Hi everyone!

I am starting Atkins (or as close to it as I'll get - the plan I have is almost identical except it is more generous with the veggies - no counting of low starch veggies).

What tipped me over the edge was Jimmy Moore's review of the new Atkins book coming out in March. I am no longer afraid of saturated fats. I do believe when you lower your carbs as greatly as I will be doing, you can have fats without detriment.

Jimmy, I am hearing rumors that the strict measuring of low starch veggies will be done away with on the new Atkins, and that low starch veggies will be "free." Is this accurate? If so, the diet will be identical to the one I'll be using (Dr. Charles Clark's New High Protein Diet - the United Kingdom version of Atkins).

Well, sorry I got long winded for my first post and glad to be here.

Welcome - newway! YOu'll find loads of helpful information on this site...and plenty of lc veterans to help you on your journey! Get ready for the most satisfying way of eating you've ever done...you'll find you feel so much better when you eat real, healthy food!

SavedOne, thank you so much for the welcome. I am very happy to be here.

Welcome to the forum, newway. I don't see a lot of point in limiting low carb, non-starchy vegetables so I can see why they might do that. It takes copious amounts of them to add up to more than about 20-30 carbs per day anyway. When Dr. Atkins limited salad greens to 2 cups per day that only amounted to about 1-2 net carbs. Hardly enough to worry about or going to the trouble to measure. You'd also have to eat a huge pile of broccoli or cabbage to add up to even 10 net carbs. I think it would be hard to choke down enough to cause trouble for most people.

Thank you LindaSue. I am looking forward to the new Atkins book in March. After reading Jimmy Moore's review of it, well that finally got me over my fear of lowcarbing and eating butter.

I looked at your website and I can't believe the recipes I saw. You are such a blessing to post them for free for others. What a service you are doing. Your recipes look a whole lot better than some recipes I've seen in low carb cookbooks that I spent too much money for. I love your style of cooking - good basic recipes, very low in carbs.

Thank you so much.

Welcome and good luck. The only reason to limit non-starchy veggies at first is so you will go into ketosis, which is what is supposed to happen in Atkins' first phase. You need to keep yourself below 20 carbs per day and by eating unlimited veggies, you would have a difficult time staying under 20.

Great to have you here, and I hope to hear about your numbers dropping.

Thanks Eco. Glad to be here.

Hi NewWay and welcome to the LLVLC forum! We're glad you're here. I was eating mostly meat, eggs and a few veggies but this year I have gone from eating so much red meat to more fish, shrimp and many more veggies. I just needed more variety and color in my daily fare. Wishing you much success on your low carb journey!

Thank you Moonius. This is a great forum!

You will love the forums, AND you will love the results you will see!!!

Welcome Newway. I guess you've been low carb for most of one day now. Hope you're doing okay. If you are starting to feel rocky, hang in there. It passes.

Hugs,
Shy

Thank you everyone. So far, I'm doing ok! Since I'm not giving up my coffee, I'm not having much withdrawals. I am lucky in that I always immediately feel better when cutting the carbs. I guess my metabolism is telling me something!

So far so good!

Newway, it's so good to see you here at my forum and CONGRATULATIONS on making the decision to start livin' la vida low-carb. I'm proud of you and wish you well on your low-carb journey. For helpful hints at getting started, check this out: http://www.controlcarb.com/ccn-lifestyle.htm

Thank you so much Jimmy.

So how's it going for you, newway? I've just begun too and have a looooooong way to go, but I already feel so much better it's almost unbelievable. Good luck :-)

Belle, I can't believe my hunger is so diminished. My husband, who is very insulin resistant and is doing this with me, is in total awe that he's not hungry all day and doesn't suffer from low blood sugar episodes.

He is following the TNT Plan, so I decided to to do that with him and chuck my original plan. It's just so much easier to be on the same eating plan. It's nice not to weigh and measure foods - there are just foods you can and can't eat. I might tweak it a bit as time goes on. I'm really enjoying this way of eating.

How are you doing? Have you found your hunger diminishing?

My hunger has virtually vanished. I guess this is what normal people feel like, a little hungry after 5-6 hours of not eating. A little.

Part of the reason I started this was because I've been plagued by a ravenous, starving sensation no matter how much I would eat. It's been really bad the last couple of months, but the first time I experienced it was about 3-4 years ago. It's really miserable, so this is a flat out miracle in my book.

The other thing I've noticed is that the constant pain in my legs, knees, and back have been greatly reduced. After 2.5 days! Crazy, isn't it? But it's not, because I remember feeling energetic, full of life, and pain free eating low carb when I did it for a couple of years. It was amazing. Why do I just toss that away for a freaking candy bar? One of the mysteries of life.

I'm glad you're doing well. Let's keep it up :-)

Belle, this is fantastic! I too have arthritic-like symptoms and hope that they will vanish or at least be greatly diminished following low carb. I've heard from too many people that once you cut your grain/sugar consumption, your arthritic symptoms are greatly reduced.

I know what you mean about finally eating like a normal person. Like my husband, I could eat all day non- stop if given the chance. Not anymore. It is such a relief.

I'm glad you're doing well! Have a great evening.

Welcome Newway!

I know you've found a lifestyle you can love and one you can do for the rest of your life! Coming to the realization that you CAN eat (saturated) fats and be healthy is huge in this culture. It's not easy to constantly buck the traditional "wisdom," but it's worth it.

Thank you Ross. I still can't get over how much less I'm eating. I hope it lasts and isn't just a fluke!