OK, so finally people have begun to realize that carbohydrates are key to adding fat to their bodies. Every where I look these days I see “carb-blocker” pills and “Atkins Diet Friendly” menus and wonder where the hell has everyone been for the last ten years?! This “carbs-are-evil” mantra that everyone is chanting is not a new idea – I just wonder how they sold the mass populous on it lately because I’d love to corrupt that marketing machine and use it for my own nefarious efforts.
I’m telling you, it’s not a new idea and it’s not a good thing that Atkins-fever is sweeping the nation to the extreme that it has. I once went on a Suzanne Summers diet with a former girlfriend a bunch of years ago (the things you do for a steady source of sex, I know) and found it to be tolerable for a short period of time. Summers denounced white-flour, calling it the root of all overweight evil. What her plan laid out was a white-flour free diet; wheat-flour products were allowed provided that you ate them their own. Fats and proteins could be eaten together – carbs and non-fat dairy product could be eaten together – and never should to two groups cross. It was that simple.
Given that my family has never lost their Italian eating habits – and I like them myself (one day out of the year withstanding) – not being able to eat a normal dish of pasta (I could have wheat pasta with non-fat sauce – gack!) or sandwiches, it’s obvious that I didn’t stay on this kick for long. I also gotta tell ya that while I was on it, it worked.
Now we’ve got Atkins. I’m a bit skeptical that removing carbs completely from your diet is healthy, but lets assume it is OK. If people cut out the white-flour from their diet – and white-flour is something that seems to only be prone in Americans; the rest of the world is more focused on wheat – they will lose weight. Happy Happy Joy Joy for the Atkins plan. However, this is where the average person hangs themselves by not following the fine print.
Most people that I’ve heard talk about Atkins go to the extreme: all fat, no carbs, no vegetables, no fruit. They will eat bacon, sausage, eggs, and cheese every morning and say: “Oh, it’s OK – it’s on Atkins”. Hello?! How is that healthy?! Bah. Americans need to get over all of this dieting crap, in my opinion, because it’s getting going beyond ridiculous. It’s almost encroaching on Michael Jackson caliber ridiculous. Everywhere I look lately I’ve seen that stupid A logo or carb-blocking pills/drinks/shakes. Five different restaurants, our of the last bunch I’ve been too, have Atkins friendly items now. Saw bagels in a store the other day – on a whim I picked them up – for $3.99 per half dozen, and guess how they keep their carb levels low? They’re mostly air! Soft, gushy, and lots of air pockets on the inside. Nice!
I guess I’ve hit my tolerance level for the marketing saturation of carbohydrates and Atkins, but I do believe the bigger problem is the ongoing obsession with anorexic looking bodies and the roly poly blobs that seem to be at both extremes of the human shape spectrum. People seem to obsess to the point of becoming either extreme and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.
For once, why can’t average be the norm for everyone?
I agree this dieting craze is a little wild. Only in America can you have billions spent yearly for dieting. Also cutting something totally out of you daily food intake is bad. Dieting is good but maybe we should be healthy about it. Also one of my biggest pet peeves is all these diet’s don’t mention one very essential thing…..exercise. I know it is scary but as Americans if we want to lose weight we need to get off our collective buts and exercise. Put down the ring-dings, shut off the T.V and go for a walk that is my thought.
Hells yeah to that, altho people can HAVE the occasional ring-ding, if they got off their collective asses more often…
Um. Huh?
I ran across this on a Google web search and just dropped in to nose about…
I have to interject, only because I see a common misconception in the posts. The Atkins Nutritional Approach does NOT, repeat, *NOT* cut all carbs from your diet! Most people think the Induction Phase (which only lasts 2 weeks and is the most carb-restricted part of the diet at no more than 30 grams a day) constitutes the whole regime.
This program has 4 phases, but the first one is the one people seem to pounce on. The purpose of the extreme carb restriction during Induction is that you are to yourself “wean” yourself away from the devastatingly high carb intake 90% of all people eat, and also (and I think miraculously) to reduce the cravings for them. Then each week, you add something HEALTHY from a variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc. that would amount to appx 5 more carbs. Depending on how much weight you wish to lose, you figure out how many carbs you can have in a day by continuing to add 5 per week until you stop losing weight–then back down 10 or so. It’s not that complicated and CARBS ARE NOT CUT ENTIRELY OUT.
Regarding how eating bacon, butter, sausage and such can be healthy, over the 30 years since creating this nutritional approach, Dr. Atkins tested and proved that the fats alone do NOT cause the problems they’ve been accused of–it’s when you combine high-fats with high carbs and processed foods that health is jeopardized. When people say, “Oh, it’s okay, it’s Atkins,” they’re right, *providing* they are strictly monitoring their carb intake and following the diet correctly. It’s fact now that bad cholesterol is reduced, blood sugar and blood pressure stabilize and even PMS symptoms ease when following the ANA.
Dr. Atkins was mostly concerned about white sugar, white flour, and all processed foods, the hiding place of most carbs. He advocated daily vitamins, and would prescribe them to his patients rather than regular pharmaceuticals whenever possible.
In closing, please know I can say these things with complete confidence and honesty, as I have lost over 25 lbs while following the program, and have never been healthier or happier in my life! To be able to go into a restaurant or to the grocery store and find such a wide variety of foods is a Godsend, believe me, and the more businesses that jump on the bandwagon, the less all the “specialty” items will cost!
All I can say is, if you think I’m lying, or even exaggerating, try it for 30 days and prove me wrong! (Unless you’re diabetic–talk to your doctor first.)
God’s best blessings to you!
Oh I don’t think you’re lying – I only ever hear from people in the first stage, obviously. The fact of the matter is that ANY diet (usually) can work if you workout and stick to it. It should be a change of eating habits than a diet. But in any event, there’s no way that gloming high fat foods 24/7 will keep everyone happy – that’s a fact. And most Americans look for the magic bullet for weight loss and this is the bullet of choice this year.
The real point was that you can’t go anywhere (even Burger King now) without have a little Lo-Carb thing in your face. Which for me isn’t a bad thing b/c I too have issues with white flour. In fact, the bagels on my counter right now are from the Atkins Bakery – lower net carbs per bagel and I like that. $4.50 for a bag of 6 bagels – that are chewy and filled with air – but they are better for me than regular bagels, and that’s that.
HI, DOES ANY ONE KNOW WHY MY KETONE STICKS STAY DARK , BUT I AM NOT DROPPING WEIGHT ? THEY STAY REAL DARK AND I DRINK ALL MY WATER AND TAKE ALL MY SUPPLEMENTS BUT ONLY DROPPED 5 LBS IN 5 WEEKS , ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED
Funny,
I’ve been on Atkins for just over 4 months and I’ve lost almost 55lbs of fat. I’ve lowered my body fat from 23% to 16% which is normal for my height and weight.
My doctor tried putting me on weight watchers, and on a strict diet which I followed and I after 6 months of eating to the T I gained 10lbs.
After looking around I decided to try Atkins and figured out what my Metabolic Resistance was and that right there made all of the difference.
I followed the 2 week induction meal plan found here http://atkins.com/Archive/2004/12/28-312957.html and with in two weeks my body purged almost 15lbs of water weight and excess fluids and I kept dropping weight.
Never once did I cut out all carbs or try eating nothing but eggs and bacon for every meal. It’s not the proper way to do it and I think is the biggest myth for those who want to burn themselves out right way.
Atkins is the way we should be eating and if everyone followed the plan the US would be less of a fat fucking country.
Gwen – I’ll bet that you have a very high Metabolic Resistance due to your Insulin levels http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/21-219702.html. Read that artile, it will help you understand on how to lower it. My wife had the same problem at first.
Atkins is the best thing that ever happened to me. I lost over 135 lbs on atkins and im low carbing for life.
its real simple and ill try to be brief:
the body uses 3 things as fuel – 1.carbohydrates/sugar 2. alcohol 3. protein.
carbs are the easiest form of fuel. alcohol is easy too. protein is the hardest, which needs to be broken down into easier bits for the body to use.
most people eat nothing but carbs. atkin’s 2 week induction period of limiting carbs to make your body use protein for fuel. It isnt enough though. so your body will take simple sugars from your fat stores and discard the waste as ketones, which are released in urine.
thats the basics of the diet and it works like crazy. email me for photos. I went from a size 30 to a size 12 in 1 year. Thank God for Dr. Atkins.
My experience with Atkins is rather short but fun. I learned a lot from this article.
I have good results but I always seem to revert back and gain it again
Hello everyone. I have been doing induction for a week now to a T and my sticks are still not turning dark, nor am I losing any weight. I am VERY discouraged but am going to keep on working at it. I have eaten so much sugar in my life, I know I have damaged my body, if anyone has any thoughts or articles to send that would be great. The link someone sent above about dealing with this kind of resistance is no longer available. Thank you.
Hi Gwen, if your ketone sticks are dark but you are not losing weight, it could be that you may need to increase / or decrease your caloric intake based on your BMI (Body Mass Index.) If you are not eating enough your metabolism (ability to burn fat) will stall. If you are eating too much, you may be going over your carb count without realizing it, as well as taking in more calories than your body can burn, which would then prevent you from losing weight as well. There are many BMI calculators online. Find out what your calorie intake should be for your height/age/weight and incorporate that as a part of your Atkins diet as well for greater success.
Hey everyone! I have been trying to lose weight for 15 years. I tried Atkins once before, and like Gwen was in dark plum color on the ketone strips. I lost 10 pounds and then started gaining it back. It was so frustrating and sad. I stuck with it for two months (no change). So of course went off the diet and gained even more. When I was on Atkins I felt wonderful. I even did a century ride on my bike. No problem!!!! at all. The weird acne rash disappeared. So much energy and a feeling of well being. Oh Oh no more bloating or intestinal problems either. So I went over my diet with a fine tooth comb. I discovered caffeine and cheese might be the problem. So I got back on Atkins and BINGO!!! that was it. I drank a shit load of tea and one 32 oz. diet pepsi everyday. I ate cheese with everything. I took those out and I am melting away. I have no cravings at all, my portions size was cut in half. No appetite. So be careful of those things and choco. Bars and anything sweet that says that it doesnt have carbs in it. Some peoples bodies recognize sweet as sweet period .
I have been on Atkins for the past 5 months. I have remained on the strict first two week diet the whole time. This diet, coupled with excercise has me down 50 lbs. However, I have not lost a pound in the last three weeks, even though excercise and diet have remained the same. Has this happened to others? What to do to kick start it back? Anyone????
John, I just came across this blog while searching for the answer to this question for myself. I see your post is from April 2008 … quite a while ago now. Was wondering if you found your answer? Did you resume your weight loss? Are you still doing Atkins? If you’d care to share, I’d love to know!
Hello
I’m in my 4th week of the Atkins diet and I’ve hit a plateau!!!. I’ve lost 10 pounds and I have another 15 pounds to go. Can anyone help me to get over this plateau?
I usually have a shake for breakfast and for snack I will have some kind of deli meat with no carbs or sugar in it. For lunch usually meat with some veggies on the side. For my second snack i will have some cheese and meat and for dinner meat and a salad. NO POP!!! just water. what am i doing wrong? please help me!!!
thanks for listening!
I agree with most of the comments above. Dieting is temporary. Look at your weight loss as a piece of your new “healthy living” program, where you start treating your body better by putting the right stuff in and less of the bad stuff.
Keep smiling
Rich
This blog is about one woman’s search for answers to her weight problems and the circumstances that helped lead her to over-eating, and how to plans to analyze and change her future the low carb way. check it out!
I think everyone is entitled to their opinions but for myself personally – I have lost 36lbs (and still going) following the Atkins lifestyle. Lifestyle is the key word there – you can’t view it as a diet! Vegetarians don’t say they are on a diet because they don’t eat meat, they say that they live a vegetarian lifestyle. I just don’t consume junk carbohydrates. Of course if you revert to your carb consuming ways, the weight will come back. That’s what made you fat to begin with. I certainly don’t eat only bacon, eggs and cheese. I’d do a little research into the eating plan before casting ignorant assumptions. I feel and look better then I have in years!
Very interesting!