How do you survive on Atkins

[Boozer]

I know some of you have done the Atkins thing and its not horrible because you can eat as much as you want too but GOD DAMN! How do you go without the sugar?
I'm on my 3rd day now and the lack of sugar is killin me. Not to mention no morning coffee and no nightly beer or 12.
The beer is going to be brutal on the weekends. Guess I'll have to find a new outlet for stress that doesnt involve boozin it.
So does it get easier as you go on? What kinda changes should I expect other then dramatic weight loss?

[HotRod Sprint]

Boozer, ya it really does suck at first. My hardest thing was giving up coca-cola for diet coke. Now I've gotten to the point I can't stand the taste of real coke any more. I didn't give up coffee, and still lost weight. Don't want to encourage you to get off the wagon so to speak, though. Some changes you can expect, within a couple of weeks or sooner, you should start feeling more energetic. I noticed my hair (what little I have left) grew faster, so did my finger nails. The best part is after a couple of months noticing how loose your clothes are, it was cool to go buy new clothes in the same size I wore in high school. Keep it up dude, you will be glad you did.
Rod

[C-2]

That's the problem with Atkins...it's a diet and very tough to stick with. Just too many yummy carbs out there.
Adjusting your eating habits and lifestyle is much easier. After Thanksgiving I cut out might nightly six pack of beer and now watch what I eat, and yes, even excercise.
I'm down 15lbs, a lot of inches and am now only a junior member of the big belly crew (before I was getting to grand master status).
The beer was putting me over the top...that's a really bad habit to fall into.

[JakeAisA]

You cannot drink a six pack of beer because there's just way too many carbs. You can have one or two Michelob Ultras...they're very good by the way.
You don't have to give up coffee. I gave it up and I didn't lose any more weight without coffee for the two weeks I gave it up then when I have coffee.
Definately don't eat everything you see though. You'll find that if you're staying away from carbs that you'll eat less because your appetite should diminish with the protein and fats. Try to stop eating before you're full--you'll find thats easier to accomplish on Atkins then on other diets. But your fat burning will increase dramatically the less you eat.
Also, the biggest mistake people make on Atkins is the hidden carbs. Everything has carbs. Stay away from dairy products (milk, soft and hard cheeses, creamy stuff, etc.). Dairy products have sugar, especially the softer dairy products. There's also a ton of sugar in most vegetables--green and colored peppers, avacados, onions, carrots, peas. Stick to brocoli, cauliflor, green beans, spinach and other obviously non-sweet tasting vegetables.
You're supposed to eat at least a cup of vegetables per day, maybe even more. If you avoiding eating massive quantities, stick to meats and poultry that don't have sugar laced sauces on them, with plenty of vegetables--you'll lose a ton of weight.
After awhile you'll become very immune to the carb cravings. Tonight, while out to dinner for a family member at upscale fish resturant, I watched my family eat fresh baked sourdough bread, garlic mashed potoatoes, clam chowder, fried shrimp ordeurves and a crazy looking chocolate ice cream cake covered in whip cream and hot chocolate sauce...and it I didn't touch one bite of any of it. I've been on Atkins for sometime and I've learned to completly ignore people who eat carbs in front of me wihout craving for them.
Stick to it religiously for awhile, don't ever take a break from it and it will be easy. I didn't cheat over Thanksgiving or Christmas once and I lost 15 lbs during that period.
Good Luck.

[Froggystyle]

I lost a bunch of weight on Atkins over only a two week period. As for the cravings...
Cool Whip. One teaspoon has hardly any carbs, and will usually get you over the hump. As far as coffee goes, if you drink it black, keep it up... it will actually help your metabolism. If you sweeten it like I do, use Splenda. It tastes like shit, but does the job. Use Coffee Mate for creamer.
The cravings go away. I haven't had a coke at all since. BTW, most "diet" cokes have less calories, but the same number of carbs. Be careful.
The problem is, there are no snack foods that work well on the diet. I solved this by bar b queing a whole bunch of chicken breasts, and cooking the hell out of chicken wings. Deep frying is fine on the diet. In addition, I basically survived on In N Out burgers (protein style, wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun) and tacos we would make with regular taco mix and ground beef, but wrapped in lettuce.
The hot tip is getting the Ketostix. It lets you know if you are in Ketosis or not (fat burning) and if you are, keep on keepin on. If not, you need to find out where your hidden carbs are. I was on dark, dark red for two weeks straight and went from 192 to 173.
The best thing about Atkins is, if you lift and do some cardio, it works twice as well, and you get huge from all of the protein. Who knows how much fat I lost, because I was back up to 180 with muscle growth in two weeks. Body fat meter told the tale... I went from 13% or so to 7% in those two weeks, and have been maintaining 8.5-9% since.
Good luck, it works really well if you get into Ketosis. It takes forever and doesn't do anything if you don't.

[Froggystyle]

BTW, the ONLY thing I drank was Miller lite (3 grams per 12oz) and water.
That was the funny part... I drank beer with everything!

[Kilrtoy]

If your not lifting while on atkins you are waisting your time.
You will lose more muscle than anything......

[FMluvswater]

What about plumbing? Any adverse effects on the plumbing consuming all that protein? I really wanna know.

[missboatnam1]

well i dont know if any one mentioned it, but if you have the craving for chips, eat thouse fried pork things....cant reamber what they are called...and mints are s/b ok for the sweet rush.....a friend at work does 12 days on 2 days off. he looks forward to his 2 days off so he can have some drinks!!..and normally dosent go crazy on the carbs!!
good luck!! :)

[Danhercules]

If ya need to booze, drink diet caffine free coke and white rum. No cocanut rum though.

[promod]

my dad has been on it for 14 months and has lost 100lbs and he is 51 and feels like hes 21 again lol

[betty boop]

Boozer, go back a few pages and read under the forum topic "Atkins" and there is some really good info and advice in there.....maybe you'll change your mind about being on a "diet"!!

[Hal]

Diet Coke and Pepsi have "0" carbs and "0" calories. They do get to taste pretty good after a while..

[HammerDown]

Here's a good link...it has a good carb counter also> http://www.everythingatkins.net/
I've been doing this for just over 2 weeks...can't say I see a big differencs like some say (20 lbs in 2 weeks)...but things are starting to happen. I always did run 2 miles a day and hit the gym 3 nights a week.
I do notice that the weights feel a little heaver at the Gym...but the running part of it hasn't really changed.
I wonder why some people get more drastic results than others?
I don't really miss breads etc...but I did like OatMeal in the morning...(no more) and I've got 5 gallons of Apple Juice sitting around that I can't drink.
I Just drink water and Diet Coke....
Oh yea...I don't doo-doo as much :rolleyes:

[Drunk tank]

Originally posted by Boozer
I know some of you have done the Atkins thing and its not horrible because you can eat as much as you want too but GOD DAMN! How do you go without the sugar?
I'm on my 3rd day now and the lack of sugar is killin me. Not to mention no morning coffee and no nightly beer or 12.
The beer is going to be brutal on the weekends. Guess I'll have to find a new outlet for stress that doesnt involve boozin it.
So does it get easier as you go on? What kinda changes should I expect other then dramatic weight loss?
I have a simple solution for you.... Tequila and Rum... Learn it, live it, love it!

[AdrenelineOD]

chapter 6 I think is very Important to understanding success,( New Diet Revolution Diet book) pay attention to, Ketosis and Lipolysis. That is it just read:)

[spectratoad]

Originally posted by HammerDown
Here's a good link...it has a good carb counter also> http://www.everythingatkins.net/
I've been doing this for just over 2 weeks...can't say I see a big differencs like some say (20 lbs in 2 weeks)...but things are starting to happen. I always did run 2 miles a day and hit the gym 3 nights a week.
I do notice that the weights feel a little heaver at the Gym...but the running part of it hasn't really changed.
I wonder why some people get more drastic results than others?
I don't really miss breads etc...but I did like OatMeal in the morning...(no more) and I've got 5 gallons of Apple Juice sitting around that I can't drink.
I Just drink water and Diet Coke....
Oh yea...I don't doo-doo as much :rolleyes:
I would say in your case you already are pretty fit so you probably won't see as much change as us couch potatoes.
After reading the thread I think I may have to give it a try. I have seen several books about the diet. Which one is good to give you the skinny on the diet as well as menu items?

[coolchange]

Try Diet Rite instead of diet coke. Its sweetened with Splenda not Aspartame and seems less bitter. Diet Coke gives me headaches.

[AdrenelineOD]

Originally posted by coolchange
Try Diet Rite instead of diet coke. Its sweetened with Splenda not Aspartame and seems less bitter. Diet Coke gives me headaches. Diet Coke gives good head...........ache?

[Screaming Pete]

I started last year and lost 25-30 lbs. but need to get my head back in the game again. but feel good about keeping that much off for a year. Now could be the time, Vodka with diet tonic and lime, sugar free red bull, green veggies, not red. time to get back on it. Keep the thread alive with daily updates. and you can get those Ketostix strips at costco pertty cheap.:)

[hboldno7]

Ive been on Atkins for about 4 months, Lost 17 pounds in the first two weeks and I have been losing a pound or two a week since. I am carefull of my carb intake now but not overly obsessive and the diet is still working. I also work out 3 or 4 days a week and have a ton of energy to spare. I picked up an atkins cook book at borders and Eat something new almost every night.

[bigq]

Originally posted by Kilrtoy
If your not lifting while on atkins you are waisting your time.
You will lose more muscle than anything......
This is a false statement. It is the total opposite. That is why you have a high protein intake.:rolleyes: People that go on diets that limit protein and starv themselves are the ones lossing muscle tissue. This is why most go on a diet loose thw weight, stop a diet and gain back more fat then they had, because they never really lost any fat.
The human body will die with out fat and protein it is esential for life, if you never had another gram of carbos you would be quite healthy.
read a few books and you would be amazed at what carbs (sugar) does to the human body, more than just making you fat.
BTW, I followed a diet called the "Protein Diet" it is low carb. Been eating this way for 4 years and initial lose of 35 lbs. and have kept it off. The problem is people see this as a diet and you really need to change the way you eat for life not just a few months. Once you correct a health issue or loose the fat you want you can eat a few more carbs. I maintain on about 45grams a day, some may be less some may be able to have more.

[Boozer]

[COLOR=seagreen][FONT=courier new][B]
So it's day 3 now and the cravings for sugar stuff are getting a little easier. I found a few things that seem to help out with the sugar cravings. Trident gum 1 gram per piece. Also found Atkins Ice Cream bars 3 grams per bar. These 2 things are definitely helping me out with the sugar cravings. Still haven't adjusted to diet coke but the diet Dr. Pepper is definitely helping me out a lot.
Still weird to think for dinner I ate a filet mignon covered in blue cheese, a salad covered in ceasar dressing and blue cheese and in the process I'm going to lose weight. Weird.

[HotRod Sprint]

Originally posted by FMluvswaterbabe
What about plumbing? Any adverse effects on the plumbing consuming all that protein? I really wanna know.
I can say, no adverse effects at all. If anything, when eating all the carbs tended to trot a lot more. When low or no carbs, all protein, everything flows very normal.
Rod <--------Really just weirded myself out here

[HotRod Sprint]

Originally posted by Boozer
[COLOR=seagreen][FONT=courier new][B]
Still weird to think for dinner I ate a filet mignon covered in blue cheese, a salad covered in ceasar dressing and blue cheese and in the process I'm going to lose weight. Weird.
Boozer, you should consider looking at the carbs in the salad dressing. On my salads I always use a Balsamaic Vinagarette dressing, because of the low carb value. Some of those dressings are real high in carbs.
Rod

[Kilrtoy]

If your not lifting while on atkins you are waisting your time. You will lose more muscle than anything......
This is a false statement. It is the total opposite
Ok,
My buddy did the diet for 3 months before he got married(DUMB ASS)
Anyways he said it was great , BUT, he lost alot of his muscle tissue. He said he needed to work out.
So he began that and wha la,,, he continued to lose weight but was able to maintain his muscle tissue.

[Floatin']

For me the low carb diet is very easy. I BBQ 5-6 nights a week and it is either a hamburger patty with cheese, a steak, chicken, or baby back ribs, I'm not big on fish. For lunch I will stop at IN n Out and get a 3x3 Protein Style or El Pollo Loco I get 4 Pieces of chicken only no tortillas. I drink alot of water. For desert I have sugar free pudding with cool whip. Sometimes a spoon of Peanut Butter just to get through.
One thing I have not given up is drinking alcohol. I still drink Coors Light but I have cut that back to 3-4, now I also drink Vodka with diet 7up. In the first 2 months I lost 30 lbs. I put 10 of that back on over the holidays by eating pie and candy but took that back off in January.
I lift 1 on 1 off and I do abs everyday. I still need to shed the layer of fat around my gut area so I have more work to do but I like to enjoy life and to me that means having a few brews with my friends and eating a big fat steak.

[bigq]

Originally posted by Boozer
[COLOR=seagreen][FONT=courier new][B]
So it's day 3 now and the cravings for sugar stuff are getting a little easier. I found a few things that seem to help out with the sugar cravings. Trident gum 1 gram per piece. Also found Atkins Ice Cream bars 3 grams per bar. These 2 things are definitely helping me out with the sugar cravings. Still haven't adjusted to diet coke but the diet Dr. Pepper is definitely helping me out a lot.
Still weird to think for dinner I ate a filet mignon covered in blue cheese, a salad covered in ceasar dressing and blue cheese and in the process I'm going to lose weight. Weird.
Boozer just so you know my wife was reakin out the way I started to eat. She was a big fitness buff and was still stuck on the high card low fat crap. Anyway it does seem weird and just be forwarned that it was about 2.5 to 3 weeks before I noticed my body burning fat for energy. Some it takes less time just hang in there and remember this is really a change for life. ;)

[Froggystyle]

Here is the rub... You will see a lot of people who say that they have limited or less than acceptable results with the program, and almost universally you will see that they are not going to ZERO carbs, or that they are trying to find all of the cheats and use them, up to and including Splenda, and "diet" whatevers.
The fact is, your body can, and will try to live on around 40 grams of carbs per day. You will be low on energy, and laxidaiscal going through the day, but your body will not switch energy sources. If you drop to zero carbs, or therabouts, you will switch sources (from carbs to body fat) almost immediately, and you will notice that you are back to full speed and such right away. This is evidenced by the Ketostix going to full dark red when used.
More than one person that is "on Atkins" and not seeing results has lost a bet to me by testing with the strips. People with slower metabolisms need to limit carbs even more than active people. People with a more sedentary lifestyle often need to reduce carb intake to below 20 grams to even begin the ketosis process.
The diet is pure speculation without the test strips. You will be able to tell whether your workout is able to offset any carb intake or if your "cheats" are taking you out of the fat burning zone.
Fact: If you drop your carb intake to zero, you will burn body fat at the same rate you were metabolizing carbohydrates before the diet.
It is physically impossible not to lose fat if you are full bore on Atkins. Do it, and lose fat. You can't mess around though. If you half do it, it won't work, and you are just torturing yourself for whatever period you are on it.
I lost all my weight in two weeks. After the two weeks, the thought of drinking 54 grams of carbs in a single coke was disgusting to me. I still eat carbs, just a far more normal amount of them. I totally stopped eating the crap I used to eat (lots of cookies, deserts etc...) My problem was, as a SEAL, I had such an active lifestyle that I could eat anything that wasn't bolted down or painted. Once I got hurt and retired, I went from running, swimming or working out every single day for two hours to sitting at a computer building a company all day. I went from 163 pounds in the teams to 198 in about 8 months, and not all of it was fat. I just grew into the size that my lifestyle had prevented me from becoming. I had some extra weight to lose though, and did so on Atkins.
Best of luck... it works.!

[HammerDown]

Where does one get these "Test strips"?
I find it hard to belive I'm taking in much if any carbs a day.
Eggs, Pork, Water , Beef, Poultry, Broccoli, Water, some chedder cheese, water, Lettuce, Diet Caffeine free Coke, Water... Thats about it...really.
Snack= Pork Rines.

[boatnam2]

hey froggy im getting ready to start it .im doing a river trip next weekend so im going to wait until after that weekend to start.we will see how it works for me, you make it sound pretty good.quite a few guys at work are on it and doing pretty good.the guys that are cheating a little bit are struggling.

[mirvin]

Hey boatnam, been on it 15 months now. Best thing I ever did. Ran into Goldy last weekend and he said, "What happened, you used to be fat"!!
I was never fat but always 10 to 25 lbs heavy and always battling with food.
PM me if you want some info or anything.
Mirvin

[boatnam2]

yea mirvin he keeps calling me a fat ass i call him patches because of that bald spot on the back of his head.next time you see him call him patches.

[mirvin]

That's funny!! I just stopped by real quick and he was on his way out to go golfing so I didn't notice but I'll be sure to mention it:D

[mirvin]

Hey Hammer, you there? I sent you a pm.
Mirvin;)

[beyondhelpin]

Like Froggy said get the strips . You may be getting carbs from an unknown source. You can get the strips at most drug stores. I even seen them in Walmart last month.
The diet is most effective with under 10 carbs a day. Eat some green beans or something similar. The book spells it out . I did like Froggy and went with 0 carbs and experienced no problems. The weight just melted off of me. It was amazing. (I was also working out religiously.) Take a good multi vitamin though.
Over the long term stay away from anything that is processed flour or sugar. If it comes in a box or package dont eat it!
The only reason given for the coffee exclusion is that caffeine can make you hungry. I will take the hunger over no coffee any day not that I was ever actually hungry from the caffeine.
Men seem to do better on the diet. Maybe because we are hunters (meat eaters) as cavemen and the girls were gathers.:D
The diet rocks when done properly. If not you are wasting your time.
My wife will make a couple of dozen scrambled eggs and a package of sausage for me for the next week. Works great. Just under cook the eggs a little bit and the microwave will finish the job.
And most important (with any diet) if you screw up on the diet and jam a bunch of carbs down the throat dont think you blew the diet and get off of it. Just pickup where you left off.
Here is a web site with a lot of low carb recipes. http://www.camacdonald.com/lc/LowCarbohydrateCooking-Recipes.htm

[Ms. AquaBoogie1]

I have to agree, this WOE(way of eating) really does work. I started it 9/11/03 and I lost 12 lbs. the first 2 weeks. I stopped it around the end of Nov(due to the holidays) and I lost a total of 23lbs. and 3 inches all over. The best advice I can give anyone on Atkins is not to rely on your scale. You loose more inches than anything. One day you might have lost two lbs. and then the next it might have gone back up two lbs. Take your measurments before you start. And then measure yourself weekly. You will see more results that way. You might not have lost any weight, but you will sure loose inches. I went off of it during the holidays and I gained back 8 lbs. and have been feeling like crap!!!! I am starting it again after Valentines(me & AquaBoogie1 are going to Vegas!!) And this time I am going to stick to it!!! It really does work. By the way the first week that I was on it, I actually went through withdrawls from the carbs and sugar(sweating, and feeling faint) I thought I couldn't hang with it, but you definately can't "cheat" on it. You have to do all or nothing!!!! Good luck!!:D
Oh also, READ THE BOOK, don't just go off of "hear say"

[HammerDown]

Does high Cholesterol levels become a issue with this style of eating...:confused:
I've been on Lipitor for almost a year now, my levels went from 248 to I belive 170.

[NorCal Gameshow]

Originally posted by HammerDown
Does high Cholesterol levels become a issue with this style of eating...:confused:
I've been on Lipitor for almost a year now, my levels went from 248 to I belive 170.
I pulled this from abc news:
Eat Fat and Cholesterol Gets Better?
Two short-term studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine this year found that cholesterol levels were reduced in obese patients on high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets.
"The surprise in the studies last year of Atkins was not that there was weight lost; it was that the lipid [cholesterol] profiles of the patients got better, not worse as people had predicted," said Dr. Paul Shekelle, a professor at University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine and director of the Southern California Evidence-Based Practice Center.
"I have seen the same thing in clinical practice. The presumption is that the loss in weight, which will improve the lipid profile, is more than counterbalancing any adverse effect [of] the high-protein diet," said Shekelle.
notice the test were with "obese patients"

[bigq]

Originally posted by HammerDown
Does high Cholesterol levels become a issue with this style of eating...:confused:
I've been on Lipitor for almost a year now, my levels went from 248 to I belive 170.
You need to seperate them from what little I know. What is the HDL and LDL not the combined. Also what is the triglyceride levels. then look at the tryclyceride to HDL percentage to get a real reading of where you are at. The little I know is you need cholesterol, too little is not good either ,so to answer your question, the diet seems to allow the body to regulate it naturally the way it is suppose to. I started the protein diet for high BP, docs wanted me on drugs, I am not on drugs and my BP is normal now. I have heard of some peole going up to unsafe levels and then coming down, but it took more than a year to correct it.

[bigq]

here is a link to the Protein plan i was on:
Protein Plan (http://www.eatprotein.com/index.htm)
It has a online store and recipies and BB.

[Flying Tiger]

Avoid foods that normally are high carb, but have a claimed low carb version. (bread)
It's BS.
Atkins works for me., but ya need a little exercise too. Shoot baskets, hit the stairs.
I was 268 lbs at RD's birthday bash, I'm 228 lbs now.
Only following Atkins guidelines.
Thats 40 lbs in about 4 months.
Be 190 lbs by summer.
No more fat man summers for da kid.
http:// http://
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/3812Picture_5.jpg
^^^casanova cam^^^

[NorCal Gameshow]

Originally posted by Flying Tiger
Avoid foods that normally are high carb, but have a claimed low carb version. (bread)
It's BS.
Atkins works for me., but ya need a little exercise too. Shoot baskets, hit the stairs.
I was 268 lbs at RD's birthday bash, I'm 228 lbs now.
Only following Atkins guidelines.
Thats 40 lbs in about 4 months.
Be 190 lbs by summer.
No more fat man summers for da kid.
http:// http://
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/3812Picture_5.jpg
^^^casanova cam^^^
when you hit your goal, try carrying around a bag o' stuff weighing 78lbs for a day..... :eek: kinda puts it into perspective...

[058]

Originally posted by HammerDown
Does high Cholesterol levels become a issue with this style of eating...:confused:
I've been on Lipitor for almost a year now, my levels went from 248 to I belive 170. I could not get my cholestrol below 170 with Lipitor. After 2 months on Atkins my cholestrol dropped to 138. I've lost 45lbs since Oct. 13th when I started Atkins. The key to sucess on Atkins is to read the book, stick to the instructions and don't cheat.

[Froggystyle]

I never personally read the book. The theory is sound, I had freinds who were successful at it who read the book, and I worked from that.
www.atkins.com has lots of info on what has carbs and what doens't. It has been my experience that the most successful people hit it super hard, and just behave reasonably afterwards. The way I see it, two weeks of dieting before river season to get rid of the 6-7 pounds you snuck on over winter beats the hell out of a lifestyle change.
Have fun!

[HammerDown]

Froggy, ok so I got these test strips...whats good and whats not?
They test for Ketone and also Glucose.

[bigq]

Originally posted by HammerDown
Froggy, ok so I got these test strips...whats good and whats not?
They test for Ketone and also Glucose.
Not froggy , but the Glucose is the amount of sugar in the blood and the Ketone measures to see if you body is burning the fat for energy, metabolizes fat (ketosis).

[NorCal Gameshow]

it seems if you burn more calories than you take in, you'll lose weight ..(burn fat)
seems simple...what am i missing ?

[Jetdriver]

Is it ok to drink Starbuck Frap's while on the atkins? My wife has a graving!

[AZKC]

Good pep talk folks, time to get back on it. I lost 35-40 on it last year but been slackin. Put about 10-15 back on. Where did I put those pork rinds
http://www.evansfood.com/Rind3.jpg

[Froggystyle]

Originally posted by Jetdriver
Is it ok to drink Starbuck Frap's while on the atkins? My wife has a graving!
Not even kind of.
There are enough carbs in one frappuccino to make up a week and a half's carb intake on Atkins... at a maintenance level. Last time I checked, there were over 80 grams in a Venti Mocha, so I can only wonder how much is in a Frappuccino.

[Froggystyle]

Originally posted by HammerDown
Froggy, ok so I got these test strips...whats good and whats not?
They test for Ketone and also Glucose.
First thing, test right away and see where you are at. If there is little or no change in color on the Ketosis strip, then you are not burning fat... period. This was a big wakeup for me, as I was suckered into the diet by a freind who was on it, and who bet me that my workout regimen was not burning fat at all. It made sense, and without getting too deeply into why I wasn't loosing fat, here is what I was doing... Wake up, have coffee, no breakfast. No lunch, big dinner. Hey, I am skipping two meals a day, that is good, right??? I worked out hard... I mean HARD on the eliptiglider for about 45 minutes a day in the morning, and was over 150 heartrate the entire time. I should've been loosing fat for sure.
Unfortunately, that is not the way metabolism works. My body, reacting to the fact that it was not getting fed all day long was storing all my dinner as fat for the next day, or keeping it in my system to live off of. Very counter productive. In addition, it turns out your body uses the first item of food you eat in the day to trigger your metabolism to start. Eating a little of something first thing in the morning is the best thing you can do to start the process. I wasn't eating anything until evening.
Anyway, long story short, I tested with the stix, and was in zero ketosis. No fat being burned. I hit Atkins that day. Threw out all of the junk food in the house, and haven't bought a soda since. Within two days I was in ketosis pretty hard, and by day three I was indicating dark red, or full Ketosis. I stayed like that for two weeks, went from a 35 waist to a 32, and lost nearly 20 pounds. Oh, and got a lot bigger in my upper body as well from lifting.
Have fun...

[bigq]

Originally posted by Froggystyle
First thing, test right away and see where you are at. If there is little or no change in color on the Ketosis strip, then you are not burning fat... period. This was a big wakeup for me, as I was suckered into the diet by a freind who was on it, and who bet me that my workout regimen was not burning fat at all. It made sense, and without getting too deeply into why I wasn't loosing fat, here is what I was doing... Wake up, have coffee, no breakfast. No lunch, big dinner. Hey, I am skipping two meals a day, that is good, right??? I worked out hard... I mean HARD on the eliptiglider for about 45 minutes a day in the morning, and was over 150 heartrate the entire time. I should've been loosing fat for sure.
Unfortunately, that is not the way metabolism works. My body, reacting to the fact that it was not getting fed all day long was storing all my dinner as fat for the next day, or keeping it in my system to live off of. Very counter productive. In addition, it turns out your body uses the first item of food you eat in the day to trigger your metabolism to start. Eating a little of something first thing in the morning is the best thing you can do to start the process. I wasn't eating anything until evening.
Anyway, long story short, I tested with the stix, and was in zero ketosis. No fat being burned. I hit Atkins that day. Threw out all of the junk food in the house, and haven't bought a soda since. Within two days I was in ketosis pretty hard, and by day three I was indicating dark red, or full Ketosis. I stayed like that for two weeks, went from a 35 waist to a 32, and lost nearly 20 pounds. Oh, and got a lot bigger in my upper body as well from lifting.
Have fun...
This is the part a lot of people never get. Here it a lot " I cut down my intake to one or two meals a day and still gain weight" and they wonder why.
or
"just cut down my food and calorie intake and I will loose the fat", not necessarly.
good post.;)

[NorCal Gameshow]

true....skipping meals has never been a good idea. your body thinks your starving and kills your metabolism.
eat right and excercise....

[Rod-64]

How does the Atkin's work?? I saw their site.
You are only allowed 20 g. of Carbs..........an APPLE as 26 alone each...........how and what are you supposed to eat????
Guess I got to buy the book.

[NorCal Gameshow]

Originally posted by Rod-64
How does the Atkin's work?? I saw their site.
You are only allowed 20 g. of Carbs..........an APPLE as 26 alone each...........how and what are you supposed to eat????
Guess I got to buy the book.
Rod, check out the website for getting started. they have a carb counter, recipes etc.. .
a lot of people who are doing it, say to get the book,but there is a lot of info on that website...

[Rod-64]

Well what I'm saying is, if you eat 1 apple in the morning, you can't have food with ANY carbs the rest of the day???

[NorCal Gameshow]

step away from the apple ......:D no fruit the first phase:(

[OutCole'd]

My problem with this diet is what to eat for linch? I go out to some kind of resturant evey day, and am not what sure to get.
ie; waht do you order at a Mexican resturant, Applebee's, etc..
What do you guys do that eat out for lunch & some times dinner?

[HammerDown]

Well I got the book earler...I must say so far it makes alot of sense.
OutCole'd...more and more restruants such as Applebee's etc now offer a low carb Atkins type friendly meals.
I just busted up a BIG New York Strip for Dinner
:cool:

[bigq]

Originally posted by OutCole'd
My problem with this diet is what to eat for linch? I go out to some kind of resturant evey day, and am not what sure to get.
ie; waht do you order at a Mexican resturant, Applebee's, etc..
What do you guys do that eat out for lunch & some times dinner?
Always a salad if nothing else.Get one with meat on it, extra meat, chicken , tuna. Dressing on the side and not a lot of other crap on it. Like lots of cheese also. Any sandwich and leave the bread, tacos leave the shell, get the idea?

[spectratoad]

This thread is really pretty motivating. I bought the book last night and started the induction this morning and we will see how this goes. I can see now though that breakfast may be the hardest part.
What do you guys do for breakfast. I am not a big eater it is just getting up and actually cooking an egg, It is a time thing. Do you do anything that makes the morning meal convenient?

[bigq]

Originally posted by spectratoad
This thread is really pretty motivating. I bought the book last night and started the induction this morning and we will see how this goes. I can see now though that breakfast may be the hardest part.
What do you guys do for breakfast. I am not a big eater it is just getting up and actually cooking an egg, It is a time thing. Do you do anything that makes the morning meal convenient?
I use a protein shake in the morning and mix it with 1 cup plain soy milk, can't use regular milk. Go to a health food store to get it and check the label or ask the person there for one with no carbs. You might need to try a few different ones till you find the one you like. They also have bars and some really good, but again read the label.

[spectratoad]

That is a start, Thanks for the info.

[Froggystyle]

The best advice I can give you on meals out, is go places that serve meat.
I was on Atkins at a killer mexican restaurant and just stayed away from chips, rice, beans and tortillas and ate two half chickens rotisseried.
Salad is a trap. Lettuce still has carbs, just less than a lot of veggies. Fruit is out. Too much sugar. Sugar, in any form is carbs.
The way the diet works is, in short, by drying up your bodies number one source of energy... food delivered carbohydrates. On average, humans consume hundreds of times more carbs per day than they need to survive happily on. I personally was eating over 1000 grams per day, as I lived on pasta, bread, crap, sugar, cokes, fruit and M&M's. Keep in mind, it was 28 years of having a metabolism like a hummingbird that drove me to this diet, OK. I weighed 165 pounds and could run for as far as you had beach. My exercise permitted the Twinkie diet.
I got hurt, and didn't change my diet, and didn't own a scale. Imagine my suprise to find out that the reason nothing fit was that I had gained 25 pounds!
Back to physiology. Your body can, and will try to maintain it's primary energy source down to as low as 20 grams of intake per day. It won't switch over at a 1/4 tank so to speak. It waits until you have no ability to stay breathing basically on your dietary carbohydrates (breathing takes energy) and will switch to plan "B" which is......................... body fat!
Body fat is actually a better source of energy than dietary carbs. It is designed for that purpose. It is easily broken down, and totally consumed by the process with little waste. But, fasting is what will break down muscle tissue, so enter the Atkins diet.
Atkins works by taking away the energy from your food, but not the nutrients. It forces the body to go to body fat for energy, but provides you with protein to build muscles with, nutrients to live on and filler to put in your stomach and keep you from being hungry. Protein has little or no energy value, but great value in building the body.
In any case, you can see that this is a short term diet. To stay hardcore only works until you have no body fat left, then it eats muscles anyway. So, once you are reaching target weight, they say go to a "maintenance" level of carbs of around 40-50 grams (note that that is less than 2 apples a day, or one coke, and no other carbs) to stay healthy. If you are supremely active, they say keep it under 100 grams a day.
This is not an unbelieveable level either. You will find that after some time on Atkins, the thought of eating all of these carbs in one sitting is a little disgusting. I still love bread, but don't want to go run it off, so I limit it to a couple of slices. That kind of thing.
Go to one of the websites and check it out. I don't think you need to buy the book if you understand what I just said. Carbs... bad. Protein... good. Go on line and find out how many carbs are in your favorite foods, and see how much of them you can eat still.
Odds are, you won't be able to eat any of them... unless bacon and eggs were on your list! The basics are this... meat, eggs, and cheese.
Stick to those three until you hit your target size/weight and bring the carbs in rationally.
Again, have fun!

[Froggystyle]

Oh, and one more thing. It has been said already, but make sure you take a multivitamin with the diet. You techincally don't need it, but I got a lot more out of it once I started with the vitamin. Centrum or something works great.

[eliminatedsprinter]

Before going on or staying on the Atkins diet for any length of time. I'd suggest finding a good referance book on advanced human physiology or a college text on excercise physiology and looking up "the protien sparing effect of carbohydrates". It's a pretty basic and well understood principle that is essential to understand in order to make an informed decision on this diet.

[HammerDown]

Good info Froggy...I must say reading the Book is a plus as it really lets one know what and why things start to happen...not a hard book to read by any means. Almost riveting.
And for me it really showed ALLLLLLL the foods out there, and there's alot!

[Floatin']

Originally posted by spectratoad
What do you guys do for breakfast. I am not a big eater it is just getting up and actually cooking an egg, It is a time thing. Do you do anything that makes the morning meal convenient? [/B]
I will sometimes go through the drive thru at McDonalds and get 2 egg McMuffins or 2 Sausage and Egg Bisquits and throw the bread part away just eat the egg and meat. Also one of the keys to Atkins is you have to eat eat eat eat. I swear the more you eat the more fat you burn. I know women that don't have much of an appetite and they aren't as successful as others that eat all the time. Just eliminate the carbs and the fat will be used for energy. It works!!!!

[spectratoad]

Great info Wes. I have read some of the book and the induction (or abduction as my son said) and after day one it is going well. For lunch I had some lettuce, about 4 leaves wrapped around a slice of cheese & turkey. Dinner was salmon.
Thanks for the breakfast ideas. I was looking for this info to see what everyone does when they eat out (FOOD) because I get to spend the last three days of this week in Elko & Ely (two cowtowns in rural Nevada) and I am sure diet is not a cool thing but there is definitely meat.:D

[Flying Tiger]

Originally posted by OutCole'd
My problem with this diet is what to eat for linch? I go out to some kind of resturant evey day, and am not what sure to get.
ie; waht do you order at a Mexican resturant, Applebee's, etc..
What do you guys do that eat out for lunch & some times dinner?
The Atkins "wraps" at Subway sucks.
So not true! The first one I had was so-so...not even warmed up.
The second one I had I said, "HEY make it look like the friken picture"!!! :mad:
It was Greeeeat! And even better when it's heated up!:cool:

[bigq]

Originally posted by eliminatedsprinter
Before going on or staying on the Atkins diet for any length of time. I'd suggest finding a good referance book on advanced human physiology or a college text on excercise physiology and looking up "the protien sparing effect of carbohydrates". It's a pretty basic and well understood principle that is essential to understand in order to make an informed decision on this diet.
Unless someone is training for Mr. Universe It should not be an issue and even then it can be supplimented if needed.

[HammerDown]

FlyingTiger...sorry about that. Didn't mean to edit your post, but "quote" your post.
I tell them to make my Atkins wrap look like the picture on the wall and heat it up...there very good.
The one cold scrawney one they once gave me was a dud!

[MagicMtnDan]

Press the button for more meat (protein) (http://www.phack.com.ar/web/Animaciones/MasComida.swf)

[Screaming Pete]

Ya What you said on the Subway Atkins wrap, It sucked, and first of all their wasn't anything in and the wrapper, napkins and bag weighed more than the food. I would have rather went to the local strip club for a $5 steak and a pickle and give the dancers the fries (Dream Girls) than waist my time at subway..:mad: I'm also pissed because I can't get my test strips to change color. could be the diet coke

[Hustler]

There is some great info in here so those of you that are just starting out, take notes. I've been on this diet for almost a year, Froggy got me all fired up on it one day. So I went and told the wife I was starting a new diet and that she should do it with me (I had to duck after that one) It has been much easier with her doing it with me. I have lost 35 pounds and have kept it off. i eat pasta, rice every now and then have the occasional bread and I do just fine. The hardest part for me was and still is "lunch" I really get tired of the same place all the time. I have found that I can still have Panda express but get the veggies instaed of the rice or noodles, Subway-make sure you get double meat. In-N-Out, Mongolian BBQ's are great and very low carb. There is alot out there for fast food you just have to ask them to make it the way you want it. good luck to everyone that is on it or starting it.

[MagicMtnDan]

Wes, thanks for your information and taking the time to PM me on this!
For lunches I recommend going to your local grocery store and hitting up their deli area. It used to be easier back before the strike and now the delis have a much smaller selection but...
It's filled with all kinds of meats, cheeses and chicken, etc. Most of them make a crappy style of tuna (they put too much herbs in it) but you might like it. You might want to stay away from the meatballs - I think they have less meat and more filler (bread?) than we'd like.
If you have a good local deli it's a great way to get some variety in your lunches.

[Froggystyle]

Originally posted by Screaming Pete
I'm also pissed because I can't get my test strips to change color. could be the diet coke
So pissed.. no pun intended, right??? :D
Definitely the diet coke. Not carb free. Nothing with sweetener is. Diet Coke is sweetened with Asparteme, and even though it shows zero carbs, it is somehow not registering total carbs or something. I know that I saw zero carbs on the diet Coke and drank a bunch during my last week of Atkins and lost a couple redness points from Ketosis with no other cheats. Even Splenda has plenty of carbs, just less than the options.
Like I said, the cheats are what kills everyone. Even if you are totally hardcore, you will have some carbs. Usually enough hidden carbs alone to make up your maximum of 20. Just my marinade for my steaks was costing me 5-10 a day. Throw a little cheese in there (not carb free) and you are over your limit.
Good luck Pete.

[eliminatedsprinter]

Originally posted by bigq
Unless someone is training for Mr. Universe It should not be an issue and even then it can be supplimented if needed.
Suplement Carbs?
Nope, it's more imprtant for those not training for Mr O. They at least get to benifit from exercise's protien sparing effects. The initial wt loss under the Atkins diet is often rapid because lean body mass is much denser and heavier than fat. Many people on the Atkins diet acually lose wt but increase their % body fat esp in the early stages. This is because what they are losing is lean body mass rather than fat.
P.S. Did you know that Atkins was clinically obease at the time of his death? However, (to be fair) I will point out that he is not one of those whose deaths have been attributed to his diet.
P.S. I'm not saying this to rain on anybodies parade. Like any diet, that results in a reduced energy input, it is quite possible to lose wt on this diet. It's just that there is a lot of money being made off of it and the popular media is not giving out very good info on it at all. I like all my fellow hot boaters and I just want you folks to be as informed as possible before you try this or any other extreme unbalanced diet. There is a downside to all diets and this one is far from an exception.

[RexRathburn]

There is a lot of information out there and you kinda have to sort through the BS, but I found this article on Aspartame. I like to get more than one source of info before I believe something, but this article sounds pretty gnarly. I think I'll do some more reading. Be careful of the cheats, they may not be a good substitute.
http://www.healthincommon.org/education/aspartame.html

[HammerDown]

"Q> No matter what I do, I Can't get into ketosis, or the shade of purple on the LTS is very light. What am I doing wrong?
A> There are many reasons why a person's lipolysis test strip would be vairing shades of purple. Each persons metabolism is different and there for will turn the sticks a varing degree of purple. In addition, the time of the day, whether or not you excersise and what you ate at your meal will all affect the test strip. The IMPORTANT thing is to see how your clothes are fitting and what the scale says.
And, remember, you don't necessarily need to use the strips at all."
"Q> What if they don't turn?
A> First, make sure none of your foods-except your salad and ather vegetables-contain carbohydrate, meaning no hidden sugars, no breading, etc.
Then strictly follow Induction for 5 days. IF the LTS still haven't changed to at least pink, measure your salads to make sure you are not eating to many vegtables...Still no change??? Try try cutting out tomatoes and onions, which are both relatively high on the glycemic index.
****Finally, make sure you are not consuming excess quantities of protein. When eaten to EXTREAM, protein coverts to glucose!***
However, should your LTS not turn pink or purple, despite the fact that you are doing everything correctly, you may still show a decrease in appetite, an improvement in well-being, a loosening of your clothes and a slow but steady weight loss and reduction in inches. This simply means that you are not producing enough ketones to register on the LTS but enough to burn Fat.
Remember, the strips are tools: making them change color is not the sole object of the game"
Again, I will say get the Book...alot of very good info.:cool:
Personally I'm just in the Purple...I now eat very few Onions and cut back on the Diet Coke...I also made much smaller Salads as the ones prior were the size of small pillows...:rolleyes:

[Froggystyle]

Originally posted by eliminatedsprinter
Many people on the Atkins diet acually lose wt but increase their % body fat esp in the early stages. This is because what they are losing is lean body mass rather than fat.
While doing Atkins, I was fortunate enough to have both a body fat monitor, as well as a scale and access to an immersion test through the Navy.
I went from 192 to 176ish with a gain in muscle and strength overall. The first body fat calculation was via immersion, which tested within 1% of my computerized dealio that I have at home when tested properly (well hydrated, tested in the morning before the morning piss). That percentage was 14.5% which would mean approximately 27.8 pounds or so of body fat. Probably a lot of excess water as well.
On the diet for two weeks I dropped 16 or so pounds total, dropping my body fat progressively and consistently to 7%. Which means that only 12.3 pounds of my body was fat.
If we can say with relative certaintly that I had dropped 7.5% body fat, and since the percentage scale slopes proportional to the weight loss, it looks like pretty close to 100% of my weight loss was fat by the math. I do know that what I gained in strength was measureable, and once I stopped losing weight, I was gaining muscle rapidly and consistently back to 180 or so, which is where I am today. I gave back a couple of those pounds to fat, and lost a couple of the muscle pounds, but I will change that in the next couple of weeks to the other way around.
Don't be scared guys... I was so successful so quickly that I turned a lot of people on to this. Hustler was one of them, and if you haven't seen him in a year or two you won't recognize him. Candi is a total hammer now as well (all respect intended Joe).
My wife, my Dad, his buddies, several guys from the teams, guys on the Trident team, associates etc... 100% worked to this point. All are thinner, healthier and more active now than they were. The key between all of them is intensity of focus, short term goals, lots of good food and no cheats.
Best of luck to you peeps. "You're welcome!" to anyone who thanked me already.
BTW Pete, I just did some research, and while asparteme does not provide carbs per se, it does retard the ketosis process because the body will use it for energy until it is gone. It will not turn to glucosomene or whatever the sugar fat is made from and stored as though, so it won't stick like a regular sugar. Alcohol is the same way. It doesn't hurt by storing energy, but while in your system it will be the first energy used, not body fat.

[eliminatedsprinter]

Froggy
Congrats. You are one of those for which this works.
All extreme diets have trade offs. For you this one worked. But there is a price. Be careful.
You will note that I have not said "don't do this diet."
What I am saying is be carful, it's not the panicia it's cracked up to be. When it first came out in the 1970s it was more extreme and there were big problems and approx 80 deaths that were linked to it. The newer version is less extreme, but it is still not for everybody. Be careful.

[MagicMtnDan]

Diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins, who died last year after a fall in New York, had a history of heart disease and weighed 258 pounds at the time of his death, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Atkins' popular diet stresses people should eat high-protein meats and cheese over carbohydrates in order to lose weight.
Before his death, he had suffered a heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a report by the city medical examiner.
At 258 pounds, the 6-foot-tall Atkins would have qualified as obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s body-mass index calculator.
Atkins, 72, died last April after suffering a head injury in a fall on an icy city street.
Viral infection responsible?
Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council in New York, told the Journal that Atkins’ heart disease stemmed from cardiomyopathy, a condition thought to result from a viral infection.
Veronica Atkins issued a statement acknowledging that her husband had been diagnosed with a heart condition known as cardiomyopathy about three years before he died, and that he had had a cardiac arrest in April 2002.
She accused “unscrupulous individuals” on Monday of trying to use his history of heart disease to discredit his ideas about healthy eating.
“I have been assured by my husband’s physicians that my husband’s health problems late in life were completely unrelated to his diet or any diet,” she told the Journal.
Atkins’ weight was due to bloating associated with his condition, and he had been much slimmer during most of his life, Trager said.
According to some estimates, about 10 million Americans follow the Atkins diet or some version of it.
The medical examiner’s report was given to the Journal by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group that advocates vegetarianism. The medical examiner’s office told the Journal that the report had been sent to the group in error.
The diet guru’s widow, Veronica Atkins, was outraged that the report had been made public.
“These individuals have gone so far as to obtain my husband’s personal and confidential medical information from the New York City Medical Examiner’s office for distribution to news organizations in direct and knowing violation of federal law,” she said.
“Obviously such people will have no trouble picking and choosing bits and pieces of fact and supposition to mislead the world.”
On Tuesday, the medical examiner’s office would say only that Atkins died of a head injury from the fall.
“I can’t comment on people’s previous conditions. It’s against the law,” said spokeswoman Ellen Borakove.
Borakove said that, because of family objections to an autopsy, the medical examiner had conducted only “an external exam” and a review of Atkins’ hospital records.
She said a report had been sent to a doctor in Nebraska who requested it, and said he apparently gave it to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
It was later discovered that the doctor was not “the treating physician” and should not have had access to the report, Borakove said. The medical examiner’s office plans to complain to Nebraska health officials, she said.
One of the handwritten comments in the medical examiner’s report referred to “MI” (myocardial infarction, the technical term for heart attack), the newspaper said. Trager said Atkins had no record of having had a heart attack, saying medical histories on examiner’s reports are often written by less-experienced doctors who may not know a patient’s detailed history.
Last month New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sparked controversy when, during a lunch with Brooklyn firefighters, he described Atkins as “fat.” Atkins' widow demanded an apology and Bloomberg later offered to buy her a steak lunch to make amends.

[MagicMtnDan]

The Atkins Diet was created by Dr. Robert C. Atkins, founder and medical director of the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in New York. What follows are answers to some FAQs provided by the Atkins Center and is not a recommendation for or against the plan. Remember, you should always check with your doctor before changing your dietary habits.
Focusing on the consumption of nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods and vita-nutrient supplementation, the Atkins diet restricts processed/refined carbohydrates, such as high-sugar foods, breads, pasta, cereal and starchy vegetables.
While some Atkins dieters eat fewer calories than before, Atkins says it's not because the diet is unduly limiting of food intake, but rather because people are generally less hungry and are less obsessed with food. The reason:
Stable blood sugar throughout the day ensures that you will have fewer food cravings or false hunger pains.
The food you eat (meat, fish, cheese, nuts, eggs, low sugar/starch vegetables and fruit, etc.) is less processed and more nutritious.
You'll start to burn fat for energy: Since carbohydrates are the body's primary energy source, you'll start to use your secondary energy source, you own body fat, for energy.
You won't feel hungry in between meals: By cutting the carbs, you'll maintain a more even blood sugar level throughout the day.
Your overall health will improve and you'll feel better: Many of the toxins you take into your body are stored in your fat cells. By getting your body to burn stored fat, you allow it to clean itself out.
While intake of carbs is limited and the diet tends to be high in protein, Atkins cannot provide the exact percentages of each food group for the general population as it is individualized depending on a person’s sensitivity to carbohydrates, among other factors.
A person who performs a lot of aerobic exercise and who doesn't have a weight problem has no reason to be on a carbohydrate-restricted diet, Atkins says.
The diet calls for core vita-nutrient supplementation with a full-spectrum multi-vitamin and an essential oils/fatty acid formula.
The Atkins Diet is not a no-carbohydrate diet. The diet focuses on very limited consumption of the types of carbohydrates that tend to spike blood sugar levels the most, including non-whole grain bread, pastas, refined sugar products, juices and high sugar/starchy fruits and vegetables.
While many lament the consumption of fat as the root of America's weight problem, Atkins says that fat consumption has actually declined the past few decades. It’s carbohydrate consumption (mostly refined) that has increased, he says. During this time:
* Obesity increased from 25 percent of the population to 33 percent.
* Heart disease now accounts for 50 percent of all deaths, up from 40 percent in the 1970s
* Cases of diabetes are growing
* Hypertension, chronic fatigue and attention deficit disorder are now well recognized conditions.
Source: The Atkins Center

[eliminatedsprinter]

P.S. As part of my job I have helped hundreds of people lose wt. No one plan works for everybody. However, proper exercise always helps in one way or another.
I have seen people try all of the popular diets over the years including Atkins.
I wouldn't plug any diet, but I will say, that what I have seen work the best for the most people is a combination of healthy exercise and (for those who really want to lose a lot of weight) going to "Overeaters Anonymous".

[eliminatedsprinter]

Originally posted by MagicMtnDan
The Atkins Diet was created by Dr. Robert C. Atkins, founder and medical director of the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in New York. What follows are answers to some FAQs provided by the Atkins Center and is not a recommendation for or against the plan. Remember, you should always check with your doctor before changing your dietary habits.
Focusing on the consumption of nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods and vita-nutrient supplementation, the Atkins diet restricts processed/refined carbohydrates, such as high-sugar foods, breads, pasta, cereal and starchy vegetables.
While some Atkins dieters eat fewer calories than before, Atkins says it's not because the diet is unduly limiting of food intake, but rather because people are generally less hungry and are less obsessed with food. The reason:
Stable blood sugar throughout the day ensures that you will have fewer food cravings or false hunger pains.
The food you eat (meat, fish, cheese, nuts, eggs, low sugar/starch vegetables and fruit, etc.) is less processed and more nutritious.
You'll start to burn fat for energy: Since carbohydrates are the body's primary energy source, you'll start to use your secondary energy source, you own body fat, for energy.
You won't feel hungry in between meals: By cutting the carbs, you'll maintain a more even blood sugar level throughout the day.
Your overall health will improve and you'll feel better: Many of the toxins you take into your body are stored in your fat cells. By getting your body to burn stored fat, you allow it to clean itself out.
While intake of carbs is limited and the diet tends to be high in protein, Atkins cannot provide the exact percentages of each food group for the general population as it is individualized depending on a person’s sensitivity to carbohydrates, among other factors.
A person who performs a lot of aerobic exercise and who doesn't have a weight problem has no reason to be on a carbohydrate-restricted diet, Atkins says.
The diet calls for core vita-nutrient supplementation with a full-spectrum multi-vitamin and an essential oils/fatty acid formula.
The Atkins Diet is not a no-carbohydrate diet. The diet focuses on very limited consumption of the types of carbohydrates that tend to spike blood sugar levels the most, including non-whole grain bread, pastas, refined sugar products, juices and high sugar/starchy fruits and vegetables.
While many lament the consumption of fat as the root of America's weight problem, Atkins says that fat consumption has actually declined the past few decades. It’s carbohydrate consumption (mostly refined) that has increased, he says. During this time:
* Obesity increased from 25 percent of the population to 33 percent.
* Heart disease now accounts for 50 percent of all deaths, up from 40 percent in the 1970s
* Cases of diabetes are growing
* Hypertension, chronic fatigue and attention deficit disorder are now well recognized conditions.
Source: The Atkins Center
Good post Dan.
Like our grandparents said.... "Consider the source".......

[Screaming Pete]

Thanks Froggy:)

[eliminatedsprinter]

Originally posted by MagicMtnDan
The Atkins Diet was created by Dr. Robert C. Atkins, founder and medical director of the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in New York. What follows are answers to some FAQs provided by the Atkins Center and is not a recommendation for or against the plan. Remember, you should always check with your doctor before changing your dietary habits.
Focusing on the consumption of nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods and vita-nutrient supplementation, the Atkins diet restricts processed/refined carbohydrates, such as high-sugar foods, breads, pasta, cereal and starchy vegetables.
While some Atkins dieters eat fewer calories than before, Atkins says it's not because the diet is unduly limiting of food intake, but rather because people are generally less hungry and are less obsessed with food. The reason:
Stable blood sugar throughout the day ensures that you will have fewer food cravings or false hunger pains.
The food you eat (meat, fish, cheese, nuts, eggs, low sugar/starch vegetables and fruit, etc.) is less processed and more nutritious.
You'll start to burn fat for energy: Since carbohydrates are the body's primary energy source, you'll start to use your secondary energy source, you own body fat, for energy.
You won't feel hungry in between meals: By cutting the carbs, you'll maintain a more even blood sugar level throughout the day.
Your overall health will improve and you'll feel better: Many of the toxins you take into your body are stored in your fat cells. By getting your body to burn stored fat, you allow it to clean itself out.
While intake of carbs is limited and the diet tends to be high in protein, Atkins cannot provide the exact percentages of each food group for the general population as it is individualized depending on a person’s sensitivity to carbohydrates, among other factors.
A person who performs a lot of aerobic exercise and who doesn't have a weight problem has no reason to be on a carbohydrate-restricted diet, Atkins says.
The diet calls for core vita-nutrient supplementation with a full-spectrum multi-vitamin and an essential oils/fatty acid formula.
The Atkins Diet is not a no-carbohydrate diet. The diet focuses on very limited consumption of the types of carbohydrates that tend to spike blood sugar levels the most, including non-whole grain bread, pastas, refined sugar products, juices and high sugar/starchy fruits and vegetables.
While many lament the consumption of fat as the root of America's weight problem, Atkins says that fat consumption has actually declined the past few decades. It’s carbohydrate consumption (mostly refined) that has increased, he says. During this time:
* Obesity increased from 25 percent of the population to 33 percent.
* Heart disease now accounts for 50 percent of all deaths, up from 40 percent in the 1970s
* Cases of diabetes are growing
* Hypertension, chronic fatigue and attention deficit disorder are now well recognized conditions.
Source: The Atkins Center

[eliminatedsprinter]

Originally posted by MagicMtnDan
Diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins, who died last year after a fall in New York, had a history of heart disease and weighed 258 pounds at the time of his death, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Atkins' popular diet stresses people should eat high-protein meats and cheese over carbohydrates in order to lose weight.
Before his death, he had suffered a heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a report by the city medical examiner.
At 258 pounds, the 6-foot-tall Atkins would have qualified as obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s body-mass index calculator.
Atkins, 72, died last April after suffering a head injury in a fall on an icy city street.
Viral infection responsible?
Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council in New York, told the Journal that Atkins’ heart disease stemmed from cardiomyopathy, a condition thought to result from a viral infection.
Veronica Atkins issued a statement acknowledging that her husband had been diagnosed with a heart condition known as cardiomyopathy about three years before he died, and that he had had a cardiac arrest in April 2002.
She accused “unscrupulous individuals” on Monday of trying to use his history of heart disease to discredit his ideas about healthy eating.
“I have been assured by my husband’s physicians that my husband’s health problems late in life were completely unrelated to his diet or any diet,” she told the Journal.
Atkins’ weight was due to bloating associated with his condition, and he had been much slimmer during most of his life, Trager said.
According to some estimates, about 10 million Americans follow the Atkins diet or some version of it.
The medical examiner’s report was given to the Journal by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group that advocates vegetarianism. The medical examiner’s office told the Journal that the report had been sent to the group in error.
The diet guru’s widow, Veronica Atkins, was outraged that the report had been made public.
“These individuals have gone so far as to obtain my husband’s personal and confidential medical information from the New York City Medical Examiner’s office for distribution to news organizations in direct and knowing violation of federal law,” she said.
“Obviously such people will have no trouble picking and choosing bits and pieces of fact and supposition to mislead the world.”
On Tuesday, the medical examiner’s office would say only that Atkins died of a head injury from the fall.
“I can’t comment on people’s previous conditions. It’s against the law,” said spokeswoman Ellen Borakove.
Borakove said that, because of family objections to an autopsy, the medical examiner had conducted only “an external exam” and a review of Atkins’ hospital records.
She said a report had been sent to a doctor in Nebraska who requested it, and said he apparently gave it to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
It was later discovered that the doctor was not “the treating physician” and should not have had access to the report, Borakove said. The medical examiner’s office plans to complain to Nebraska health officials, she said.
One of the handwritten comments in the medical examiner’s report referred to “MI” (myocardial infarction, the technical term for heart attack), the newspaper said. Trager said Atkins had no record of having had a heart attack, saying medical histories on examiner’s reports are often written by less-experienced doctors who may not know a patient’s detailed history.
Last month New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sparked controversy when, during a lunch with Brooklyn firefighters, he described Atkins as “fat.” Atkins' widow demanded an apology and Bloomberg later offered to buy her a steak lunch to make amends.
Thanks Dan these posts sum up my point.
On one hand you have "info" from the Atkins center that has all the credibility of a Pepsi add and on the other hand you have the opposition of a group of nut job vegan doctors (yes MD's can go nuts too). Who do you believe?
For me I'll just file Froggy and Hustlers (I believe them) results under the heading of "so far so good".
I myself tried it a bit and I gained wt and my cholesterol (which had never been high) shot way up. I cut back on the meat and fats and increased my carbes and veggies and it went right back down and I lost back most of the wt i gained. Oh well, that's just me.

[mirvin]

Hey ES, I've been on it for 15 months. Lost the initial 25 lbs and for the last 14 mo haven't gained a lb back. Cholesterol was lower at 6 mo and at 12 mo. I am way more "stable" then before Atkins. Let's just say I had a sugar problem. No need for stimulants here, just give me some sugar and sit back and enjoy the show:D
Atkins works IF you do what you're supposed to do. The problem is that people CHOSE not to eat right and that;s the end of any diet. Basicly I have eliminated from my diet the things that my body doesn't need. The great thing about Atkins is that you can adjust it daily once you've learned how to work it.
It's great not being a slave to sugar and processed foods. I've been off em long enough to notice that when I do eat them I feel crappy. I had a cookie this morning and within 5 minutes I felt it:( Once you reach that point it's real easy to say no to cake and cookies and fries and all that garbage.
Mirvin

[eliminatedsprinter]

Mirvin
I'll chalk up another one for "so far so good".
The only thing I will correct you on is your statement "Atkins works if you do what you are supposed to do". That is true for you and many others. But it is far from a universal truth. I've seen the failures as well as the success stories. There are plenty of examples of both out there. Even among those who have done what they are supposed to do.

[mirvin]

ES, I will say it's not for everyone. I've seen people drop 50 lbs only to gain the weight back within 3 months.
Let's face it. People cheat, then lie to others about it. When people tell me they've stuck to a diet but it just doesn't work for them I get a little mental picture of them eating 2 bags of Ruffles and then spending the next hour convincing themselves that they didn't just eat 2 bags of ruffles!!
Also, A large percentage of people don't need a diet. What they need is OA!! You touched on it earlier I think. Eating is an ism and lots of folks have a ton of "work" to do on themselves mentally before anything can work physically.
I got a coworker who was obese for most of his life. He finally went to OA and is now able to controll his eating and has lost over 100lbs. A "diet" would never have worked for him.
Mirvin

[CA Stu]

I was enjoying my lunch and one of the guys at work came into my office and asked me a question. Then he coughed, right on my salad.
Into the trash it goes.
I bet if you have someone cough on your lunch after you have eaten half of it, you'll lose weight.
:D :D
Good Luck
CA Stu
PS Regular exercise and a sensible diet is the only answer. I peaked at 286 and am currently 235. Cut out sugars completely (candy, donuts, birthday cake, brownies, Girl Scout cookies :mad: etc.), drink lots of water, get a half hour of exercise 3 times a week, and take it easy on the beer, you can't help but lose weight.

[mirvin]

It sounds like everyone thinks that Atkins is a "no excersize" diet. That's not true. As with any diet, excersize is certainly reccomended.
If you want to try Atkins then read the book. If you haven't read the book then you didn't do it right. If you didn't do it right and your talking about it, then there's just stink coming out of your mouth:D
Mirvin;)
PS, no Steve, I'm not talking about you:D

[bigq]

Originally posted by eliminatedsprinter
Suplement Carbs?
Nope, it's more imprtant for those not training for Mr O. They at least get to benifit from exercise's protien sparing effects. The initial wt loss under the Atkins diet is often rapid because lean body mass is much denser and heavier than fat. Many people on the Atkins diet acually lose wt but increase their % body fat esp in the early stages. This is because what they are losing is lean body mass rather than fat.
P.S. Did you know that Atkins was clinically obease at the time of his death? However, (to be fair) I will point out that he is not one of those whose deaths have been attributed to his diet.
P.S. I'm not saying this to rain on anybodies parade. Like any diet, that results in a reduced energy input, it is quite possible to lose wt on this diet. It's just that there is a lot of money being made off of it and the popular media is not giving out very good info on it at all. I like all my fellow hot boaters and I just want you folks to be as informed as possible before you try this or any other extreme unbalanced diet. There is a downside to all diets and this one is far from an exception.
Well ya lost me here. It seems you were talking about the carbohydrate sparing effect for protien, ( taking in carbohydrate and produce a raise in blood glucose levels to spare the clycogen stored in the muscle tissue). When someone goes low carb the first clycogen to be depleted is in the liver, once this is depleted to cetain level the body goes into "ketosis". Clycogen stored in muscle is much harder to deplete and requires greater intense workout, like weight lifting releasing lactic acid which is used by the liver to produce glucose in the blood for energy. I don't know what you mean by "lean body mass", but the human body will run just fine in using fatty acid for energy. blah blah blah. I would agree people need to readmore than just this forum. A good book on the subject will give you mor insight than just peeing on a strip to see if it changes color, which btw does not necessarly need to take place for the body to burn the excess fat. Unless that is just an Atkins thing which I have not read his book.

[eliminatedsprinter]

Originally posted by bigq
Well ya lost me here. It seems you were talking about the carbohydrate sparing effect for protien, ( taking in carbohydrate and produce a raise in blood glucose levels to spare the clycogen stored in the muscle tissue). When someone goes low carb the first clycogen to be depleted is in the liver, once this is depleted to cetain level the body goes into "ketosis". Clycogen stored in muscle is much harder to deplete and requires greater intense workout, like weight lifting releasing lactic acid which is used by the liver to produce glucose in the blood for energy. I don't know what you mean by "lean body mass", but the human body will run just fine in using fatty acid for energy. blah blah blah. I would agree people need to readmore than just this forum. A good book on the subject will give you mor insight than just peeing on a strip to see if it changes color, which btw does not necessarly need to take place for the body to burn the excess fat. Unless that is just an Atkins thing which I have not read his book.
I was talking about the Protien sparing effect of carbohydrate. High Ketone bodies in the blood indicate that the body is using protien for fuel. That is basic phsiology 101. The term "lean body mass" refers in it's broadest sence to any tissue other than fat. However, it is often used to mostly mean muscle, organ epithelilal tissue, and nervous tissue. Very often if a human body is starved for carbs it will first start to burn lean body mass (ie the actin and myosin molecules that make up the myofibrils in skeletal and cardiac muscle) rather than fat to meet it's short term energy demand. This has been well established for a long time and it's not contraversial. Not everyone reacts to diet changes the same but this is a well established basic principle. Bla,bla, bla.....
Bottom line for me is you won't see me at any P.E.T.A. meetings preaching the vegan lifestyle and ya won't see me at Carls Jr ordering a burger without a bun....
Mirvin
You are right not to inclued me in your mouth stink statement . My mouth doesn't stink, I just fart a lot....;)

[bigq]

Originally posted by eliminatedsprinter
I was talking about the Protien sparing effect of carbohydrate. High Ketone bodies in the blood indicate that the body is using protien for fuel. That is basic phsiology 101. The term "lean body mass" refers in it's broadest sence to any tissue other than fat. However, it is often used to mostly mean muscle, organ epithelilal tissue, and nervous tissue. Very often if a human body is starved for carbs it will first start to burn lean body mass (ie the actin and myosin molecules that make up the myofibrils in skeletal and cardiac muscle) rather than fat to meet it's short term energy demand. This has been well established for a long time and it's not contraversial. Not everyone reacts to diet changes the same but this is a well established basic principle. Bla,bla, bla.....
Bottom line for me is you won't see me at any P.E.T.A. meetings preaching the vegan lifestyle and ya won't see me at Carls Jr ordering a burger without a bun....
Mirvin
You are right not to inclued me in your mouth stink statement . My mouth doesn't stink, I just fart a lot....;)
Ok this is a boating site and it's getting to scientific in here, but how can you say that that is not controversial when the process you are talking about is the induced state that Atkins people try to reach. I'll go a step further and say that carbohydrate(sugars) are the cause of many diseases.
That being said we all will die some day of something, so I think I will go have a ultra light beer.;)
BTW my Double Double protein style was delecious for lunch.:D

[Froggystyle]

Originally posted by mirvin
If you want to try Atkins then read the book.
Why? It is easy. Eliminate carbs, work out, lose weight.
If you haven't read the book then you didn't do it right.
Yeah... whatever. Tell that to the 16 pounds of fat that is now homeless 'cause I kicked it out in under two weeks after working out progressively harder and harder for a year straight trying to get rid of it. Hey Joe, what did your 35 missing pounds have to say about reading the book?
If you didn't do it right and your talking about it, then there's just stink coming out of your mouth:D
Mirvin;)
PS, no Steve, I'm not talking about you:D
What, are you getting royalties from book sales? I assume you are talking about me here, and I calmly advise to look elsewhere with regard to who has... "stink" for lack of a more manly noun, coming out of their mouth. I didn't read the book because I would never consider an outfit who stands to make profit on the sales of food or supplements to me an authority on the subject. I looked elsewhere for my information, and I don't find it to be flawed in the least. In fact, short of freak, isolated physiological phenomenons that have affected less people than lightning struck and killed last year I have found zero to indicate that a short term application of the zero carb theory followed by a maintenance level intake of carbohydrates is anything but 100% healthy.
And as for the warning not to start it without consulting a physician... I got a keyboard wrapped in plastic the other day with a warning that it was not a toy. Warnings are a way of life in America. Nobody takes them seriously.
BTW, over 10,000,000 people in America are now on a reduced carbohydrate diet of some sort right now. Maybe there is hope for our obese, bloated nation after all...

[SANGERBRU]

Hello, Thanks for the Atkins Diet Help. Last night my good buddy had a stroke , he was only 55 , and he is going to make it, but their is consequences. A real wake up call. My real need for help is : I don't eat brerakfast or lunch most days, but eat a hearty dinner and 8-16 buds a night, occassionally skipping a night, but making up for it later. My wife and I go out about 4-5 nites a week. I own a Machine shop and work 10-14 hrs a day on my feet. I try and starve myself untill dinner, but start drinking beer at 4 . What can I do ? I am 42 yrs. old. 5'10 275 lbs, and strong as an Ox.
Thanks for the Help ?

[bigq]

I think its all been said. You are killing your body by skipping meals and cut out the beer. Sorry about your friend glad he will be ok,was it related to his diet or something else?

[cigarette1]

Well, I guess you don't :confused:

[Froggystyle]

Originally posted by SANGERBRU
I don't eat brerakfast or lunch most days, but eat a hearty dinner and 8-16 buds a night, occassionally skipping a night, but making up for it later. ..
I try and starve myself untill dinner, but start drinking beer at 4 . What can I do ? I am 42 yrs. old. 5'10 275 lbs, and strong as an Ox.
Thanks for the Help ?
I don't think there are a lot of nutritionists on this forum, but from a fundamental perspective, what you are doing is nearly exactly what I was doing and not losing any weight, while doing a hard 45 minutes a day of cardio as well.
You can't skip meals. Your body saves up the energy for the meals it knows you skip. If you were going to skip any meals, make them lunch and dinner, because at least you will be metabolizing your one meal all day. By hitting dinner hard, and then crashing in an alcohol induced coma all you will do is pack on the pounds in preparation for the big marathon no-eat session the next day.
My advice (not a professionals opinion)...
Eat some breakfast, add some exercise, slow down dinner a little bit. This does not mean eliminate it or cut it down to rabbit food, but just don't eat everything on your plate. The second you feel satisfied, stop eating. No desert, or just a couple bites.
Switch to Miller lite, and cut back on those too for a little while. See where it gets you. Alcohol is a well known weight loss inhibitor because while in your bloodstream it is the preferred choice of energy for your body, and your body will switch from any fat burning you are doing to running on alcohol.
I am a big zero carb diet fan, but you should investigate the options, and do what is best for you.
Best of luck!!!

[betty boop]

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/DEV/WHP101.jpg

[HammerDown]

Things are starting to happen. Better sleep at night, more awake in the morning, no hunger pangs at all, I almost have to force myself to eat....almost time to dig out those size 31 Jeans from the back of the closet...ok, not really:rolleyes:

[SANGERBRU]

Thanks Froggy and Bigg, I am starting today. Miller lite hear I come.

[Jetdriver]

hey boozer, is the diet working for ya?