Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution
Source of Recipe
3 Fat Chicks on a Diet
Q&A with LindaBC
LindaBC has been a 3FC Forum member since January, 2000. She resides in Canada, has two grown daughters, and works for her husband's company. LindaBC follows the Atkins plan.
We provided her with a list questions about the plan, to help us understand it better.
What is the author's theory behind this plan?
This low carb plan works because of what Dr. Atkins calls "a metabolic advantage" that other diets, even other low carbohydrate diets, don't have. He says you will lose weight on just as many or even MORE daily calories than it took for you to gain weight. That metabolic advantage is a "fat mobilizing substance" called ketone bodies which are released in body wastes when a person eats only a bare minimum of carbohydrates and uses protein and fats to fuel their body. Ketones are merely a substance used by the body to deliver fuel to the cells. If you are only eating a minimal amount of carbohydrates (your body's first choice for fuel because it's readily available), then your body has to turn to dietary and stored fat in order to keep functioning. As it burns up fat, it releases ketones in the urine. By using a simple little urine test, a dieter can tell whether their body is "in ketosis" or "fat burning mode". You can't get into ketosis on any other weight loss plan which is one reason why this plan is so successful.
What is the carb limitation on this diet?
The Atkins plan begins with a two week Induction phase. During this period, a person is required to stay below 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. A person can stay on Induction longer than two weeks, of course, but it doesn't allow for much variety in foods. Following Induction, the dieter begins to gradually add back carbohydrates in 5 gram increments per week until he/she reaches what Dr. Atkins calls the Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing Weight. For example, if you have completed your Induction period and you wish to begin adding more carbs to your diet, you could add just about any food that has only 5 grams of carbs in it to your daily menu.
Continue checking your urine test strips and, as long as they indicate that your body is releasing ketones, you will still be in fat burning mode. If, however, the test strips no longer turn colour and you stop losing weight,
it indicates that you must cut back on carbohydrates. Some people can add a great many extra carbs to their diet and still continue in ketosis and weight loss. Other people are more resistant and must keep their carb intake low. This period of time that you stay in the 'Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing Weight', is called Ongoing Weight Loss or O.W.L. by Dr. Atkins. You stay at this level until just before reaching your weight loss goal. You then begin to add 5 more grams of carbohydrates each day for a week until you reach your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintaining Weight. For example, if you were losing weight at 40 grams of carbs per day, for one week you will now increase your consumption to 45 grams of carbs per day. If you are still losing weight and your test strips are still turning pale mauve, you can increase to 50 grams of carbs per day for a week and so on, until you stop losing weight.
What are examples of the kind of food I can eat?
During Induction, you must focus on proteins and fats IN UNLIMITED AMOUNTS for the most part. The only carbohydrates permitted are a small green salad (about 1 cup) twice a day, or 1 cup of salad and about 1 cup of low carb vegetable. Keep in mind, though, that you can have real (not low fat) mayonnaise and dressings (as long as they contain no sugar) and/or olive oil, on your salads, and real butter (margarine is not recommended) on your cooked vegetables. Following the Induction phase and during Ongoing Weight Loss, you can add small amounts of carbohydrates, which could include whole grain crispbreads and small amounts of berries or melon.
What are some of the foods that are definitely out?
Fruit, higher carb vegetables such as potatoes, peas, winter squash, carrots, dried legumes, rice, pasta, bread, all baked goods other than special low carb recipes, are all no-nos during Induction and OWL. They may be added in small amounts and only occasionally on Maintenance.
Do I need to count other things such as calories, protein, etc. or do I need to follow a formula or combination with my meal?
No. The only thing you count is carbohydrates. A helpful tool is an Internet program such as FitDay, which helps you to keep track of your carbohydrates for a day. Sometimes, to facilitate quicker weight loss, you may wish to eat more fat and less protein and FitDay can help to ensure that you are eating the correct percentages of each for optimum weight loss. It can also tell you what vitamins and minerals you may be short of so you will know what kind of vitamin supplements to take.
Are there different phases of the plan?
This is explained in more detail in my above response to ' What is the carb limitation on this diet? '. There is Induction, OWL, (Ongoing Weight Loss) and Maintenance. Induction can last for as little as two weeks, or for as long as a person wants. OWL will continue until just before reaching goal weight. Maintenance is the phase a person will have to stay on for life in order to maintain their weight.
What are some of the more popular features of this plan?
What I like about it is its simplicity and the fact that I no longer have wild cravings for carbs. Food binges are a thing of the past, as are mid-day crashes in energy. My energy level is unbelievable compared to my low fat diet days and I rarely even think about food between meals anymore. When I was on a low fat diet, food was all I could think about. I'd eat a so-called "healthy" breakfast of cereal, non fat milk and fruit and within an hour I'd have the shakes and be ready to eat anything that wasn't tied down. Even a higher protein version of a low fat plan which included perhaps a poached egg on whole grain toast would leave me famished within a couple of hours. When I have my bacon and egg breakfast (usually 4 to 6 slices of bacon and a two egg cheese omelet cooked in butter) I am totally satiated. My body is happy. It has fuel to keep it going and my blood glucose doesn't do a "spike and crash" routine. Blood glucose levels return to safe levels and there are no more radical highs and lows causing clammy shakes, dizziness, and binge eating. It has ended the old vicious cycle of stuffing on carbs, feeling bloated and sleepy, followed by a crash in blood sugars which lead to instant hunger and more stuffing on carbs to fill up. My breakfast keeps me satisfied until well past lunch time. In fact, I've been known to forget about lunch and just have a mid-afternoon snack instead.
Food shopping and preparation are so simple on this plan. I shop the meat, poultry and fish counters. I pick up eggs, cream and butter. I stop by the produce section for salad ingredients and I'm done. No more cruising the supermarket aisles, being tempted by shelf after shelf of low fat products that contain loads of sugar. When I cook dinner for my husband, I make him some potatoes to go with the meal I'm serving to myself which is usually just meat of some kind and either a salad or a low carb vegetable. He quite enjoys the butter on his vegetables, the real full fat sour cream on his cucumber salad and real whipped cream on his dessert.
I can eat the crispy skin of barbecued chicken and even the crispy fat off a pork roast without the sky falling in. I can eat as many eggs as I want, cooked any way I want, as often as I want. I can have bacon until I start to oink and grow a curly tail. I can have whipped cream on my low carb luscious cheesecake. What other weight loss program can promise that?
What are some of the more UNappealing features of this plan?
The very foods that I love the most are the ones I must avoid like the plague now. Pasta, rice, bread, cereal products, potatoes, fruit, home baking, etc, are all the things that I know will make me gain weight. Even worse, just a small amount of these foods can cause my blood glucose to do a number on me and cause me to binge. Then the old cycle would begin again. I just have to think of these foods as poison for me and learn to be more creative with the foods that I CAN have.
What obstacles or difficulties might I encounter?
There is a slight problem with bad breath that some people complain about. This is part of being in ketosis and is a good sign. It means your body is burning its own fat for fuel.
Also, in some areas (such as Canada where I live), there is not a good selection of low carb products available. Therefore, many of the recipes I read in the low carb websites are not possible for me unless I make a rather expensive trip to the U.S.A. There can also be a problem when you are travelling, especially by airplane. Most airlines offer special meals for just about any medical condition or religion but try to explain to them what a Low Carb meal contains and you will be astounded at the food you will receive. On a trip a few years ago, my so-called special meal included pancakes, a baking powder biscuit, a bowl of fruit jello, and a piece of cake. I don't know what they thought low carb meant but obviously they got it very wrong. Anywhere there is a set menu where you cannot order a la carte can be a problem. Buffets are usually pretty good as there is generally chicken or beef to choose from, as well as an array of salads. Just be careful of sugar in the dressings and avoid all the pasta and potato dishes on offer.
Sample menu for a typical day on this plan.
INDUCTION (first two weeks or so)
Breakfast:
Eggs (any amount) cooked any way you like.
Bacon, ham, sugarless sausage, Canadian bacon.
Any cooked meat leftover from previous meals.
Decaf coffee or tea
Lunch:
Bacon cheeseburger without a bun
Small tossed salad
Diet pop
Dinner:
Shrimp cocktail with mayo-based sauce (no tomato sauces)
Clear meat broth
Steak, roast, chops, fish, poultry cooked any way other than floured and/or breaded
Tossed salad (choice of non-sugary dressings)
Diet jello with a spoonful of whipped, artificially sweetened whipped
cream.
Snacks:
Any protein/fat food that you ate for breakfast, lunch or dinner is fine for
a snack.
Diet jello with whipped cream
OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss):
Breakfast
Omelet with a few chopped peppers, mushrooms, green onions & cheese
3 oz tomato or V8 juice
2 carb grams of crispbread (or try one of the low carb bread recipes on the internet)
Decaf coffee or tea
Lunch:
A platter of crispy, chicken wings and/or
deli meat rolls ups (rolled around a tsp of cream cheese, a dill pickle and
some lettuce)
A chef's salad with ham, cheese, chicken, egg and non-carb dressing)
Herbal tea
Dinner
Seafood salad
Roast beef, baked salmon, fried chicken (any protein)
2/3 cup of permitted low carb vegetables
1/2 cup of strawberries in cream or a low carb cheesecake with berries.
(millions of recipes on the Internet)
Personal Experience
There is something you should know if you are fat. It's not your fault. It is a metabolic disorder, even if you haven't been diagnosed as a diabetic. You are fat because for most of your life you've been duped into thinking the only way to stay healthy and/or lose weight was to eat an extremely low fat diet. This is one of the biggest misconceptions you've ever been told.
In the earlier part of the 20th century, people ate much more fat and TONS less sugar and refined cereals and very few of them were obese. People knew that fat satisfied hunger for a long time, which meant that they were content with less food. Then, along came some so-called expert who put forward the theory that fat is what makes people fat and all of a sudden there was a gigantic change in the food industry. Millions and millions of corporate dollars are spent trying to get the public to buy more and more ready made products, most of which are promoted as being "low fat" or "no fat" and therefore must be good for you, Right? WRONG! Those products have to get their flavour from somewhere, so they are loaded with sugars. It's the sugars that are making you fat. Not fat.
If you have a problem with hypoglycemia symptoms (low blood sugar) you must be aware that this is a precursor of Type II Diabetes. That's how my diabetes started and long before I was diagnosed, I had episodes of severe hypoglycemia. I would eat what I considered to be a healthy, LOW FAT meal and within an hour I'd be hungry again. Not just hungry but actually shaking, weak, sometimes even disoriented with cold sweat pouring off me. It was a very scary feeling. When I went on the Atkins diet, all those symptoms disappeared almost immediately. Within a few days of eating mostly protein and fat, it was as if I had undergone some kind of metamorphoses. I didn't recognize myself. The mood swings I had suffered from all my life....one minute on Cloud 9 and the next in the darkest PITS, leveled right off. I remember thinking "So this is how normal feels!"
The constant weariness I had suffered changed into very unfamiliar energy. I had so much energy I actually WANTED to exercise. Who was this person and what had she done with ME?? After the first few days of Induction, I had to get used to the idea that I could eat as much as it took to keep me feeling full and satisfied. I realized that as long as I kept my carbs to a minimum, I was gradually satisfied with much less food, and I rarely thought about food for hours. Some kind of alien must have taken over my body!! I actually found time and energy in my day to do things other than think about and plan for my next meal. Never in my life had I gone six hours without going on a mad search through fridge and cabinets to find chocolate or some kind of high carb goody to snack on. And the weight came off, quickly at first and then at a steady rate. I had never felt better in my life. Then I began to listen to the "experts" and the "scaremongers" who told me ketosis was going to kill me. What they didn't realize is that there is a big difference between ketosis and ketoacidosis. Ketosis is a good thing for the dieter. It's a condition we want and need to be in to lose weight without hunger. After two years of being slim and feeling wonderful, I listened to the experts and began to eat my old high carb way. It sure didn't take long for all my weight, plus a lot more to come back on. Now, nearly 30 years later, I have rediscovered the wonderful feeling of being on the Atkins Diet Revolution. I can't imagine ever eating a low fat diet again. This is really the way to live.
Notable web sites relating to this plan:
Atkins Friends This is a huge website dedicated to the Atkin's WOE. Loads of recipes, ideas and support.
http://www.atkinsfriends.com/
Atkins Center The official website, including many tips, products, recipes and ideas to make this plan successful.
http://atkinscenter.com/
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