Anyone doing or done the Atkins Diet?

[Chickfever]

I'm trying to plan some meals in advance so I'm not crunched at the last second grabbing something to eat.

Is there anything besides EGGS that one can eat for breakfast? Don't get me wrong, I like eggs but I can only handle so many a week.

 

[pipermark]

First, I hope you read the entire book. If you are about to embark on the 30 day, almost 0 carbs a day, program, then your choices are limited. You can substitute meats, or soy based breakfast products.

I would also like to share with you something that I do to replace sandwiches. I get large leafed greens, collards , mustard greens. I put my meat , cheese, condiments, in the middle of a large leaf and then roll them into like a green burrito.

The heavy greens leafed vegetables are real important. If you dont eat the green veggies, high in fiber and low in sugar or starch , your sugar cravings will be much greater.

I am not on a diet, for me its real simple, if i want to stay below 250 pounds I cant eat
bread
starchy foods
foods containing sugar, corn starch or corn syrup if these items are in top 4 of the ingredient list.
If I dont eat plenty of greens , its very hard for me to avoid the above.


Other things I have learned:
Dont trust labels - sugar free , dose not mean 0 carbs, they cont have to report starches as sugar on the label, yet it turns into sugar very quickly in your body.

Sugar free candy and sugar free soda - if you are trying to lose weight , these may bring you out of Ketosis, its real important to use your keytone strips, as Dr. Atkins points out, to tell how your body reacts to different foods and combination of foods.
*sugar free candies use sugar alcohols, these will cause you gastric distress., nothing permanent but can be embarrassing.

You will find over time you can tolerant foods that are low glycemic, some fruits and berries, etc.

I am a sugarholic, I wish you good luck in your quest for better health.

 

[MissPrissy]

I have done it in the past and lost 70lbs.

The first 2 weeks will be the absolute hardest EVER.

I had major headaches and the world just seemed to be off kilter.

Once you detox and start adding foods to the diet it gets much better.

Once you start seeing real weight loss you could care less about eating you are so motivated to continue.

It can be very hard to get the hang of it but you can do it. Stick to nice cuts of meat and a raw spinach salad. Once day have fish and the spinach salad, the next have steak, the next have chicken, etc. Olive oil dressings made fresh are your saving grace to change up the salad flavor. But once you get used to eating that way you begin to like it and your pallette isn't so picky.

As for breakfast - you can prepare eggs in a hundred ways and get them down without choking or gaging on the same old tired boiled or scrambled egg.

Look at the package lables on processed meat products - sausages, hotdogs, deli meats etc - many of those contain carbs and really throw you off course.

Make sure you drink plenty of water, unsweet tea or black coffee works too as long as it is decaf. Caffine floods you with insulin which defeats the fat burning process.

Water, Spinach salads, prime usda meat choices. You will succeed!

 

[ChickenToes]

My mother lost quite a bit of weight on Atkins.

But a word of warning: any diet that restricts one food group completely is not the healthiest choice. Your body needs carbs for energy. A no-fat diet is also not the healthiest choice, your body needs fats as well.

Moderation in all things is key. I do like most of the Atkins principles, but having a piece of whole grain toast for breakfast with 2 eggs and a piece of fruit is a lot healthier than eating 3 eggs and 6 strips of bacon.

Fruits and lots of veggies are key, as well as lean cuts of meat. If you want something sweet, have fruit. Natural sugars are much better for you than processed sugars and artificial sweeteners.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

The South Beach Diet seems a more balanced sensible way of doing the same thing as Atkins. My DH and I recommend it highly.

 

[silkiechicken]

Best of luck and be careful! If you do cut out all carbs, you are basically forcing your body to burn fatty acids/lipids due to lack of glucose (blood and body) and glycogen stores (primarily liver) after starting the diet. It really isn't the best for your circulatory system and cardiac health due to the acidification of your body and release of large amounts of ketone bodies (gives you that ketone breath, or breath that can smell like acetone). They collect due to the inability of glycolosys to produce the necessary ATP to stay alive. Didn't Mr. Atkins die of a heart attack or some heart related problem?

Either way, best of luck on whatever modification to your diet you choose to do! Just gotta eat healthier and burn more calories. You don't burn fat per se, as it's natural cycle is usually a month anyways.

 

[Chickfever]

I know this isn't the healthiest thing to do, but I have to lose this weight, I feel miserable. I've tried Weight Watchers, it was too much of a hassle to figure out how many points I was eating at each meal. I've tried Slim Fast, I was starved within an hour of breakfast and lunch.

The only real differences in what I do now and Atkins is not eating potatoes, pasta, bread, and switching to diet drinks. I honestly don't eat a whole lot of fruit anyway

. If I could make it to lose about 30 or 40 lbs, I'm sure I'd feel so much better.....I can vaguely remember those days.

ETA: Haven't tried South Beach but you have to pay $5 a week to get the info.....?? I don't have the extra cash right now. Is there a book I can read? What are the results from it?

 

[ChickenToes]

I do believe there is a South Beach book. The South Beach diet is very similar to Atkins, but it's more well balanced - more fruits and veggies. You can have some good carbs, but have to eliminate the bad carbs. I think if you Google 'South Beach diet recipes' you could probably find a lot of recipes and information.

 

[silkiechicken]

There really is no miracle diet. You have to change the way you live on a regular basis and change from within so to say. Eat your bread and potatoes, just skip the toppings, no butter, nothing filled with sugar. Eat carrot sticks with no dip instead of candy and down some plain oatmeal prepared in too much water in the morning to give the illusion of a bigger meal. Drink a whole glass of milk before eating and get some friends to go out on daily walks. Eat smaller meals more often even so you keep your metabolism up. Even skip the diet drinks that have fake sugars, just go for some chilled water. I don't think you need to spend any money on books or plans. If you buy prepared foods and cereals, might save more on eating plain goods like brown/white rice, steamed veggies with no salt/butter/extras, and a plain baked chicken leg on the side. You can do it!

My mom always jokes the best way to lose weight is to cook badly so you don't want to eat it. LOL.


Edit:
Oh, and for breakfasts.

Do a cup of plain oatmeal in water. Have some fruit on the side or just fruit even. When I was little, my mom would make what is called conjee witch is just rice boiled in lots of water to make a watery mush. Sometimes left over bones are used to make the water flavored and some cilantro is tossed on top. If you have a rice cooker, just put in a cup of white rice, like 4 cups of water, and push cook to start 2 hours before you wake up. Stir it at the end and that's breakfast all ready and hot when you wake up! Usually for school, I'm pressed for time and just eat a banana for breakfast and carry a bottle of water.

 

[lorieMN]

last Thanksgiving I thought I needed new clothes,because I didnt have a thing to wear,then I looked in my closet and I had hundreds of things to wear but they didnt fit,so hubby and I started last nov 28th on power90,beachbody.com, and I went on to P90X,but that one is to hard for hubby as he had a broken hip when young and they fixed it without rehab and he has limited mobility in it..so he is on bowflex,but in the 9 months sense then we have both lost 45 lbs each..BB is all about working out and eating lots of healthy foods,and I mean a lot of food,when I started I was on 3500 calories/day..you wont starve on this program..look into it,if you stick with it you will get results..and its fun