Atkins?

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  • tracikearns
    tracikearns Posts: 138 Member
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    look into the south beach diet...only low carb for the first couple of weeks. Your body needs healthy carbs!!!:smile:
  • mpesr4765
    mpesr4765 Posts: 9
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    If you are going to do Atkins, make sure you get the books and follow the diet. Too many people out there say they are going to do Atkins but all they do is give up carbs. The body NEEDS some kinds of carbs. There are good and bad carbs. Cut out anything processed with bleached flour (White breads, pastas, etc) and switch to whole grain foods. And also remember that TOO MANY proteins is not good either.
  • gg24
    gg24 Posts: 58
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    all the people who say the low carb lifestyle is so restrictive have not done the research they need to do to talk about it...

    please please, someone tell me what is restrictive about it....

    now i m not talking about the super low carb diet...like 20 carbs a day....im talking aobut like South Beach and the low carb plan where you eat 80 to 100 carbs a day...taht is still low carb compared to teh 200 to 300 or more that carb eaters take in a day.....

    tell me what i cant eat...I eat fruits, veggies.....low carb tortillas....low carb bread.....pancakes......meats, fish...

    im not one of those who eat the bacon and sausage everyday...

    i eat nuts, avacados, oils...like olive and coconut....

    i think i eat everything.....except eh nasty white stuff....

    i think there is a low carb food that is like any high carb food that you can eat..

    yes there are all kinds of dessert things i eat that are low carb that are great...

    so im not missing anything...i dont think....

    oh, im type2 diabetic so it is something my doctor has told me to stay on....it has brought my numbers down and back towards normal....

    please someone name something they eat on ahigh carb diet taht i cant give you a low carb replacement food...

    do it!

    Exactly! Even Atkins is not very restrictive once you move beyond the initial period, Everyone says I'm cutting out the white stuff well that's pretty much low carb. When people say they are insulin resistent they eat low carb, but the mention of Atkins and people flip out.

    You can eat nuts, fruits, and even grains as things progress. The goal was always to find out how many carbs you can eat daily without gaining weight. Each person's is different. On Atkins you add five carbs at a time and I know people that can now eat 80 carbs a day.

    Atkins was revolutionary when it came out. And now there are so many other diets built upon it.

    Everyone talks about the bacon, etc.... Well you can eat turkey bacon or none at all.

    Atkins was/is awesome for those that had huge appetites and were/are afraid of being hungry. There's not guilt in sitting down and eating half a baked chicken or a 3 scrambled eggs with veggies. You may not lose that much but you don't gain. Eventually you stop eating so much. The cravings for sugar and other stuff does go away.

    By the way, the 4-hour body diet is also really awesome and is low carb. It has beans in it which really helps keep you full.
  • Phoenix24601
    Phoenix24601 Posts: 620 Member
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    I did this diet when I was younger and was on it for two years straight. All I can say is be careful. Being on it as restricive as I was for that long threw some of my systems out of whack. Reproductive was the first to mess up (thank God they caught it in time). I had to be put on medications and a different diet to try and fix what happened. I am not saying that Atkins does this to everyone. It IS great for losing weight but you still have to keep your healthy balance. Everything in moderation. :flowerforyou:
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    please someone name something they eat on ahigh carb diet taht i cant give you a low carb replacement food...

    do it!
    Potatoes.
    Bread that doesn't taste like crap.
    Any kind of dessert, considering that I hate artificial sweeteners.
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    If you are going to do Atkins, make sure you get the books and follow the diet. Too many people out there say they are going to do Atkins but all they do is give up carbs. The body NEEDS some kinds of carbs. There are good and bad carbs. Cut out anything processed with bleached flour (White breads, pastas, etc) and switch to whole grain foods. And also remember that TOO MANY proteins is not good either.

    ^ this

    Atkins works because if your body doesn't have carbs, it must live on fat. (Protein isn't much of an energy source, though your body will use it if it has to.) It lives on fats you eat and the fat you are trying to lose.

    Without insulin, you cannot completely metabolize the fats for energy. You get leftover fragments called ketones, including acetone -- yep, nail polish remover. Those tend to kill your appetite. They also give you that Atkins breath. You can eat all you want but you don't want to eat.

    Some tissues in your body can live this way, but your brain can't. It requires glucose, which you won't get without eating carbs and producing some insulin. It's a very fine line. Too few carbs and you get lightheaded and may even faint. Like when driving. :(

    Doctors do prescribe this type of diet, without all the fat, as a "protein sparing modified fast" (like Optifast), but the nutrients included are carefully monitored. It's meant for emergency crash dieting only, such as for people who are on a ventilator because they are too fat to breathe. Once you stop, you STILL have to do something like MFP to learn portion control and weight maintenance.

    Losing weight through MFP in the first place just allows you to go straight to step 2. The weight comes off slower, but you already know how to maintain.
  • Vanessahogan03
    Vanessahogan03 Posts: 27 Member
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    I have done the atkins diet and lost about 20 lbs in 3 weeks. Then I found out I was pregnant so I couldn't continue it anymore.
  • suzzee2000
    suzzee2000 Posts: 85 Member
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    All I can say is all of us are made different. We are not one size fits all in any aspect of life.
    My Doctor told me to eat low carb,
    My daughter who has PCOS was also told the only way she should eat is low carb, by her Doctor.
    Honestly It's the only way of eating that has helped my health.
    I think everyone should educated themselves on every diet they are on. It's so much more than weight loss.
    It's not about any one diet, it's finding what kind of diet your particular body needs to be healthy and sticking with it for life.
    Just my two cents worth.....:-)
  • musdoit2
    musdoit2 Posts: 35 Member
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    I eat low carb and have lost nearly 50 lbs doing so...My advise is to get wheat out of our diet and we will lose..I Love this diet and no longer miss eating bread as I have learned ways to substitute.. and I do feel great!! I do not eat veggies at all only cuz I don't care for them.. since I was raised in the Arctic we seldom had any veggies available.. Check out the Eskimos, I am not saying they are bad for you just that one can survive without them, ... and BTW my brain is just fine... :) Just my opinion :)
  • reba971
    reba971 Posts: 80
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    Everyone talks about the bacon, etc.... Well you can eat turkey bacon or none at all.

    LOVE turkey bacon! Sometimes this is all I have for breakfast...turkey bacon and coffee! Yum!
  • reba971
    reba971 Posts: 80
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    My brain is just fine too, and I have plenty of energy and I am alert and I do not faint or ever even feel faint. I used to get light headed all the time when I was low calorie, and I would get heartburn really bad, to the point that I had to take prescribed medication. I have not has either since I started low carb. If you are worried about it have a higher carb day. I usually do this on Saturday cause it is a family day for us, so we usually order in and have beer and stuff, so I get a few carbs on that day and the rest of the week I eat low carb. Works for me. Good luck with it!
  • gklose
    gklose Posts: 6 Member
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    I think there are many misconceptions to Atkins, which are usually cleared up if you've read the book (carefully!). Just the other day, in an Atkins support thread, someone mentioned something about a friend who ate a pound of bacon a day. Sorry, but that's not Atkins. Never has been.

    Sometimes, I think, the misconceptions arise in separating Atkins "the salesman" from the real plan. For example, in the newest book, they're recommending some of the products they have for sale. In reality, the sugar alcohols used in those products can possibly slow weight loss (in some people), just like aspartame can also slow weight loss in some people.

    The Atkins plan is not unlimited protein! I haven't gone back to read his original book (circa 1972?), but at least in his 90s book, it wasn't unlimited protein then either. There are words such as "as much as you like" but that was part of a sentence that also says "but only eat to the point of being satisfied -- don't eat until full). The newest book goes farther, recommending a max of 4 to 6 ounces of protein per meal (with limits on other fats, such as cheese and cream -- and on artificial sweeteners).
  • Denimgirl
    Denimgirl Posts: 87 Member
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    I do Atkins too. Its a lifestyle change for me.

    Once the first 2 weeks of induction are finished then the goal is to add carbs to the limit that your body can still lose weight.

    I've lost 30lbs so far and feel great.

    Also I avoid all the Atkins treat type stuff like their bars and brownies etc. There is so much sugar alcohol in them that it messes with my blood sugar and I feel terrible. Some wouldn't have that problem though.

    I do Atkins to keep my blood sugars level and for the last couple of months (since getting serious about my low carb life change) my blood sugars have been excellent! I feel better mentally, sharper if you will, thinking clearer, not so easily overwhelmed and have WAY more spring in my step.
  • dancingj2
    dancingj2 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    I have tried it and did work - I lost 10 pounds. But I never felt quite right on it.

    I think in the long run you need a better balance in your diet than Atkins provides.
  • mom2jjl
    mom2jjl Posts: 48
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    BUMP FOR LATER
  • dennydifferent
    dennydifferent Posts: 135 Member
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    What is all this "the body needs carbs" stuff people come out with? Where are you guys getting this?

    Firstly, what has that got to do with Atkins anyway? It's not a no carb diet.
    Secondly, the body doesn't need carbs. It just doesn't. The brain requires glucose, sure, but the body can function perfectly well without carbs. There are some folk on zero carb diets. Not my idea of fun personally, but it's sure as heck possible.

    I would recommend the OP to go to groups and search for low carb. The groups are full of people already doing this who can answer your questions without "My neighbour's auntie's dog did Atkins and got mange" or "I did it for 5 minutes last Thursday and instantly had a heart attack and now I'm dead" type answers. It's not all plain sailing and you'll see some of the downsides in the groups, but from people doing the diets seriously/long term. Bit more focused. Best of luck.

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