Atkins Diet? Tell me what I need to know

if you pick the correct foods, you eat HUGE plates of food. Things like butter and steak are encouraged instead of discouraged!

I am not even near induction levels (20g of carbs daily) but I am losing a lb a week now where I was NOT losing at all when I ate a *normal* amount of carbs ( ~200g or more daily).

Avoid all of the low carb diet products you see (including the Atkins brand), eat whole, "real" foods and understand that once you lose all of your weight you can increase your carbs some but you can't go back to eating bread and pasta everyday. If you can't maintain this way of eating don't start because the weight will come back with a vengeance just like any other diet.

A more moderate approach of say keeping your carbs under 100g a day for a month or two might be a way to test the waters and see how you do.

The biggest benefit I've experienced personally from eating a low carb, high fat diet is more energy, excellent appetite control (I eat every 5-7 hours now and don't feel the need to snack) and faster weight loss -- your mileage may vary.

Doesn't it give you bad breath and horrible constipation? Doesn't seem like the best thing to do when you can lose weight while being on a completely non-restrictive diet.

I did the atkins diet a few years back and managed to lose 60-70 pounds in just over a year. Ya it was great and decently fast weight loss, but it wasn't something I could stick to forever. I find now that what I'm doing (calorie counting) works fine for me. Remember its not a race when it comes to weight loss, and there isn't much worse than alot of loose saggy skin at the end. I did research on the atkins diet for months before I started it. I wouldn't be the type of person to tell you not to do it, but I just think there are better and healthier ways out there to get the weight off. Another thing is the way the atkins diet is now, its been so revised its not really even the original the doctor intended people to follow. If you want to know more about it, feel free to send me a message.

Doesn't it give you bad breath and horrible constipation? Doesn't seem like the best thing to do when you can lose weight while being on a completely non-restrictive diet.

I don't know about anyone else but I don't have bad breath or experience any constipation at all.

In theory I can agree that a restrictive diet sounds harder to live with but in practice not being hungry all the damn time is worth its weight in gold. I'd pay to feel like this and all the while I'm losing weight faster and improving my health markers more than the "healthy" whole grain diet I was following before?! It's a no brainer -- keep your sugar and grains. :laugh:

ETA:
Blueberries, strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, onions, garlic and cabbage are the fruits and vegetables I've eaten or plan to eat today. I used to eat a lot more fruit and vegetables than I do now (because I was always hungry and trying to fill myself up) but by no means does a low carb diet mean you can't eat fruits and vegetables.

Just thought I'd throw that out there since I consider my diet to be a healthy one and not something to do to lose weight fast regardless of health -- cutting out grains was motivated by health concerns, the faster weight loss and normal appetite are just a bonus. I also follow a generic low carb, high fat diet and not the Atkins diet specifically.

@ Alabasterverv - Veggies are so low carb they do not even count. Go crazy accept, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and peas. They are higher in sugar. You can have fruit but you need to count it in your carb intake and see it as a treat.

Forget Atkins, the principles are simple and everyone loves the idea "hey i can eat fatty stuff, not count calories and get away with it?!" Well nothin easy ever lasts, the only way to make Atkins last is to have kidneys an a liver that can process that amount of bad fats for the rest of your life. If you can for the rest of your life.

The same results + healthier outcome can be found by eliminating simple carbs (sugar, starches, breads, grains, and wheat products) from your diet. You aren't saying "Fairwell" forever. You will always have your cheat days.

Just remember to eat greens, they have complex carbohydrates and the stuff your body needs. Proteins should be lean. My only bit of advice is to also ditch dairy for a while while your body adjusts - and to be careful in not eating too much fruit. Even natural sugar can be detrimental to your carb count. Which should be less than 35g of carbs a day. (different for everyone, you can test your ketone production at varying grams of carbs with ketone strips, you can find them in the diabetic section of a pharmacy).

Essentially you go through 3 days of low blood sugar/ body adjustment. It's bad the first time you go through it, but it gets easier and easier. On day three or four you have all your energy back, and you are fully burning. Bread, pizza, candy, and everything simple carb filled will look like a wet brick and completely unappetizing.

If you eat more than your burn amount of carbs your body might need a few days to get back on track. What I do, is give myself a cheat day every 2 to 3 weeks. Eat everything horrible, candybars, wedding cakes, pizza etc etc. I find I feel sick very quickly and now I see my cheat days as a thing I don't like. The cheat day also gives your metabolism a nice shock of life.

Aitkins is a crash diet based on real science - what I'm advising you to do is the healthier alternative, and one you could live the rest of your life doing without problem. Im aware that I didn't get into the real science above, I'm typing on my phone and am being lazy.

Atkins diet after I was sick of the pressure ... be careful with that diet ...

Have you thought of South Beach? It's a low carb initially, then you introduce the healthy carbs back in. Focuses more on lean meats and such.

I guess I have to be the "odd one out" on this one. I tried every diet out there & the only one that I lost weight AND KEPT OFF THE WEIGHT for over a year with is a low carb diet. I do a modified Atkins though, instead of fatty meats & full cheeses, I substitute lean chicken & turkey & add healthy fats (olive oil, flax oil, walnuts). I still get 50-70% of my calories from fat, 20% from protein & keep my carbs at 40-60 net carbs a day. I was doing Atkins (fatty meats) & after 6 months my cholesterol levels were a tad bid high (they had been normal until then). I since have had my bloodwork done again & I am back to normal using my modified version. I have also maintained my weight loss & I don't have to work out AT ALL if I don't want to & still maintain my weight. I am working out (running) because I enjoy it & hopefully it helps me lose a few more pounds, but if I don't i am ok at 115lbs. I can eat plenty of vegetables, small amounts of fruit, lean meats, healthy oils & small amounts of skim cheese & I am fine with this lifestyle. When I ate sugar & breads I was always craving more & binged on them. I believe they are addicting & cause I wide variety of health issues.
In the end, everyone has to do what is right for them, like they say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you are struggling to lose, then you shouldn't knock it until you've tried it. And that means really giving it an honest try, doing it for at least a few months, tracking food/exercise daily & having bloodwork done to back it up before making judgement.

Even diabetics needs at least 130 g of carbs a day.

Nobody needs to eat any carbohydrates. Your liver makes glucose if you don't eat enough carbs, Atkins and LCHF dieters don't have problems with less than 40g of net carbs per day.

I doubt I eat 130g a week, never mind a day.

The person who lost weight too fast and landed in the hospital, if she had read the book, would know that it does NOT SAY to be eating only proteins. Most of my daily carb allowance comes from a big salad every afternoon, and vegetables with dinner. Don't blame the program if you didn't follow the instructions.