Atkins aces & Gurus:

[BG]

Here's hoping Tom, Dr. D, Die Hard and other Atkins aces can come to the rescue.

I too have started the Atkins diet once again. My first time around I didn't pay attention to the details and failed miserably. Didn't know which foods were actually low carb and didn't take the time to count wisely.

So now I am back, minimal exeercise mind you as I have been slaving toward a degree in the field of computers. So, you guessed it, I am om my ass at least half the day.

I start with eggs and turkey suasage. Trying everyday to drink more and more water. Eating a fair amount of Greens ie: salad, broccoli, asparugus and other veggies except carrots, potatoes and other high carb types. A typical dinner can be 1.5 cups salad greens, 2 grilled pieces of chicken and 2 oz of dressing- low carb and low fat. Other times I will eat two burger patties and a piece of grilled chicken. I love my grill . :cool:

I have been taking a multi-vitamin daily and have been on Atkins since Nov. 20th. I strayed without worry during Thanksgiving, but jumped right back on board afterword.

As of recent, I am exercising at home doing a combo of pull-ups, dips, barbell curls, crunches, sit-ups and push-ups.

I have only lost 5 lbs. during this whole period. Is there anything wrong out of what I have mentioned. Any advice?

[Kilmer17]

Not what you asked, but check out the South Beach Diet version of the "no/low carbs" diets.

I wanted to drop about 15-20 LBs before the Xmas Holiday (a few lbs I didnt need and a few I know I'll gain over Xmas at Moms). I started Dec 1 and already dropped the first 10.

Without knowing how much you weigh amongst other variables, it looks like you just need to cut some calories out. Back to 1 piece of chicken/burger.

It also will help if you add a half hour of cardio to your workout. Even "fast" walking will help take away 200-300 calories a day.

[Phat Hog]

I would suggest a couple of things… that atkins may frown on. I would eat an apple in the morning and try to eat egg whites if you can stand it. You won’t be eating empty carbs, and you’ll burn them off with minimal activity. I would also suggest taking a fiber supplement along with drinking lots of water. If you can, try to keep a full bottle of water near you as much as possible. It makes for many trips to the bathroom in the afternoon, but you’ll feel full and crave less food. I’d also suggest that you not eat after 7 PM – 6 PM if you can stand it.

You are on the right track with exercise if you are looking to speed up your metabolism. Muscle growth via resistance training is the best way to make that happen. Cardio helps, but it won’t burn nearly the fat as a good resistance workout will.

Try not to lose more than 1-2 lbs a week – and remember that as you build muscle you gain weight as you lose fat. So don’t be alarmed if you don’t lose as fast as you would like. I would give myself at least 4-6 solid months of a good diet and weight training.

I know you love grill, but try to limit your red meat (burger) intake.

[dchogs]

atkins works differently for different people first of all. secondly, if you didn't work out before and are now, you're probably adding muscle mass (and weight, being that we live in this confounded gravitational field ).

kilmer is right about not eating as much; however, during the induction phase when i craved carbs, i'd eat as much protein as i needed. as my cravings lessened, i was able to lower my calorie intake. also phat is right about not eating later at night too. again, this was easier for me after the cravings went away.

my wife and i (again for me )started dec 1st, and i'm down 6-7 lbs.

[Die Hard]

I'm at work now Brian. I'll attend to this thread when I get home tonight after midnight.

Ironically, I went back on the Atkins diet Sat. Nov. 29th... almost 2 weeks now. I had been off it for nearly a year and a half.

Always willing to help out.

There's a few other diets out there similar to the Atkins Diet now that are less restrictive than Atkins Induction Phase (ie. South Beach Diet and Protein Plan). Then again, if you can't handle the "Induction Phase".... skip it and go to the next phase which is probably near the carb intake of those other diets. You simply won't lose the weight as fast... but it certainly comes off.

I'll comment more later.

[Hitman56]

I lost about 50 pounds basically living on no breakfast, bagel with veggies and mustard for lunch, and grilled chicken breast cutlets for dinner. I exercised like a madman, though. I probably ran a mile or two per day and played basketball when I could. I dropped the weight in about 2-3 months.

My advice: you just have to get into the mindset that you need to burn more calories than you consume.

Diet without exercise won't work nearly as well.

[Zen-like Todd]

I prefer the DESFM diet.

[dchogs]

:laugh:

took me a while cranky, but that's funny as hell.

[Die Hard]

Originally posted by Hitman56

My advice: you just have to get into the mindset that you need to burn more calories than you consume.

That's inaccurate.

Though your last statement is correct... any diet is enhanced by exercise. And including exercise also affords you the opportunity to entertain more carbs into your diet.

[Hitman56]

Just telling you what worked for me.

[Die Hard]

Originally posted by Hitman56

Just telling you what worked for me.

No problem. I'm just informing you that "a calorie is a calorie" theory is incorrect. Not all calories are equal. Just as not all carbs are equal (ie. fibre).

[EagleSteve]

I lost 75 lbs. using Atkins. Keep up multi-vitamins twice a day. You may also want to add an anti-oxidant formula. Also take potassium supplements. It will cut down on muscle cramps caused by losing potassium when going to the bathroom, etc.

Best of luck!

[Ax]

IAMBG - Check and make sure that your Turkey sausage doesn't have more carbs than the real thing.

Also, your salad dressing only needs to be low carb. NOT low fat. Olive oil and vinegar may be the best. If you like it.

Keep up with the water. Very important.

December 27th will be a year on Atkins for me. Lost the 45 pounds I needed to in about 5 months. Have been between 200 to 205 ever since.

Was exercising alot more at the beginning (when most of the weight came off) but have easily maintained the weight WITHOUT the exercise. I would still suggest you MAKE time for some kind of exercise. A brisk 30 minute walk would be a good start.

"Do, or do not. There is no try" - Yoda

[Ford]

I always got by on the wrestling diet .... put on layers of sweats and coats, jump rope under a heater, don't eat, don't drink, spit into a cup, repeat.

[BG]

Todd, I know of your diet and did it myself. Actually lost 20 lbs in about 2 months. It works the best in the short run, but next to impossible in the long run. I found myself getting sick much more often, feeling lethargic and had dizzy spells. Thing was, I could go all day with nothing to eat and then have two ham and cheese sandwiches and get used to it. Smoking a sh*tload of weed actually helped alot too, surprisingly....warded off cravings for a bit. I really never got the "munchies" per se, but I digress. I don't smoke weed now and haven't for years. Just a fun factoid.

Taking multi vitamins and not eating as much just wont work for a guy my size at 6 foot and a wide frame. I don't pump iron like I used to (for football and to gain size) and let my large frame and muscle mass turn to a blob.

This time around, I want to lose @ 30lbs. I started @ 235 (am at 230 now) and want to get right around 200. That's ideal for me. IMO. If I get to that point, I'll consider going all out and going below to maybe @185 which is, I think, next to impossible. My brother is my same height, more slender build and weighs 190. He is a rabid runner as he is active in marathons and stays in the best of shape.

The water might be a factor. I read some other threads on this subject and some of you guys posted ridiculous #'s about the quantity of water you were drinking. I am at about 64oz a day.

I started taking chromium today at the recommendation of a friend who is a personal trainer. Of course he gave me the schpiel @ exercise. He insisted that I do cardio and not just the regimen I listed above.

Another thing I was curious about is the "diet" soda issue. Whay such a big stink about it if it says on the label it is calorie free? I drink three a day on average. Never was a coffee drinker, that is my wake up beverage as well as keep-me-going beverage.

[TK]

BG, as far as the water & diet soda goes it can't be beat. For me it was about cutting out alot of sugar intake. I never was big on the diet soda taste untill I tried Diet Dr Pepper. I would have 2-3 of those a day & then the rest of the time it was water. I ended up dropping enough weight to go down to pants sizes.

[Mania]

The idea behind the Atkins diet is that insulin slows down your metabolism therefor fat is burned much slower. If you cut your carbohydrates down as much as possible, less insulin is created therefor you metabolise your food much quicker. I was on the diet and not only did I lose 20 pounds, but my cholesterol dropped as well. It is all in the chemistry.

However IAMBG, some people create alot of natural insulin. The diet will still work, but it will take longer.

You also need to eat high fat during the first 2 weeks. Eat the fat off of steak. The more protein the better.

Other Atkins type diets are just copies. The South Beach diet may work early, however your cholesterol may go up because your body is till creating insulin. This combination is not a good thing. All copies of the diet allow more carbs in the system and neither are as good as the Atkins diet.

Once you lose your weight you may go to the Atkins maintenance. There are a bunch of websites dedicated to the Atkins diet that give recipes. Just do a search.

Maries Blue Cheese dressing and there version of Ceaser Salad dressing. I love Ceaser Salads. Fried foods are bad, such as chicken wings. If you have ribs, make sure they take all of the sauce of the ribs, because of all the sugar in the sauce. Ribs are great w/o sauce also. Basically I'm trying to tell you that a lot of foods that have sauces have additional sugar. This could be another reason why you have only lost 5 lbs and yes it is correct that you shouldn't eat late at night, actually after 8:00pm is when you should stop eating.

Good luck and make sure you read the Atkins diet book if you haven't already!

[dchogs]

the water intake is huge. almost all diets serve to dehydrate your body in general. i use water as my snack most of the time. i get that urge to eat and chug a big ol' glass of h20. works for me unless i tried to cut down my portion size too much at dinner.

[Die Hard]

Brian -

Turkey sausage is a no-no... at least if you want to remain in Induction. I don't recall the exact numbers... but I looked into a few brands when I first started.... and I seem to remember crossing it off the list.

Induction = 20 grams of carbs maximum each day

Breakfast

- 3 large eggs.

scrambled? add a tablespoon of cream 10% fat (ie. half and half)

omellete? use grated cheddar. add a few veggies if you'd like.

- little butter to fry the eggs

- 2 strips of bacon

- cup of decaffeinated coffee

- 1 teaspoon of Splenda (ie. sweetner)

- 1 tablespoon of cream

SNACKS and DESSERTS:

- 1 tablespoon of creamy Peanut butter (you can purchase real peanut butter at health food stores which have 0 preservatives and even less carbs and you couldn't much tell the difference)

- 1 tablespoon of frozen Cool Whip (ie. whipping cream). Just like ice cream

- Sugar free jello

- Baskin Robbins makes 2 brands of sugarless ice cream. Doublechocolate and Cherry Swirl. Have a few tablespoons (you can fit it in during Induction if you pinch your carbs elsewhere)

- 2-3 deviled eggs

- nuts (ie. almonds and brazil nuts)

- cheese (ie. cheddar, mozzerella, etc)

- pepperettes (turkey or pepperoni)

BEVERAGES:

Water

Decaffeinated coffee (with Splenda)

Decaffeinated herbal teas (with Splenda)

Decaffeinated Diet Coke (or soda of your choice)

Soda water with lemon

LUNCH: (one of the following)

- 1.5 pieces of chicken breast

- 2 plain burgers

- 6 chicken wings (fried or baked)

- 2-3 hot dogs with mustard

- 1 can of solid white tuna in water

- 2 panfried thin steaks fried with olive oil

- 1 nice-size piece of steak

- vegetable soup

- chicken ceasar salar (meal sized.. with NO side)

AS A SIDE FOR LUNCH: (1 of the following)

- side ceasar salad

- garden salad with olive oil/vinegar OR 1 tablespoon of dressing

- 3/4-1 full cup of vegetables (fried peppers, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, etc)

SUPPER:

- The same as lunch.

--------------------------------------------------------

SOME POINTERS:

- Buy a Brita water container

- Replace all white sugar with Splenda.

- Buy decaffeinated coffee and herbal teas

- Buy a case of decaffeinated diet soda

I snack at least once between meals. In no way am I compromising the quantity or quality of the food. I started with all that... but I'm down to 2 meals a day now with a snack after each meal. Simply because my appetite has decreased accordingly. I don't feel hungry nearly as much as I used to.

Oh... and NO BEER!!! Buy a 40oz of Vodka. Buy all the different kinds of sugar-free Crystal Lights. Add water and Vodka. And drink without the guilt.

[Die Hard]

Additionally, since you are going to work out... you're not playing by the same set of rules. You're going to find it difficult to lose weight while performing anaerobic exercises. You'll be building lean muscle mass which is significantly more dense in mass than "fat".... so you'll inevitably put on weight.

You might want to try aerobic exercise.

[BG]

Thanks so much guys. I appreciate the help.

Just after posting my last message I crept over to the Atkins site and read a fair amount of articles. From what I gather, you are 100% right Tony. I won't shed the weight on the scale with the Type of exercise I have been doing, yet I can still shed the fat.

I still prefer to do both. I'll put off my regimen in favor of more cardio intensive workouts.

I definitely plan to stick with this awhile. It helps a bunch to see a detailed list of Atkins-friendly meal ideas. I dig that. I can put it to use right now.

Saved it printed it and will adhere to it.

Should definitely get the book at this point and quit buggin you guys.

Thanks so much again you all. :cool:

[lumpy35]

Todd,

I did the diet years ago and I have some tips. Dump the Veggies, no salads at all. You have to be very stringent during the first 2 weeks. No more than 20 carbs and I tried to keep the carbs down below 10.

Stay away from artificial Sweetners during the first couple of weeks. Now I understand the need for the fine morning brew, but you have to moderate.

The first 2 weeks is essential keep it as low as possible.

[Tom [Giants fan]]

I have been trying to avoid going back on the Atkins diet. It works for me in terms of the first two or three months. Once I get to a certain weight, I just stop losing. I've done this twice. I went to weight watchers and started losing again but eating carbs screwed me up. Not weight wise but mental wise. I don't know why but once I start eating carbs again I get a nasty craving I can't control. It eventually spirals out of control and I gain the weight back that I've lost. I am still 30 pounds lighter than I was when I first started the Atkins diet initially but I lost 70 pounds and gained 40 back. Then, I lost another 50 but gained it all back. Atkins isn't the way I want to eat the rest of my life but I lose control eventually when I convert to weight watchers.

I need so desperately to lose weight by April as I'm going for a tux for my brothers wedding. Not to mention there is a gorgeous redhead I really want to get the courage to ask out but can't because of lack of self-esteem.

I'm going to do the Atkins diet for a third time and hope that I can learn from my past mistakes. Well, wish me luck.

I also would have responded to IAMBG's question but it seems that it was answered more than well enough.

[Art]

BG,

I'd be surprised to find a low carb AND low fat salad dressing. Use Hidden Valley Ranch. It's low carb and high fat, but, that's kind of the point of Atkins. Also, you are probably working out too much. I did Atkins for three weeks and gained four pounds because I was lifting an hour a day and riding a bike 30 minutes. But, I got more lean.

If you are working out enough, as I am, you don't have to do Atkins. The problem is the science of Atkins when you're working out heavily, especially weight bearing and not cardio stuff. Your body is trying to eat carbs when you do weights. If you have no carbs it doesn't fall back to fat. It goes right to the muscle you're building. It becomes counter balancing. Atkins is best served with straight cardio workouts.

Or, simply eat some carbs before a workout and you'll drop weight quick. I'm trying to get into rugby shape again, and as soon as I added oatmeal or a sub before a workout, I started shedding weight pretty quick. I'm not trying to lose a ton though, so perhaps that's a better thing for me than it might be for you.

[Tom [Giants fan]]

There are actually salad dressings with 0 carbs, 0 calories, and 0 fat. There are some that aren't bad and some that are. It all depends on what you like.