Any Atkins survivors out there that have lived to tell the (success) story??

I need some motivation. Lol. I do Atkins twice a year for a couple weeks to get me back to the weight I want, but it gets so much harder every time! I've also added the gym 5 days a week into it, and this is the first time I'm doing it in the UK.... So it is a little challenging when I can't find the things I swear by (Frozen Cool Whip in the bowl..., not in a spray can for example). I also used to drink Crystal Lite and make sugar free jello but those are hard to find too.

Anyone out there doing it or done Atkins while here in the UK? The only 'new' thing I've managed to pick up from here is pork cracklings and guacamole which I will make this weekend. But I'm a sweet tooth. Anŷ low carb sweets since I can't find my fave (bowl of Cool Whip)?? 

I need some motivation. Lol. I do Atkins twice a year for a couple weeks to get me back to the weight I want, but it gets so much harder every time! I've also added the gym 5 days a week into it, and this is the first time I'm doing it in the UK.... So it is a little challenging when I can't find the things I swear by (Frozen Cool Whip in the bowl..., not in a spray can for example). I also used to drink Crystal Lite and make sugar free jello but those are hard to find too.

Anyone out there doing it or done Atkins while here in the UK? The only 'new' thing I've managed to pick up from here is pork cracklings and guacamole which I will make this weekend. But I'm a sweet tooth. Anŷ low carb sweets since I can't find my fave (bowl of Cool Whip)?? 

I did Atkins for months and lost quite a bit of weight on it, love a bit of Atkins
Well, you could have cream, that's relatively low carb, I'd rather boil myself in oil than eat cool whip *shudder* sugar free jellies are easy to find, I get the raspberry ones from Hartleys (available in Tescos etc) and weight watchers has their own brand of sugar free jelly. I'd have 2 small squares of 85% cocoa chocolate, there's a tescos finest brand which is really low carb.

There's all sorts of stuff on here for treats - http://www.lowcarbmegastore.com/

Crystal light you can replace with sugar free squash. Or I would make flavoured teas (normally Clipper brand) and sweeten with splenda.
Also berries are low carb (dark ones), I'd have 10 blueberries as a treat

I did Atkins for months and lost quite a bit of weight on it, love a bit of Atkins
Well, you could have cream, that's relatively low carb, I'd rather boil myself in oil than eat cool whip *shudder* sugar free jellies are easy to find, I get the raspberry ones from Hartleys (available in Tescos etc) and weight watchers has their own brand of sugar free jelly. I'd have 2 small squares of 85% cocoa chocolate, there's a tescos finest brand which is really low carb.

There's all sorts of stuff on here for treats - http://www.lowcarbmegastore.com/

Crystal light you can replace with sugar free squash. Or I would make flavoured teas (normally Clipper brand) and sweeten with splenda.
Also berries are low carb (dark ones), I'd have 10 blueberries as a treat

Thanks for that! I will have to check out sugar free squash. I really miss Crystal Lite. Especially because I hate to drink water, that was the only way I was getting in my liter a day. I'm gonna look at flavored teas too. if anything they're great for antioxidants. Thanks again!

I do Atkins occasionally and am thinking of starting again in the new year.

I buy Crystal Light on eBay!

I remember Cool Whip, but you're right there is nothing like that here.  But it's all artificial gunk... why eat that when you can have REAL cream on Atkins!  I buy pots of clotted cream and sweeten them with Splenda.  I also buy real cream in the squirty cans.  Also, Philadelphia cream cheese (not the Lite version) is low carb, and I sweeten that with Splenda as well.

I do Atkins occasionally and am thinking of starting again in the new year.

I buy Crystal Light on eBay!

I buy pots of clotted cream and sweeten them with Splenda.  I also buy real cream in the squirty cans.  Also, Philadelphia cream cheese (not the Lite version) is low carb, and I sweeten that with Splenda as well.

Oooh that all sounds so good! I will have to try the clotted cream!

I've done Atkins to great success over the years, but I tend to do it without shakes, fake foods, or trying to replicate high carb foods too much (at least unnaturally).  I focus more on whole foods.  Read the book, even if you've read it before.

Regular whipped cream is naturally low carb.  You can add Splenda or other AS (Truvia and the other stevia based mixed AS is supposed to be available in the UK this month).  Sometimes you don't need sweetener if you're on the rung which allows berries.  Sometimes your palette adjusts to less sweetness and the berries are enough without added AS.


Here are some suggestions for foods:

Black Farmer sausages.  Really, the sausages here can be pretty carby.  BF are low carb and gluten free.  There are a few others, but you need to keep an eye on the carb levels.

Riverford does a "seasons" veg box which is potato-free.  It does have carrots though, but they are added pretty soon after induction, so...They also do a pretty good salad box.

Most of the shops sell salted macadamia nuts.  Costco sometimes has them in bulk.  Costco also sometimes has wasabi almonds.

Most sugar-free squash is around 1 carb a serving, properly diluted.  It's pretty good in fizzy mineral water.

They sell sugar-free jello.

Egg-white and AS meringue deserts are pretty simple.

Once you can eat fruit, eat it.  If it's not in season, buy frozen.  Again, Costco sells big huge bags of frozen berries.

With a little work, celariac sliced up and fried on a moderately low heat with a good slug of oil will make the best chips.  Better than regular in fact.

Focus on the basics.  Veg, eggs, meat, and moderate dairy.  IMO, if you have to have a sweet treat, having something like a Pepsi Max is a lot better than getting into the trap of buying sugar-free chocolates where portion control and problems with sugar alcohols have be dealt with. 

Really consider doing the no-caffeine thing if you drink coffee.  It really helps me, but then I always break down a few weeks in and get a coffee.

This site is for a UK based diet loosely based on Atkins and other low carb plans.  While you should try to stick to Atkins if you're doing Atkins, their recipes are UK based and tend to be awesome:

http://www.pig2twig.co.uk/


Good luck.

Other things I eat a lot of when low-carbing:

kabanos!  These are chewy, smoky little dried Polish sausages... great flavour and texture.  I have found them in all supermarkets, in the Polish meats section.

bowls of tuna mayonnaise or chicken mayonnaise.

poached eggs

This thing I call bacon cheeseburger casserole, which is beef mince, cheese, and bacon, all cooked together and seasoned with garlic powder, chilli powder & black pepper.

Like the other poster, I don't really eat fake foods or Atkins bars or shakes or anything like that... it's all real food.

Thanks so much Ompha and Blue! I'm going to the store soon... and man that bacon cheeseburger casserole sounds NICE! I'm hungry too, so that doesn't help. :-/

I don't do the Atkins bars or prepared stuff either. The bars are too expensive and I can only stomach half of it before I get disinterested. Lol.

The tuna mayo recipe I use is this:

Tuna
Mayo
A dash of mustard
onion powder
pepper

Mix that all up then add:
Sprouts (the non-Brussels sort.  Bean works best IMO)
Roasted pumpkin seeds


Egg mayo I make differently.  I just do mayo, gherkin relish (AKA, sweet relish, normal relish ), pepper, a tiny bit of horseradish, olives.  I then use it as a dip for peppers, cukes, whatever or stuff lettuce leaves with it.  I really eat a lot of eggs on low carb/Atkins.  I get the big thing of free range/assorted size eggs from Sainsbury's, but I think Tesco has the same sort of thing as well.

Pork shoulder steaks are really good value.  If you're good at cutting up joints, a shoulder roast is sometimes cheaper per unit, but sometimes not.  Pork belly used to be cheap, but it's gotten a bit popular and faddish.  I remember when I first moved here I asked at our Sainsbury's butcher counter, and they looked at me like I was asking if they kept butchered swan behind the counter.  Now, they sell it in the chiller case.  It's still not too bad, but it used to be very cheap.

Thai stirfry minus the rice--The Swartz Thai seasoning has no sugar (check the others because I think the Chinese one has sugar).  I stirfry whatever meat we're using in a bit of oil mixed with a bit of seasame oil.  Then I add the veg I am using.  If we have it, I will add plain roasted cashews after it's cooked.  We also use traditional soy sauce.

Wow that sounds very good! I love Chinese too, so that will give me a little of a variety. I bought duck the other day and had it mixed with a little Thai carrot soup and it was excellent. But I'm not good at leftovers, so more than half has gone to waste. :-/

Oh no, that's a shame!
You really should learn to/force yourself to use your leftovers.     You save so much money that way, and plus it's not nice to waste stuff!

Some things taste better the next day.

Lol I will try! I still have Chinese from last week in there. I'm just not good at it. Hahaha.

Last week might be a bit long of a stretch.  2-3 days depending on what it is.  Freeze what you won't eat in that time (if you're able--remember that things shouldn't be frozen twice).

This is an American site, but it's a good for most things here too:

http://www.stilltasty.com/

ETA: I know you were probably not saying you would eat the Chinese, but just in case.

Hahaha yeah the chinese is done. I wouldn't have been able to eat it because of the diet anyway. :-(