The Atkins Diet...I may try again

I found this article on-line and it helped me understand the ATKINS diet a little better. I really need to get on some sort of diet. I figured if I posted this it may help me get committed.

Limiting carbohydrates for weight loss can actually make it easier for you to make healthier food choices. And...it can lower your risks for atherogenic heart disease!

As Dr. Atkins, a cardiologist M.D. says in his New Diet Revolution book:

"I must emphasize that the real source of health improvement will come from excluding the typically gargantuan consumption of junk carbohydrates." (1.)

The atkins diet menu provides you the basics for making the drastic changes from the high carb Standard American Diet (SAD) to a low carb eating lifestyle. But...

Many persons find they need more guidance in selecting foods and "fine tuning" their individual carbohydrate intake for optimal weight loss results.

Many people simply ask, "What exactly is atkins diet food anyway?" or, "Which atkins diet recipe will work for me?"

The atkins diet menu That's Right For You...

Take a guess how many grams of carbs the typical American eats on any given day.

Eating habits that fall roughly along the USDA Food Pyramid guidelines--6-11 daily servings from the rice, pasta, bread, and cereal food group --can easily lead to the consumption of over 400 grams of carbs per day!

Add to this the usual amounts of soda pop and sweets that many of us snack on, and you can easily see how..., simple carbohydrates make up 40% of the American diet. (2.)

So, big deal. No, that's the big, FAT deal.

Because it is precisely these kinds of carbohydrates--the simple and refined ones--combined with even small amounts of dietary fats in a mixed diet that can lead to fat storage.

It is these kinds of carbohydrate foods that most markedly increase blood glucose levels and lead to derangements in insulin and lipid metabolism.

"Scientific evidence illustrates that the primary mechanism involved in weight gain on a mixed diet of fats and simple carbohydrates is that of insulin metabolism." (3.)

Of course, this is the reason why we've been hearing the 'low fat' mantra for the last 25 years. It's common knowledge that incoming carbohydrate will block fat burning by the body. Consuming both carbs and fat in the same meal leaves little room for fat burning because your energy requirements will be already met by burning the carbohydrate portion of the meal first.

"Eat less fat to avoid fat storage." That's been the routine of many hopeful dieters. But as you probably know by now...The low fat approach just hasn't worked.

The atkins diet recipe turns the tables! The atkins diet menu reduces your carbohydrate intake to a minimum so that fat utilization is maximized!

Now, if you can just learn how to wean yourself from eating all those scrumptious carbs! That's getting down to the real nitty-gritty with any atkins diet recipe.

Real World atkins diet food choices That Don't Hijack Eating Fun!

Life coach and fitness trainer Kathie Jo Howell of High Voltage boasts in a recent USA Today article, "My people eat what they want. I help them change what they want." (4.)

And that, folks, gets right to the point. Many of the diet plans of the past meant strict reduction of calories that were virtually impossible to follow for more than a month and actually were counterproductive to increasing your fat burning metabolism.

The atkins diet recipe for success (and other similar controlled carbohydrate plans) allows you to feel good on the program. For any reducing plan to work long term, it is essential that you as the participant never feel starved or deprived. In a word, it must be satisfying!

It has to be convenient and simple enough to easily adapt it to your personal lifestyle.

AND...the menu must be varied and delicious enough to avoid food boredom so you still have fun from the simple pleasures of eating.

"The only sensible way to use a low carb diet for weight loss is to remain on this type of diet on an ongoing basis afterward. The question then becomes not, "Is it safe for weight loss?" but, "Is it safe for ongoing use as an eating plan?" (5.)

Let's look at a possible answer to that question and while we're at it; we'll look at the 2 most popular strategies successful low carb dieters use to fit a healthy weight loss plan with atkins diet food into their busy schedules. Also, we include some dynamite resources that follow to help you get started with a "doin' it right weight loss" low carb lifestyle.

Why Most Low Fat Diet Plans Don't Work!

The above Header could also read: "Why Nearly Half of All Americans are Overweight!" (6.)

America's popular weight loss prescription for eating 'low fat' has meant eating more carbohydrate. In a quest for feeling like we got enough to eat, most of us simply substituted more carbohydrate in our meals to make up for the missing fat. The public perception that "fats are bad", has its flip side corollary that most "carbs are good".

Most people lump all carbs together, but there are really three different types--complex, simple, and processed (refined). The dark side to processed carbohydrates is not talked about much.

You guessed it! Eating lots of these kinds of carbs-- sugar, refined flour and starches-- actually worsens cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and contributes to weight gain, heart disease, and cancer. All the nastys we were trying to avoid by cutting down on the fat!

So while Americans have reduced fat intake in the last 2 decades from 40% to 34% of daily ingested food calories, the average daily caloric consumption has gone up by 200 calories per day. (7.)

Huh? Here's the explanation. When dietary fat is restricted as in many of the low fat diet plans, it removes the body's natural appetite control system that is stimulated by fat.

In fact, scientific evidence suggests that fat should NOT be restricted in the diet because low fat dieting leads to carbohydrate bingeing!

According to Dr. Melvin Page, DDS., "It is a physiological fact that the more carbohydrates you eat, the more you will want". (8.) This is especially true when you're talking about those oh-so-tempting simple sugars and starches.

To understand this phenomenon further, I'll borrow from the pages of The Schwarzbein Principle. Dr. Diana Schwarzbein, M.D. explains that the body has feedback mechanisms to prevent you from eating too many proteins and fats. But the body doesn't have this same mechanism to regulate carbohydrates.

"...Carbohydrates have to go through the entire digestive and absorption process before the brain understands it is getting food and stops sending hunger signals...whereas eating protein and fats signals the brain early on to stop demanding food, with carbohydrates there is no early regulation to say, "Don't eat any more." (9.)

Carbohydrates (alone) do not satiate the appetite until you have already overeaten! Do you understand now why low fat munching Americans get fooled into eating more and still feel undernourished?

The Real Reason Why There's So Much Conflicting Diet Information:

I hope you read this far because when I came to understand the following facts, it truly allowed me to make some sense out of all the dieting confusion out there. You know what I mean...

"Eggs are good." "No they're not." "Low carb dieting is good." "No, low fat is better." "Dairy is fine." "No, you'll never lose weight until you stop drinking milk!" "The atkins diet menu is a healthy weight loss plan." "You are out of your mind -- all that meat and saturated fat is cardiovascular suicide!" On and on, et cetera..., etc., etc.

Dr. Jan McBride, M.D., author of "Diet Truths Revealed: The Ideal Diet For Human Health" may have given us all a way to sort out valuable facts from fallacies.

To provide her patients with the best dietary recommendations, she began a rigorous research into human nutrition. As she explains on her web site, she discovered that the human body is designed to treat nutrients in a specific way. Once these processes are understood, we can assess the validity and benefit of any given diet.

Dr. McBride was particularly interested in the current research into heart disease, excess weight, and degenerative disease pathologies. She found well documented scientific evidence that shows our metabolism allows us to choose between two very different long term eating methods that control weight and reduce the risks of heart disease.

One of these methods is the controlled calorie, very high carbohydrate, low fat approach. This is typified by some vegetarian diets, and the Dr. Ornish, Pritikin, and McDougal plans. The other eating method is the controlled, or low carbohydrate diet such as the atkins diet food program.

How can such opposite extremes result in similar benefits?

Using scientific studies that have been right under our noses, it took someone like Jan McBride to draw the conclusions in plain English for us.

She asserts that scientific facts clearly illustrate that elevated LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels and increased triglyceride counts are most directly related to the ratio of carbohydrate to fat in a diet.

_" A high carbohydrate diet with very low fat content appears to be just as low risk for heart disease as is a low carbohydrate, high fat diet." (10.)

Here's another way to state this:

"The amount of dietary fat being eaten [low or high] does not significantly increase the amount of fat used for fuel by the body. Rather fat oxidation [burning] is determined indirectly: by alcohol and carbohydrate consumption." (11.)

What's it going to be? Low carb or low fat? It doesn't pay to mix high proportions of either in the same meal plan. It's the dietary composition of fat relative to carbohydrate that puts you in either a fat storing or fat burning mode. Never before in recorded history have we had the means to easily combine high amounts of both in a deadly fat making dietary duo!

Two Winning Ways to put an atkins diet recipe on YOUR Table...

For many, the short answer to that (last) question is without doubt--"Low carb". In our western, affluent society, most people are accustomed to a diet that includes a fat intake of 30% to 40% of total calories. Many dieters find it more realistic to decrease carbohydrate intake, rather than try to limit dietary fat to only 10% to 15% of daily calories to achieve weight control.

Those individuals who are hypoglycemic, crave carbohydrates, or have a high metabolic resistance to weight loss greatly benefit when restricting carbohydrate in an atkins diet menu.

There are two popular strategies that can help you make the transition from the typical American diet to a scientifically sound weight loss program that includes atkins diet food.

If you know that you're already a good cook, get 1 or 2 decent low carb cookbooks that are readily available. The key to success in any controlled carb strategy (when cooking from scratch) is to concentrate on using natural, fresh, whole foods in an atkins diet recipe. And besides insuring you get regular and adequate protein, the main secret to success is substituting low glycemic, or so-called "slow" carbs--brightly colored, high fiber, leafy vegetables for those problem grains. See below for some great cookbook resources.

The other popular strategy is for those who are used to eating from convenient, packaged food items and may be more comfortable with a microwave than with a grill. The burgeoning designer food industry with their contemporary low carb food substitutes could be just the answer for you. Cake mixes and pancakes, cookies and pizza crust, even chocolates and otherwise high carb goodies, can all be had in modern atkins diet recipe prepackaged, (low carb) versions that can satisfy the most crazed carb craver.

For those of you shopping around for low carb food alternatives--atkins diet recipe veterans and novices alike..., "You've never had it so good!"

It's never been easier to get all the taste with a lot fewer carbs!

Good luck in this new endeavor D. It works really fast just don't make my mistake and lower the carbs as drastic as I did. I didn't know when I was on the diet the lowering the carbs too low would affect the chemicals in the brain leading to depression.

On another note... the pros would and do tell us to eat more whole grains to be healthy.. Being from a farm background its common knowledge that you feed animals WHOLE grains to fatten them up for slaughter. We've listened to them for many years and have become the fattest country on earth with more health problems than most other countries.

Again good luck and keep us posted.

do your visualization that you do on your penis, only do it for your whole body. That should help you loose and gain!

The whole key to dieting that most people miss guys is as sited above in one phrase that sums it up...the KEY to success: Lifestyle. Most people who "diet" do it to drop a few pounds and, because it's never a concrete thing to them...there's never any real, solid commitment to the diet or to themselves...it's easy to quit and, say it didnt work. If you truly desire to change your eating habits and in turn become a healthier person, you have to make a lifestyle change. Rather than do like many people do and, just stop eating french fries when they go out to eat and think "hey, this is it! I'm gonna lose that fat!". Another thing I see many people do is use a weight scale to track fat loss. This can be a major mistake, especially if you are including cardio exercise or weight training in your new lifestyle. WHY? Because, for one, muscle weighs something like twice as much as fat. Therefor, if you lose 10lbs of fat over the course of 3 weeks and, step on the scale and see this loss in weight...then over the course of two more weeks lets say you lose 10 more lbs of fat but, at the same time gain 10lbs of muscle. (most people dont gain muscle that fast, just an example) You may step on the scale and not accounting for the muscle gain because, like most people you dont know any better, you gasp when you notice you have actually gained weight, not lost it like you were expecting to have done! This of course can play with your mind like you cannot imagine and, may even lead to depression and a relapse in your whole diet program ....especially if you were never really that committed to it in the first place. Just some thoughts. I used to work out quite a bit, eat 6 or 7 high protien meals a day and count my carbs like it was going out of style. I was also in the best shape of my life back then...only a few years ago. I plan to get back into that type of lifestyle again in the near future. I may even look into the Atkins program. Not because I am obese like DLD (just kidding man!) but, because I believe in the low carb diet program. Most people do consume way too many carbs and, blame dietary fat on their obesity issues. When in fact Saturated fat and carbs are what they should be watching. One last point before I wrap up. A funny, actually SAD thing that I see in most diet programs....lets use Healthy Choice meals for example....the reason they dont work....is because, if you look at the labels....you will notice that while the foods ARE usually much lower in saturated fats...they are usually also loaded down with twice the sugar (total carbohydrates) and SODIUM. Salt makes you retain water weight and, can also raise your blood pressure. Of course, replacing fat with carbohydrates is no good either...you may as well eat both fat and carbs together because you wont lose the fat you want to. So, the next time you see that box of "Super Low Fat, Slim Fast/Weight Watchers' Double Fudge Brownies", keep in mind the box label tells the real story. It's like the fat man or woman who drinks nothing but "Diet" Sodas. That's usually the only "Diet" they are on.

Or you could run your ass off everyday. It's working for me as I can now see my abs somewhat. I haven't been able to do that since High School.

DLD, I've talked about this a little bit here, but I would encourage you to check out the South Beach Diet. You could probably get the book from Amazom for about $15. It agrees with a great deal of what Dr. Atkins established, but talks more about select carbs. For example, protein enriched pasta has no more effect on the blood sugar level than meat, so it is fine to eat. Whole wheat pasta does not have too much more impact, whereas common white flour pasta has a considerable impact. I hit a plateau on it, but I truly think it was a small amount of muscle gain. During the time I gained 2 pounds, while working my ass off in the gym, I measure to find out I'd lost a half-inch from my waist. At any rate, I've always made small personal adaptations to any diet to suit my lifestyle, but South Beach has taught me a lot and has been a great addition to the diet/health reading library.

Stillwantmore, I agree with most everything you said. However, I can attest to the lifestyle thing not always being the indicator. For example, last spring I ate virtually flawlessly and I was so proud of how good I did sticking to my diet. I did cardio about five days per week. I supplemented my diet with omega fish oils and was taking Trim Spa. At the end of the month, I'd lost a whopping three pounds. How pathetic. Most people would have lost 15 doing the work I was doing. They say you should shoot for 10 pounds per month weight loss and I say that figure is low for those that are exercising hard. Even if I gained 2-3 pounds of muscle mass (I did no anaerobic training at all), we're talking 5-6 pounds of fat loss, at tops.

I've absolutely got to have the worst metabolism in the world. There has to be some folks out there that have metabolism that is poor, though I'm seriously convinced no one has it worse than me. I can totally understand how depressing and discouraging this must be.

I think you have pushed me over to the south beach side. I'm going to check it out. I've slowed my loosing on Adkins and have gotten bored with it.

Atkins is tough to follow. South Beach is not as tough to follow, but is a little more difficult when dining out, but is manageable. Dr. Agatston that created the South Beach Diet has much praise for Dr. Atkins, with just a little bit of criticism. Remember, the Atkins Diet is basically unchanged since the 70s, but South Beach recognizes a few new discoveries in blood chemistry.

I'm convinced that activity is essential to both. I found when I went hardcore Atkins I lost quite a bit of fat, but too much muscle. I was not exercising at the time and I think anyone that follows either program should incorporate exercise, particularly some type of anaerobic resistance.

Hi all,

I have been on Atkins diet twice. Both times I lost incredible amounts of water, fat and a little bit of muscle. After just two weeks adherence to the Induction Phase people were already making comments about my weight loss but nobody knew I was even on a diet.

After the Induction Phase, you start adding in 5 grams of carbs to your daily regimen per week. So during Induction Phase there is an allowance of 20 grams/day. On the 3rd week move to 25 grams/day. And keep adding 5 daily grams per week until you get out of ketosis. Then cut back 5 grams. What you normally end up with about 8-10 weeks later is something that looks like a very healthy vegetable diet with liberal portions of meat.

If people realized the end result (the 4th phase On-going maintentance) there would be no whining about it being unhealthy. Everyone likes to criticize the ultra-low carb Induction Phase but that's just for two weeks and then you add in healthy carbs.

I'm starting again Monday and here are a few things I've learned that help me:

1) Take coral calcium, L-Arginine (I like InnerPower by Pearson & Shaw) and a multi-vitamin.
2) Never, ever, ever get in a situation where you don't have the food you need. That means, take your lunch or pre-plan where you are going out. I find I often blow it when I have to choose at the spur of the moment. I make sure there is always someting in the fridge that I can warm up.
3) Don't let yourself get hungry. I am less hungry on Atkins but I notice when I get really hungry I am at risk to blow it
4) Lift weights. I've never seen such strength and muscle improvement as I have when eating on the Atkins diet. It is simply phenomenal and it acts as a motivator to stay on. Then, when you notice your body changing it keeps you motivated.
5) Drink lots and lots of water. I start of the morning with about 4 cups of super cold water. Then, I drink 1 cup every couple hours.
6) Don't tell anyone you are on a diet. Just silently go about executing your plan.
7) Use Keto Sticks (or is it Strips?). It is a motivator to see yourself in Ketosis. Also, as you add 5 grams of vegetables each week, they Keto Sticks will allow you to determine when you've reached you own personal carb limit.

When someone tells me they are doing Atkins but not using the Keto sticks, I just shake my head. It's like going into a cave without a FleshLight.

I'm close enough to my goal now that I will be able to stay on Atkins for about 6 weeks before switching to the Maintenance phase. That'll be about 24 pounds lost in 6 weeks with about 6 lbs of extra muscle.

-- Jason

LongDongNow has offered some great advice for Atkins dieters. Atkins has much in common with South Beach, the former allowing saturated fats and the latter allowing carbs on the lower end of the glycemic index. The only criticism Dr. Agatston had of Dr. Atkins plan was the saturated fat aspect. To me that is really only a concern of patients that are as concerned about heart health as they are weight loss. Being 28, the reality is I'm not going to have a heart attack, unless there is some congenital defect I'm unaware of. I'll trade higher cholesterol for fat loss 8 days a week.

That being said, I think anaerobic work is absolutely essential. LDN talked of his good muscle gains, which is undoubtedly due to the high amount of protein. However, when I went die-hard Atkins, I was in college and I approached it with a couch potato exercise mentality. I did no exercise of any form and far too much of what I lost was lean muscle mass, which sets a person back in the long-term.

i lost like 20 kilos from this diet

IMO I'd go for KETO instead.

Macros for KETO are: 60f, 35p, 5c
You can stay in keto as long as you'd like, but you also have every two-three weeks carb up. You then switch your macros to: 60c, 35p, 5f. The next day, back to 60f, 35p, 5c for another couple weeks. Repeat.

shr0om_7;352344 said:

IMO I'd go for KETO instead.

Macros for KETO are: 60f, 35p, 5c
You can stay in keto as long as you'd like, but you also have every two-three weeks carb up. You then switch your macros to: 60c, 35p, 5f. The next day, back to 60f, 35p, 5c for another couple weeks. Repeat.

Click to expand...

x2...keto ftw or try the tkd (timed keto diet)

I find it interesting that many guys on here blast the medical establisHydromaxent for Penis Enlargement denial yet they listen to them about those "unhealthy" saturated fats and cholesterol. There is no real evidence that either are causal factors in heart disease. Too much calcium on the other hand... It's a matter of simple logic really when talking about saturated fats. It makes little sense that humans were created, designed or evolved- whatever you subscribe to- in a way that would render the most energy dense source of fuel for your body found in nature (saturated fats) bad for you.

Check out the book Good Calories, Bad Calories for a lot more info on this subject.

I did the Atkins about 10 years ago and lost some weight, but was very sluggish and generally didn't feel very good. Since then I lost weight just watching what I was eating and exercising. But when i exercise, I really exercise, I can not tell you how many people go to the gym just to say they went, but they do virtually nothing while there. I started cutting out bad foods little by little, maybe one a month, before you know it, you have completely changed your eating habits.

I lost 60 pounds. I tried just exercising, just dieting different ways, and I've learned a lot on the internet and from books.

It's all about hormones. You control your hormones with diet and exercise, and then your hormones get out of the way and let you burn fat. Leptin, insulin, estrogen, testosterone, growth hormone, rhellin. Experts: Alvino, Grisafi, Mahler. It's not about supplements at all, other than good nutrient ones like omega-3 but not the caffeine ones.

I don't have a gym I can go to because I am somewhat weird like DLD. I have a checklist others don't have, like DLD. I have free weights at home though, and those warehouse gyms full of machines are a waste. Machines are not relevent to anything but corporate bottom line(rent, loan, machine investment, no muscle gain or fat loss!).

those warehouse gyms have given me a lot of muscle, and fast without injury.

The ketogenic diet is probably the best and quickest way to lose fat and spare/gain muscle. As an amateur body builder, I use keto all the time to quickly drop bloat and excess body fat within two or three months.

My cousin and his wife did Atkins with great success. They ate mostly meat, veggies, fresh fruits, cut simple carbs out of their diet and excercised a little more and both reached their goals in 2 months. Well, she lost hers in about 1 month(15 lbs post-pregnancy weight) and he lost 55 POUNDS(!) in under 2. I know quite a few people who did Atkins and it worked for everyone who did it correctly and stuck with it.