NEWBIE-Any starting out pointers?

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

Hi Eddie, welcome to the group!

Quoted message said:

After watching George Stella on FOODTV - Low Carb and Lovin' It, my wife and
I have been inspired to reduce our weight (and our children's weight) via
low-carbing.

Good choice, ESPECIALLY if you are diabetic! MANY people on this group eat low-
carb to control their blood sugar and NOT necessarily to lose weight.

Quoted message said:

Any tips on

Your best bet would be to get a copy of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (or South
Beach or whatever low-carb plan you choose) and read it before starting on low-
carb. This is because you need to do it right and understand WHY and how it
works. If you do it incorrectly and DON'T lose, you might be more likely to give
it up for the wrong reasons. In the meantime, check out http://www.atkins.com/.

That said, you CAN find lots of great ideas, inspiration and support here. I
post low-carb tips every Sunday, so you can wait until then or google this group
for "tips" to see them.

Quoted message said:

how many carbs to eat each day?

If Atkins, the first two weeks are limited to 20 carbs per day of foods from a
specific list (still LOTS of variety).

Quoted message said:

Any tips on what foods to avoid?

High carb. Wheat and other grain products, milk (cream is ok), fruit, anything
with sugar. Starchy vegetables such as peas, potatoes, corn.

Quoted message said:

Any tips on what foods are good for us?

Meat, fish, poultry, vegetables (other than those starchy ones) such as broccoli,
zucchini, cabbage, salad greens, butter, cream, cheese.

It's best to stick to the basics, at least until you have a good handle on the
low-carb Way of Eating (WOE). Stay away from low-carb bars and shakes until you
are firmly established, and then, if you want, try them individually to see what
effect they might have on your weight, cravings and blood sugar.

--
Saffire
205/150/125 - 5'1.5"
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333

Try eating less of everything, not just carbs.

--
Most people are dumb as bricks; some people are dumber than that. -- MFW

"Eddie Type 2" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

After watching George Stella on FOODTV - Low Carb and Lovin' It, my wife

and

Quoted message said:

I have been inspired to reduce our weight (and our children's weight) via
low-carbing.

Any tips on how many carbs to eat each day?

Any tips on what foods to avoid?

Any tips on what foods are good for us?

Any help or comments would be sincerely appreciated.

I have been dx'd with Type 2 diabetes and I have found that controlling my
carb intake improves my BG readings! I currently weight 338 lbs and am

only

Quoted message said:

5'-5" tall. I quit smoking 18 months ago and I started doing 15 minutes

of

Quoted message said:

stretches each day but I still have a hard time walking for more than 5
minutes due to back pain from my obesity. For the last week or so, I 've
been trying to go into the pool and tread water for about 30 minutes, but

I

Quoted message said:

can only do this if the weather is cooperating.

Any help to put me on the weight-loss track would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Eddie
Type 2
July04-338lbs/Aug04-?????

1. For diabetes related thoughts, go to alt.support.diabetes.

2. A good answer to your diet questions is in Dr. Atkins book The New
Diet Revolution. It is wise to read it and diet based on it.

i

In article said:

Hi All,

After watching George Stella on FOODTV - Low Carb and Lovin' It, my wife and
I have been inspired to reduce our weight (and our children's weight) via
low-carbing.

Any tips on how many carbs to eat each day?

Any tips on what foods to avoid?

Any tips on what foods are good for us?

Any help or comments would be sincerely appreciated.

I have been dx'd with Type 2 diabetes and I have found that controlling my
carb intake improves my BG readings! I currently weight 338 lbs and am only
5'-5" tall. I quit smoking 18 months ago and I started doing 15 minutes of
stretches each day but I still have a hard time walking for more than 5
minutes due to back pain from my obesity. For the last week or so, I 've
been trying to go into the pool and tread water for about 30 minutes, but I
can only do this if the weather is cooperating.

Any help to put me on the weight-loss track would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Eddie
Type 2
July04-338lbs/Aug04-?????

Ignoramus6756 said:

A good answer to your diet questions is in Dr. Atkins book The New
Diet Revolution. It is wise to read it and diet based on it.

I second that!

Carol
--
227/211.5/150 (Thursdays)
Fasting BG: 106
Bernstein Diabetes Solution 5/25/2004
Diabetes Dx 5/15/2001
http://photos.yahoo.com/carol_arie

Eddie,

Ignoramus hit the nail on the head with the advice to read The New Diet
Revolution book.

I just wanted to welcome you to the group and wish you and your family good
luck.

--
Linda
296/210/160
LC since Oct. 13, 2003
http://home.att.net/~lewis_linda/index.html

"Eddie Type 2" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

After watching George Stella on FOODTV - Low Carb and Lovin' It, my wife

and

Quoted message said:

I have been inspired to reduce our weight (and our children's weight) via
low-carbing.

Any tips on how many carbs to eat each day?

Any tips on what foods to avoid?

Any tips on what foods are good for us?

Any help or comments would be sincerely appreciated.

I have been dx'd with Type 2 diabetes and I have found that controlling my
carb intake improves my BG readings! I currently weight 338 lbs and am

only

Quoted message said:

5'-5" tall. I quit smoking 18 months ago and I started doing 15 minutes

of

Quoted message said:

stretches each day but I still have a hard time walking for more than 5
minutes due to back pain from my obesity. For the last week or so, I 've
been trying to go into the pool and tread water for about 30 minutes, but

I

Quoted message said:

can only do this if the weather is cooperating.

Any help to put me on the weight-loss track would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Eddie
Type 2
July04-338lbs/Aug04-?????

Eddie,

If you really want success with your low carb, you should really choose a
specific plan, and follow it. People are less successful when they
generically try to do "low carb" from what they've heard/think without using
a whole plan that covers everything. After you're making good progress on a
specific plan... down the road you can personalize it and maybe tailor it,
but don't start off doing your own thing (several people at my work claim
they are on "low carb" but have been very unsuccessful, and none of them are
following a plan).

Quoted message said:

Any tips on how many carbs to eat each day?

Eat what your plan tells you to eat. 🙂
If you choose Atkins, that means 20 carbs a day for the first two weeks.
After the first two weeks (induction), you INCREASE your carb intake by
5carbs each week...

Quoted message said:

Any tips on what foods to avoid?

SUGAR and corn syrup. Treat them as absolute poison. Read the ingrediants
list of every product you plan to eat, and if sugar or corn syrup is in the
ingrediants, then you are to eat NONE of it.
Also, hydrogenated oil is bad bad bad.(I've also read theories that sounded
scary and true about how hydrogenated oil is what causes Type 2, and they
showed when manufacturers started putting hydrogenated oil into foods, and
compared that with people being diagnosed with Type 2... very scary)

Quoted message said:

Any tips on what foods are good for us?

vegetables, meat, cheese, nuts... as you increase your carb levels, you will
be able to add more vegetables and more fruits. The good part is, since you
start at a low level of carbs with so many foods excluded, as you slowly add
them in you will be able to tell which foods irritate your body, and will
become much more aware of what works for specifically for you.

Quoted message said:

Any help or comments would be sincerely appreciated.

This group is a great place to get support and share progress.

--
Spring
LC since 1/1/04
260/208/170
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sprgsnow/album?.tok=phX4sVBBuvxvs4Hs&.dir=/55b8&.src=ph
Size: 24W / 14 / 10

Well, what seems to be the case for me....

Eddie Type 2 said:

Hi All,

<snip>

Any tips on how many carbs to eat each day?

As Atkins says, 20 or less for the first two weeks. After that you have
to find what works for you. I've been trying to stay under 35.

Quoted message said:

Any tips on what foods to avoid?

Be careful with some of the chocolate substitutes with the sugar
alcohols, they can have side effects. I try to have no more than 25
grams of those a day. Also be careful about labels. There is no standard
for "low carb" and some products are loaded with carbs but still say
they are low, a 10% reduction in a 30 carb bagel isn't much help. Sugars
and starches are to be avoided. Remember these are also used as
thickeners in some prepared foods. While the diet says not to count
calories, it is still common sense to be mindful of them. We got a
biscuit mix that had only 1 gram of carb in a biscuit but 255 calories,
not a good choice.

Quoted message said:

Any tips on what foods are good for us?

The biggest help for me was keeping some sliced turkey around to snack
on if I got hungry. Fish is the safest bet when eating out I think,
grilled or poached. The low carb diet can get pretty boring if you don't
look for things with spice. I use tobassco (sp?) with eggs more than
ever, mustard is good. No sugar added sweet pickles also make a nice
variety. I also find I like a low carb tortilla instead of the low carb
bread sometimes. Also try to expand your green vegetable repertoire.
Much to my surprise I've found I like swiss chard quite a lot. We also
have a lot of broccoli.

Quoted message said:

Any help or comments would be sincerely appreciated.

Drink lots of water, I know we hear this all the time but it is really,
really true when following Atkins that you need to drink more than
thirst alone would cause you to do.

Quoted message said:

I have been dx'd with Type 2 diabetes and I have found that controlling my
carb intake improves my BG readings!

At 239 pounds I was taking 2 grams of Glucophage a day. Now at 213
pounds I'm not taking it at all (although I expect I may have to resume
it as I introduce more fruit back into my diet, monitoring my BG
closely). There is hope!!

Quoted message said:

Hi all,

Thank you for your suggestions and comments. I went out and purchased Dr.
Atkins New Diet Revolution. I guess I will have some interesting reading to
do this weekend!

After 4 days of low-carbing on my own - I had BG readings as low as 3.6 (65)
!!!............I had better watch that I don't go too low!

Congrats to you Saffire! I checked out your progress pics! Thanks for the
advice 🙂

Eddie
Type 2

"Saffire" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

Hi Eddie, welcome to the group!

Quoted message said:

After watching George Stella on FOODTV - Low Carb and Lovin' It, my wife

and

Quoted message said:

I have been inspired to reduce our weight (and our children's weight) via
low-carbing.

Good choice, ESPECIALLY if you are diabetic! MANY people on this group eat
low-
carb to control their blood sugar and NOT necessarily to lose weight.

Quoted message said:

Any tips on

Your best bet would be to get a copy of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (or
South
Beach or whatever low-carb plan you choose) and read it before starting on
low-
carb. This is because you need to do it right and understand WHY and how it
works. If you do it incorrectly and DON'T lose, you might be more likely to
give
it up for the wrong reasons. In the meantime, check out
http://www.atkins.com/.

That said, you CAN find lots of great ideas, inspiration and support here.
I
post low-carb tips every Sunday, so you can wait until then or google this
group
for "tips" to see them.

Quoted message said:

how many carbs to eat each day?

If Atkins, the first two weeks are limited to 20 carbs per day of foods from
a
specific list (still LOTS of variety).

Quoted message said:

Any tips on what foods to avoid?

High carb. Wheat and other grain products, milk (cream is ok), fruit,
anything
with sugar. Starchy vegetables such as peas, potatoes, corn.

Quoted message said:

Any tips on what foods are good for us?

Meat, fish, poultry, vegetables (other than those starchy ones) such as
broccoli,
zucchini, cabbage, salad greens, butter, cream, cheese.

It's best to stick to the basics, at least until you have a good handle on
the
low-carb Way of Eating (WOE). Stay away from low-carb bars and shakes until
you
are firmly established, and then, if you want, try them individually to see
what
effect they might have on your weight, cravings and blood sugar.

--
Saffire
205/150/125 - 5'1.5"
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Congrats to you Saffire! I checked out your progress pics! Thanks for the
advice 🙂

Thank you! And you're welcome!

--
Saffire
205/149/125 - 5'1.5"
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333

Quoted message said:

After watching George Stella on FOODTV - Low Carb and Lovin' It, my wife

and

Quoted message said:

I have been inspired to reduce our weight (and our children's weight) via
low-carbing.

Eddie

Eddie, get Dr. Atkins' book. not only does it answer all of today's diet
questions that you have, but you will need it so that you can refer back to
it in the future. You didn't say if your wife and kids were overweight. Be
advised that the Atkins' diet is not a low-carb diet, it is a "controlled
carb" diet. "Low carb" is the media term for what Atkins' advises, but it
does not give a true picture of what the diet really is. In a nutshell, the
diet is about getting sugar out of your diet and replacing the high glycemic
carbs with low glycemic carbs as a way of eating.

Pat in TX