


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1   ^
Old Sun, Oct-22-17, 03:02
iluvpugs33 iluvpugs33 is offline
New Member
Posts: 2
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 352.6/352.6/160 Female 5ft 6inches
BF:
Progress:
Default Confused about where to start

I'm new to atkins. I hear it's bad for the heart. I have high cholesterol but I heard recently a lot of things I heard are a myth. I'm confused at how to make a meal plan that I won't be hungry on. I feel like I eat all of the time. I weigh 352 and really want to lose weight but don't wanna feel hungry. I read somewhere you don't feel hungry on this diet but not sure if that's true
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2   ^
Old Sun, Oct-22-17, 03:14
zoogirl's Avatar
zoogirl zoogirl is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,910
 
Plan: atkins 20
Stats: 127.6/111/110 Female 5' 2"
BF:
Progress: 94%
Location: Canada
Default

Hello, and welcome to the forum. First off let me say you have found a great place for support and info, while I cannot offer any medical advise, there are lots of members that will point you to articles and study's that will prove the benefits of this way of eating, I will say that at 352 pounds you are already not doing your heart any good....please don't be insulted, I don't mean that as a criticism. If you are concerned about your health, I for one believe that following the Atkins Plan can only make you healthier...but, for sure discuss it with your Dr. Please take your time, poke around the forum, and read, read and read some more. I wish you all the best in this journey, and congratulate you on wanting to make a change. Good Luck, have a positive day.
Reply With Quote
  #3   ^
Old Sun, Oct-22-17, 04:41
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is offline
Posts: 13,370
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

Welcome,
Glad that you found this forum which has 15 years of low carb related information well organized into sub-forums, as zoo girl wrote...look around at the different topics to help you understand why low carb is a healthy way to lose weight and to live well. Read some success stories and milestones for inspiration. http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=86 Check the health topics if any apply to you. http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=81 since you are worried about cholesterol, the DrHarcombe post in the heart disease forum is a classic. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=466506 There are many other resources in that topic.

If you would rather read a book, the 2010 edition of Atkins written by 3 doctors delved into the science more than any other edition, My favorite for a general introduction is Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes. These two books may help you understand why low carb is healthy.

Another website for good low carb health information is https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb. This one page with all its details is an excellent introduction, also check under the Health tab for more specific information. How LC works section answers some of your questions. https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/how-it-works The free part of the site offers everything needed, but a free one month trial of the membership side would add more video explanations. Read the success stories on his site too...that lack of hunger when doing low carb correctly, and the increase in energy, is one of the first results most often remarked on. The lack of hunger is one reason why I like Dr Westman's clinic plan to start, based on what Dr Atkins used in his clinic, and in Why We Get Fat. https://www.dietdoctor.com/se/wp-co...starch_diet.pdf. You can eat fat and protein "to satiety" as long as the carbs are kept below 20g total carbs, and no trigger foods like nuts are allowed. The DietDoctor intro plan is also based on it if having recipes would help you, but you can also buy whatever "allowed foods" you like and eat them until full. Dr Westman video course under How it works.

I completely agree that you need to feel comfortable that this way of eating is the healthiest diet for your conditions. Read, and then read some more. Ask questions. Let us know how we can help you. All the best,

Last edited by JEY100 : Sun, Oct-22-17 at 05:00.
Reply With Quote
  #4   ^
Old Sun, Oct-22-17, 04:57
Mama Sebo's Avatar
Mama Sebo Mama Sebo is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 5,202
 
Plan: Keto, IF
Stats: 224/136/124 Female 64 inches
BF:44%/23%/20%
Progress: 88%
Location: Kenya-teleworking Austria
Default

Welcome! I find that reading material like what Janet posted above has been a great way to get started, there are many options, its important to do some research and figure out what direction you want to go. I also know that a very important discovery for me has been 'real hunger' versus the cravings caused by eating more carbs. FOr me its been important to get the carbs OUT!! All the best, and I'm looking forward to seeing you here often!
Reply With Quote
  #5   ^
Old Sun, Oct-22-17, 08:55
JLx's Avatar
JLx JLx is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,199
 
Plan: High protein, lower fat
Stats: 000/000/145 Female 66
BF:276, 255 hi wts
Progress: 0%
Location: Michigan U.P., USA
Default

Until you feel comfortable with the information people have guided you to, and come up with a plan, you can't go wrong with the dietary advice that just about everyone agrees on: less (or no) added sugar, less (or no) refined carbs, less (or no) processed food. They all contribute to weight and health problems.

What you can eat more of is vegetables, especially green veggies. They'll help fill you up.
Reply With Quote
  #6   ^
Old Sun, Oct-22-17, 19:31
robynsnest's Avatar
robynsnest robynsnest is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,146
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 336/286/199 Female 5'11"
BF:Losing it....
Progress: 36%
Location: Canada ay?
Default

Welcome!!
I too have a crazy amount of weight to lose, but I'm doing it, maybe we can do it together...
"As close to nature as possible"is my mantra, if it tastes sweet, it has carbs. The most important thing is to be prepared, boiled eggs, lc veg and plenty of meat on hand at all times. Do not allow yourself to get too hungry, this is sure fire failure if you are not prepared. Good luck, you CAN do this...
Reply With Quote
  #7   ^
Old Mon, Oct-23-17, 04:03
iluvpugs33 iluvpugs33 is offline
New Member
Posts: 2
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 352.6/352.6/160 Female 5ft 6inches
BF:
Progress:
Default

Thanks for all the advise! Question though I see every one is saying eat lots of veggies but isn't that a carb?
Reply With Quote
  #8   ^
Old Mon, Oct-23-17, 04:21
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is offline
Posts: 13,370
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

A good study published in a Journal of Clinical Nutrition:

Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets


Section on CVD.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3826507/
Reply With Quote
  #9   ^
Old Mon, Oct-23-17, 05:00
teaser's Avatar
teaser teaser is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 15,075
 
Plan: mostly milkfat
Stats: 190/152.4/154 Male 67inches
BF:
Progress: 104%
Location: Ontario
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by iluvpugs33
Thanks for all the advise! Question though I see every one is saying eat lots of veggies but isn't that a carb?


Yes, but.. a pound of spinach would give you about 6 grams of digestible carbohydrate. A pound of romaine, about the same. By choosing the right vegetables, your carbohydrate intake can be very low.
Reply With Quote
  #10   ^
Old Mon, Oct-23-17, 06:07
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is offline
Posts: 13,370
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

In post #3 the Duke clinic diet linked has a list of "allowed vegetables" . Stick to those in total 3 cup amount and it will be under 20g TC. For me, didn't measure all that precisely and most days ate more than 3 cups, mostly salad, but it still worked.
Reply With Quote
  #11   ^
Old Mon, Oct-23-17, 07:36
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
Default

About your hunger issue... I hear you on that. When I weighed over 400 pounds if I wasn't sleeping I was eating or thinking about eating. If I had a moment of satisfaction it was after eating a ton of food and even that didn't last long. That is the norm when you eat lots of carbs and have a screwed up metabolism. The greatest thing about eating low carb is that this will all change. It takes a little while to adapt, but you will stop being hungry all the time. You will discover what it is like to have long periods of time between meals where you are fully satisfied and not even thinking about eating. When your metabolism straightens out your body will start using your fat reserves to feed on. You will WANT to eat LESS FOOD. You won't be fighting hunger while you lose the weight and get healthy.

If you are like me the diet will get kind of boring for a while. You will be tempted to cheat or take a break. I always did on low carb diets of the past. That was my mistake. If you stick to your program the cravings will fade. If you keep entertaining those cravings they will intensify. It is cheating and planned 'off-plan eating' that make stay on a low carb diet a real struggle. Stick to LC foods no matter what. Eventually low carb foods will feel like normal eating and you won't even be tempted by the old favorites you are no longer eating. You will gain the upper hand in your eating. The food will lose its power over you. That is a terrific place to be. So remember this... being bored is better than being hungry on a diet and even the boring phase will come to an end. You just need to outlast it.

About this being an unhealthy diet. Read my 1000 days of healthy eating post (see my footer below). If this way of eating is so unhealthy, why did EVERYTHING that was wrong with me get better. This is a healthy way of eating. It is how I need to eat. My doctor was not so convinced in the beginning. She became a fan of low carb by the time I was done. She had never seen this kind of turn around in someone's health.

If I can do it, you can do it. Do it. It will be tough at first, but you will be so glad that you did. I got my life and my health back. That is worth so much more than a donut, slice of pizza, or a candy bar.

Last edited by khrussva : Mon, Oct-23-17 at 08:31.
Reply With Quote
  #12   ^
Old Mon, Oct-23-17, 09:21
JLx's Avatar
JLx JLx is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,199
 
Plan: High protein, lower fat
Stats: 000/000/145 Female 66
BF:276, 255 hi wts
Progress: 0%
Location: Michigan U.P., USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by iluvpugs33
Question though I see every one is saying eat lots of veggies but isn't that a carb?


Also essential nutrition. I was just reading this:

Quote:
Vitamins and minerals, in particularly electrolytes such as potassium, magnesium and calcium are critical to support our mitochondria, enabling them to produce energy and maximise insulin sensitivity.

People in the keto community are conscious that electrolytes are essential and go out of their way to supplement with magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium as well as taking bone broth.

The kidneys let go of water and electrolytes when insulin levels drop. A ketogenic diet without attention to green leafy veggies is at risk of being very low in electrolytes. This will cause the pancreas to secrete more insulin to hold onto the scarce electrolytes. This increase in insulin levels may[3] ironically drive insulin resistance.

Whether you call them electrolytes or alkaline foods[5], our bodies need enough substrate to allow our kidneys to maintain a good acid/base balance without having to work too hard. Focusing on minerals can helps us maximise insulin sensitivity and ensure oxygen is efficiently be carried around our bloodstream.
https://optimisingnutrition.com/category/vegan/

If I knew the connection of electrolytes to insulin resistance, I forgot it so this was a good reminder for me. I don't like green vegetables much, but I'm going to start making a green smoothie every day and literally choking them down.
Reply With Quote
  #13   ^
Old Mon, Oct-23-17, 18:25
Bonnie OFS Bonnie OFS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,573
 
Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135 Female 5 ft 4 inches
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
Default

About the hunger - you will feel hungry, but it won't be the crazy, mad-dog, gotta-eat-right-now-get-out-of-my way kind of hunger from the carbs. I think it's odd that even tho I am now eating a lot less food than ever before, I've never gotten so hungry that my stomach growled. I'm wondering if the old growly-hungry stomach was from eating too many carbs.

Do eat real food. I made the mistake early on of eating Atkins bars & shakes. If you have questions about cooking low carb foods, lots of people here can give advice on that.

Best of luck to you!
Reply With Quote
  #14   ^
Old Tue, Oct-24-17, 11:41
tess9132 tess9132 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 873
 
Plan: general lc
Stats: 214/146/130 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 81%
Default

Quote:
About the hunger - you will feel hungry, but it won't be the crazy, mad-dog, gotta-eat-right-now-get-out-of-my way kind of hunger from the carbs.
This is so true! I used to keep peanut butter crackers in my minivan so I wouldn't road rage when I got hungry. These days, I typically have my last meal by 4:00 pm and then I'm up the next morning by 5:00 am and I don't eat breakfast until 11:00. That was unthinkable in the old days.

Quote:
Do eat real food. I made the mistake early on of eating Atkins bars & shakes
I agree that real food is best and the other stuff is not only expensive, it's not good for you either. And in my case, fake food causes cravings and weight retention. But, if you're having difficulty transitioning in the beginning, packaged low carb products might be temporarily worth having in your arsenal. But if you're not losing weight they should go go go.

Quote:
Thanks for all the advise! Question though I see every one is saying eat lots of veggies but isn't that a carb?
Honestly, the carb values of most vegetables are nothing to worry about at this point. I remember when I was obese and I would eat a Marie Callendar chicken pot pie. And I would leave behind the carrots because "they were high on the glycemic index." Well, I didn't get obese from eating too many carrots. I'm confident if I'd have never turned to heavily processed food, Diet Coke in particular, I'd have never gotten fat. The way I've been losing weight is to cycle between maintenance and weight loss mode until I lose this last 35 pounds. When I'm in maintenance, I will eat things like a handful of baby carrots and onion dip washed down with a glass of water, and I'm much fuller than in the old days when I would've just sit down with a two liter Diet Coke and a giant vat of sour dough pretzels and two hours later I'd be starving. While in weight loss mode, I don't make a habit of eating carrots and try to keep my veggies to spinach, lettuce, broccoli, celery, and asparagus.

In the end, you need to figure out what works for you. But there are a ton of stories on here of people who've travelled the path you're about to go down. I'd recommend checking out the journals and starting one of your own. The advice and inspiration here has been invaluable to me. You can do this.

Last edited by tess9132 : Tue, Oct-24-17 at 12:05.
Reply With Quote
  #15   ^
Old Tue, Oct-24-17, 12:15
TiredFedUP's Avatar
TiredFedUP TiredFedUP is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 910
 
Plan: currently at <50g carb/d
Stats: 208/203.1/136 Female 5ft 9.5in
BF:
Progress: 7%
Location: France
Default

Hi there and welcome.

The possibility of NOT being hungry exists. It does really, seriously. Keep in mind that on a low-carb diet, you cut sources of high-carb foods, not necessarily calories. If you are hungry, eat. But not carbs.

It might be helpful for you to just get used to cutting out high carb foods (pasta, rice, grains, seed-vegetables, potatoes, root vegetables, sweets, sugars) first, without thinking about the amounts you eat or calorie counting. Replace those carby-foods with leafy green things that you dress up with excellent sources of fat (I call that sauce and bacon bits). Plus protein. Read the atkins book (or another). If you are not a reader there is a good, 15-minute video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ

Perhaps if you look at some of the "post what you ate for lunch threads", or the recipe section, you might get some idea of the great stuff low-carbers eat.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 00:32.


Copyright © 2000-2024 Active Low-Carber Forums @ forum.lowcarber.org
Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.