I am getting back in to the gym after a long break. Of course I've accumulated some midsection blues during this time. I'm thinking about hitting the "atkins" type diet for about a month to get a quick jump on the weight loss and then revert to a low cal balanced diet after. I'd like to hear some opinions from those who tried atkins before.

Hmm...Can't say I've tried atkins before....but I would probably consider myself being in somewhat the same situation that you are in, in terms of pushing/and getting started to work out more....

One thing I've noticed about myself....Is I eat all kinds of greasy, fattening foods, all day long, whenever I get a chance to....What I've been doing lately, is having a big breakfast of several bowls of Cereal (healthy cereal which replaces eggs cooked in oil, sausage links, etc) and I notice I don't nab away all day at horrible foods...Also, and this may sound kind of weird, is I drink TONS of water now...That extra water, keeps me more filled in the day, and instead of grabbing a chocolate bar, that extra water, in a weird way, keeps me kind of satisfied...

I know this was off of what you were really looking for, but hope it helps anyway

Thanks for the reply.

It’s important to have access to nutritious low-carb snack food so that if you get hungry between meals you won’t reach for crackers and chips.

Ideally, a low-carb snack should have protein, healthy fat, and some fiber (so the best thing would be to have some raw veggies with your eggs or jerky). Here are some easy snack ideas.