What is considered low carb to you?

I'm not on the Atkins diet but it sounds like you're not very informed about it (no offense). The first period, called Induction, is two weeks long and you eat 20g of carbs per day - all of which you should be getting from vegetables, so that doesn't sound too bad, right? You gradually increase your carbohydrate intake until you reach a level where your body maintains weight. It's actually a superb diet for people with high blood sugar. You're essentially cutting out an excess amount of grains, starchy stuff, and simple carbohydrates, which you *can* actually eat - in moderation. I recommend that you look into it - sugarfreesheila.com is a great resource. Atkins isn't about eating meat and cheese. On the contrary, it's about developing a healthy balance of foods rich in nutrients.

Low carb to me is 30% of daily intake or under.

I think that a low carb diet is 30% of your calories or less. Atkins starts at 20grams of carbs per day. Protein Power, which I like better than Atkins personally, starts at 30 grams of net carbs per day. The key to these plans is the NET carbs because you can actually eat a lot of veggies and still have lower carbs because of the fiber. To calculate net carbs, which is what really matters, you take the total carbs and subtract the fiber. So if you eat a serving of almonds and it has 5 grams of carbs total, but 3 grams of fiber, then it only has 2 net carbs and you only count that 2 toward your daily allotment of carbs.

Personally, unless you are an athlete or involved in some high intensity physical activity, 50-75 grams of carbs is a good amount (up to 100 grams may even be good) for a low carb diet. Personally, I would suggest trying 50-75 net carbs at least for a while unless your activity level really requires you to have more. But that is just my opinion.

Atkins has a bad rap that it is all about meat & cheese - but the latest book continually stresses the importance of getting ENOUGH veggies in your daily nutrition, and in some cases, limit the amount of protein if you aren't losing weight on the plan. "The New Atkins for a New You" is the latest book, though not written by Dr. Atkins himself, is written by other physicians, and references scientific evidence. I'm about halfway through the book - you can get it from the library!

The author of Protein Power that Dawn mentioned, is also by a physician, Dr. Michael Eades - his blog is here: http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/ If you do decide to try lower carb, PLEASE read his posts about starting/restarting low carb, parts 1 and 2. VERY helpful!

Another good reference is Mark's Daily Apple - http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ - he is the author of the Primal Blueprint.

If you haven't read enough yet lol, try Gary Taubes' "Why We Get Fat". Again, I got it from my library.

Also, even if you *are* an athlete or involved in high intensity exercise, you can still do that on 50g net carbs or less - I am, anyway. I play on a women's rugby team, and I've been fine with 2-hour practices and 80-minute games of almost constant movement (sprinting, rucking, tackling, scrumming, etc!). I'll increase my carbs a bit today for a game tomorrow (from fruits & sweet potatoes), but I'll probably still be under 100g.

Best of luck in whatever you decide! :flowerforyou:

Hi Jess

Cute meow meow hehe!

Yeah low carb is 20g or below (for ketosis etc)! Ive done that diet (Similar to Atkins), it worked but the migraines where hell and it was hardwork! Im currenctly eating around 100g carbs, that is the lowest i can get it without feeling ill and just depleteing my body and feeling miserable cos thats what it does too!

xxx
Mou