The Adkins diet?

Options
megandreyer95
megandreyer95 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So recently I've been hearing a lot of good things about the Adkins diet from a couple of my friends. Is this diet the real deal? I keep hearing mixed reviews on the internet and wanted to see if anyone had good tips or stories about it

Replies

  • BioQueen
    BioQueen Posts: 694 Member
    Options
    I can tell you my experience, which I'm sure will differ with others but:

    I did it for about 2 months and I felts awful. I had zero energy, I felt it was impossible to work out. I did lose weight, probably about 7-10 pounds, but I regained it when I decided it wasn't for me. I have had much better success with just CICO (and carbs).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    Options
    It's a low carb diet...some people do fine and others do not. I could never adhere to a low carb diet.

    Note that it works on the same premise that any other diet works...it puts you into a calorie deficit and you lose weight...there is nothing magical about low carbing...
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Options
    As the previous poster said, there is usually a dip in energy for a few days of weeks while your body adjusts to burning fats for fuel instead of carbs/glucose. If you have an athletic event coming up it probably isn't a great time to start low carb, but if you have the time for it, know that the energy dip does completely go away.

    Some will feel slightly ill in the first few days or weeks (headaches, sore muscles, or possibly nausea) but it is preventable. The symptoms are caused by an electrolyte imbalance. Water weight is lost when carbs are reduced and this flushes sodium from your body. Increasing sodium to 3000-5000mg per day helps a lot. I know it sounds like a large amount but salting your food and drinking a cup of salty broth will make a difference.

    Some also find supplementing with magnesium and potassium helps too. These get low when sodium has been low a while. Muscle cramps are a sign that your electrolytes are out of balance.

    I basically do Atkins. It starts with an induction phase which is a very low carb ketogenic diet. I feel great at that level so I have been doing it for about 7 months. My appetite is down, my sugar and carb cravings are gone, and I fairly effortlessly lost 40lbs in the first 4 months eating as a slight caloric deficit. It helped with some health issues I have too.

    I like the food on this diet. I eat meat, eggs, nuts, full fat dairy (heavy whipping cream, butter, cheese), non-starchy veggies (spinach, cuts, snap peas, celery, squash, peppers, etc), olives and avocados, some low sugar fruits like berries, and typically avoided fatty foods like coconut oil, bacon, mayonnaise,lard for cooking, full fat salad dressings, and pork rinds as a treat.

    I think Atkins limits all dairy. Not sure on that.

    I tend to avoid foods made with sugar or sugar substitutes like honey or syrup, and foods made from flours (bread, noodles, muffins) or grains (quinoa, rice). I limit my roots vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beets, etc) as well as sugary fruit like raisins, grapes, mangos and bananas.

    Read the book and good luck.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    Options
    About 15 years ago I tried it. Lost about 50lbs, regained it and then some. Diets don't work long term. CiCo it isn't fancy or trendy but it works, it teaches you portion control and you don't need special foods or books. It sets you up for long term success, people need to stop looking for some magic pill.
  • cmarangi
    cmarangi Posts: 131 Member
    Options
    Every body is different. I've had enormous success on low carbing. I've lost weight when straight CICO wasn't working for me. There's research all over the place depending on who is doing the study and what they are trying to prove. The best bet is to try it and see if it works for you. It's a HUGE adjustment the first few weeks, so know that going in and give it a good month or two to see actual benefits.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    Options
    Atkins and South Beach both have a relatively short first phase which is very low carb. You add more carbs after that initial phase, and monitor your response to them. You don't stay in that initial very low carb phase. The hypothesis is that this phase helps you deal with cravings for carbs. I don't do real low carb, but I've found this initial first phase a good tool to get started again and tame my desire for sugars and refined carbs. If it helps you, fine, if it doesn't, do something else. The other details of ongoing weight loss, like adding certain foods at certain times, I think is probably B.S.

    I average about 125g carbs per day and 30g of fiber (95g of net carbs in Atkins-speak), lose a steady pound per week (I'm at a 500 calorie deficit, which is exactly a pound a week), and never have any cravings. For me, the bottom line is: I need to make lifelong changes in the way I eat and what I eat. Trying to live a lifestyle that makes me feel miserable and deprived isn't going to cut it. If you're constantly unhappy because you're on a "diet" and looking forward to when you can "get back to normal", I've become convinced by my own experiences that you're going to put it all back on again when you go off your "diet".
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Options
    Good starting point. Then study the Rosedale Diet to make improvements. :)

Categories