Hi everyone,
I have tried on and off to start induction for the past few week however have been ill so havent been able to start 100%, although just by cutting down carbs i found that i have already lost about 2 pounds which is great! Now i don't have much weight to lose- about 10pounds and a lot of flab really...

I live in Australia and as Ive said in other posts its really hard for me to buy goods that are low carb here.. same as the atkins and low carb books so i am a bit unsure of the whole menu process..

I am going to list my normal menu each day and can every just check if this is on track? It is between 20-25 carbs per day..

- handful of nuts such as almonds OR an egg or two for brekkie
- celery sticks with cream cheese as a snack
- lunch would be tuna salad or chicken breast salad
- dinner would be steak, or chicken or chops or some sort of meat with usually a caesar salad without the croutons..
- i also snack on cheese.

now i have used fitday.com and all of this on average comes to about 20-25carbs a day.. what i was wondering was as long as i keep my carbs under 20 for induction can i have a not allowed product such as ice cream that has 8 carbs per serve? or is this not allowed?

I am travelling overseas to asia in march so want to lose this weight ( i have about 25days) before i go!

any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated

thanks so much!

your menu looks do-able
maybe add a small salad with your chx salad for lunch

I would really hold off on any sweets, even sugar free ice cream
until your induction period is over -- though i know some folks will have s/f jello

I know there's a good one that is made with splenda that comes from OZ -- but i cant recall the brand.

keep your water intake up there, at least 2-3 liters a day
it's been said half your weight in water = 140 pounds would be 70 fl ounces.
and take a multi vitamin and for that "flab" -- do you have a fitness program? that will help too.

HTH

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My LC web site
LCE Member since 2000

Many of us long-time low-carbers will say that it's better to approach your low-carb program WITHOUT purchasing manufactured foods--so it doesn't matter that you can't get "low carb" products in Australia. In fact, that's probably a good thing. Snacks and sweets add calories without adding nutrition, just like in every other weight management programme.

Your menu looks pretty good, and you'll be adding more veggies as you go along. That's a much better way to increase your carbs than ice cream. And you get fiber with the veggies. Don't forget to subtract the fiber from the foods you eat to get the net carbs. You'll find that you can eat quite a lot of food (veggies, not junk) when you do that.

Unfortunately, it usually takes a long time to lose "just" ten pounds. I wouldn't count on more than .5 lb/week. Don't forget to drink lots of water, and take a vitamin.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

If you only have 10 pounds to lose, it is going to come off slowly unless you increase your exercise, your water and decrease your calorie intake. One of the best ways to decrease calories, while still filling up is to eat low glycemic vegetables. I find that when I eat a salad with at least lunch and dinner, I get into weight loss mode, no matter how much of it I eat. You get a lot of bang for your buck with veggies and salad. Adding exercise on top of it just increases your body's demand for calories. And if you increase that demand, but feed yourself with real, whole foods, it's a sure bet. I have also added green tea drinking, which broke an 8 month long stall for me. So you might want to consider adding green tea, about 3 cups per day.........withOUT any dairy, sweetening with artificial sweeteners if desired. You can also add other tea flavors to your cup, if available, brewing along with your green. I will add vanilla, or spices, such as cinnamon, allspice, cloves, etc to mine to make a Chai flavored type tea. I also use prepared Chai teas too.

The less you have to lose, the more difficult it is to get it off. If you exercise, doing weight resistance training, you may even GAIN weight..........due to muscle growth. BUT, muscles take up less space, so you lose inches. Aerobics is a GREAT way to burn fat. So a combination of both really does the trick.

And don't forget to drink WATER!!!!!! It's really necessary to flush out burned fats.

And above all else, staying away from the prepared LC prepackaged products will help too. Just eat clean and healthy!!!!!

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