BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb How Long have you been Low Carbing?

Hi - Just found this website and joined the forum a couple of days ago. I just (re)started Atkins on Monday so I'm on induction. I was doing Atkins befor - started back in Jan. 1999 and stayed on the wagon until April/May 2000. When I fell off I just never got back on. Needless to say I gained all my weight back 45 lbs. plus an additional 7 lbs. or so. I ended up joining Curves and that really got me going again with semi-low carb eating and went back down to the 150s. I ended up getting down into the 140s and then did the Master Cleanse a couple of times - Sept. '04 and Aug. '05 when I finally got back down to the low 130s. I had been trying to eat mostly raw fruits during the day and a big salad with 2 or 3 hard boiled eggs for dinner, but I found that my carb cravings would kick in (mostly salty snacks - potato and corn chips, as well as wine) and I would be back up to 135+. So I decided to end the insanity and just go back to doing Atkins again. I would like to get down to 125, but I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Carbs give you short term energy - it's the sugar rush. They don't give you REAL energy though. If you eat carbs, you have to keep eating more carbs because the sugar rush doesn't last for long. That's how you get fat.

I really think low carb will work for you but you have to get used to a *normal* smooth energy flow that you get from low carb. The protein, fats, good carbs etc. give you a smooth healthy energy flow. Once you get used to that, you'll find it is much better to have that vs having the roller coaster spikes and drops that high carb eating does to you.

gonna hit the 9 months mark soon & at times when I eat certain foods that're high in carb , it messed up my energy level but I always feel better when I get back on track the next day.

I sometimes wish that there're more low carb products available in here instead of seeing the usual low fat/fat free/reduced fat on the shelves that're being stamped with the words 'healthier choice' by the Health Promotion Board.

Hi my name is Shelley and I'm new. What exactly is the induction diet? I can't find Atkins induction plan anywhere on-line....can anyone help?
I'm looking to loose about 25- 30 lbs.
P.S.
I drink alot of coffee....will this slow things down????? <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I admit I used to be your classic carboholic & that I loved eating tons of bread,pasta,potatoes & noodles .Especially potatoes . No wonder I was so overweight to begin with right after I hit puberty!

& I admit , it was very hard not to eat them especially rice cos of the fact that I'm chinese .

but after going low carb for almost 9 months now & counting , I don't miss them & even if I have them occasionally , they don't taste as good to me anymore as used to.

Karen <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

for my case it's a bit hard cos I hardly ever see low carb products for me to use . If I do see them , it's always priced really expensive.

if I really want something I shouldn't have in my low carb diet , I buy the smallest portion possible . Like for my case , I love ice cream but I will only buy a small tub of it cos I know if I were to buy a big tub , I would finish the whole thing at 1 shot.

I`m trying to do some low carb diet too - more vegies and stuff like this. No I didn`t find it too pricey...

It's always interesting what some people find to be expensive and others don't. A lot of it depends on where you live. For example, a lot of low carbing is about eating fresh vegetables - so lots of fresh broccoli, cauliflower, squash, lettuce, celery, asparagus, etc. I do this all the time anyway and find it extremely healthy and easy and "normal". However, some people who are living on macaroni & cheese take a look at the prices for veggies and have a heart attack. They think it is SUPER expensive to eat vegetables. Which is really a sad commentary on life - that eating veggies is so foreign to them because it's expensive!!

If it really is that expensive for someone to eat veggies I *highly* recommend a patio garden. You can grow all sorts of great veggies - cukes, tomatoes etc - in very small containers even in your living room. It is really really cheap to do that and well worth it. You need your veggies!!

I just got my whole garden finally set up yesterday, after having started many plants from seeds. It's only 99 cents for the seeds and I will have *trillions* of tomatoes and such in a few months.

I realize that I review low carb products, but I really recommend NOT eating those as a normal way of life. Eating any pre-made product is going to be more expensive than eating fresher food, and will be less healthy for you. For example, it's better to eat berries for dessert than store bought sugar free ice cream. You get much more nutrition from the berries. If occasionally you want some sugar free ice cream, it's REALLY easy to make and the flavor is just fantastic. So I would advise not living on low carb products. It is really better for your budget and for your health.

That being said, I really do like Dreamfields pasta as a good source of fiber, and a nice side dish to go with veggies and grilled fish <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Great! Just what I thought!
Thanks!