Hello all! This looks like a wonderful group you have here and I am excited to be a part of it! My husband and I started Atkins 3 weeks ago. He is doing great and I have lost 11 pounds already! I agree with the feeling like I was "hit by a truck" comment another poster said in the first few days. But as most seem to report, I felt great after that!

My husband is quite good in the kitchen, so eating at home has been a pleasure. My problem is when I am at school. I am a full time student, and I am taking a class from 10 - 2 this summer. During my 15 minute break I am trying to put something in my stomach. I was eating an "Atkins Bar", a string cheese and a diet soda. But reading the posts, its seems that most people are in agreement that the bars can slow my weight loss! Would a shake be better?

Also, my Mom, who is also doing Atkins (just started) found Crystal Light slurpee's at 7 - eleven. They claim to have no sugar, but we have found conflicting information about how many carbs are in them. Does anyone know the facts? Sometimes, a cool icy sugar free slurpee sounds good, but not if it means carbs!!

Ok, enough questions. Thanks!

Heather

Down from 236 to 226! On my way!

Heather, welcome and congrats on the 11 lbs. so far!

I work from 11-2, so I know how hard it can be to get something in your stomach for lunch. The string cheese is great, but I would definitely dump the bars in favor of a shake. That's what I use and it hasn't stalled my weight loss. But then again, if the bars aren't slowing you down, I wouldn't worry about it. If your weight loss stalls, though, it is the first thing I would ditch.

You are so fortunate to have your husband on board with you! And he COOKS!! : )

My mom also just started yesterday. The more the merrier! Makes family gatherings all the more LC friendly!

I haven't heard anything on slurpees, but I'm very interested. That would be a great summer treat.

__________________
Staci

Welcome, Heather.

Yup. Shakes. They're usually not full of suspect ingredients like the bars and snacks are. Don't know about the slurpees, but Crystal Light stuff is usually carb safe. Some of their powdered stuff has aspartame, which is carb free, but disliked or not well tolerated by many.

Hope you'll make yourself at home.

__________________

Welcome Heather. I used shakes and still do and they don't stall me at ALL, in fact, on days that I do shakes, I lose weight. I "enhance" my chocolate shakes by adding 2 TBS of coco powder (unsweetened of course) and I add a pinch of stevia and a packet of splenda. Then I add a scoop of vanilla or chocolate protein powdered shake mix. I blend that up really well with my "stick blender". I funnel that into an empty water bottle and pack it up into an insulated lunch bag with a freezer pack and off I go. It fills me up and satifies my sweet tooth when I'm in a situation where I can't eat a meal. It works for me. String cheese would fit into one of those bags too. I find this insulated lunch bag to be invaluable!!!! I have two bags and two ice packs.........gotta have a spare!!!! You can pack ANYTHING into these bags.....cut up veggies and dip..........salads.............hardboiled eggs................anything. It's so portable and convenient!!!!

__________________

Thank you for your responses and great tips! I looked for the pre-packaged shakes and found them, but they are soooo expensive! O well, maybe I will find them on sale. I emailed crystal light about the slurpee issue, if I get a response I will post the verdict on here! Thanks again everyone!

Heather -

Welcome and congrats on the 11 pounds!

Two of the best snacks are beef jerkey and nuts. Remember, you are just about out of induction so a serving of nuts will be fine as a snack. I like that neither of them need refrigeration and will keep in a plastic baggie for quite a bit of time. I almost always have a small baggie with a couple handfuls of pecans in my purse.

If you get one of those insulated lunch bags you could also easily carry some egg salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, etc. Use a disposable plastic container and a plastic fork and you can throw everything away. No mess to keep in your lunch bag.

__________________
It is always necessary to leave some part
of cooking to improvisation. - Paul Bocuse
Member since 2001

Heather - Congratualations on your 11 pounds! And Welcome

The Crystal Light Slurpees sound great.. Please do let us know if you hear back about the carb content.

__________________
Shimmer
my blog