Atkins Induction Phase..help

Are you tracking your food on here?

I doubt you'd want to really hear the way I handle this, but I'll tell you anyway.
I am of the old school induction phase. I don't care about veggies, and I limit myself to less than 20 carbs a day for the first 2 weeks. Actually, for the first 3 days, I am even more strict, But I am all about getting into ketosis as quickly as possible. BUT, I don't expect to do anything other than relaxing and eating chesse, etc. for the first 3 days (1st day I cardio and burn off the stored sugars) YES, this is not ideal or good for you. But it works for me. And being down so many pounds is worth it in my opinion.

Now, I am of the really really old school and I used to work out pretty well with weights and some cardio while in full blown ketosis and after I added in those veggies for maintenance. But I had to spread all that out in the day, like weights in the morning and some cardio at night when I was recovered. Yes, there are ways to maintain working out. They just aren't nearly as intense.

I have found that I like the Atkins diet for dealing with peer pressure mostly. ie, I don't have to eat that piece of cake, because, well I can't ruin my entire diet for a piece of cake. But everyone's mileage with this diet will vary. I've found that the habits of eating late at night, even for myself, is hard to get over. But I can only tolerate eating so much bacon before bed.

Good luck. Hope something I typed here is useful.

I never ate 20 grams of carbs on induction. I barely ate 15. That's your MAX number, not your minimum. Also, if you don't get hungry during the day, don't stress it. I get a lot of flack for it from some of the "gurus" on here, but I only eat if my stomach is growling. Lots of folk throw around the nonsense that your body will hold onto fat if you don't eat 5 times a day. It's bunk. Here's a great article on that (courtesy of another MFP poster):

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

Atkins is a very satiating diet. You're eating more calorie dense foods, and it usually takes longer to get truly hungry.

We have a low-carb group here on MFP, you might want to join. Because you will get attacked on here by people who will tell you all the current myths and misinformation about low-carbing. I've even been called names. And yet the fact that I lost 140 pounds and kept it off for five years apparently isn't convincing enough for some that this is a legitimate way to eat & live.

I believe you about the flack. What's the group called? I chose low carb because Carb's are my go to comfort food so I wanted to go cold turkey & then add them back in as a source of food not an emotional thing. Also it's the way my family has lost weight & they've been doing it in a healthy way for years. As far as my 9 net for veggies & 5 various other things... so that would be ok for induction then since it's 14 net carbs total? Or should I still up the veggies?

What are your "5 various other things"? On induction, really, all carbs should come from veggies, and a small amount from cheese (if you want to eat cheese). It's best to avoid all artificial sweeteners, as you're trying to break your bodies craving of sweets.

Regarding your question to the old school gent and exercising- you can exercise if you want to. No reason not to. You might not feel like it for the first few days of carb withdrawal, but as soon as you feel like you can, go for it! You want to have a nice body to show once you get the weight off!

Oh and our group is "Low Carber Daily Forum... The Group".

I had put lemon into some of my water & added some cheese,olives & my dressing to my salads. Those added up to 5. Is it better that I just do dressing & skip everything else to keep my numbers down?

From a medical perspective, you will need vegetables for the colon to work 'better'. Even though induction is only 20 net grams, those vegetables need the naturally occuring fiber to help your bowels 'move'. Otherwise the excess protein can cause constipation... We have a patient who was medically advised to follow Atkins and I gotta tell you: he sure as hell is doing it to the "T", but he isnt making sure he meets the 20g rule. We had to give him stool softeners to be able to pass his bowels because he just didnt make sure he had enough of a variety.

Spend some time jotting down your favorite vegetables from the Phase 1 (and 2) categories that Atkins outlines. Use www.caloreking.com to get the "1 ounce" value of those vegetables. That will give you a good 'picture' to go by to see just how the carb/fiber numbers look from a one-ounce-perspective.

Last night I had a total of 9 carbohydrates left to use with dinner. I piled on a good 14oz of zucchini lightly cooked but with butter, spices and freshly grated parmesan for the additional 1g carb.

And yes, someone mentioned Low Carber Daily Forum. Im teamed up with Laura_beau over there. We have a great group of people that I am proud to say, neither of us have run into anyone giving anyone else a problem... You are more than welcome to join our group!