Atkins Diet update

Question about the Atkins Diet:

Can you have Milk, Beans, Yogurt??
I didn't know that broccoli and salad was off limits! Damn!

 

broccoli and salad are not off-limits. They are even allowed during the strictest phase (induction), but just in limited quantities. Broccoli is a little carb-denser than some green veggies, so you can substitute 1 cup of it for say 2 cups of jicama.

Milk and yogurt are off-limits. Most beans are as well, although you can have green beans.

 

F.D. Khan, you can probably have those items in very limited quantities during the maintenance phase of Atkins. But, since those are high carb in nature, what you can have would be very little. I think in maintenance you up your carbs from 20 to some still really low number until you find the balance where you can maintain your weight without gaining weight. So, you probably go from 20 to 50 carb grams a day or maybe a little more(not sure the limit..varies according to the person).

So, you could probably get by with a glass of milk a day, some beans(not many), and/or some yogurt during maintenance. But, you probably won't be able to have very much of those unless you want to gain weight by breaking your established carb/grams limit you set for yourself.

A lot of people tend to cheat on weekends and then go back into the induction phase essentially starting over. That is always an option as well. No matter what...there will be times when you will "cheat".

Dr. Dada may claim I am wrong or something...lol. I read the damn book and I've done the diet before as well. It's been a while, though.

 

i'm thinking of getting back on this....but for those people out there.....one thing that i used to eat when i got cravings....sugar free jello and whip cream...........saved me many times when i thought i needed something sweet to eat.


good luck fellas....keep posting the updates

 

With all this meat, cheese, eggs, etc that everyone is eating, have you had your cholesterol levels checked?

I've always been advised to get my cholesterol checked before starting any new diet or exercise routine.

Just curious as to how healthy this diet really is. Sure you can lose weight, but what are the other risks? Doesn't your liver have to work overtime from all this protein? One last thing, do you guys work out? I get on the treadmill for an hr seven days a week, and this has worked so far for me.

 

I don't eat eggs and I'm allergic to cheese so I'm eating mostly meat mixed with a few salads. I plan on loosing the weight and then mixing in carbs in moderation until I can find a level I can maintain. I did not go to the doctor before I started but I will if I start having any problems.

Day 2 for me and the lack of energy is just kicking in. I have a pounding headache because I cut out my 3 (at least) diet cokes at the same time and they were my source of caffiene. The water keeps me running to the bathroom so often I doubt I'm getting much work done. Lunch today was hard. For the past 10 years I've eaten the fajita special with cubed potatoes at Fajitas Locas with coworkers and today I could only eat the meat and couldn't touch those wonderful potatos, or the tortillas, or the chips.

 

Yeah, I had a tough time staying away from the chips at Chuy's the other day as well. On the other hand, once I got my fajitas and dumped the extra lettuce, cheese, and guac on them, everyone was commenting on how good it looked. (It rocked, btw)

The cool thing about this for me so far has been no hunger pangs and getting to eat some cool tastes I never would have otherwise. Iceberg lettuce wraps with ham, dry salami, and smoked cheese are excellent!

 

u can eat Guac?

Breakfast was Deli chicken and the meat and cheese of a Lunchable
Lunch Soup or Salad -actually felt full
the normal salad except some Chili from the bake potatoe bar
not much of that and alot of water

So far i feel better than yesterday
no burst of energy though

My problem is i normally don't eat breakfast
and i need to work in a snack

Rocket River
cutting soda alone should cost me 10 lbs

 

Kam's Birthday
June 4, 1983

You just turned 20.

As a guy that just got past 30 I can safely say that I was you 10 years ago. Your time is coming...

 

Do you know why you lost 8 pounds so quick? Because he quit eating carbs, carbs store around 5-10 pounds of water more than you would if you didn't eat them. So those 8 pounds are not fat, but water.

 

I must admit that I was skeptical about the atkins as well but I wouldn't say I'm on the atkins but on a varation of the diet plus a few other dieting tips as well.

So far in 1 month I've lost 14lbs. I went from 240 to 226 in that time span. I'm 5'10" and fairly stocky and big boned. My target weight is 200. I haven't cut out the carbs completely but have lowered the intake by probably 95%. I've cut out rice, bread, pasta, potatoes. I do work out aproximately 2-3 times a week with at least 20 mins on the treadmill each time. The workouts are strenuous but it's important to work out because muscle burns more calories than fat. It's important not to starve yourself either. You should have 4-5 small meals per day to raise your metabolism. The day I do eat carbs though, are days I work out. I eat a small amount of pasta or rice a few hours before I work out to give me some energy to burn or else I'll be tired during the workout. This makes my diet easy and the carbs is like my reward for working out or my motivation to work out because I have to rid my body of it. So far I gone down 2 belt holes easily on my pants. I don't know what that translates to in waist size but I'm a 38 but can now easily fit into a 36. I think it's important to have a combination of several diets into one and that will help keep it interesting. Atkins does have chocolate bars for carb solutions and they even have a bread mix that you can use to make your own burgers and whatever it is you like to make with bread. I wish you guys all good luck and keep the weight off.

 

DD,

I'm glad you're losing weight and feeling better about yourself. But do you know how unhealthy it is to lose that much weight so quickly? Especially after you've been so physically inactive for a long time? Also, what's Dr. Atkins say about the increased cholesterol levels from eating all these dairy and meat products? Doesn't your liver have to work overtime as well?

I'm not judging or discrediting, just wondering.

 

DaDa,
Please be sure to post how you're during over the weekend. If my own diet doesn't seem to be working I might switch to Atkin's on Sunday. Although I'm doing ok so far (lost ~20 lbs) I crave cheese and my mouth is watering when I read what you're able to eat on Atkins. I am also trying to get into a good exercise routine (though this may be the subject of another thread....)

Typically I work out by going on the elliptical machine for ~30 min, then various weight stuff. I do an ab machine 25-30 times, 3 sets, at 70 lbs. 3 sets of 12 of curls at 30 lbs (though I am ready to move up on those) and 3 sets of 12 of those push-forward machine things at 70 lbs. I do this 4-5 times a week, and it makes me feel pretty good. However, I went and played basketball last week and felt sore afterwards. Anyone have suggestions? I'm just looking to get rid of the flab (started out about 6' and 220 lb, so I had a fair-sized gut) Good luck to all!

 

Acutally the diet isn't that bad. It's mostly meat and vegetables which isn't such a bad thing. The important part is not to have too much red meat. Lotta fish, seafood and chicken. The initial weight loss is large but it begins to balance out. It's important to be disciplined though but the weight loss begins to slow down after that. EXCERCISE EXCERCISE EXCERCISE!! Diet alone is not going to work or else you'll be slim but you'll be jelly slim. The fatigue can be battled by plenty of sleep. I know most of us don't get the full 8 hours our body demands.

 

Well in my case, I have trouble eating enough fat. I don't normally eat butter or fatty foods to begin with, so I thought a little guacamole would help. I had no problems staying in Ketosis, so obviously it didn't hurt too badly.

I need to pick up another pack of chicken wings and some real bacon though.

I'm a week in and miss my cereal in the morning, but I'll get used to it I guess. I sure haven't had any cravings and haven't been hungry between meals at all, so that's sweet.

DaDakota, how much water are you drinking? I'm thirsty all of the time and I figure I'm drinking 120-170 ounces of water a day.

 

I have mixed feelings about Atkins, and I tend to agree with coma. My main concern is that it encourages you to eat a lot of high fat foods - so you lose weight but you clog your arteries in the process.

However, you have to balance this with the extra benefit of losing weight. Is the risk of putting your body through the potentially damaging induction period worth it? I guess that long term, it is much better to 175 lbs than 210 lbs no matter how you lost the weight.

To me, it is a simple philosophy - in order to lose weight & maintain:-
a) Calories in =< calories out
b) Balanced, healthy diet
c) Cut back when you can, splurge when you really want to and can enjoy it
d) Exercize, exercize, exercize!

Worked for me - I lost 25 lbs that way. Felt great doing it too.

 

DD (or anyone else),

What are these purple piss sticks you are talking about? What are they called and where can I get some?

 

That's the thing. I haven't gotten the concept of eating high fatty foods. I cut that part out even with the low carb diet. No use in putting it in but I do have carbs before I workout for energy so I'm not really on atkins but a variation of it. I'm enjoying the weight loss and don't have energy loss. I play ball every thursday and workout 2-3 times a week. I'm positive I can keep up this balanced diet and workout regime but I have to give credit to Atkins diet though. It started me out and helped me to discipline and watch what I eat.