Atkins

Gangster · 12 Jun 2006 at 15:36

Hi all,

Im considering in giving this ago, i understand that i cannot eat any carbs ( :eek:

,

) but im sure if i can see the pounds dropping off i'll be happy

I just dont know what food to eat? Has anyone done/still on the Atkins diet??

It'd be great if someone with some spare time could knock up a table on what i should eat for the week as i dont have an idea on what to start eating.

Thank you

G

edit:

I fully understand what the atkins diet is - when the body enters Ketosis and uses the bodys fat as its fuel rather than the food (from carbs) as in Gordy's guide - i will be aiming to loose the weight, once that is achieved I will resume a diet that allows me to eat a well balanced diet.

Tru · 12 Jun 2006 at 15:39

With Atkins, as with any diet, you need to prepare something that will work for you. Some people in here know a lot about diets and fitness, but you need to give them something to work with.

I suggest picking up a book about lo-carb diets (or even reading a page on wiki or whatever) and seeing if it is going to work for you first.

Gangster · 12 Jun 2006 at 15:43

Ive got the atkins book, and i full understand what im going to be doing - i just cant seem to develop a weekly food table.

I'd like someone if they could, to just make a standard eating plan for the week, just so i can get started - foods like egg, bacon etc (nothing too flash/complicated though

)

turkey73 · 13 Jun 2006 at 08:55

If I were you I would take your book to your local shops (supermarket/where you regularly shop for food) and see what you can get hold of easily, eg can you easily get rye bread. Its all well and good to want to follow the diet, but if the basic components and requirements cant be easily met then it will make things a lot more difficult for you.

I thought about the Atkins diet simply because at heart I am a carnivore (and without reading in any depth I figured that Atkins was a meat eaters diet). However, having looked into it more closely I realised it was actually rather awkward to get foodstuffs that matched with the requirement of the diet and keep any variety.

Youstolemyname · 13 Jun 2006 at 09:02

Meh. Atkins Schmatkins. Everyone I know who has done the Atkins diet has ended up losing loads of weight then putting it all back on as soon as they stopped the diet.

In my opinion, you are far better off developing a healthy eating lifestyle based around a normal balanced diet and combining exercise with it to create an overall calorie defecit to lose weight.

I did a thread on a belly busting diet a couple of weeks back that offered a weekly food and exercise plan. Have a search for that and see if it helps....

Most of all...good luck!

turkey73 · 13 Jun 2006 at 09:14

Youstolemyname said:
Meh. Atkins Schmatkins. Everyone I know who has done the Atkins diet has ended up losing loads of weight then putting it all back on as soon as they stopped the diet.

In my opinion, you are far better off developing a healthy eating lifestyle based around a normal balanced diet and combining exercise with it to create an overall calorie defecit to lose weight.

I did a thread on a belly busting diet a couple of weeks back that offered a weekly food and exercise plan. Have a search for that and see if it helps....

Most of all...good luck!

This is quite true, The diets will only hold while you are using them. Studies that I have seen seem to indicate that you are losing weight due to the fact that you are eating less. Based on this I just started counting out the calories that I was taking in getting a reasonable measure of my BMI and doing a lot of exercise. This is working in that I have gained reasonable muscle mass and have lost about 21pounds, I now almost have abdominal muscles again.

Good luck mate!

Loki · 13 Jun 2006 at 09:30

Gangster said:
Ive got the atkins book, and i full understand what im going to be doing - i just cant seem to develop a weekly food table.

I'd like someone if they could, to just make a standard eating plan for the week, just so i can get started - foods like egg, bacon etc (nothing too flash/complicated though )

Have you checked the Atkins Website it has weekly diets for the various different stages of the diet to help you maximise weight loss and reintroduce carbs over time.

There was a documentary on The Beeb last year about Atkins. It claimed that the massive weight loss and subsequent weight gain is to do with the muscle tissue wasting away and it lowering your metabolism as a result of less muscle mass. So when you stop you put weight on very quick as a result.

I tried Atkins. It works but its boring as hell and after three weeks I was craving a mahooooosive bowl of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. As suggested by youstolemyname a healthy diet is prob the best

Morba · 13 Jun 2006 at 11:48

Youstolemyname said:
Meh. Atkins Schmatkins. Everyone I know who has done the Atkins diet has ended up losing loads of weight then putting it all back on as soon as they stopped the diet.

In my opinion, you are far better off developing a healthy eating lifestyle based around a normal balanced diet and combining exercise with it to create an overall calorie defecit to lose weight.

I did a thread on a belly busting diet a couple of weeks back that offered a weekly food and exercise plan. Have a search for that and see if it helps....

Most of all...good luck!

your not supposed to stop the diet tho. you follow the book all the way, you dont finish a diet, you arrive at a mainenance stage where you have a diet that is relevent for your life at that time. If you just stop any diet and go back to what you were before then ofcourse you will gain weight again!

Gangster · 13 Jun 2006 at 16:48

Morba said:
your not supposed to stop the diet tho. you follow the book all the way, you dont finish a diet, you arrive at a mainenance stage where you have a diet that is relevent for your life at that time. If you just stop any diet and go back to what you were before then ofcourse you will gain weight again!

I just read that

I dont mind being on it providing I actually Loose weight, ive been on weight watchers and i end up acting like a yo-yo with my weight so If i loose more (even if i do have to sacrifice carbs) if i loose a good amount (aiming for 1 stone) then that will deffo give me the motivation to stay on it forever hopefully.

According to the book, you get 'used' to not eating carbs. Never knew about Rye bread though, thanks for that

.

As for loosing muscle mass I will still be doing pressups etc and small amount of weight lifting to maintain muscle mass.

wolvotim · 13 Jun 2006 at 19:11

On Atkins I went from this (18stone)

to this (14 stone)

i have put a stone back on but im now stable at 15 stone and have been for about 2 years

Gangster · 13 Jun 2006 at 19:26

Congrats

How long did it take you to get to 14 stone? Are you on a diet at the moment or are you on a normal eating but watching what you eat? [not going o.t.t]

Thanks
G

Malarkee · 13 Jun 2006 at 19:44

I'm not a big fan of the Atkins diet to be honest. aside from all the other health problems it can lead to it messes your metabolism up and once you leave Ketosis you intake and store more fat from foods than you normally would because your body is over compensating and storing more energy for the next bout of starvation...

You'll loose weight sure, and if you manage to stick at that weight you will not be healthy for the weight, its unlikely you'll get down to it and feel lean and full of energy, most people I know who have done it have lost weight and ended up soft and lethargic... they then have to work to earn the health and fitness benifits which normally come with weight loss but do not always apply to atkins.

In my opinion its a lot more stable and safe to slowly work the weight off by eating sensibly and encourparating physical activity into your life more. eating smaller meals more often helps your body absorb more nutrients and less calories because in time it adjusts your metabolism.

Not only will your body slowly adjust to the weight but rather than looking slimmer and seeing a lower number on the scales you will look and feel healthier because you will have worked down to the weight and filled out at it rather than getting there and being hollow.

Dieting alone won't make you health, Exercise alone won't make you healthy... its all or nothing

Morba · 13 Jun 2006 at 22:35

Malarkee said:
I'm not a big fan of the Atkins diet to be honest. aside from all the other health problems it can lead to it messes your metabolism up and once you leave Ketosis you intake and store more fat from foods than you normally would because your body is over compensating and storing more energy for the next bout of starvation...

You'll loose weight sure, and if you manage to stick at that weight you will not be healthy for the weight, its unlikely you'll get down to it and feel lean and full of energy, most people I know who have done it have lost weight and ended up soft and lethargic... they then have to work to earn the health and fitness benifits which normally come with weight loss but do not always apply to atkins.

In my opinion its a lot more stable and safe to slowly work the weight off by eating sensibly and encourparating physical activity into your life more. eating smaller meals more often helps your body absorb more nutrients and less calories because in time it adjusts your metabolism.

Not only will your body slowly adjust to the weight but rather than looking slimmer and seeing a lower number on the scales you will look and feel healthier because you will have worked down to the weight and filled out at it rather than getting there and being hollow.

Dieting alone won't make you health, Exercise alone won't make you healthy... its all or nothing

but atkins is about eating sensibly, atleast that is the target. you start off by almost cutting carbs completely for a while, but then you slowly add more carbs as you start to reach your goal weight. you end up eating sensibly.

if your going to do exercise and atkins, then i dont think it would be the best way, there are better diets to combine with exercise imo (low GI for example).

SCM · 14 Jun 2006 at 16:43

The first 2 weeks of the diet you cut your carb intake down to 20gs of carbs a day. After the 2 week initial kick start you slowly add carbs back in, until you reach a level where you are still losing weight and if you start putting weight on you cut the carb levels back. One thing is take a multivitamin while on the initial stage to get your recommended vitamin levels for the day, as the reduced carbs means this is not met.

As Morba said it isn't a diet you stop once you hit your target weight but continue with a maintenance stage where you do eat carbs again.

There are a lot of good websites with recipes for the likes of low carb brownies, muffins, meals etc to expand on what you eat so you dont get bored. I was on the diet for a while until cash issues meant i stopped as buying all the meat can be expensive. I lost 21lbs on the diet and never felt as good for years.

I also found as a borderline type 2 diabetic the atkins diet was a good method of controlling my blood sugar, with it being steady at the level the doctors/nurses etc wanted it to be. As Dr Atkins had said that a lot of the sugar in your body comes from the carbs you eat and controlling your carb intake helps reduce the sugar intake.

Look at the official atkins webpage and at other low carb pages as they have loads of recipes, help and advice for being on the diet.

SCM

Gangster · 14 Jun 2006 at 17:10

Im not going to be excercising like mad, but i walk for 30 mins in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening.

Sorry if i wrote it wrongly, i want more along the lines of food - all i know is Bacon and egg - i'd like some more exampls so i can 'expand' what im eating, then i can look into the recipies.

Thanks for all the replies guys

JasonO · 14 Jun 2006 at 17:29

On Atkins you can practically eat anything that doesn't have potatoe, flour, rice, corn or sugar in it.

It's easier to say what not to have, like baked beans, pasta, bread, noodles, chips. Watch your fruits many of them are high in carbs, my favourite desert when on atkins was raspberries with cream, so you don't have to miss out.

You can eat a plentiful amount of salad, and trying to stick to green vegetables is bebeficial. The green veg and salad has a higher fibre content, fibre is good because it isn't digested, and absorbs many of the nasty fats on it's way.

You'll can knock yourself out with all sorts of fish, cooked in as many ways as you can imagine, and not to forget steak, lamb, beef, pork and eggs in whatever fashion you fancy.

Need to snack, then get yourself a plentiful supply of nuts, macademia are highly recomended but have littel by the way of taste going for them. I preferred cashews or brazil.

Fancy a drink, 1 pint of beer will use your entire carb alowance for any day

Spirits are the answer, stick to vodka or whisky with lo-cal mixers.

Morba · 14 Jun 2006 at 17:40

indeed, vodka + diet coke > *

Gangster · 14 Jun 2006 at 22:14

Cool

Also how many calories are reccomended? I mean ive looked through the book quickly and i cant seem to find anything about calories - maybe im just not looking enough... but surley theres a limit because everyone would be on it if you could stuff yer face lol

I appriciate all your help guys, i really do!!

Thanks!!

G

decmatt · 14 Jun 2006 at 22:17

Gangster said:
Cool Also how many calories are reccomended? I mean ive looked through the book quickly and i cant seem to find anything about calories - maybe im just not looking enough... but surley theres a limit because everyone would be on it if you could stuff yer face lol

I appriciate all your help guys, i really do!!

Thanks!!

G

IIRC Atkins isnt about calories, its about points

eg apple = 1 point

and u can have upto 20 points a day

JasonO · 14 Jun 2006 at 22:51

It's neither about calories or points, and apples are a definate no....too much sugar in them.

The typical calorie intake for an adult male is in the region of 3000cals, on atkins you will use more calories digesting your food so you can get away with slightly more, maybe 3300.

This is the important difference with Atkins though, it not calorie controlled, it's burning fat which your body has stored away. The whole ketosis and introduction process is to start your body burning fat rather than sugar. All the carbohydrates are broken down by your body into sugars, what it doesn't need is deposited in store as fat for later use. If you eat no carbs, your body will burn this fat for energy. This is where the weight loss comes from, not from controlling your calorie intake.

There are two schools of thought on Atkins, one says the bruning of these fats leads to a lower cholesterol level, the other says the consumption of apparently fattier foods leads to higher cholesterol.......schools out on this as far as I'm concerned, make your own mind up from as much literature as you can find.

Now, stop being lazy Gangstah, and read that book all the way through, you'll actualy find soem really interesting dietary information in it describing how your body works.