Newbie..excited..with questions

[robschott]

Hi all, I'm new to PP..and have read the 30 day lc solution and bought and am reading the PPlifeplan..I'm very excited about this plan. I did Atkins almost 5 years ago and got great results, but have not been able to stick to it this time around.. maybe too strict on amount of carbs..where with this one, I'm still focusing on GOOD carbs, but can have a more reasonable amount.

I am officially starting today..any tips or tricks for the first few weeks you want to pass along? Things to keep you motivated?

I do already have some questions?
In the 30 day solution and the lifeplan book, they talk about being able to eat grains (if your a hedonist) within your allowed limits..even in Intervention..I know this is a different group of people, and a different approach..but that seems to go so against what I was used to with Atkins..meaning getting those first 2 weeks under your belt and purging your body of all grains..
What is your thought on this..(or anyone else's..especially based on experience)..I'm trying to deterine that if I start this, and immediatly allow myself to have low carb tortilla's..or any of the "imposter" ingridients they use in the comfort food cookbook, and the RX cookbook, will I still lose weight?
Plus I do love my wine..so I will be having my wine.

This is all of course with the knowledge and understanding of staying within your allotted carb grams for the day.

That brings me to my 2nd question..they say to NEVER go over your allotted carb grams per day OR per meal..it seems to me that there will be times that I may be eating minimal carbs during the day..(having ham and swiss roll ups, and fruit for breakfast, and pot roast and a veggie for lunch...)that I will be way below the >40 per day..and there may be times (especially on a friday night or weekend), that I would like to use some of those not used per meal to have a more carb laden meal (more than the 10 grams allowed).. that day, probably a dinner out or something...Thoughts, experience on this??

Any input would sure be great..
Thanks, Robin

[maxlharris]

Hi Robin,

First off, there is no such thing as good carbs and bad carbs. All carbs are, for most people, okay in small doses, crap in large doses. If Atkins worked well for you, you are part of most people, in the "crap in large doses" camp. Where you may or may not be like most people is in your tolerance for grains. Or dairy. Or a host of other things people have problems with. Or the larger host of things people think cause them problems.

To your questions:
1- Yes, you can, if you are pursuing a hedonist style of Protein Power Life Plan, have LC tortillas from day 1. If you talk to people on this site, you will get varying levels of approval for them in general. For me, I think you should learn to eat low carb effectively without replacement products before you start adding in ersatz versions of the carby foods that got you to the point where you want a dietary intervention in the first place. I might be a lot more militant about that than other people are. But, it fits with my logic. If you got to where you need to change your diet eating fried chicken, why would you persist in trying to eat fried chicken, albeit with an ersatz coating replacement?

2- Wine. Wine is fine. Liquor is quicker. Uhm, sorry. Wine is fine, assuming:
a- You track the carbs in it and make sure it doesn't put you over.
b- Moderation. Alcohol lowers boundaries and fuzzies judgment. Fuzzy judgment does not mix with low carb. I speak from experience, mine and others on this.
c- You understand that alcohol intake will not stop your weightloss, but it may slow it a bit. And if you have a period of stalling and ask questions, you may get advice to cut back or eliminate the wine.

3- I think the term never is fairly clear on the frequency with which you should go over. At least in the Eades' view of things. I think NEVER is a standard to which no one meets.

If you did Atkins the full way, you know that people have varying levels of tolerance for dietary carbohydrate. So, it's possible that a 20g meal will not be a problem for you. OTOH, if you are going to do protein power, you have to think, seriously, about attempting never on >10g of carbs in a meal. Otherwise, you are not really doing the Protein Power Life Plan.

I hope these answer your questions.

[robschott]

Thanks so much for the quick and thoughtful response..

What your saying makes total sense..

I'm going to do my very best on this attempt.

I'm not sure why Atkins isnt working for me like it did the first time around.
I worry that its the "defining moment, lightbulb" thing where you are just DONE..and are going to do what you have to do..I say worry, because I've been trying since May 27th and have only managed to gain 10 lbs..which SUCKS!! If I'm being totally honest with myself, its because while I switched to all the "natural" versions of foods (not low fat since they add sugars etc to make up for the fat), I havent switched to the mindset I need to be to following the actual WOE...
I believe I'm ready now, so I'm getting on train, and I'm never gettting off.

[Mitra]

Welcome, Robin :).

On the question of tortillas, as long as you don't have a grain intolerance of some sort, and you stay within the carb limits, you'll probably be OK having them from time to time, but most people seem to do better if they don't depend too heavily on them. Of course, individuals vary - as you observed, one of the differences between Atkins and PP is that Atkins eliminates pretty well everything that could possibly be a problem for the Induction fortnight, whereas PP doesn't. That gives us a lot more flexibility, but there may be the odd individual who has to cut out this or that food because of personal intolerances. I actually find that most of the imitations don't taste very convincing, and I'd rather enjoy the foods that are allowed - but we each have to find our own balance on those questions, and I think most of us have tried a few substitutes along the way.

The reason for sticking to your carb limit at each meal is to limit your insulin response. If you save all your carbs up to eat at one time, then you'll need to release extra insulin to deal with them. If you're not diabetic or particularly insulin resistant, it might not be a problem, but it's better not to do it as a general rule.

I'm all in favour of having a glass of wine with dinner, and I did it while losing weight, as well as at maintenance, but carbs aren't the whole story with alcohol - if you use all your carb allotment on wine, I can pretty much guarantee that you won't lose weight as fast as having the same quantity of carbs as broccoli ;).

The daily thread in the challenge section is a good place to get support and to get to know people.

[Ammy]

The reason for sticking to your carb limit at each meal is to limit your insulin response. If you save all your carbs up to eat at one time, then you'll need to release extra insulin to deal with them. If you're not diabetic or particularly insulin resistant, it might not be a problem, but it's better not to do it as a general rule.


And if you need to release extra insulin, it could lead to cravings, or uncontrollable (unconsolable?) hunger, which makes sticking to this WOE harder than it has to be.

Now, do many of us rearrange our carb limits sometimes...sure...but I recommend (and I'm recommending from my own experience) that you really stick to keeping your levels even throughout your meals for awhile.

How long is awhile?? I dunno....
:)

[robschott]

Thanks for the input all..

Hey Amy..WOW is right on your signature's loss of 117??? How did you do that..how long did it take you??

[Ammy]

I stuck to the counts very tightly and lost 75lbs in about 4 months...
the rest took some time.

I've been at this weight for about 8yrs and have really struggled with my last 20.
HOWEVER, I'm very stable where I'm at, even when I allow myself more carbs.

BUT in the beginning, I didn't splurge or mix it up at all...I counted every carb and had no "frankenfoods" like the tortillas or any chemical-added-sugar-free foods.

[James L]

... Plus I do love my wine..so I will be having my wine. ....Hi, Robin. Welcome to the board. This thread will probably tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the carbs in wine.

[robschott]

Thanks James..just going through the first 4 pages..(my head was totally spinning, and my brain turning to mush..really scientific..which is cool..but way above my head)..I'm getting that for a 5oz glass, you could count 1 gram of carb (dry red of course)..I'm going to log it as 1.5 just to lean to the high side to be safe..

[Sharvo]

James L, if you want to see the difference in carbs between a barbera and gewurtztraminer - see what I posted to the thread you link to ;)

Good health,
Sharvo

[James L]

James L, if you want to see the difference in carbs between a barbera and gewurtztraminer - see what I posted to the thread you link to ;)I'm a bit puzzled; they're about the same. Perhaps you meant the late harvest white instead of the gewurtztraminer? The late harvest dessert wines always have a high sugar content.