If it's not much to ask, i'd like to know your opinion of my menu. After having read what you all said, and after having revised the weekly plan and having made some adjustments, i decided to up my carb level just a little bit for now and see what happens and how i am liking it.

breakfast- two eggs, 1 oz of cream cheese, 1 oz of almonds or
two egg omelette with 1 oz cheese, either some kind of sausage meat or mushrooms or
two eggs and a zuccini nut muffing (from atkin's book), the way I make it comes down to 3g per muffing.


lunch is usually a SALAD (isn't it for all of us?) with some kind of meat, mostly chicken or a small can of tuna in olive oil or vegetable oil. If it's tuna, then no dressing used, the oil is enough as it is, otherwise I love ceasar or ginger, but i've never been really big on dressing- it's mostly a tablespoon of vegetable oil. on days when I do not eat nuts for breakfast then I eat it after lunch or before lunch. once a week, on days when i do not eat muffin for breakfast, i
make a wrap with atkin's lc tortilla wraps (small ones have only 3g) and a small salad.
Dinner is some kind of meat again, a chicken breast, small steak, two small pork chops, fish fillet, well you know... usually with broccoli, or spinach, or eggplant, or zuccini. Sometimes i'd make a veggie casserole, like cauli and broccoli casserole, or baked eggplant with parmesan...
Dessert is usually coffee- some really good flavored coffee with atkins's hazelnut syrup and just a drop of cream- i know i read somewhere to stay away from flavored coffees, but that's one thing i really do not want to give up, although sometimes i use decaf.
I may snack on some cheese or nuts- i buy those little packs of smoked almonds for 50 cents, they're 3g carb a pack, i wash the salt off, never eat more than a pack a day... nuts are still in danger food area for me, and yet i love being able to enjoy one of those little packs a day. well, and sometimes i buy a zcarb dark chocolate bar, it's really small and has about 4g of sugar alcohols, the taste is of very good rich dark chocolate- although it's been about a week i havnt had those. Or sometimes for dessert i make a mock danish. So what do you think? I plan to do this for about 2 weeks, see what happens... although i might eat some strawberries on friday- mother in law visiting, she loves strawberries... although i may not eat them, we'll see.

Nika

Hey Nika and welcome to LCE!!!

I am not an expert, but I would say your menu looks fine. If you are feeling good, and are not having any adverse reactions to anything, then stay the course. Might wanna track those *chocolates* - just see if they do anything "weird" to you (sugar alcohols and such...)

How much water are you getting in? And do you do any kind of exercise?

Sounds like a good start to me, but again, I am not an expert!

hugs to you
Kelly

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Kelly
Highest recorded weight: 103.2kg/227.04lbs (03/15/08)
Current: 97kg/213.4lb-13.64
Goal:150
"Resensitizing myself to the urgency and severity of my weight problem is important in keeping myself motivated. I have to remind myself that my body will not tolerate this abuse forever." Jeannette Fulda, aka PastaQueen

I drink water like crazy- in fact i CRAVE water- this last week that's the only thing i could do to wash away the bad breath i was experiencing constantly. I'd say i am pretty moderately active- i always take daily walks, but now i started jogging for the first time in my life, and i am loving it. i have never been a big fan of "delibarate" exercising- i've always been active but it came naturally to me- most of my life i lived in a big city, always walked everywhere, here in US i do not drive, where i live is a small town, but a student town, so again, i can walk, and i pretty much walk everywhere, even to grocery stores, to work, during my lunch break i walk a couple of blocks, home or Quisno's... but almost every morning my 40 minute walk-jog is almost a must. A couple of times a week i do yoga/pilates- to keep my muscles toned... that's about it. I wish i did yoga more... sigh. do not think i really want to do any weights, i kind of have a lot of muscle on my body as it is, for my size, result of swimming long hours in the past.

As for chocolates, i try to be careful, but still, i do want to get to the point when i can be safely eating them occasionally. Funny, i am taking almost AUTHENTIC approach to this "chocolate" experience, read somewhere some time ago about a lady who would eat chocolate every day, in very small amounts, to experience the "bliss". You guys are going to think i'm some kind of weirdo.

Thanks for responding.
Nika

Nika,
I am not an "expert" but I have been doing this for a while, lol.
Your menu looks ok. If you are following Atkins and are still on induction, you probably want to hold off on the nuts and berries, just for now. You probably have already read to BE CAREFUL OF SUGAR ALCOHALS, so I don't need to go on and on about that, lol. If I remember correctly, ZCarb was pretty good, and didn't have many sa's, but the point of induction is to "detox" your system, so maybe really limit them. Once off of Induction, you might try just some regular dark chocolate, it is very low carb, and it doesn't take much to satisfy.
Great job on the water and the walking, sounds like you are doing very well! Are you weighing or measuring to track your loss? (I did for the first months, and highly recommend it for the beginning of your weight loss journey, tho I no longer weigh, just go by clothing fit, etc)

Sounds like you have researched this and are making some informed choices, so welcome, and see ya around!

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Cynthia

Nika,
I just read your posts on the other thread, so never mind about the induction and the scale, lol! I didn't realize you had already done induction and that you don't have a lot (any?) to lose.
I am so glad that the lc eating is helping with the h/g symptoms, that is a main motivator for me as well, as all of my female relatives on my moms side are diabetic, and I was beginning to have some h/g symptoms myself! I really noticed a decrease in the symptoms right away, and when I make "poor food choices" I notice that the symptoms are right there again!
See ya on the boards!

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Cynthia

Nika - Few if any of us here are experts. The trick to mastering this woe is to become the expert on what works for yourself. At a glance I think your menu items are good. You need to tweak the foods and amounts as you go along and find out what you can and can't handle. It should be a slow process. There should never be a rush to lose weight rather you need to let things happen naturally as you add in and remove things from your menus. I don't think any of us are past the stage of making mistakes but as we go along I hope we make less of them. In a month or two if you stick with Low carb and this website you'll be surprised at the confidence you'll have in how you need to eat. For yourself. We can only share our experiences of what works for us but might just work for you. Good Luck -I think you're on the right track.

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Your menu looks good. I would do like the rest and suggest limiting the chocolate candies. Sometimes those will send people into sugar cravings. As for others, the sugar alcohol reacts in the body the same way as regular sugar does.

If I remember correctly, I read one of your other post and that you were 5'3 and 112 lbs. To me, that seems small enough. (I am 5 ft 1/2 inch tall and currently fluctuate between 119 and 124 and wear from a size 0 to a size 2).
With you being as tiny as you already are, I would make the suggestion of doing Atkins for Life instead of just Atkins. On Atkins for Life, you start out at 60 g of carbs per week and then adjust it accordingly. (this was also more for people that just wanted to start living healthier and didn't have weight to lose or had less than 20 lbs to lose) In my opinion, I think this might work better for the very reason that you'll be able to find a carb intake at which you can maintain your current weight. And if you're worried about fat around your belly, then add strength training to your weekly exercise routine. I still have stubborn fat and know that no extra amount of weight loss will get rid of it. But keeping with a low carb lifestyle and exercising daily will. Plus a low carb way of life will also make you feel better and will definitely make your skin glow.

I'm nowhere an expert as I just started low carbing myself. But I'll toss in my two cents worth anyway.

It looks like you've got a very good menu planned. You're eating plenty of protein and veggies. Good! Like you, I enjoy my nuts and see no harm in having a few if you are careful to limit them.

If you don't find the chocolate triggering additional sugar cravings or blood sugar peaks and drops, then it shouldn't be a problem either.

It sounds like you've found a good way to add in some grains--something I'm not quite ready for yet. Maybe the only other thing I'd suggest is a low glycemic fruit now and then and a good multivitamin.

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Melissa

I can't add to what anyone has said already. Menu sounds good. I believe the ZCarb bars are sweetened with Erythritol and Splenda if I remember correctly. They are definitely the least evil of the bars. I find that when I am REALLY jonesing for chocolate, I will eat only a half a chocolate bar and savor every morsel and put the rest away for another time (in the frig). I only do this maybe once a month (cyclical thing). Try adding some splenda sweetened strawberries on top of your mock danish. It's like strawberry shortcake. I will get on a strawberry kick once in awhile and do that. I also add a shot of half and half to it. It's so yummy. I use frozen strawberries when they are out of season. I will nuke about 3-5 berries, mush them up, add a packet of splenda and put that on top, YUMMERS!!!!!!!

As for stubborn belly fat, that is a bugger. I STILL have stubborn belly fat that just won't go away. I know I have to do ab crunches, but just haven't disciplined myself to do so. It should eventually melt away, or at least I hope so, since I absolutely refuse to do anything with hydrogenated fats in it.

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Thank you. I find this very encouraging to know that i am doing something right- well i guess what really counts is how i feel and how i progress along my journey. I will be definitely readying and posting here, the support and information that i've found here are great!. i also like reading other ppl's posts, looking into someone else's problems or success. Makes you feel that you're not alone, right?

Quote:
[ I would make the suggestion of doing Atkins for Life instead of just Atkins. On Atkins for Life, you start out at 60 g of carbs per week and then adjust it accordingly. (this was also more for people that just wanted to start living healthier and didn't have weight to lose or had less than 20 lbs to lose) ]


60 sounds scary - still too much freedom, you know? I believe that I will get there eventually, i kind of want to do the hard way- hard earned success is better appreciated, don't you think?

Thanks again
Nika

[ I would make the suggestion of doing Atkins for Life instead of just Atkins. On Atkins for Life, you start out at 60 g of carbs per week and then adjust it accordingly. (this was also more for people that just wanted to start living healthier and didn't have weight to lose or had less than 20 lbs to lose) ]


60 sounds scary - still too much freedom, you know? I believe that I will get there eventually, i kind of want to do the hard way- hard earned success is better appreciated, don't you think?

When I had 40 lbs left to lose, I started back with Atkins for Life and was still able to lose at a slow but steady pace...

I only suggests this because that way, you will not be losing weght - you will be maintaining your weight. Personally, I think at 5'3 and 112 lbs, you are small enough, and you don't need to lose any more weight. ( I know two people who stand 5'4 - one weighs 98 lbs and the other one weighs 113 lbs - and they just literally look sick.) This is the only reason I would suggest a higher carb level as such. I do not consider 60 g of carbs 'too much freedom' - especially when the average American consumes 300 g of carbs per day. It would just open up some more variety when it comes to eating the low carb way.

Hard-earned success might be better appreciated but not if it is going to put you in an unhealthy weight range.

nika- indeed it sounds like you are doing exactly what many of us are doing and what rob mentioned: learning what works for you. keeping things in perspective and that's great! if you're feeling good, that's one of the best indicators you're doing well in my opinion, and i'm glad to hear that's where you're at right now.

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I can certainly understand your wanting to get control. That is a huge part of what this WOE is about. And more power to you for gaining the control..........in a positive way. ED's are about control, but in a negative way. And induction is about that, getting control. Just remember though, you don't want your body to be in starvation mode, or it won't let go of one ounce of fat.

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I do keep that in mind. My eating habits have never been so regular before. Although I am more comfortable eating small meals but more frequently- i know the book says that's ok- and at this point I feel very comfortable about eating smaller meals, but here's what concerns me- I am really hungry in the mornings. I wake up really early, at 6, and have my walk-run after which i have breakfast of 2 eggs and cream cheese, or omelette or whatever, around 8, right before going to work- however, around 10 or 10:30 I feel very uncomfortably hungry, so i have to snack on something- then eat lunch no later than 1:30- later on during the day i don't even need to snack until the dinner time, aroung 6:30 or so... What amazes me is how can i possibly be hungry two hours after eating a complete breakfast? (i still snack though)- is it because i wake up early, because i exercise in the morning... how is it for you guys?