I personally think low carb AND low calorie is too restrictive. Most people I know who ate that low have quit or gained it back.

I followed the latest version of Atkins, stayed in induction about a month then followed the carb ladder. Ate mostly grilled meat, a veggie, salads. Lots of eggs and Muffin in a Minute for breakfast.

I started a lil over a year ago and am in maintenance now.

Starting atkins today!!!

1. What do you all think, 1200 cal. A day AND 20g carbs a day or less?

2. What was your success with induction first 2 weeks and what did you eat?

3. How long have you been on atkins past induction?

You guys are great, hope to see your opinions;)

1. Calories matter, but they aren't what to focus on. Eat until satisfied (but not full/stuffed). It's actually in the book that people often get the idea about combining low-carb and low calorie, and then Atkins fails for them miserably. Atkins is about low-carb, the calories take care of themselves. If you try to do both, you are setting yourself up to fail.

My first week of Induction I was between 1500 and 2100 calories per day. By week two, ketosis had really kicked in and I found myself having to remind myself to eat; I just wasn't hungry, and this is a natural side effect of ketosis, and eating fats and protein (takes MUCH longer to digest than bread/sugar, so you feel fuller for a long time).
You HAVE to eat though, or your body will go into a starvation mode, at which time you'll be a halitosis-mouthed, miserable person who's not losing weight. It seems counter-intuitive, but it's the truth. I currently eat between 1100 and 1400 a day.

20g or less of carbs is important during the two-week Induction phase to get into ketosis. I recommend KetoStrips (I use the generic Walgreens strips, by the diabetic supplies) for fun, and so you can get visual feedback that you are in a ketogenic state.
With Atkins, carbs are what you count, first and foremost.

Once you get into that state, you'll naturally be a lot less hungry, and when you add daily exercise, the weight sloughs off.

2. In two weeks I lost 14 lbs. I ate / do eat:

Every day breakfast: Two eggs, scrambled - Two ieces of bacon, fried - a slice of melted cheese - and a tablespoon of ground flax seed.

Lunch - 1 cup of salad greens, four or eight oz of meat, two oz of cheese (or similar)
Dinner - Six oz chicken, beef, pork, you name it... Another cup of salad vegetables, and usually a cup of cooked vegetables, more ground flax.
Snacks - Sugar free Jell-o, pork rinds, tuna salad chicken salad, ham slices with cream cheese, etc... FLAX SEED!

The updated (2002) edition of Dr. Atkins book is a good book and can really help with meal suggestions. I borrowed a copy for my Kindle from my library, but you can buy it on Amazon dirt cheap.

Be careful with their (candy) meal replacement bars, though. Just two of those in a week stalled me for five days, so take the Atkins food "commercials" with a grain of salt. All other recipes and meals are dead-on, though.

Also, stick with Diet Rite since it uses Splenda instead of Coke, Pepsi, etc... because they use Nutrasweet, which also stalls some people.

Do not EVER skip your multivitamin/multimineral, because it could leave you hurting.
Finally, ground flax seed and psyllium husk pills/powder will become your best friend if you want to avoid constipation.


3. I stuck with Induction for six weeks, and am still mostly on it at eight weeks. I allow myself a FiberOne low-carb wrap every other day, and a single strawberry at night for dessert, so I can't claim "pure Induction" of less than 20grams. I take in 25 or 27 a day. I've still got to lose another 25 lbs at this point. (I need to correct my ticker which says I need to lose 66, not true) but this diet is working. I mostly started it because I needed to get into a system where I wouldn't/couldn't drink any beer. I haven't had a beer since May, and I don't really miss it all that much. Walking through the bakery section of the supermarket can be torture, though.

The exercise sucked at first, but now I'm angry when I can't get my nightly walking / running in, and am having a treadmill delivered as a backup.

Finally, once you're in ketosis, and past the "Atkins flu" (if you are unfortunate enough to go through those three days) you'll notice LOTS of energy. You won't get "low blood sugar" around 5pm, and after a little bit you feel as though you're immune to pathetic carb-based human weaknesses. *LOL*

Kidding (sort of) about that. And come mid-August, I am taking a week off to eat pizza, corn chips and drink lots of beer.

Best of luck to you, you can do this!

Hmmm I'm BRAND new to this so I can't really offer any advice. But I was interested to read what others had to say. I am mapping out a menu for the next few days and trying to just see where the calories land. It's looking like they will be around 1500. I walk 1-2 hours per day as part of my commute so I think 1200 is a little low for me personally.
Good luck!

I am on the Atkins for the last 2 weeks (again) I done it for 2 years previously. I too stick to 1200 calories a day and limit my carbs to less than 10 net grams. Last time i was on induction for 12 weeks, then slowly added in 5 carbs a week until i found my personal maintenance level.

I have a real sweet tooth that i cure with cola jelly. 500mls Pepsi max (zero carb/cal) and 10 grams gelatin powder (0 carbs/30 cals) omg, it is so good, split it in to 4 cups and you can have 2 a day (or even all 4) without feeling guilty at all. I know some people are against diet soda due to aspartame but for me i can deal with a little aspartame instead of the sugar. Moderation is the key. I have used aspartame all my life and have no health issues etc, personally i think its all exaggerated. (you can also use imitation flavourings like strawberry or cherry to mix up the flavours)

I also refuse to give up my coffee, again some say caffeine interrupts ketosis, well i have 5 mugs a day and my keto strips are always dark purple. (i use a ceral cream called 4care) 0 carbs. I keep my caffeine because induction can really drain you at first, so the coffee really keeps my energy up.

What i would recommend is a good ORS powder which will keep your electrolytes in balance. Induction really doesnt allow for enough potassium, etc. Mine has 2 grams dextrose powder (equals 2 carbs) but it really helps to keep you in order. Also on a 1200 cal a day version make sure to take a good multi vitamin and a fish oil capsule to get all your nutrients. Its better to get thinner but with good health.

Im now at day 13 and i have lost almost 17lbs (7.71 kilos) and i fulfill my sweet cravings with the jelly shots. I can do induction for so long because i love my fish which is low cal and zero carb. You can eat a lot more fish than meat if you are counting calories too. Oh, and eat a good portion of spinach/kale for extra nutrients. One last thing i do is remove the yolk from eggs when scrambling/making omelets as it reduces the calories massively and also gets rid of the carb content. Fish with a cream cheese sauce on a bed of greens is so good though

Good luck with your Atkins plan.