Low Carbs

[Lola Bunny]

Well, you're not supposed to eat fruits while on Atkins.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Lola Bunny

Well, you're not supposed to eat fruits while on Atkins.

NOT TRUE!

[Lola Bunny]

Originally Posted by Lola Bunny

Well, you're not supposed to eat fruits while on Atkins.

Originally Posted by classicman

NOT TRUE!

Really? I thought we couldn't. Let me double check that because I would love me some fruits.

What I do when I'm craving sweets, or chocolates, while on Atkins is eat those Atkins bar. Yeah, they're a bit expensive. However, I only need a bite or two and I'm satisfied. So, I finish off a bar in several sittings. Helps abate the craving.

Sundae: I eat those seasoned seaweeds in lieu of potato chips too. They're yummy, huh.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by Lola Bunny

Sundae: I eat those seasoned seaweeds in lieu of potato chips too. They're yummy, huh.

Oddly enough, I was browsing food items randomly online.
I know nothing about Vietnamese cuisine except that globally it is known for fish, and there is a little French influence due to colonialism.
So I checked out some recipes and snacks.

I was already aware of seaweed crisps (Japanese/ Taiwanese).
Talked to Mum - we got those.
I had never heard of sesame/ anchovy snacks.
Supposedly Vietnamese according to the internet.
Mum is like me and adores anchovies. Yep - get those too.

So I blame my interest in YOU for those!
Even though you never mentioned them.
See how you can influence people without even touching your keyboard?

I expect you to be making Yorkshire Puddings next week.

[Sundae]

Mum and I are (re)discovering the delights of seaweed together.
I found a cash & carry that ships Oriental and Far Eastern foods within the UK. We're trying a range of seaweed "crisps" which are lower in fat and carbs and calories than potato chips. And in exciting flavours too. Currently Tom Yum (yumyum).

I've only ever eaten it pressed and seasoned before (and she not at all).
It's going down well!

We're trying dried squid next.
Oh - the dried anchovies with sesame went down too well. They were bought on a whim but so moreish that even if they were low calorie (errr, probably not!) they were naughty. Mum says we should get some for her next Girl's Night In.

ETA just checked.
Calories not so bad. Fat. Eek!

[classicman]

Go here and you can see what you can eat based upon the phase you are in. A few fruits come in phase 2, but mostly in phase 4. Click on the "Phase x" in the sub head and then on the left click on the "What You Can Eat in this Phase" It lists everything for each phase.
Good luck gals!

[infinite monkey]

OK, can I look like Courtney Thorne-Smith from that link on that page? She looks fabulous!

[Lola Bunny]

This is what my sister bought. She hasn't made it yet so I don't know how it tastes like or will it take all night to chew them.

[Aliantha]

It's true that I'm still in the first phase and I shouldn't be having fruit, but when I'm having a day where my total consumption of carbs has been zero already, I figure one strawberry chopped up would be ok.

Yesterday was the worst day for me so far. I had a headache all day and I was grumpy and I was going crazy for something sweet. I felt like I was in danger of totally falling off the wagon (to coin a phrase), so I figured one strawberry was maybe like an alcoholic having a lemon lime and bitters. There's still a tiny bit of bad stuff in there, but on the whole, it was safe. I felt much better after.

[Lola Bunny]

Ali: Sorry I didn't mean to make you feel guilty about it. Eating one strawberry to keep you "on the wagon" is totally okay. Heck, I cheat all the time, according to my sister, but I've kept my diet in the past. You do what's needed to keep you on the path. One strawberry is better than gorging your face with a whole loaf of bread. By the way, I tried the tofu shirtaki this afternoon. I will post a picture and tell you about the taste and texture later.

[Aliantha]

It's ok Lola. I wasn't feeling guilty. Just explaining my reasoning.

[infinite monkey]

Plus, I don't think anyone can do any diet perfectly...unless you're insane or totally eating disordered.

Yesterday I was craving chocolate, and I'd just had a nice salad, and was kidding about it and my cow orker gave me a hershey's kiss. It was the tiniest bit of chocolate and it did the trick.

But today I had a Reeses Fast Break after my oh so healthy salad. It's OK, I'll give myself a break on that.

You just jump back on. I think that's why diets fail, we expect ourselves to be so perfect and if we backslide we think "oh what the hell I screwed it all up" which is a defense mechanism, as well as an excuse to go back to the unhealthy diet. For me, anyway.

You all are so early into this. As Bri said, after a while you don't crave the crap you used to.

I'm not doing Atkins but I'm trying to do so much better with what I eat and I know if I stick with it I will feel good in a couple weeks and it will reinforce itself.

[Aliantha]

That's pretty much what I think IM. It's really easy to let your mind go slack and find all sorts of justifications for how it's ok to just give up. I think for me the important thing is to be conscious of these thoughts and control them instead of letting them control me.

Besides, I'm still losing weight, albeit slower now, but I'm still happy with the way things are going so it motivates me to keep going.

Plus, I just have to look at that picture and it re-cements my resolve.

[kerosene]

I am not doing atkins but I am watching my diet again. I use myfitnesspal.com. It's just a website where you can record your food for the day and it calculates your nutrition and calories for you. Pretty much everything I eat I can find in their database so there isn't much manual logging. Just find the item and click on the serving amount. It also tracks your weight and gives you this gratifying graph to show you how much you have lost. I also have an app for it on my android. If anyone wants to be fitnesspal friends, just pm me. (It doesn't show your friends what you weigh, either.)

Last year at this time, I was 15 lbs heavier than I am now, but since I lost some on fitnesspal, I have gained back about 5 lbs of it. Time to get back on the wagon!

[limey]

This ...

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

...I think that's why diets fail, we expect ourselves to be so perfect and if we backslide we think "oh what the hell I screwed it all up" which is a defense mechanism, as well as an excuse to go back to the unhealthy diet. For me, anyway.
...

... and this.

Originally Posted by Aliantha

That's pretty much what I think IM. It's really easy to let your mind go slack and find all sorts of justifications for how it's ok to just give up. I think for me the important thing is to be conscious of these thoughts and control them instead of letting them control me.
...

One chocolate, one slip, isn't failure. How a person reacts to it might be, however.
Keep up the good work, everyone!