Atkins diet
Moms View Message Board: Let's Get Fit! (Weight Loss Support Group): Atkins diet
This is Feona's DH here...
The major reason I wanted to go on the Atkins diet plan were for the health benefits... in controlled medical studies people had significantly lower triglicerides, blood pressure and cholesterol following this diet has compared to the low fat, high carb plans:
http://www.euchromatin.org/Westman01.htm
This diet is very similar to diabetic diets proposed by many expert MD's in the field to help control insulin levels:
http://www.mercola.com/article/Diet/carbohydrates/lower_your_grains.htm
http://www.mercola.com/article/insulin.htm
http://www.mercola.com/2002/aug/17/saturated_fat1.htm
DH here. Since starting on Saturday ( @ 249 1/2 lbs) I'm down 5 1/2 lbs.
I'm not really doing the induction phase though (which usually is VERY low carb) but just eating reduced carbs.
My meals yesterday (also drank 64 oz of water):
(Not hungry at any time during the day)
Breakfast:
Cherries with two types of low carb, high protein cereal with added (no sugar) cream.
Snacked on pistashio nuts before lunch
Lunch:
3 thick slices of Beef
Spinach salad, Oil and Vinegar, brocolli, green and red peppers with Garnish of Chicken and Ham
Strawberries, blue berries
Lots of water
Dinner:
(Felt a little quesey so I didn't eat more but feeling VERY good today).
3 scrambled eggs with butter and a little cream added
Cherries and a nectarine
Several slices each of Boars Head brand Pepper Turkey, Pastrami and Ham
A few macadamia nuts
Before bed:
1/8 of a bagel with butter (helped me sleep soundly)
DH here: Day 4
Wednesday:
I was down another pound
Total 6 1/2 lbs
Breakfast
3 Scrambled Eggs with 1/2 cup whole milk added
2-3 TBS Butter
Large Navel Orange
Snacked on Macadamia and Pistachio nuts
Lunch
5 small Swedish meatballs with unknown gravy
Brocolli with butter
Spinach Salad with an Egg and dolup of cottage cheese
Large Navel Orange
Snack: Ate another Orange because I was getting
low blood sugar symptoms (sweating, headache)
Snacked on more Pistachio's
Dinner:
Felt a little sick to my stomach right after dinner.
A Few slices of Pastrami, Ham, Pepper Turkey
Banana (ate this to get some potassium...see Feona's experience on another thread)
4-5 Oz of Broiled Chicken
Glass of Whole milk
Lettuce Salad with Tomato
Followup Note:
Thursday:
I had GAINED back the 1 lb lost Wednesday
Note that I had REALLY increased my carbs with fruit consumption yesterday:
3 Oranges : 13g x 3
Banana: 25g
Milk: 22g
Pistashio and Macadamias: 5g + 1g
Mystery Gravy: ?
Total: 92+ g
Compared to Monday:
Cherries: 16g
Nuts: 6g
Strawberries: 3.6g
Blueberries: 3g
Nectarine: 13.8
1/8 Bagel: 4g
Total 46.4g
Notes from researching this later:
I'm now pretty convinced that my hypoglycemic symptoms after lunch were due to that orange I ate. I then made a bigger NO NO by eating another orange as a snack!
From what I've read since, you should always eat carbos with Protein to reduce the blood sugar spike. Not only that, but the sugar spike causes shutdown of ketosis (fat burning for energy the body needs to function) so it's usually followed by low blood sugar and hypoglycemic symptoms (weakness, sweating, possible headache and a "foggy" feeling).
To prevent this "rollercoaster" I should have eaten a high protein or high fat snack like cheese, ham or nuts like macadamias or walnuts (and probably avoided the orange at lunch) .
Day 6 Friday
Weight 244 (same as yesterday) down 5 1/2 from 249 1/2 Saturday.
FEELING GREAT today and all day yesterday. Not hungry once.
I actually needed to push myself to eat.
Lessons I learned yesterday:
(A)You MUST increase your fat intake on Atkins
see number (9) here:
http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-535293.html
In the first stages of the Atkins diet you are trying to adapt your body from burning primarily carbs (sugar and starch) to burning fat (the stuff around your middle).
Since your body is adapted to burning fat AND you have DELIBERATELY depleted the body's stores of carbs your body needs fuel (in the form of dietary fat) to keep things running well.
If you don't eat enough fat in your diet you may experience some of the following symptoms (like I did)
(1)Low blood sugar (sweating, possible headache)
(2)Weakness
The solution is to increase your fat intake:
Walnuts, Macadamia nuts, use butter or cream instead of milk, etc.
This has the other desirable effect of keeping your metabolism and energy level high.
If you cut back on dietary fats, the body sees its ONLY source of energy being reduced and SLOWS your metabolism AND as a result your burning of your own body fat!
The other thing I learned is
(B)You really need to avoid eating carbs (like some kinds of fruits and milk) during the intial stages of this diet. Eating too much of them or by themselves may literally make you feel sick!
As I mentioned above, your body is adapting to a fat burning metabolism (burning fats almost exclusively for energy) when you begin this diet.
Here's what happens if you then eat a high carb snack:
(1)Your blood insulin level rises quickly to help move this newly found source of sugar into your cells.
(2) This has the added effect of shutting down ketosis (burning body fat for food) in anticipation of more incoming carbs.
(3)If you don't continue to gorge yourself on carbs (you just had small a high carb snack) your blood sugar level will eventually start to drop.
(4)BUT, because of the insulin the body will not go back to burning fat.
The net effect is that the body (and your brain) runs out of fuel! You may start to feel the following:
(a)weakness
(b)dizzyness
(c)headache
AND a craving for more carbs!
The best thing is to have a high FAT snack instead which simply fuels your fat burning metabolism and doesn't trigger that insulin release.
Since cutting back on carbs yesterday I FEEL GREAT:
(1)Greater energy - I was up yesterday at 5:30A and didn't even feel tired last night when I put my son to bed at 9:30
(2)Mellow emotions - Things didn't upset me and my usual worrying (ask Feona about this) was gone.
(3) Happy - I felt better about everything, unlike my usual mood
(4) My memory is improved - I'm usually a VERY forgetful person
According to Dr. Atkins all these benefits are due to the lower insulin levels and STABLE blood sugar that this diet produces.
This just proves to me that the idea of a sugar "rush" and then a "crash" is really true.
My diet for Thursday:
Breakfast:
Slice of Ham
Low carb/ High Protein cereal with added Heavy Cream
Cherries
Snacked on Macadamia Nuts (found that the pistachios I was eating yesterday were much higher in carbs)
Lunch:
Beef with Broccoli chinese food (I asked them to hold the sugar and corn starch in the sauce)
Snacked on Walnuts
Dinner:
Lettuce salad with regular fat creamy italian dressing
Several Slices of Ham (I found that the Pastrami and Turkey had added carbs)
2 Large Pork sausages
Steamed Broccoli with butter and cheese
Strawberries
Water to Drink
I'm also taking a multivitamin (Atkins Basic 3)
Atkins essentail oils (Omega-3 and Omega-5 fatty acids) and a Calcium supplement.
Final Note:
From searching around the net I found that this diet is VERY similar to the diet that Body Builders use to lose fat without losing lean muscle.
Day 11 Tuesday
Weight 242 1/2
down 7 lbs from 249 1/2
Feeling very good today!
The headaches and nausea I experienced between meals last week have disappeared .
Felt very good yesterday: Calm and focused
My eating yesterday wasn't very good though 
Breakfast (ate this at work after my blood tests)
Scrambled Eggs
Two sausage patties
Some Strawberries
Snack: Some Macadamias
Lunch (missed lunch cause of workload at work)
(BAD BAD )
Dinner
As I was heading home I got
Kentucky Fried Chicken
2 Pieces of chicken breast
Didn't eat the coleslaw (tasted sweet) or the
roll they left in the box.
I ate the chicken with the skin (and crust) still on.
When I got home I made myself
Spinach salad with Pecans and dressing
Couple slices of ham
Cherries
When I awoke up this morning I had some acne on my face.
Atkins says that this a sign of an insulin spike in a recent meal (guess I should have taken off the 11 herbs and spices from that KFC)
However, I still lost 1/2 lb overnight.
2 week mark
Weight 241 1/2 Down 8 lbs from 249 1/2
Feeling good today.
I noticed today that the usual drowsiness that I used to feel in the late mornings and early afternoons (after lunch) has disappeared almost completely.
My energy level now appears to be virtually constant from the time I get up until going to bed
(assuming I got a full night's sleep the night before).
The "adaptation" symptoms from last week are completely gone (see above).
I also find that my mood has improved as well and I'm definately more friendly and talkative to my co-workers.
I had a deadline this week at work, which normally I would have felt as an increase in my stress level and worrying, however this time I didn't feel any of these effects.
I also appear to have lost the urge to snack in the morning (on nuts) before lunch. I wasn't really hungry when I was doing it before (more of an impulse). I wonder if it's because I've been eating some cheese the last two mornings?
Losing weight is nice but feeling better (than you normally do) while you're doing it is icing on the (low carb) cake 
Wow, you are doing great!
Day #8 for me. Down 6 1/2 lbs. I stalled there for a few days, but still that's a good average for just a week. I only really have 5 more lbs. to lose, so it may be slowing because of that.
I am liking the fact that we are eating a lot more salad and fresh veggies and not too much processed foods, if any. Also, no Diet coke and a ton more water. (Of course, I am wondering what I do with my frozen french bread pizzas!)
I have had no more headaches and really no other problems. My energy level is pretty good, but I have had a sick girl all week, so that would wear anyone down. I notice, when my head hits the pillow, I am out cold. No trouble sleeping! LOL!
Next week, I am giving up my coffee for decaf. Still afternoons are the toughest. I love the whipped heavy cream with a little sugar free pudding mix w/ a few berries, but it may be feeding my sweet tooth. Thinking of checking into the sugar free chocolate chips. That may be a mistake!
DH has lost 7 or 8 lbs. and is happy too.
This is definitely the healthiest diet I have ever been on. I am actually enjoying my fruits and vegetables because my body wants me to eat what ever little carbs are in them. Everything is so sweet and delicious! I hated fruits and vegetables before.
I actually enjoyed my brocelli today. I usually just eat brocelli because it is good for you.
3 week mark
Weight 241 1/2 Down 8 lbs from 249 1/2
(Unchanged from last week)
Feeling Good today.
My weight loss has obviously stopped for now but I'm not concerned because I feel good and have lots of energy. I noticed my weight bounced up and down a pound or so during the week but so far I haven't cheated once.
I've lost around 2 inches from my waist (42 down to 40) and Feona bought me a few new pairs of pants to wear to work. I also can see the difference in the mirror (when I stand sideways) since my stomach doesn't stick out anymore!
I'm convinced that the dramatic slowing in weight loss is characteristic of Atkins (Feona is experiencing the same thing).
In my opinion, the purpose of the Atkins induction phase is MOTIVATION to continue the diet.
I agree that seeing pounds drop off so easily the first week was a RUSH, but probably not that good for the body because of high mineral loss and the resulting symptoms (light headaches, muscle cramps, etc.)
Eating just slightly reduced carbs at the beginning gave me less weight loss at the beginning but I think it was better for my body.
In other words, I've been doing Atkins in REVERSE,
starting out with more carbs and then REDUCING them gradually for weight loss.
Atkins proposes the opposite:
Start with almost no carbs in induction and then ADD carbs as long as you continue to lose weight.
Again, I think Atkins approach is better for motivation but the other approach may be better from a health standpoint since I'm still eating some fruit and many different kinds of veggies which are both very good for you.
SOOO... I'm going to reduce my carbs a little this coming week and see how it goes.
My meals yesterday:
Breakfast:
3 Scrambled Eggs cooked in butter
(with a little whole milk added)
3 small slices of full fat cheese (with Jalpeno's in it---yummy!)
A few Strawberries
Supplements:
Potassium, Calcium, Atkins Basic 3 (multi)
Atkins Essential Oils
Snack:
Ate about 3oz of Macadamias at work
Lunch (at work):
2 Pieces of Chicken Parmesian with tomato sauce(but they breaded the chicken!)
Lettuce Salad with Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar(sprinkled with Parmesian)
Hard boiled egg
Couple tablespoons of Cottage Cheese (this was probably that yucky low fat stuff with lots of carbs 'cause it tasted sweet!)
Snack before Dinner:
2 stalks of celery with Hummus dip
Dinner:
About 6 oz of nut crusted white fish (Yummy Feona
recipe)
Couple slices of Cajun roast beef
Broccoli with butter
Salad with full fat Blue cheese dressing and sprinkled with walnuts
A few macadamias
What time is it there lol it's only 10:58 where i am or is that your plan on what you will be eating?
See above:
"My meals yesterday:"
5 week mark
Weight 237 1/2 Down 12 lbs from 249 1/2
(Down 4 lbs in last week)
Feeling great, lots of energy (I now run up stairs just for fun!)
Reducing my carb intake at lunch and evening meals has put me back on track (no fruit for those meals). No hunger at all. Drinking 64oz+ of water per day. (drink it before 5pm so I'm not getting up all night)
My meals yesterday:
Breakfast:
Low carb Keto brand cereal with
Heavy cream diluted with water
Some cheese
A peach
Snacks:
Some macadamias
Lunch:
Indian Food
Chicken with tomato cream sauce
Vegetables with some Indian sauce baked in Oven
(Califlower, Brocolli, some carrot)
Snack:
More macadamias
Dinner:
A couple slices of Cajun Roast Beef
Lettuce salad with blue cheese dressing, Avacado, mozarella cheese, pecans
Pork chop breaded with Keto low carb breading
Green beans with butter
BTW, I wanted to recommend the heavy cream thinned with water (about 4 or 5 to 1) as a good substitute for Milk. It tastes just about the same but with NO carbs.
I currently taking Atkins Basic 3 multivitamin, Atkins essential oils, a calcium supplement and a potassium supplement with every meal.
I tried the Atkins diet and didn't last a day. For Breakfast that day I had scrambled eggs and water. At lunch I had a chicken caesar salad without croutons and some water. During the afternoon I had water. By 5pm I had a headache so severe I thought I was going to vomit. At supper I ate a steak sandwich and had a cup of tea and the headache disappeared. I'd love to try it again. I seem to be way more forgetful than I used to be and feel in a "blah" mood most often but I'm afraid of experiencing the same symptoms.
Paula,
I got sick after about 5 days on this diet. DH did too. Do not lose more that 1 1/2 pounds a day on diet. Add carbs to decrease weight lose.
I would have been starving on what you ate. I would have needed some bacon and some nuts and more water. This is not a low calorie diet. This is a eat alot diet.
I also recommend reading some low carb books so you see you really need to eat more to lose more.
My husband say you should go to the doctor before starting this diet.
Fat is the sources of energy on this diet rather than easy carbs. Try gradual reduction of carbs and see how you do.
I don't think you ate or drank enough. You need to really eat alot the 2 weeks with snacks and more food. I was constantly eatting macodemia nuts the first week. This is a total no deprivation diet. Doens't seem like a diet but you have to eat more food than normal...
You can just try the diet with no suger, no white bread of flour and no potatos or rice. I think that is the South Beach diet that was recommend on 20 / 20 .
There are less severe ways to do the low carb diet. This might not be the diet for you though.
This is just my experience.
You have to drink 8 glasses of water a day on this diet. You got sick very fast on the diet.
I suspect you didn't eat or drink enough. You need to eat and drink alot on this diet to start. Snacks like macedomia nuts.
I got sick too. I tried it with more carbs. Might want to try it with carbs in the morning like oatmeal milk and banana and see what happens. Low carbs the rest of the day.
You got sick very fast on this. Might want to go to the doctor before starting this diet. People with damaged kidneys or livers might die on this diet.
Thanks for the input Feona.
My sister is starting this tomorrow. I think you are right about the water for sure. Also, we were outside at a street festival that day and it was about 27C which is probably in the low 80s I think so I really should have drank more.
I'm not a big doctor person. I hate going.
I think I might try again in September. I'm visiting a friend later this month and don't want to put any added stress on her by having her think she has to prepare special things for me.
6 week mark
Weight 233 Down 16 1/2 lbs from 249 1/2
Progress has been slow the last couple weeks (4 1/2 lb loss in 2 weeks).
These are some things I've been doing lately to keep my weight loss going:
(1)I eat most of my carbs for the day at breakfast. I heard it mentioned elsewhere and it seems to help.
(2)I eat VERY few carbs at dinner.
I've been trying to take a walk at lunch time before I eat. After eating I don't feel like walking with a full stomach in the heat.
I now only eat a piece of fruit in the morning (none at lunch and dinner).
My meals yesterday (also supplements of Potassium, Atkins Basic 3 multi, Atkins Essential Oils):
Breakfast
3 Scrambled Eggs with extra butter
Strawberries (1/2 cup or so)
2-3 oz of cheese
Water
Snacks
Macadamia nuts
Lunch(at work)
Eggplant Parmesian
Fish filet stuffed with Spinach and Cheese
Vegetable (sliced squash or something)
No salad
Snacks
Macadamia nuts and Walnuts
Dinner
2-3 thin slices of Boars Head corned beef
Couple slices of Boston Market Ham
Serving of Boston Market green beans
No salad
Lost 1/2 overnight
Something I've learned over the last few weeks:
If you have a choice of eating any of the following as a snack on this diet which is the best?
Fat
Protein
Carb
The best choice is Fat and the best fat to eat is contained in nuts like walnuts or macadamias (high in Omega-3).
When Atkins had a patient that was having a lot of trouble losing weight (even on induction) he put them on a 70-80% FAT diet for a week or so! Just about everyone would lose on that diet.
I believe this is one of the hardest things about the Atkins diet for many people.
"Fat is fattening and bad for you!" has been drilled into us for years and is one of the things that you must reject COMPLETELY to do well on this diet.
The benefits of fat on Atkins:
(1)It makes you feel full quickly, so you eat less.
(2)It doesn't cause an insulin spike like carbs (or even protein) do. You won't feel drowsy and then hungry again in an hour.
(3)You really need it for good skin, hair and health. Did you know that many vitamins are only found in fat?
(4)It improves your HDL (good) cholesterol level.
(5)It gives you lots of energy without the drowsiness of carbs or protein.
7 week mark
Weight 230 1/2 Down 19 lbs from 249 1/2
2 1/2 lbs in last week
Slow and steady at this point.
Interestingly, I find I lose the most weight on the weekend (when I'm most active) and then need to stick carefully to the diet to keep it off during the week.
One thing that I'm starting to learn about is listening to my stomach ;)
Not literally of course...but learning to recognize (and stop eating) when I feel full.
This is the real gift of this diet...Making you feel full. But I need to listen to my stomach and
STOP EATING!
In other words...just because you have a meal in front of you it's ok to not finish it!
8 week mark
Weight 227 1/2 Down 22 lbs from 249 1/2
3 lbs in last week
I've started a little ritual this week of always taking a walk after lunch. Today I did a 3/4 mile before lunch and another mile after lunch.
The two days I did this I lost a pound each!
It also helps get my energy back because I still feel a little drowsy after lunch (though much reduced from my high carb days .
Do you remember when you were a kid and wanted to run just because you were bursting with energy? We'll I'm starting to experience that feeling again and it's great...
I'm thinking of taking up Akido or maybe joining my son in learning Karate to satisfy this desire to burn off energy...
My meals yesterday:
Breakfast:
Low carb "Keto" brand hot cereal
Several pieces of Monterey Jack cheese
A few blueberries
Water
Lunch
Roast Beef with Gravy
Green beans and butter
Spinach salad with green peppers, olive oil and red wine vinegar
Hard boiled egg.
Dinner
A few slices of Pastrami
A few macadamia nuts
6" x 3" rib eye steak with sauce made of cream,
onions, peppers
Grilled squash, carrots
Lost 1 lb overnight
Lots of protein and low carb is weight builders diet. So dh is doing pretty good on it because he has alot of muscles.
He forgot to add he looks great! He fit into a pair of black jeans I bought him before we were married 10 years ago! All the weight he lost is off his tummy. He doesn't appear to have lost any muscle. Basically he is built like a football player so you imagine that he is doing pretty good!
My sister in law is doing grey sheet with overeatters anonymous. She looks skinny. I think she just a little weight to she wants to lose and that is it. She actually got her looks completely back now. I saw her in a $18 dollar dress from Walmart. She looks like a million bucks.
9 week mark
Weight 225 1/2 Down 24 lbs from 249 1/2
2 lbs in last week
I've been realizing the importance of getting enough sleep in losing weight!
I noticed that on days when I didn't get enough sleep I either lost NO weight or gained. On the other hand when I slept more I lost more.
Hmmmm coincidence?
Some thoughts about this...
When you're sleeping you're not eating... good for losing ;)
When you're well rested you tend to have more energy meaning ... you'll be more active and burn more calories... good for losing
I believe that the overnight period is one of the most important for weight loss. In this period you are fasting for up to 8 hours (hence "break-fast" the next day) and you want your body to burn your fat stores for energy.
This is also one of the most important reasons to watch VERY CAREFULLY your evening carb intake!
Since you're not active in this period, which usually burns excess carbs, any extra carbs you take in will be
Used as fuel instead of your fat stores
Or if you have even more carbs, stored as fat and not burned.
For this reason I'm starting to take as gospel someone's advice on this board to not eat a lot of carbs after 3pm .... makes sense.
Happy losing!
10 week mark
Weight 223 1/2 Down 26 lbs from start of 249 1/2
2 lbs in last week
Things seem to be going slow and steady.
I've been realizing another pattern to my weight loss and eating:
When I eat dinner early I tend to lose weight. When I eat dinner late I tend to not lose weight.
This appears to hold no matter what I actually eat.
It's kind of hard to eat earlier since I'm watching my son in the evening but I'm going to try and shift my eating to earlier in the evening.
My meals yesterday:
Breakfast
Keto low carb cereal
Several pieces of Monterey Jack cheese
Plum
Snack
Macadamia nuts (about 2-3 oz)
Lunch
Chinese Food: Roast Pork and Brocolli no rice
I asked them to make it with no cornstarch or sugar
Snacks (at home)
2-3 slices of Pastrami (sliced thin)
Dinner:
3-4" piece of kielbasa sausage
Spinach salad with Maries creamy italian dressing
cut up 1/2 Avacado, 4-5 macadamia nuts
Dessert: 2-3 tsp Whipped heavy cream w/vanilla and Stevia sweetner (yummy!)
Lost 1/2lb overnight
John, good observation! I've noticed the same thing about eating early. I'm not doing Atkins, but I've been following another plan for 6 months now. One thing about my diet is that I am not supposed to eat dinner within four hours of going to bed and I notice that when I eat dinner at 6pm I lose much faster than when I eat at 7pm and when I eat at 8pm I stall.
11 week mark
Weight 221 1/2 Down 28 lbs from start of 249 1/2
2 lbs in last week
I went away on a business trip this week. It was really hard to stay focused on my diet when the company we were visting offered the following for lunch:
Various sandwiches on french bread
Potatoe chips
Soda pop (no water!)
I managed to sneak out to their cafeteria and get a chicken/beef/vegetable stir fry instead.
Breakfast was easy though since the hotel we were staying had a buffet with eggs, sausages and fresh strawberries. Yummy!
The lesson I learned was that sometimes you have to take a walk to stay on your diet.
My meals yesterday:
Breakfast:
Western Omelet
3-4 sausage links
couple slices of bacon
Lunch
Beef with Brocolli chinese food
(no sugar or cornstarch)
Dinner
Spinach salad with 1/2 Avacado and blue cheese dressing
Panang beef thai food (beef, red/green peppers in coconut milk based sauce)
12 week mark (3months!)
Weight 219 Down 30 1/2 lbs from start of 249 1/2
2 1/2 lbs in last week
I was sick this week with a bug both Feona and I caught. I was VERY suprised when hypglycemic symptoms returned (headache, sweating) that I hadn't had in 3 months. One day I lost 2 lbs overnight even though I ate normally.
Apparently my body was kind of busy fighting the virus and making white blood cells so it needed LOTS more carbs than usual.
I upped my consumption to 3 fruits a day and even ate some chocolate when I had a headache one night.
I feeling better today so I'm back on my regular plan.
People at work are starting to notice my weight loss and come up to me to ask how I did it. Everyone's been very encouraging and one guy even said
"John, you look good. You don't need to lose any more weight!"
My response
"But I still weigh more than I did in high school." (wink, wink).
My favorite:
"John, you're only half the man you used to be!"
My meals yesterday:
Breakfast:
Omelet with Cheese and prosuctto(sp?)
Strawberries
Lunch
Big lettuce Salad with Chicken, Beef, Ham, Tomato
Snack
2 oz macadamia nuts
Dinner
Spinach salad with 1 full Avavacado, Italian dressing and a few Macadami nuts
Few slices of Ham and Salami
13 week mark
Weight 218 Down 31 1/2 lbs from start of 249 1/2
1 lb in last week
Still sick...
Went to the doctor who said I have brochitis(sp?) and put me on antibiotics.
I've been eating a lot of carbs this week, taking a break from the diet until I'm better.
15 week mark
Weight 215 1/2 Down 34 lbs from start of 249 1/2
Almost recovered from this bug that hit me 3 weeks ago. Slowly starting to go back on diet but still eating LOTS of carbs (like sweet potatoes, Quiche, corn muffins and other things).
Losing weight even though I'm not even trying.
Seems being sick is a great way to lose weight 
but that's not even funny...
Hope you area feeling better soon! Sounds like this diet is really working out for you. I want to try it, but I don't think I have the will power!
Just wanted to know if you are still doing this and how is going for you. I started yesterday and drank 3L of water. This is a biggy for me since normally I drink NO water at all. I went down 5 pounds overnight but I'm sure it's just because of the water.
It really works. I kept 10 pounds off for over a year. I just watch carbs alittle to maintain my weight.
Except you get sort of weak after 7 days of the diet as you body adjusts to buring fat instead of easy carbs and sugars.
Also you need to take metamucil pills or fiber on that diet.
This diet is great for people with diabetes in their family. My husband and sil lost alot of weight on this diet and kept it off.
I have been doing good carb for years, but wanted to jump start my weight loss so I switched to Atkins to jump start my weight loss. I had a hard time eating enough fat and keeping my veggie count down in the induction phase. I guess I do more of a South Beach version.
I was going to post an update (and maybe some before and after pictures) but I wanted to visit my doctor for a checkup to get all my blood stats...
But anyway here goes:
Before (July 2003):
249 lbs
43" waist
48" chest
Today (Feb 2005)
187 lbs
34" waist
43" chest
I'm still eating low carb for maintenance and learning more every day...
IMHO, Atkins is about eating MORE green veggies like Spinach, brocolli, etc. and avoiding starchy veggies like peas, corn, etc.
I wish that Atkins had never made the "Induction" part of the diet.
Many people think of the Induction Phase as "Atkins" and quit before they really see the benefits of eating MORE green vegetables and avoiding starches (which is the REAL Atkins diet).
What I'm finding (after almost 2 years) is that controlling my weight is all about appetite and metabolism:
Eating fat suppresses my appetite. Reducing Fat makes me hungry.
Eating fat makes me energetic and increases my metabolism. Reducing fat makes me tired and slows my metabolism.
I actually eat about 20-30% more calories than I used to. BUT since my basal metabolism is now so much higher (and therefore I have lots of energy) I burn it off easily as part of my daily routine.
Go figure...
I could write oodles more about what happened to my blood pressure, disease resistance and complexion but don't get me started
Atkins saved my life.
That's great that it worked so well for you, John. I do like that Atkins is now stressing more and more of the good fats. I just felt so sluggish with that much fat in my system during induction. I think the Atkins for Life program is a wonderful way of eating for everyone.
John,
I am on day 3 so and trying to do the induction phase. Maybe you could let me know how I'm doing in term of enough fat and low carbs.
Day #1
breakfast: 2 eggs
3 slices of bacon
1 cup reg. orange pekoe tea with
half/half (I normally drink skim so
this was a big change for me)
1 cup decaff. tea
lunch: breakfast was so late that I didn't eat lunch
Dinner: chicken with parm. cheese
broccoli
1/4 small cucumber
1/4 green pepper
6 mushrooms
approx. 2 cups lettuce
Day #2
Breakfast: 1 belguim waffle (made with Atkins
bake mix)
1 tbsp. atkins pancake syrup
1 tbsp butter
1 cup reg tea
Lunch: Chicken ceasar salad minus the
croutons
Supper: 2 egg omlete with mushrooms (4)
and green pepper
Day #3
Breakfast: belgium waffle with pancake syrup
and butter
1 cup reg tea
Lunch: Chicken ceasar salad
Dinner: I haven't actually eaten this yet
but I'm planning on
Crock Pot Roasted Chicken
1 cup turnip sweetened with 1 tbsp
splenda
steamed broccoli sprinkled with
parm cheese
I was hoping to have some favored jello for dessert. Is that allowed as long as it is the no sugar added variety?
How many carbs does the salad dressing have?
Marie's in the refrigerated section has a full fat dressing that is 1 or zero carbs and is delicious. Mayo has no carbs too.
How many carbs does the waffle have?
Turnip? How many carbs do they have?
You are doing great! I bet you lost 7 pounds.
As soon as you stop eatting this way the weight does just return. But if you continue not going out of your way to eat carbs you can even maintain.
I remember I used to think I had to eat a carb for every meal.
You got it with the jello. Just double check the side panel for carb count.
You can also have a big scoop of sour cream with dinner if you want. Zero carbs.
John makes his own whipped cream with full fat cream and spenda. He eats them with strawberries or blueberrys. (Berrys are very low in carb)
Read the Atkins book! So you really understand it. I know alot of people think they are on Atkins but they eat more
than 4 ounces of cheese a day
or really don't understand what they can and can't eat.
Macadami nuts are low carb and great for the car. I think you can eat a few ounces a day. Maybe four ounces. (too many nuts for me...)
Jann,
This is the Atkins site "official" word on fats:
http://atkins.com/Archive/2004/2/3-915798.html
Paula,
Sounds like you are doing well.
However, the best indication about whether you are eating enough is your own body.
Are you hungry at all between meals?
If you are, then you're not eating enough. Feel free to increase your fat and protein until you're not hungry anymore.
Atkins is not low calorie and you should never be hungry doing Atkins.
Lowering your calories (to the point where you are hungry) actually lowers your metabolism.
Feel free to plenty of regular butter when you make your eggs
Look in the cheese department at your supermarket for 0 carb cheeses. One of my favorite is Monterey Jack Jalepeno pepper.
It goes great in omeletes or just for breakfast!
I also liked KETO brand low carb cereal when I was starting.
Make sure you eat your salads! I prefer baby spinach to lettuce.
Slices of fresh mozzerela(sp?), sliced Avocados, sliced eggs, onions etc.
Peppers and onions are actually pretty high in carbs (like a fruit) so watch those portion sizes.
I also take psyllium fiber with every meal in water. You can get this as no sugar Metamucil or if you don't mind the lack of flavoring, just plain Psyllium fiber pills or powder at the health food store. You'll need this to stay regular if you're doing induction.
Hellmans mayonaise is a great low carb salad topping.
Definately read the Atkins book, there are lots of gems in there...
NOTE: If you feel low blood sugar symptoms at any time (headache, dizziness, weakness etc.), eat some carbs until they go away.
Keep some fruit (like apples) around for this purpose.
These sympthoms will disappear within the 2 week induction period.
I'm not a doctor but this is my understanding of the cause for these symthoms:
Atkins induction restricts carbs to the point where you're body's liver needs to use it's stores of glycogen (sugar).
Eventually your liver needs to manufacture blood glucose from the protein you eat while your body's primary fuel is the fat you eat.
Many people who are overweight have metabolic syndrome (elevated insulin levels and the resulting problems with sugar metabolism).
Elevated insulin levels BLOCK the liver from releasing stored glycogen and the manufacture of blood glucose from protein.
Since the liver can't do its job(keeping your blood sugar stable), your blood sugar falls and you get the hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) sympthoms.
Therefore, in this situation you need to eat carbs (to bring your blood sugar back up) until your body adjusts (and your insulin levels come down) to the point where your liver can do its job again.
Normally that takes 1-2 weeks.
Good luck.
John, thanks for the link! I am very familiar with the Atkins website. They have a great message board too.
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