Ok. After though, contemplation and a good hearty look at my diet I have decided that while I am on spring break, I will start low carbing it. I am gonna need lots of 'hand holding' because of the deprogramming of low fat is what is gonna kill my mind set. My husband is not a fan of this and thinks that I will fail because I have failed in the past. I have lost 35 pounds doing low fat and am struggling to lose more.

A question I have is finances. I read the atkins book, went to the website and viewed the success tales and what they required during their loss. Omega oils and all sorts of supplements....So I am thinking, gosh this is expensive. So is this an expensive woe compared to a low fat? I have four children and so budgets are small....

There is one thing I won;t give up immediately is diet soda. I drink one soda a day and have a cup of coffee a day. Soda often helps my sweet tooth when I am craving the garbage. I have been snacking on fruit..and know that i cannot do this....so what good snacks other than jello can i have?

Violet, welcome. There is no need to buy anything special in order to eat low carb. Healthy whole real foods are the mainstay of this way of eating. Taking suplements is a choice not a mandate. Although a good multi vitamin never hurt anybody.

I don't see any reason that you have to give up your single daily cup of coffee and one diet soda. However make sure you are drinking at least half your weight in ounces of water. The coffee and soda do not count towards your water intake.

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Libby

2004 174/142/138

Begin Again 2007

164/159/142

If you, like me, eat out very often, it "can" get quite expensive. That's because fast food salads are $5 a pop. You can't just order a 99-cent burger and a small fry like many of us did in our pre-lowcarb days.

Before low-carbing, we used mostly ground beef and a bunch of carbs...Hamburger Helper was my son's favorite (ick!), spaghetti, tacos, beef and potato casserole, etc. Plain ol' ground beef patties and taco salad can get old. So, we eat more roasts, an occasional steak and a lot more chicken breasts. That can get a little more expensive but the trade-off is worth it.

I check the ads and buy bulk of whatever is on sale and freeze it. One week it might be bacon. The next it might be cubed steak, pork roast or New York steaks--which is what I thawed out for tonight.

Thankfully, the veggies we like aren't too expensive. Although I'm lazy. I'd rather buy a bag of already cut romaine so I can just toss it into a bowl instead of cleaning, drying and tearing a head of romaine lettuce. I figure my time is worth the extra dime or two.

I do take vitamins...a multi and a few others...but if you just take a multivitamin and extra calcium you should be OK.

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Melissa

as you go on, you may start taking different supps for different things, personally, i think it's kind of like a process of fine-tuning your body as you progress. but to start, have at least a multivitamin (which you probably should be taking anyway) and if it has potassium and zinc, that's also esp. helpful, since when you are on induction, sometimes folks report leg cramps without this.

if you don't have the book, PLEASE get it asap. it makes a HUGE difference in the level of success you have.

in general, as long as you stay away from the processed foods labeled "low carb" (and you do better if you do anyway) and you're willing to cook a bit, it's not bad. i find having a big freezer helps me to buy meat on sale, etc. for a large part you can make adjustments to your current diet and you'll find it's not as hard as you might think with a little practice.

and don't worry about your husband, either. you do this a little while, he'll become a believer, i would bet money on it. my family thought this was a "phase" for me, too. until i lost a lot of weight. and now, the rest of them have, too! hubby lost 50 pounds, daughter 1 lost 70, daughter 2 lost 30. they WILL believe.

good luck!

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EatSmart Nutritional Scale Review

I'm taking a multi-vitamin and a calcium/magnesium/zinc supplement. I also take glucosamine for joint pain, and I often add some KAL yeast flakes (vitamin B complex in food form) to a dish. Except for the KAL, it's just stuff you can get a Costco.

I make more of my own food now, instead of buying prepackaged stuff or eating out. If I spend a little more on some specialty items for LC baking, I figure it balances out with the money saved by doing so much more of my own cooking.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

The snack I enjoyed most while on Induction was the "Mock Danish" and the recipe is on this site. Whipped cream is my all-time favorite pig out food, so I would add some Splenda and unsweetened chocolate powder to that and eat it as a sorta-kinda mousse. I also had the "Three Minute Chocolate Cake." The recipe is also on this site.

As for the diet soda . . . at least switch to Diet Rite, which is sweetened with Splenda instead of aspartame.

I didn't give up my high-octane coffee either . . . .

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Alida
5'1" ~ 59 years old
Highest weight: 165
Atkins 7/10/2004
160/126/125
RE-DO, January 2008:
167/162/135

You've come to a wonderful Forum--and a healthy way of eating. I started in 2003, fell off for a while in the latter part of 2004, and came back in January. I'm finding that this time around, I feel much more comfortable with every aspect of LC--so give yourself plenty of time.

In the beginning, I snacked on pork rinds with cream cheese. For an ex-low-fatter (that's me) this seemed almost obscene. But if you're a snacker, this works. You can use celery if you can't get your brain around the idea of pork rinds. But really...work hard to let go of that "low fat" mindset, because you need the energy that carbs used to provide.

As you progress in the program, you'll begin to adjust the nutrients to an appropriate mix for you.

Costco is my favorite money-saving destination for mixed greens, frozen berries, and other LC favorites. Hope you have one--or a Sam's--to help out with groceries. The main key is PLANNING.

I use Fitday.com to track my nutrients and activities every day. Most people find that keeping a journal of some kind is a vital part of maintaining control of the program and seeing the rewards of your effort.

Come back often! Best wishes.

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


My Fitday Journal

I agree................back when I was raising 5 kids (we weren't LCing then) I planned my meals, bought in bulk, froze sale items, cooked in bulk and made every penny stretch.

I recently did a piece for our Chicago CBS news affiliate on Low Carbing on a Budget.
I buy meat on sale and stock up
I shred my own cheese
I buy allowed fruits on sale
I plan my meals
I shop in bulk whenever possible
Buy frozen veggies when they are on sale and stock up on those too.

You might have to sit with the grocery sale paper and make a list. I NEVER go shopping without a list and I stick to it.

When you plan your meals for 2 weeks at a time, it keeps you out of the store so you don't impulse shop.

Make HUGE pots of soups with lots of veggies and cheap cuts of meats. Freeze it in tupperware and you have meals ready at the drop of a hat.

You can make huge pots of beanless (OR you can use black soy beans) chili and add lots of peppers, mushrooms and cheese to stretch it.

You can also allow your children to have SOME healthy carby stuff like whole wheat bread. Get them used to it NOW.

You don't have to buy specialty foods to be successful at LC!!!!!

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