Newbie

[chloe731]

Hello everyone! I'm brand new to this board and to PP! I have just very recently read about PP online and I ordered the book from my local library, which I'm still waiting for with great anticipation! From what I understand, the basic concept is to eat mostly meat.
Can somebody please give me a little bit more information while I await the book? How much meat is allowed, what else besides meat can I eat? I read that it's OK to eat berries, melon, cheese, cheese curds, veggies, eggs. But I'm not sure what else is allowed and what the daily limits are on these foods. So if someone could please share just the basics, I'd greatly appreciate it!
As a side note, I used to be a a sugar addict. But for the past week I've been eating meat and lettuce and I lost 11 lbs! :DIs this most likely water weight and will it come back as quickly as it left?? :( I need to lose 7 more to be at my ideal weight and then to be able to maintain it.

[Karole]

Hi Chloe, welcome to our board and it sounds like you are doing just great !! Eleven pounds already is super dooper.

Probably some of that loss is water weight, but what the heck --its gone !! And you won't put it back on until/unless you revert to eating in the same manner that caused you to put on the added pounds in the first place.

In PPLP the docs allow 40 ecc per day. (ecc = carb minus the fiber.) They say no more than 10 carbs per meal, so that allows for a snack or two also. I do usually eat 3 meals and one or two snacks a day so I never have to be hungry. It works for me, but others would rather have just 3 meals or so. Also, I had to cut my carbs to 30 carbs per day to lose weight --but I am fairly old so mayhaps that was one reason.

A tool that I recommend to everyone is www.fitday.com (http://www.fitday.com) it is a free site that allows you to keep track of your calorie, fat, protein , carbs, fiber and etc. It is invaluable to me, but I've read of others that don't like the time it takes to use it. So it will have to be something you check out for yourself.

Hope this has helped a bit-- I know I left out a lot, but you will get your book soon hopefully and you may want go to the top of the page and read "Protein Power in a nut shell " for additional info, plus I think there are lists of foods in another post.

Good luck and come join us in the challenge sections, we love having newbies there.

Ps --don't forget to drink til you float and be sure to get your min. amount of protein so you will only be losing fat, not muscle.

[chloe731]

Hi Karole,
thanks for your reply! :D
Could you please help me find that post with a lists of foods that you're referring to? Until I get my book I don't know what I can be eating. :eek:

[Roadstr]

Hi Karole,
thanks for your reply! :D
Could you please help me find that post with a lists of foods that you're referring to? Until I get my book I don't know what I can be eating. :eek:

Hi Chloe,
If it bites, runs or swims you can eat it. LOL! Protein and fat is pretty much what you can have in any quantities. Red meat, ham, cold cuts, whole dairy (fat free has more carbs), chicken, fish, cheese and low carb vegetables like celery, lettuce, broccoli, asparagus. The high carb veggies are probably the ones to stay away from unless you count how many carbs your taking in like carrots, onions, potatoes and all fruits are high in carbs so they are definitely not allowed in phase 1.
You can have coffee, but use cream instead of skim milk. Eggs and bacon is a staple breakfast for most. Wrapping a slice of ham and cheese in a romain leaf makes a great snack. Steak or a pork chop topped with sour cream and steamed broccoli with butter and a salad with EVOO is a nice supper.
I hope you get the idea. The object is to limit carbs so you limit the pancreas from producing insulin. This will cause your body to use more stored fat for energy along with the fat that you eat.
Sounds like your doing well, because it often takes a couple of weeks for the body to get the enzymes produce to change that fat to energy... as opposed to relying on carbohydrates for energy.

[deirdra]

In PP you start off with Atkins-like induction foods, mainly meat, fish, fowl & eggs, low carb veggies, and fats like butter, heavy cream, mayo. Coffee is not forbidden, but you count the carbs. The beauty of PP is you design it from the foods YOU like with no strict lists of good and bad foods, you just limit yourself to 7-10 effective carbs (total carbs minus fiber) per meal.

Here's another site you may find helpful:
http://www.lowcarb.ca/atkins-diet-and-low-carb-plans/protein-power.html

Also, having a book with carb counts or using the links below will help you figure out which foods you are considering are the best low carb choices:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/tools/caloric-ratio-search
(use the search function at the top right)

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

[maxlharris]

This is a pretty good starting list of very low carb foods that nearly everyone does well on. Get your protein, control your carbs, let the fat wind up where it does, drink your water, take your supps, eat until sated and you will be fine for a long time. Here's the link.
http://www.atkins.com/Program/FourPhases/WhatIsInduction/AcceptableFoodsList.aspx

[chloe731]

Hi Chloe,
If it bites, runs or swims you can eat it.
Hahaha!


Thanks everyone for your replies!! :nod:

[maxlharris]

Red meat, ham, cold cuts, whole dairy (fat free has more carbs), chicken, fish, cheese and low carb vegetables like celery, lettuce, broccoli, asparagus.
Not calling Roadstr out, but just making sure his advice is taken clearly.

Some cold cuts have carby additives. Worth label checking on them. These can be very small. (Many also have nitrates, which aren't carby, but aren't great for you either... most have a lot of sodium, which isn't the massive worry many would have you believe, but isn't the best choice either).

Whole dairy: Milk is very carby. And they are very fast carbs. Many products (like a lot of yogurts) have a lot of carbs added and are bad choices. Heavy cream and half and half are better options than milk, but are not without carbs, and the carbs they have are very fast. Worth being careful with.

Cheeses are also worth being careful with. No cheese is carb free. Parmesan is very close (real parmesan reggiano, not the stuff in the green can). Other hard cheeses are very low. Many soft cheeses are low, but not empty. And some fresh cheeses (like cottage cheese) can have a fair amount of carbs.

It is best to read labels on things that aren't straight muscle meats.

[Roadstr]

Good points Max.
Some good things that I have found is Heinz Low Carb Ketchup (no HFCS), Vlassic Dill Relish (no HFCS) and Land-O-Lakes Fat Free Half & Half. All these have about 1 gram carbs per Tbsp, but can make a difference between a bland and very taste dish.:D

[Belfrybat]

Good points Max.
Some good things that I have found is Heinz Low Carb Ketchup (no HFCS), Vlassic Dill Relish (no HFCS) and Land-O-Lakes Fat Free Half & Half. All these have about 1 gram carbs per Tbsp, but can make a difference between a bland and very taste dish.:D

Add the Mount Olive brand of sugar-free pickles and relishes to that list! They are superb.

[maxlharris]

Land-O-Lakes Fat Free Half & Half.
If there's no fat in it, what is in the cream half of the half and half?

Just for comparison's sake, and for clarity's:
1 fl oz Cream: Half and Half
Pro: .89 g
Carb: 1.3 g
Cals: 39.3

1 fl oz Cream: Half and Half, Fat Free
Pro: .79 g
Carb: 2.7g
Cals: 17.8

I'd stick with the regular half and half, on this plan.

Just for giggles:
Cream, heavy fluid:
Pro: .61
Carb: .83g
Cals: 108

I knew there was a reason why I use heavy cream over half and half in anything I cook. Better texture, lower carbs, more filling.

[maxlharris]

I came to ketchup later in life (like two years ago) and, while I accept that it's an acceptable condiment, I simply do not understand why you would want sweetened vinegar (with some tomato) on anything... straight malt vinegar is so much better on all things potato.

[chloe731]

I was also wondering if anybody uses Atkins protein bars as occasional meal replacements during the initial phase?

And I'd also like to make protein shakes. Do I make them mainly on water, and add just a little bit of half and half? How much half and half or cream should I use? And is it OK to add some fruit (even though in the initial phase fruits don't seem to be allowed)? And a protein shake can replace breakfast?

Thank you!

[blueriversam]

I was also wondering if anybody uses Atkins protein bars as occasional meal replacements during the initial phase?

And I'd also like to make protein shakes. Do I make them mainly on water, and add just a little bit of half and half? How much half and half or cream should I use? And is it OK to add some fruit (even though in the initial phase fruits don't seem to be allowed)? And a protein shake can replace breakfast?

Thank you!

I stayed away from Atkins bars and anything else sweet because they contain things that will trick your body into retaining water and releasing insulin, which is something we are trying to prevent. They don't taste very good, anyways :P

My bf and I have started to watch the low carb cooking show on the Food Network and I got some AMAZING ideas from it, including making yogurt smoothies with protein powder. You can check out their website and search for any low carb recipe you want--they use very pure ingredients and everything has come out really good so far!

[maxlharris]

On Atkins Bars:
Very carefully and generally not. That really goes for any bar claiming low digestible carbs. They seem to stall a lot of people. On the other hand, I broke a stall by eating a bar, a shake, a real lunch, a snack of almonds, and a real dinner every day. Then I stalled on that. I don't do the bars. But if you do, they are a great way to get your water in. They are virtually inedible without drinking water, about 8-16 ounces per bar.

On protein shakes:
Get yourself a good protein powder (generally any protein save soy) that is low to non-carbish (you will find lots of recommendations around here... IsoPure is one that comes to my mind... FWIW: I think a blended protein that contains either Whey+Cassein, the proteins in milk, or Egg protein is best, but there are some who seem to not tolerate cassein well... I digress). Construct your shake however you would like, keeping in mind your carb count. Fruit is acceptable, within your 10g per meal (carbs net fiber). So are dairy products. Really, so is everything else.

[Roadstr]

I knew there was a reason why I use heavy cream over half and half in anything I cook. Better texture, lower carbs, more filling.

What's your cholesterol and LDL? Not saying anything is bad, just adding some very tasty condiments could improve your health with added vitamins. I bet if a cave man had the veggies that I have he may have lived a little longer and enjoyed life a little more.;)

[maxlharris]

Let's see... I don't think I have a current cholesterol.
But, when I started eating like this, I popped a 295 total, ~75 trig, ~56 HDL. That was the baseline.
After ten weeks I popped a ~220, ~50 Trig, ~60 HDL. Doctor stopped caring about cholesterol then. That was by adding heavy cream and dumping the milk. Those numbers are from, uhm, late 2006 and early 2007.

Methinks we've been reading different sources, Roadstr. The goal isn't to drop total cholesterol to zero. The goal isn't to drop LDL to zero. The goal isn't to pass on saturated fat, which our ancestors ate a lot more freely than we currently do.
Of course, most of our ancestors didn't have dairy at all. Or they'd have raw milk (not half and half, not fat free half and half) from an animal like a buffalo that they'd killed (buffalo milk has a higher fat content than cow milk, which is why mozzarella di bufalo is so prized... and so much better than even whole milk mozz).

I have digressed. Your caveman ancestors ate marrow, brains, livers, sweetbreads, pope's noses, poultry oysters and basically every other piece of animal fat they could get their mitts on. I do not take this as license to eat whatever, but I do take it as an instruction to make sure I get enough fat with my protein. Which brings us back to heavy cream versus fat free half and half.

By the logic of this program, heavy cream is generally a better product. It's higher in calories, from the fats (63% sat, 29% mono, 4% poly). It's lower in sugar. And milk sugar is very quickly absorbed, so it's like straight sugar.

I'm not saying that half and half, fat free, is a bad choice. I'm just wondering why, on a program that encourages you not to worry about fats, you would ever buy anything that has more carbs AND is lower in most aspects (taste, texture, amount of processing) of quality (certainly that regular half and half, debateable on heavy cream, as it varies by application and palate). But, as with everyone else, it's your science experiment. If you can enjoy it with fewer veggies per meal (because you're eating them with unneccessary carbs that could have been halved with regular H&H or cut by 70% with HC), rock it.