Atkins Dieters

[Lostmessage]

I need to loose 15 or 20 pounds and before I buy the book can you please tell me what does the died consist of?

[stopbush]

1. Go to atkins.com

and you'll have your answers.

[KG]

4. good idea

it's not for everybody, but it does work.

best to get the info you need right from the source to see if it would work for you.

[mr_hat]

2. The diet consists mainly of constipation and bad breath.

[Lostmessage]

3. How much weight do you loose

Bad breath and constipation I can live with as long as I drop some pounds before an old friend of my comes into town.

[KG]

5. don't believe the myths.

i lost 30 lbs, never constipated and never had bad breath.

it's not a quick fix, it's a nutritional lifestyle.

[Lostmessage]

6. How long did it take you?

I would be underweight if i dropped 30 pounds and then I could get into a size 2.

[KG]

10. several months

didn't really keep track. but i'm a man, and could stand to lose 20 more, and i will during the course of '04

like i stated, it's not supposed to be a 'crash diet' though some might lose alot of weight quickly.

my weight loss was due to researching what the atkins diet was all about, going low carb and exercise.

[nini]

34. You didn't drink enough water and eat enough veggies..

if that happened..

[bleedingheart]

37. I have never used this diet but I do want to tell you

that you should read the book and follow the guidelines because there are people like a former officemate of mine who "picked" and "chose" only certain aspects of the diet...and she ended up with severe constipation (had to visit an MD) and really atrocious bad breath...
...one year later she has gained back all the weight and more and blames it on Atkins...I blame it on her inability to read.

[emulatorloo]

7. Look also at The Zone

by Barry Sears, PHD

It has worked well for me. . .not cranky, not hungry, lots of energy. (BTW not saying that Atkins would make you cranky etc)

It is a little different approach than Atkins. More moderate carb than low carb.

Not meaning to sound like a religious nut, but it has changed my life. Again not quick fix, lifestyle change.

www.drsears.com for more info.

[childslibrarian]

8. Atkins is really

The glycemic index diet. Look on-line and check out the "The Glucose Revolution." A diet by real nutritionists...

[MJP]

9. Here's a thought

How about eat less, and exercise.

[Lostmessage]

11. Exercise

What is that?

[MJP]

14. Good response

That was good. I wrote that as if I was high and mighty and exercise all the time. Don't believe it. I don't exercise either.

But, I also don't like the Atkins diet. Everyone I've ever known who has gone on it, has lost weight, but they always gain it back.

On the other hand, I know several people who just ate less meat, especially red meat, and ate low fat and/or low cholesterol foods and have lost weight and kept it off.

[KG]

12. it's not that easy.

i was riding my bike for hours, which made me very hungry. but until i cut the carbs, the wieght didn't leave.

many people like myself develope a problem with their blood sugar after 40, like me.

i've always been active and my wieght wasn't a problem till i hit 40.

[Lostmessage]

13. I am 39 and I am addicted to carbs

I would prefer to eat carbs over protein which is horrible.

[KG]

15. me too

and i was never much of a meat eater. but if you do the research you will find there are many ways to eat well, and lose the weight.

[Lostmessage]

16. The key to keeping the weight off is

Eating right because you get sick of meat, chicken, fish, cheese and hard boiled eggs.

[KG]

17. there's more to the diet than that.

do yourself a favor and really read up on it, or the other low carb diets.

low carb is the way to go. the human body really wasn't tuned to process so many carbs.

[Lostmessage]

18. I like vegetables

Try to get vegetables in NY at this time of year and it's almost impossible.

[greatauntoftriplets]

19. If I can buy them in Chicago, I am certain you can buy them in NY.

:shrug:

On edit: I had a great salad for dinner tonight. Try exercising, it is good for the body. And soul. Run, walk if you can't run, do sit-ups.

[supernova]

24. Frozen veggies are just as good as fresh

nutritionally speaking. No, it doesn't taste like you just got home from the Farmers' Market, but you still get all the bennies.

[greatauntoftriplets]

25. You are spot on re the Farmer's Market.

Mine operates from May until the end of October and I really miss it the rest of the year. The camaraderie, as well as the great food. The strawberries in June are to die for.

Yesterday at the grocery store, though, I purchased -- all fresh -- acorn squash, broccoli, green beans, romaine lettuce, portabella mushrooms, Yukon Gold potatoes, bananas and apricots. And this is just at the basic chain supermarket. Whole Foods has a better selection, although pricier and some distance from home.

[supernova]

28. Yehs, I love the Farmers' Market

Ours even has a diner/sandwich shop that showcases all the wonderful produce you can get there. It's a fun place to be in the warmer months. You can get some craft items too like homemade soaps and candles.

I go to Whole Foods usually once a week. I love their take out counter. :9

I actually prefer frozen broccoli just becuase chopping fresh is such a chore.

[KG]

20. veggies are ok in the diet

just avoid the starchy ones - potatoes, legumes, grains etc.

read the info. :)

[TreasonousBastard]

21. Then you're gonna hate Atkins.

Wanna lose weight fast?

Really?

Run around the block a few times every day, take the stairs instead of the elevator, park in the far corner of the parking lot... you get the idea.

Dump the pasta and rice as much as possible. Lite rye instead of white bread. If you gotta have dessert, get the coconut custard pie instead of the eclair. Find the fresh fruits and veggies you like and pig out. Green veggies are non-fattening and filling. Toss ham or bacon and mushrooms in the frozen spinach and cook it in chicken stock.

Broccoli or cauliflower and cheese sauce. You can, believe it or not, replace 1/4 or more of the flour in the bread machine with chopped cauliflower and it comes out OK. Pretty good, actually. Pumpkin or squash bread works well, too.

Salad Nicoise is not a bad meal at all. Really.

Making pancakes or waffles? Replace 1/3 of the flour with yogurt. Instead of the usual syrup, use that artificial stuff sweetened with Splenda. It's OK. BTW, if you're buying yogurt, get the unflavored stuff in the quart container. It's a lot cheaper, and you can flavor it any way you want to. Splenda and Stevia are your friends.

All the diet fads get back to one thing-- you gotta use more calories than you eat.

Protein is meat, cheese, and other stuff, not that nasty soy stuff.

Soy protein is the Devil's work. Consign it back to the hell it came from.

[Lostmessage]

22. That sounds interesting

Do I substitute the yogurt for 1/3 of the batter or 1/3 of the pancake mix?

[TreasonousBastard]

26. Dunno about mixes.

I'd experiment and start with 1/4 or less of the dry mix.

I make pancakes from scratch:

Lightly beaten egg
some milk-- maybe 1/4 cup or so Maybe add some powdered milk.
a little oil
a little vanilla extract, and maybe some cinnamon
teaspoon or so of baking powder (not soda-- if you just use baking soda, add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar or a couple of drops of lemon or orange juice or it won't work)
dash salt
big glob of yogurt-- maybe 2-3 tablespoons
stir it up and add enough flour to make a light batter-- not runny and not too thick.

Makes about 5-6 pancakes, and it's just as easy as using the mix.

You'll notice I don't measure. Been experimenting long enough with this to do it by eye. The moisture content of the yogurt and flour is variable enough that measuring isn't consistent anyway.

[Dogmudgeon]

23. Low-carb helps with carb cravings

Most carb cravings come from high levels of insulin and other appetite-related hormones that are spiked by eating carbs in the first place. This is called "Syndrome X" or "hyperinsulinemia".

Low carb diets (of which Atkins is the most popular) all help with carb craving. So does exercise, for that matter, but exercise and low-carb eating work together quite well. Diet or no, everyone should exercise, preferably doing something they like, like dancing or playing some sport like skiing or tennis or whatever suits them.

Low-carb eating isn't a fad diet. The only restriction, really, is carbohydrate. When I eat low-carb, I eat a lot of vegetables so I don't have to eat as much meat. I like meat, but it gets pricy to eat nothing but meat -- and monotonous, too.

I agree with you on soy. Soy also may have undesirable hormonal side-effects, especially for men, and anyone with a family history of cancer. If you're interested in the research, I believe that Dr. Mary Enig is the scientist who initially brought this to light, the same one who exposed the risks of trans-fats.

Any way you want to lose the weight, good luck!

--bkl

[angee_is_mad]

35. if U R addicted it will not work

because that is the basis for the diet. Low carbs/high protein. What I did was wean myself off of bread for about 6mths before the diet.

The bread was hardest for me, even though I loved pasta and rice but I didn't eat them everyday.

It is a strict lifestyle, but you can eat as much as you want and the pounds really come off.

Friday's, Ruby Tuesday's, and subway have low carb menus. This is proof that the diet really works!

[stanwyck]

27. Tell your middle-schoolers now

that law school is in their future. That way they can cash in on all the class-action lawsuits the Atkins dieters will be filing when ten years of bacon and butter take their toll. If Atkins is a "lifestyle" change, it's not a good one. Fruits are bad? Hey, whatever your spirituality, why do you think we have fruits and vegetable in our life? They're nutritious and full of fiber. Red meat is full of fat and chemicals. And sometimes, parasites and disease. The truth in Atkins is we eat too much sugar. I lost weight on WeightWatchers; it has the best track record for long term success. Adherents are less likely to gain back the weight as the plan teaches nutrition, not restrictive food choices. Atkins is a marketing gimmick to sell books and over-processed, prepackaged "food" . Don't buy into the hype. Save your money and join a gym.

[sendero]

29. I don't think...

... your opinion is borne by any scientific evidence. Most people's serum cholesterol drops on Atkins.

My wife is an end-stage (almost) renal patient, and a diabetic. She is an avid internet researcher - and studies have found that "surprise", the high protein Atkins diet appears to be *good* for kidney patients.

Just like years ago, end-stage renal patients were always but on a low protein diet because "protein stresses the kidneys". Well guess what, about a decade ago some started noticing that those who went on a low protein diet had a lower survival rate than those who didn't. To make a long story short - it turns out that 1) protein is not much of a stressor on kidneys and 2) depriving people of protein had other deleterious health effects that renders any such stess moot. I.e., their overall health declined to the point that transplant would not be possible because of the low protein diet.

The medical professions have a long history of being flat wrong on many of their iron-clad pronouncements. This is just another in a long string.

[stanwyck]

31. Questions

Then why has the Atkins merchandising machine revised their diet after reported cases of kidney problems and the emergence of gout (!) from adherents? Also, what long-term studies have been done on the effects of Atkins? Reducing sugar and overly refined foods made with white flour is common sense. That part of Atkins is nutritionally sound. But, Atkins is another reduced calorie diet. People lose weight. What are the Long-Term Effects? Face it. Atkins is marketing. It's profit-driven. Go to the grocery store. The Atkins "food" (overly processed, chemical-laden quasi-food) is taking over the shelves. Do the Atkins followers keep off the weight? The people I know who followed Atkins did great. Then gained the weight back. Then lost the weight again. Then gained it back. Great for Atkins, more book sales and products sold. Clearly, you've bought into their "science". It's how they sell. Why can't people just eat natural food? Vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains. The rest of the world eats veggies, fish, and rice and doesn't have our obesity problem. If you believed Atkins, the Chinese would be leading in heart disease. Atkins uses just enough nutritionall mumbo-jumbo to reel in the desperate. This is modern day snake oil salesmanship at its best.

[camero]

30. Stay away from refined sugars

Look on the labels of what you buy. Anything that has fructose or corn syrup stay away from. Natural sugars in fruit are much better for carbs.

Processed food and Concentrated juices are not your friend.

[welshTerrier2]

32. The books are a must !!!

here's the exact diet (you need at least one book for this):

1. go out and buy all 200 atkin books on how to diet ...
2. eat one (and only one) page from the book each day
3. long before you get to chapter 2, voila !!! you've lost all the weight you wanted to ...

i actually tried the atkins diet last year ... wanted to lose about 10 pounds ... lost about 20 pounds very quickly ... maybe in five or six weeks ... rumor has it it's a bit more effective for men than women ... not sure if that's true ...

the diet can be a bit of a pain to stay with ... it might be worth finding a suitable "atkins compromise" that you can stay with ... otherwise, it's just another yo-yo diet ...

[angee_is_mad]

33. limit carbs to 20

for at least 2 weeks.

For 2 weeks(induction) you are basically limited to meats, cheese and eggs. But by golly it works!!!

[FlaGranny]

39. Two or three weeks ago, I decided to try low carbs

What most people don't understand about low carb diets is that what you are really doing with this kind of diet is cutting out refined carbohydrates - sugar and white flour and any carbohydrate that causes a rapid rise in blood sugar and thus insulin. This is the diet that they put diabetics on. I didn't even start with the first phase (the restrictive part) of the diet. I just started on phase two. I don't believe the first stage is necessary. It gives you a rapid weight loss, but rapid is not what you really need. Slow, steady, and permanent is the goal.

Last night's dinner consisted of chicken, cauliflower mashed with light sour cream, peas, tomatoes, and a low carb popsicle for desert. The only Atkin's type product I buy is bread, because I like my sandwiches. I've now lost 7 pounds and I don't even feel like I'm on a diet because I'm eating just as much as I want to eat. I've been exercising by walking about a half hour a day for the last nine months, but I lost absolutely no weight (not one ounce) that way.

The low carb diet is nothing more, nothing less, than the diet every single person on the planet earth ate up until we started buying our foods in the supermarket. Obesity rates began to soar only recently in our history, and especially after the food pyramid became popular with humungous amounts of starch - up to ELEVEN servings a day of pasta, bread, rice, and cereal.

While it is true that to lose weight you've got to eat fewer calories than you're burning, that is extremely, extremity difficult if most of the calories you are putting into your body are the refined ones that make you feel like you're starving a couple of hours later.

It is much better and much easier to stick with an eating plan that doesn't make your body think its starving. Eating a diet high in refined carbohydrates but with few enough calories to cause weight loss, puts your body into starvation mode. You actually feel like you are starving. It is very unpleasant and we do it to ourselves. No wonder that kind of diet fails.

All you people out there (not you angee)who say just eat less - YOU DO IT. Eat your normal American style diet, but cut out 500 to 1000 calories a day. Keep it up for one month and then go back to eating just as you do now. I guarantee that you will gain back every pound you lost and 5 to 10 pounds extra - even if you started out at your ideal body weight - because your body thinks it is starving and compensates.

[Scout]

36. as already advised, go to atkins.com

The Atkins diet is NOT the "red meat and butter" diet that some people try to portray. You must go to the web site or buy and read ONE book: Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution ... you don't need any other books unless you want to spend the money. You also don't have to buy the Atkins products to follow the diet unless you want to ... you can follow it buying and cooking your own foods just like you do now.

This is the induction phase, the most restrictive ... it lasts for two weeks, and then becomes gradually less and less restrictive.
http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-464579.html

foods allowed/encouraged:
All fish, including ... tuna, salmon, sole, trout, flounder, sardines, herring

All fowl, including ... chicken, turkey, duck, goose, Cornish hen, quail, pheasant

All shellfish, including ... oysters*, mussels*, lobster, clams, squid, shrimp, crabmeat

All meat, including ... beef, pork, lamb, bacon**, veal, ham**, venison

All eggs, including ... scrambled, fried, poached, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, deviled, omelets
*Oysters and mussels are higher in carbs than other shellfish, so limit them to four ounces per day.
**Processed meats, such as ham, bacon, pepperoni, salami, hot dogs and other luncheon meats—and some fish—may be cured with added sugar and will contribute carbs. Try to avoid meat and fish products cured with nitrates, which are known carcinogens. Also beware of products that are not exclusively meat, fish or fowl, such as imitation fish, meatloaf and breaded foods. Finally, do not consume more than four ounces of organ meats a day.

And don't forget all this!!
OTHER FOODS THAT ARE ACCEPTABLE DURING INDUCTION
Cheese
You can consume three to four ounces daily of the following full-fat, firm, soft and semisoft aged cheeses*, including:
cheddar
cow, sheep and goat cheese
cream cheese
Gouda
mozzarella
Roquefort and other blue cheeses
Swiss
*All cheeses have some carbohydrate content. The quantity you eat should be governed by that knowledge. The rule of thumb is to count 1 ounce of cheese as equivalent to 1 gram of carbohydrate. Note that cottage cheese, farmer’s cheese and other fresh cheeses are not permitted during Induction. No "diet" cheese, cheese spreads or whey cheeses are permitted. Individuals with known yeast symptoms, dairy allergy or cheese intolerance must avoid cheese. Imitation cheese products are not allowed, except for soy or rice cheese—but check the carbohydrate content.

Vegetables
You can have two to three cups per day of:
alfalfa sprouts
daikon
mushrooms
arugula
endive
parsley
bok choy
escarole
peppers
celery
fennel
radicchio
chicory
jicama
radishes
chives
lettuce
romaine lettuce
cucumber
mâche
sorrel
These salad vegetables are high in phytonutrients and provide a good source of fiber.

Other Vegetables
You can have one cup per day of these veggies if salad does not exceed two cups. The following vegetables are slightly higher in carbohydrate content than the salad vegetables:
artichoke
celery root
pumpkin
artichoke hearts
rhubarb
asparagus
chard
sauerkraut
bamboo shoots
collard greens
scallions
dandelion
snow peas
bean sprouts
dandelion greens
spaghetti squash
beet greens
eggplant
spinach
broccoli
hearts of palm
string or wax beans
broccoli rabe
kale
summer squash
brussels
kohlrabi
tomato
bean sprouts
leeks
turnips
cabbage
okra
water chestnuts
cauliflower
onion
zucchini
If a vegetable, such as spinach or tomato, cooks down significantly, it must be measured raw so as not to underestimate its carb count.

Salad Garnishes
crumbled crisp bacon
grated cheese
minced hard-boiled egg
sautéed mushrooms
sour cream

Spices
All spices to taste, but make sure none contain added sugar.

Herbs
basil
garlic
rosemary
cayenne pepper
ginger
sage
cilantro
oregano
tarragon
dill
pepper
thyme
For salad dressing, use oil and vinegar (but not balsamic vinegar, which contains sugar) or lemon juice and herbs and spices. Prepared salad dressings without added sugar and no more than two carbs per tablespoon serving are also fine.

Acceptable Fats and Oils
Many fats, especially certain oils, are essential to good nutrition. Olive oil is particularly valuable. All other vegetable oils are allowed, the best being canola, walnut, soybean, grapeseed, sesame, sunflower and safflower oils, especially if they are labeled "cold-pressed" or "expeller-pressed." Do not cook polyunsaturated oils, such as corn, soybean and sunflower oil, at high temperatures or allow to brown or smoke.

Butter is allowed. Margarine should be avoided, not because of its carbohydrate content, but because it is usually made of trans fats (hydrogenated oils), which are a serious health hazard. (Some nonhydrogenated margarines are available in health-food stores.)

You don't have to remove the skin and fat from meat or fowl. Salmon and other cold-water fish are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Remember that trying to do a low-fat version of the Atkins Nutritional ApproachTM will interfere with fat burning and derail your weight loss.

Artificial Sweeteners
You must determine which artificial sweeteners agree with you, but the following are allowed: sucralose (marketed as Splenda™), saccharin, cyclamate and acesulfame-K. Natural sweeteners ending in the suffix "-ose," such as maltose, fructose, etc., should be avoided. However, certain sugar alcohols, such as maltitol, do not affect blood sugar and are acceptable.

Saccharin has been extensively studied, and harmful effects were produced in the lab when fed to rats only in extremely high doses. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has removed saccharin from its list of carcinogens, basing its decision upon a thorough review of the medical literature and the National Institute of Science’s statement that there is "no clear association between saccharin and human cancer." It can be safely consumed in moderation, meaning no more than three packets a day. Saccharin is marketed as Sweet'n Low™.

We discourage the use of aspartame (marketed as NutraSweet® and Equal®) because of clinical observations that it slows weight loss in certain individuals. The FDA has approved the herb stevia for use only as a supplement, not as a sweetener.

The Atkins preference, however, is sucralose (Splenda™), the only sweetener made from sugar. Sucralose is safe, noncaloric and does not raise blood sugar. It has been used in Canada for years, and the FDA recently approved it after reviewing more than 100 studies conducted over the past 20 years. Note that each packet of sugar substitute contains about 1 gram of carbohydrate, so don’t forget to include the amount in your daily totals.


Acceptable Beverages
Be sure to drink a minimum of eight eight-ounce glasses of water each day, including:
Filtered water
Mineral water
Spring water
Tap water

Additionally, you can have the following:
Clear broth/bouillon (not all brands; read the label)
Club soda
Cream, heavy or light (limit to two to three tablespoons a day; note carbohydrate content)
Decaffeinated coffee or tea*
Diet soda made with sucralose (Splenda™); be sure to count the carbs
Essence-flavored seltzer (must say "no calories" and should not contain aspartame)
Herb tea (without barley or any fruit sugar added)
Lemon juice or lime juice (note that each contains 2.8 grams carbohydrate per ounce); limit to two to three tablespoons
*Excessive caffeine may cause unstable blood sugar and should be avoided by those who suspect they are caffeine dependent. Everyone should try to avoid caffeine. Grain beverages (coffee substitutes) are not allowed. Alcoholic beverages are also not permitted during Induction; those low in carbohydrates are an option, in moderation, in later phases.

Special Category Foods
To add variety, each day you can also eat 10 to 20 olives, half a small avocado, an ounce of sour cream or three ounces of unsweetened heavy cream, as well as two to three tablespoons of lemon juice or lime juice. But be aware that these foods occasionally slow down weight loss in some people, and may need to be avoided in the first two weeks. If you seem to be losing slowly, moderate your intake of these foods.

Convenience Foods
Although it is important that you eat primarily unprocessed foods, some controlled carb food products can come in handy when you are unable to find appropriate food, can’t take time for a meal or need a quick snack. More and more companies are creating healthy food products that can be eaten during the Induction phase of Atkins. Just remember two things:

Not all convenience food products are the same, so check labels and carbohydrate content. (See the Online Store for Atkins brand products.)
While any of these foods can make doing Atkins easier, don’t overdo it. Remember, you must always follow The Rules of Induction.

[populistmom]

38. Very informative post here

Right from the book. I was one who was very skeptical of this before I started. A few years earlier, I got weight off with Weight Watchers (but ultimately, I got stuck 2/3 of the way to goal following the plan perfectly, not to mention feeling hungry all the time) and after I had my last baby, I went back to WW. Ultimately, again, I found I was hungry all the time and not losing easily.

I began Atkins a year ago not expecting much. I began seeing results almost immediately, but the weight loss hasn't been all that fast (roughly a pound a week- I'd still like to lose another 15-20) but what I noticed right away was how I felt. For years, I dealt with headaches and a constant state of mild depression, not to mention fatigue. All of the sudden- poof- it was gone. I felt better than I had in years. Still do for the most part, but the side effect to not feeling shitty is having to face certain problems in life I had been afraid to face before. My cholesterol went from too high to normal. I longer have cravings all the time or have binges on food. It's really changed my life and ultimately, I can eat this way forever. I've had a few minor cheat days and always end up coming back, not for the weight as much as how I feel. Refined sugar and high glycemic foods have a terrible effect on my mind and spirit and I don't want to go back to that life. It may not be for everyone, but it was for me.