Atkins Support Group

SueInAz

In case you didn't see this, it's a good article:

http://community.atkins.com/ugc/blog/viewBlogPost/p/blogPostId/3138870/Atkins_On_a_Budget_.htm

It is a good article. I'd rather use finely ground pork rinds for meatloaf than low carb bread, though.

SRH7

Hi I just started Fitnesspal but have been on Atkins since 8/15. I have lost 8 lbs. and totally enjoy all the protein. I need some help with how you track your carbs on this site? I am very slowly moving into phase 2 but I am keeping to the 15-20 carbs with a few additional foods like nuts. I have not had a chance to read all the posts for this group so if you could help me out I will get to reading asap.

You can tweak what nutrients your diary shows in the Diary Settings feature: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

I've changed mine round so I can see exactly how much fibre as well as protein I am getting (minus the fibre from the carbs at the bottom of your diary to calculate your 'net carbs' that Atkins works to).

Just make sure you log everything that you eat and drink (if you have a smart phone you can even scan the barcodes of what you are eating for quick uploads) and keep an eye on the figures at the bottom of your diary. Although Atkins is not all about calorie counting, I still keep check on mine using the diary.

And if you get stuck - just post on here again. Lots of lovely helpful people!

SueInAz

Hi I just started Fitnesspal but have been on Atkins since 8/15. I have lost 8 lbs. and totally enjoy all the protein. I need some help with how you track your carbs on this site? I am very slowly moving into phase 2 but I am keeping to the 15-20 carbs with a few additional foods like nuts. I have not had a chance to read all the posts for this group so if you could help me out I will get to reading asap.

You should be tracking net carbs so you'll want to set MFP up so you can see both carbs and fiber. You'll subtract your fiber total from your carb total when looking at your total for the day. It's really that simple.

AKosky585

I finally got the Keto Strips. I did my first keto test and I am somewhere between negative and trace....I thought I had been doing really well, but somewhere along the line I am not quite reaching ketosis for some reason. Hmmm...guess I will have to dig deeper and find out what I am eating that is wrong....

...but should''t 20g of carbs NET still get a darker pink/purple reading if those 20 carbs are coming from acceptable foods?

metromom1

thank you for the info. on the account stuff. I wrote everything and came up with 56 carbs according to fitnesspal. Adkins says I had 5. This is going to take some getting use to.

SouLThinking

Hope your all having a great evening. Finally I did it. I'm in the 140's for the first time in 24 yrs. Haven't seen them since I was 14 yrs old! I owe so much to Dr. Atkins and the low carb lifestyle. I have learned so much and continue to do so everyday. Don't give up ..it takes time to gain it and it takes time to lose it right.

God bless

SueInAz

Hope your all having a great evening. Finally I did it. I'm in the 140's for the first time in 24 yrs. Haven't seen them since I was 14 yrs old! I owe so much to Dr. Atkins and the low carb lifestyle. I have learned so much and continue to do so everyday. Don't give up ..it takes time to gain it and it takes time to lose it right.

God bless

Whoo hoo! Congrats to you!

I know just how you feel! Yesterday when the scale said 125 I did a little happy dance. I haven't seen 125 since about 2002 or 2003. It's taken me 6 months to lose almost 15 pounds and I have been feeling so frustrated with the plateaus and re-gaining a few pounds to lose them for a few days and then re-gain them. Finally seeing those numbers on the scale made most of the pain and heartache worth it.

We both have a little ways still to hit our goal weights and we CAN do it!

eegrieger

just started Atkins about a month ago, and it's working really well for me. I'm a BIG meat eater so I'm pretty much in heaven Glad to find a group I can relate to!!

louisee294

I've made a new discovery this week in Sainsburys.

A range of ready meals that are low carb, the company is "look what we found" and there are loads of different ones, some no wheat, some no gluten, and 3 of them I have discovered are quite low carb and very tasty.

Beef and basil meatballs 6.3 net carbs
chunky beef chilli 6 net carbs
veal and mushroom stroganoff 6.3 net carbs.

There are also 3 with higher carbs but on a maintainence plan they would be fine

Fellside beef chilli 13.2 NC
Beef bolognese 12 NC
Venison stew 12.3 NC

They have a long date as they are in the tins isle, not refrigerated.

HeartLunger

Official weigh in today showed a 1lb loss. I believe my sodium intake was too high as I don't understand how I could lose 16lbs in the previous two weeks (and I had several adult libations over Labor Day weekend) and only lose 1lb this week. . I believe I stayed under 30 net carbs each day, and I have ran 4 days this week. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

On a bright side, I received three compliments yesterday! One was from my buddy, and it's part of man law that you don't compliment another dude on their weight loss. Lol. Anyhow, that told me that it must be noticiable.

louisee294

My suggestion would be to not get hung up on the scale. Measure yourself weekly, because if you don't lose on the scale you will usually lose on the measuring tape.

lockef

I finally got the Keto Strips. I did my first keto test and I am somewhere between negative and trace....I thought I had been doing really well, but somewhere along the line I am not quite reaching ketosis for some reason. Hmmm...guess I will have to dig deeper and find out what I am eating that is wrong....

...but should''t 20g of carbs NET still get a darker pink/purple reading if those 20 carbs are coming from acceptable foods?

The amount of ketones the strips show is irrelevent. If you even have a trace amount of ketones, you're in ketosis. The amount of ketones that show up will vary hour to hour. Having a darker color doesn't mean you're burning more fat or using more calories. The strips are only showing how many ketones are being expelled through your urine.

Relax, kick back with a couple strips of bacon and let your body burn your fat.

lockef

Official weigh in today showed a 1lb loss. I believe my sodium intake was too high as I don't understand how I could lose 16lbs in the previous two weeks (and I had several adult libations over Labor Day weekend) and only lose 1lb this week. . I believe I stayed under 30 net carbs each day, and I have ran 4 days this week. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

On a bright side, I received three compliments yesterday! One was from my buddy, and it's part of man law that you don't compliment another dude on their weight loss. Lol. Anyhow, that told me that it must be noticiable.

Looks like another person waiting on a visit from the whoosh fairy. :laugh:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

AlyRoseNYC

Man Law! I love it LOLOLOL

Off topic but it reminds me of a conversation DH and I had a few weeks ago

Me: Can I borrow your power drill real quick to install a towel bar behind the bathroom door?

DH: My power drill? I can't let you use that. YOu know how much trouble I could get into?

Me: With who?

DH: The Guy Police

LOLOLOL I love him! Not only did I use his power drill, but I sanded down my cabinet frames with a belt sander and orbital sander that weekend doing a DIY kitchen renovation.

martinah4

Congrats, Soulthinker! You are truly an inspiration to me!!!

martinah4

SO, after dealing with my 9 year old sons homework for 2 1/2 weeks now, I'd like to take a poll. What is an acceptable amount of homework for a 9 year old 4th grader? My son has been averaging 1 1/2 to two hours of homework. A night. I find this a little excessive.

martinah4

And on a completely different topic, did anyone happen to read the new article in Time (maybe it was Newsweek) by Dr. Ornish on how we should be eating now? I was itching to read the article while in line to pay for my groceries, but didn't have to except to skim through. Thoughts, anyone?

AlyRoseNYC

SO, after dealing with my 9 year old sons homework for 2 1/2 weeks now, I'd like to take a poll. What is an acceptable amount of homework for a 9 year old 4th grader? My son has been averaging 1 1/2 to two hours of homework. A night. I find this a little excessive.

Hmm, my only kid is only three so I haven't been there yet. I think an hour and a half max is acceptable, and even that should be reserved for the weekends only. I like the idea of kids having time to do activities on some of the weekdays too.

SueInAz

SO, after dealing with my 9 year old sons homework for 2 1/2 weeks now, I'd like to take a poll. What is an acceptable amount of homework for a 9 year old 4th grader? My son has been averaging 1 1/2 to two hours of homework. A night. I find this a little excessive.

I don't think my son had nearly that much homework at that age, but he did two years later when he entered the gifted middle school program. Of course, he was also the kind to do as much of his work at school as possible. He always wanted to finish. I had to force him to slow down and double-check his work for mistakes.

SueInAz

Official weigh in today showed a 1lb loss. I believe my sodium intake was too high as I don't understand how I could lose 16lbs in the previous two weeks (and I had several adult libations over Labor Day weekend) and only lose 1lb this week. . I believe I stayed under 30 net carbs each day, and I have ran 4 days this week. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

On a bright side, I received three compliments yesterday! One was from my buddy, and it's part of man law that you don't compliment another dude on their weight loss. Lol. Anyhow, that told me that it must be noticiable.

Looks like another person waiting on a visit from the whoosh fairy. :laugh:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

Just what I was thinking!

OP, be sure you're measuring yourself every few weeks; waist, hips, thigh circumference, etc. You'll find that you will lose inches when you aren't losing pounds and then suddenly you'll drop a few pounds, which means you had a visit from "The Whoosh Fairy."

HeartLunger

Official weigh in today showed a 1lb loss. I believe my sodium intake was too high as I don't understand how I could lose 16lbs in the previous two weeks (and I had several adult libations over Labor Day weekend) and only lose 1lb this week. . I believe I stayed under 30 net carbs each day, and I have ran 4 days this week. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

On a bright side, I received three compliments yesterday! One was from my buddy, and it's part of man law that you don't compliment another dude on their weight loss. Lol. Anyhow, that told me that it must be noticiable.

Looks like another person waiting on a visit from the whoosh fairy. :laugh:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

Just what I was thinking!

OP, be sure you're measuring yourself every few weeks; waist, hips, thigh circumference, etc. You'll find that you will lose inches when you aren't losing pounds and then suddenly you'll drop a few pounds, which means you had a visit from "The Whoosh Fairy."

Thanks, all! I guess I need to measure and be patient!

HeartLunger

SO, after dealing with my 9 year old sons homework for 2 1/2 weeks now, I'd like to take a poll. What is an acceptable amount of homework for a 9 year old 4th grader? My son has been averaging 1 1/2 to two hours of homework. A night. I find this a little excessive.

Our school put a new building wide policy in this year because homework was taking away from family time and the parents complained. New policy is 15 minutes of reading and 5 minutes of math homework. This is for an elementary school, however, my wife and I don't believe that is enough work on the math so it's about 15 minutes reading (my 2nd graders strong subject), at least 15 minutes of math (not as strong), and 10-15 minutes of spelling, or however long it takes him to write 15 spelling words out 10 times each.

cbelli

Ok, question for the women in the group (sorry guys, might be a little TMI for you). Have any of you had an issue with your TOM after being on Atkins? I have been on Atkins for a little over a month now (Started August 9, have lost 16lbs so far) and am on my second TOM since I started the diet. This month though, things were VERY weird. I had a lot of weird pregnancy symptoms, including but not limited to night leg cramps, acne, runny nose, light spotting w/ cramps, etc. It had me so worried that I have taken 3 pregnancy tests...all negative of course, and gone to my doctor (still waiting on the blood results). I was talking to my sister early today and asking her if I'm not pregnant then what could possibly be going on. She thought being in ketosis for a month straight could have something to do with it. Anyone else have similar symptoms when your body was adjusting to ketosis? If you did have the symptoms, how long did it take for your body to straighten out? I am LOVING the diet. It's working...which is more than I can say for any other diet I have been on, so I don't want to stop the diet even if it is the cause of the symptoms. Any advice? Thanks ya'll!

Jenna70

I am having a similar issue right now... I've been on Atkins since the 1st week of August... had my TOM Aug 28th - Sept 3rd and then got it again a week later - this past Tuesday and I still have it, in fact it got heavy. I called my doctor's office yesterday and they didn't think it was worrisome except the slim possibility I could be pregnant (which I doubt). They said to check back with them if it happens again... could be an issue with the pill. I've never heard of Ketosis causing an issue like this... I just hope it doesn't keep happening, it is NOT a good time!

AKosky585

Ya know, I have had a really weird cycle this month too. I am on the pill, but this month, I started 5 days early...meaning 10 days of fun!!! (rolls eyes) It has to be because of the change in eating...however I am not registering being in ketosis, so I dont know if that has anything to do with it or not.

Grokette

Ya know, I have had a really weird cycle this month too. I am on the pill, but this month, I started 5 days early...meaning 10 days of fun!!! (rolls eyes) It has to be because of the change in eating...however I am not registering being in ketosis, so I dont know if that has anything to do with it or not.

If you are drinking a **** ton of water then ketosis is not always registered................Hormones can seem to knock you out of ketosis too.

How much fat are you eating???

louisee294

wow, really funny that you should mention this,but I was going to post this earlier then chickened out. I've been doing atkins for about 5-6 weeks now and I have had a very strange period. Im on the pill, took my last one on Wednesday morning, then Thursday afternoon started a little bit, then stopped, now I think its started properly today. Very weird as It always usually takes 3-4 days to arrive, not the first non-pill day. also i've had cold symptoms all week. hmmm... glad its not just me.

AKosky585

Ya know, I have had a really weird cycle this month too. I am on the pill, but this month, I started 5 days early...meaning 10 days of fun!!! (rolls eyes) It has to be because of the change in eating...however I am not registering being in ketosis, so I dont know if that has anything to do with it or not.

If you are drinking a **** ton of water then ketosis is not always registered................Hormones can seem to knock you out of ketosis too.

How much fat are you eating???

I am getting about 80-100 g of fat per day, based on 1200-1450 calories per day... my food diary is open. Does this seem pretty reasonable?

So basically my cycle could be knocking me out of ketosis?

And drinking lots of water will cause a negative reading? When should I be testing? I did mine yesterday after work and today first thing in the morning...not sure what is best

thanks!!!

SueInAz

I've spent solid months on induction without symptoms like you're seeing, including March to May of this year.

Getting my period always knocks me out of ketosis; I'm pretty sure it's a hormonal thing.

cbelli

I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one experiencing this. I have used the NuvaRing for 2 1/2 years and never had a problem with my cycle. I'm very regular and don't have a lot of hormone issues. I've never had acne or any of the other symptoms I was describing, so I was very concerned. (I actually spotted for 2weeks prior to finally starting yesterday.) I definitely think it is a hormone issue, but wasn't sure if the diet was the cause of my hormones deciding to go awry this month. Thanks for posting responses!