Ladies. Gents. Hi There!

acogshot

Member
Hello guys, my name is Adam and i'm new to dieting. I live in England and I'm 25 years old, and since leaving school I have gained quite alot of weight. My main aim is to get to a weight where I feel comfortable again as I have taken a serious hit in the self-confidence department in the last few years.

After careful and thorough research I have decided to use the Atkins system to lose some initial weight, and just 48 hours in I am beginning to see that my options are severely limited as to what I can eat. As this is the first time I have chosen to use any diet of any kind, I am very worried that I will end up eating tuna salad for the next year. I guess I am here for a little support and some ideas on how to spice up my meals so I don't feel as though this is a chore, but more of a choice.

I am a very approachable guy and will offer any information and insights that I gather over the coming months, so feel free to message me and such if you need some friendly help as I'm sure I will need plenty myself!
 
So as a follow up post I guess I should fill you in with what I have been eating.


  • Plenty of salad, including mixed leafy lettuce, mixed peppers, onions, tomatoes, cucumber. Very low carb.
  • Chicken, George Foreman grilled. 0 carbs.
  • Bacon, George Foreman grilled. 0 carbs.
  • Tinned tuna, in brine. 0 carbs.
  • Tinned shrimp, in brine. 0 carbs.
As you can see, I am trying to keep my carb intake very low to begin with, with the hope that I can 'unlock' a greater variety in time, but I am still unsure whether this is the way to do it.

As for drinks, I used to be hooked on Coca Cola and Pepsi, this is probably the hardest thing I will have to give up and I have switched to diet as it contains very few carbs. I know water is better but I do love my Coke.

Any suggestions would be very welcome.
 
Hello there :)

Um.....where's the fat????

He he...mayo...cheese...etc?

Have you had a look at the 'stickies' at the top of the main page? Or the 'what are you eating today' one?
 
Hi Adam and welcome

As Lou says, try reading through the stickies at the top, especially Jim's "So you're thinking of doing Atkins" - but do get the book (cheap as chips on Amazon) and read from cover to cover, then start again :)

Lou is also right in pointing out that you need fat to really kick yourself into ketosis and keep losing weight. I know it goes against the grain to buy full fat and to fry stuff - but it really does work - especially for men, for some annoying reason :)

There are quite a few blokes on here, who are the best evidence there is, and in particular Jim, who has lost a huge amount of weight and kept it off. He is always delighted to get more men on here (less talk about periods and so on :)) but has just gone on holiday.

For menus and recipes, check out "What are we eating today?", the sticky, "Just Recipes" and the sticky "Low Carb Shopping". All of these will really help you with variety. There really is so much you can eat, why not try -

B - fried bacon and eggs - as much as you like
L - fried chicken pieces with iceberg lettuce and cucumber and a mayo dressing
D - steak and blue cheese with shredded cabbage fried with bacon
Water - as much as you can, just keep sipping away - and try to avoid fizzy drinks, the citric acid stalls loads of people

Hope that helps :)

Susie
 
Welcome adam - as everyone has said this seems to really suit men so hopefully it will for you too (my hubby cant stop losing - he has been forced to add biscuits and donuts back in lol)

I suggest you aim for the 20 carbs a day recommended in induction plus the fat as susie says. It really does seem to get your body going and it's important that it doesn't go into starvation mode. I have never eaten so well and such interesting food so there is no need to have a boring diet at all - but...i do suggest planning ahead to make it easy and interesting

Good luck and you will soon see the weight drop off:D
 
Hi Adam and welcome. Sorry can't see your stats cos I'm on my phone so don't know how much you want to lose.
I'd suggest dropping the tomatoes as they're pretty carby and switch to spring onions. I don't think going lower than 20 carbs a day helps shift it any quicker. James if you're reading didn't you experiment with that a while ago?
Def read the stickies and the what are we eating thread for ideas. I always forget to post my menus lol but some of us use my fitness pal to keep track.
 
Hi and welcome.
Well, you certainly don't need to get bored doing Atkins. As the others have said read the stickies! They have a wealth of information in them. Also have a good read through the diaries.
We are all here to help and support each other so post often and get to know us. :)
 
have a look at 'what are you eating today' that gives me loads of ideas :)
 
Welcome aboard! You really need to stick to your 20g carbs! Its very important you don't starve yourself!
As well as the stickies I find lots of inspiration here: Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Recipes

Good luck to you xxx
 
Awesome guys, thanks alot, thats more info than I expected! It seems this forum is crammed with helpful people and I will definitely be sticking around here. I will make sure I have a good look around the forum as you guys suggested.

Honestly, I can't thank you guys enough for the feedback!
 
Ah, someone mentioned my target weight. I don't have a target weight right now, I just want to lose until I feel comfortable.

Also, Jim's post. Awesome. The guy knows his stuff.
 
Welcome :)

Definitely get some more fats - I'd imagine the George Foreman grill is probably taking all the good stuff (for this diet anyway) out of the chicken.

But one thing you could do, looking at the list of stuff you've been eating, is combine most of it together!

Chicken and bacon mayonnaise (i'll post up a recipe soon) is really nice combined with salad, and really easy to make a batch. If you're feeling lazy just get a fresh hot chicken from the supermarket like I did yesterday. lol
 
mmm yes hot chicken from the supermarket is fab and you can eat the lot LOL :D
omelettes with cheese are great quick option too. Burgers, fry ups, curries, kebabs...list is endless. do not think you will have to stick to boring tuna salad thats not the point of this diet.
Oh and i have mentioned pork scratchings x
 
More of my favourite meals -

- chilli mince (fatty mince fried, then sprinkle over chilli flakes and a squirt of mayo, with steamed cabbage)
- lamb curry (fry lamb pieces, sprinkle over some curry powder, mix well, add mayo - a recurring ingredient in my cooking! :)) Eat with a big handful of crunchy lettuce
- for a quick meal Mattesons sausages are zero carbs and take 3 mins in the microwave
- I sometimes cook up bacon and eggs and keep them in the fridge for a snack
 
Cheeseburger pie is my absolute fave - see recipes sticky:)
 
Thanks for the mayo tip. I would have never guessed that the full fat mayo would be better on this diet than the supposed low fat dieting mayo. Crazy!

In other news, I couldn't find the Atkins book in Tesco, Asda or Sainsburys. I guess I will have to try WHSmith.

Oh, and I just got the MiniMins app on my phone!
 
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