The Atkins Diet ...Any Freeper experience? (Vanity!)

Me

[Partisan Hack]

Okay... I did it. I read the New Diet Revolution and I've bought into the whole notion of a 0 - 20 gram per day, low carbohydrate diet. I'm in the "induction phase," and the Doctor assures rapid weight loss during this initial two-week run. Supposedly, as success is achieved, the dieter can begin to gradually increase the amount of carbs that they consume. The trick is to remain in ketosis while attempting to shed weight.

My most important question is if any freepers out there have had any success with this diet and what tips might they be able to pass on.

Also, are "free" foods truly "free?" Does nutrasweet negatively impact this diet?

I'm a week into it, (and have confirmed that I am indeed in ketosis) but I'm not yet loosing any weight. I'm hoping to loose 40 lbs!

Sitting in front of this computer, glued to Free Republic has caused me to gain this weight btw!!!

[FITZ]

The Atkins diet doesn't work for me. I need lots of vegetables and I missed not having fruit. The only thing that ever works for me is exercise especially running. I've heard of people losing a lot of pounds on the Gods Diet which lets you eat anything that God made (meats, vegetables, fruits) but nothing man-made so nothing from flour, cornstarch, sugar etc.

[t-shirt]

It was the only diet that ever worked for several people I know.

No stavation or drugs.

My father lost a lot of weight quickly on more than one occasion by eating only sardines and tuna, but that is a lot harder of a diet to stay on.

[hellinahandcart]

I lost 40 pounds on it a year ago, and I've only gained back about five, so it definitely worked for me. It will ALL come back if you go back to eating as many carbs as you did before going on the diet (this happened to my brothers). I think what worked for me was avoiding the flour-based carbohydrates almost completely even after I was off maintenance. I hardly ever eat bread or pasta anymore, and they used to be staples in my diet. Potatoes, though, I do eat and I don't feel any guilt about them.

I stopped losing weight altogether after about five months on the diet, and I just took that to be a sign from my body that I simply wasn't ALLOWED to lose more than 40 pounds in one year, so I gave it a rest. Fortunately, without a lot of sacrifice, I haven't gained very much back. I'm probably going back on induction for a while after Christmas because I'd still like to lose another 20.

If you get the leg cramps, drink more water and have a baked potato with all the butter and sour cream you want on it. You'll feel better immediately.

[ladtx]

Friend of mine tried that diet. We had a hard time keeping him out of the lake tho'. Kept wanting to spawn.

[hellinahandcart]

Partisan Hack, are you male or female? I only ask because if you're female and you haven't lost any weight after seven days you might blame, uh, estrogen, water-weight gain, that sort of thing. Hang in there a few more days, if you are definitely in ketosis the weight will start coming off shortly.

[Coleus]

Great Diet!! I lost 70lbs. on it at a rate of about 20lbs. per month!!

I stayed on the induction diet all that time, I ate: meat, fish, eggs, and cheese with some salad, that's it.

I felt great!! My mind was clear, brain tissue prefers ketones rather to glucose for energy. When you plateau, start exercising to jump start the process again.

Take lots of calcium, 3g+ per day and drink about 12 glasses of water a day. Take a multi vitamin, I took wheatgrass powder for my greens and you will need, Psyllium Husks from Yerba Prima, the diet clogs you up.

My cholesterol level dropped 100 points while eating 3 dz. eggs per week. Sort of like a negative feedback system.

Good luck

And yes, you will have to stay on low carbs the rest of your life; otherwise, you will gain all of your weight back plus many more pounds.

If you are not resigned to the fact that you MUST be low carb forever, start jogging one hour per day, lift weights and forget about Atkins.

Living Low Carb. Message Board at Delphi

[TomMix]

Hi,

Here's a place you can research all kinds of things about the low carb diet: alt.support.diet.low-carb

I've been on a low carb diet because of type II diabetes. This comes from insulin resistance which affects about 40% of the population. This is all part of something grouped together under a label of "Syndrome X".

The symptoms go like this:
a. Eating carbohydrates and sugars causes blood sugar to go up.
b. The pancreas secretes insulin which would cause the blood sugar (glucose) to be taken up by the muscle cells as glycogen. But
c. Insulin resistant people can't store the glucose as glycogen, so their blood sugar won't go down.
d. They remain hungry while eating and get hungrier while they're eating
e. The body clears the excessive blood glucose by storing it as fat. So insulin resistant people gain weight.
f. High levels of fatigue and mental sluggishness accompany this process.

I've found low carb eating kills hunger and cravings, gives me energy and alertness and levels out my blood glucose levels.

Low carb has been prescribed for epileptic children to control their seizures for over 70 years. These children have been intensively studies for adverse effects of their diet. The results of the studies have been negative; there don't seem to be any adverse side effects. Because of the research on these children, low carb eating has been the most studied diet on earth. So it is probably safe. Although you'd never know it from the talk of nutritionists and such who seem to have a viscerial hatred of it.

I've learned a lot from the Burnstein book 'The Diabetes Solution'. Look up Bernstien on the GoogleGroup's USENET collection for more leads.

Good luck

[Squire]

Calories are calories whether they come from protein, carbohydrates or fat. Don't waste your time with the Atkins scheme. Besides not being good for your health, it doesn't make any sense.

Fortunately, things are not so simple as you would make them out to be, and that's why Atkins works. The point of Atkins (or any low-carb diet) is to lower the body's secretion of insulin. Insulin secretion is activated when blood glucose levels rise. Glucose is the principal break-down product of carbohydrates.

When insulin is secreted, it promotes the uptake and later storage of glucose as fat. In addition, insulin also promotes the uptake and storage of dietary fat itself. Dietary fat will generally not be absorbed by the body if insulin is not being secreted. Therefore, if you cut carbohydrate consumption, leading to diminished insulin secretion, dietary fat will not be absorbed. That's why it's okay to eat fat-containing foods (meat, cheese, butter) if you're not also consuming carbohydrates.

[bluefish]

Essentially, a simple sugar is absorbed more quickly than a complex carb and the insulin spike is more severe. For those with blood sugar problems, you will get a greater level of "ups" and "downs" with respect to overall blood sugar levels. Complex carbs,perhaps through the fiber content or a more complex molecule, takes longer to break down and thus provides a more steady stream of fuel over a longer period, smoothing out the fluctuations. This will also smooth out the cycle of cravings, binging and disgust.

Also, sugar's metabolic effects can be similar to that of alcohol according to the author of "Potatos, not Prozac." A "hit" of sugar for a sugar addict can spike abnormally low endorphin levels, which may lead to the cycle of extreme cravings that are not entirely explained by the better known blood sugar / insulin swings. The complete absence of sugar would lead to an upregulation of endorphin receptors, so the reintroduction of a "fast" simple sugar will hit the extra receptors harder and provide a greater effect. The receptors have been primed. This can lead to greater addiction. Smokers who know the rush of the first cigarette afer a long period of abstinence will understand this effect.

There may very well be multiple metabolic impacts / causes of sugar addiction / glucose metabolism disturbances and they could compound upon each other. Being fat may merely be one of the effects while also a cause of further problems. The vicious circle.

[geege]

Their "meal" bars are delicious but of course you want to eat 10 of em....I think Weight Watchers is still the best diet.......at least you don't starve:o)

[bluefish]

While he still believes the ketogenic diets are workable and do some good things, he no longer thinks they are that much different than any regular hypocaloric diet. The only advantage he sees now is the appetite supression of ketosis.

Since Lyle focuses on the athlete, I would agree with and understand this. Note that I am neither, rather somebody with serious blood sugar problems (my Dad died from complications of Type II diabetes - diabetic ketoacidosis). Hence, my interest is ketosis has always been more as a potential tool for correcting insulin desensitization, eliminating cravings, etc. Lyle answered a lot of questions that Atkins wouldn't with respect to the overall biology involved to help me forumlate my own personal understanding of what may be going on in my own system.

Do you post in MFW or anywhere else? Your screenname seems familiar with respect to the general topic here. Also, the gun thread on your profile page made me think about Will Brink, who advocates the "more guns, less crime" book.

[bluefish]

Their "meal" bars are delicious but of course you want to eat 10 of em....I think Weight Watchers is still the best diet.......at least you don't starve:o)

Note my comments in an earlier post regarding this. The hardest thing for me when in ketosis is forcing myself to eat enough. I have zero desire to eat. IF I eat Atkins bars however, I want to eat them non-stop too! I came to the conclusion that something in them is doing the same thing as sugar. Look at the list of chemicals and I suspect something there is spiking insulin or working just like sugar. They always took me out of ketosis too. It is a shame if this is the case for everybody and not just some sort of food intolerance on my part (intolerances can cause actual addictions - go figure). I would hate to see Atkins killing the effectiveness of his ideas with a meal bar that hinders actual results, unknowingly. Of course, if people get addicted to the bars or find a need to eat more of them, he makes more money!

[SamAdams76]

I don't like it. Don't recommend it.

The Atkins Diet is essentially a low-carbohydrate diet that requires you to eliminate or significantly reduce most foods from your diet, including fruits, most vegetables, rice, pasta, breads, beer, and the list goes on. In order to go into "ketosis" you must virtually eliminate all carbohydrates from your diet to the extent that you are removing cheeseburgers from the buns and so on.

Even in its maintenance phase, you are restricted in the things that you can eat.

I'm not going to argue whether these fad diets work or not, but you need to consider what kind of lifestyle you will have when adhering to such a diet. For example, you become a major pain in the ass at restaurants, telling them to bring you such and such a dish without the breaded topping and without the rice and without the...well, you get the picture.

To me, life is too short to be counting calories and obsessing about every morsel of food I put in my mouth. I can afford to take off a few pounds but I would rather eat the foods I like and enjoy life. Staying on a restrictive diet like this may or may not make you live longer. But it will sure seem like it.

[DB]

The "smell" is only while you consume the fat on your body. It releases trapped toxins as you burn it. Once you're done burning that fat things go back to normal.

About three years ago I lost about 35 pounds. I kept it off for about a year. Then I decided I was tired of not having bread with my sandwiches/hamburgers... Today I weight what I did originally...

[geege]

There are far more better protein meal bars in the supermarkets today...."Go Lean" is one of them and they DO satisfy your appetite....I have it for lunch with a cup of coffee.....When I followed weight watchers I got down to 115lbs in a few months!!!!! I don't like the idea of not having carbs in my diet like this Atkins diet....with WW you can have carbs...within reason of course... But if your looking for a quickie mean Try the "Kashi Go Lean" bars.....the chocolate peanut butter is really good and they're natural...no artificial anything:o)

[swampfox98]

I lowered my cholesterol by using this diet. However, I didn't lose weight. (Oh, maybe 10 pounds) I am a carb freek and sugar is a killer combined with carbs and fat. You must give up carbs and sugar anyway -- you'll feel tons more energized, even if you don't lose weight.

[mickie]

Try Weight Watchers.......it's something you can live with the rest of your life.

[dfwgator]

I have recently lost 50 pounds, and basically what I did was to cut out the simple sugars and simple carbs. I did eat a lot of fruits instead, and ate low-fat (especially no dairy). With a moderate level of exercise, I lost 50 pounds in five months. I think the key here is to cut out simple carbohydrates for complex carbs instead. Since complex carbs are digested and metabolized more slowly than simple sugars, you don't get the flux in blood sugar levels that cause you to crave even more carbohydrates.

[hobbes1]

Works like a charm...However, if you choose to end it, be very carefull with your eating habits afterward.....

Do you plan to exercise....?

[Alas]

Brought my wifes cholestarol down, way down. But her MD doesn't like it. To be expected though I guess, since neither of us needed drugs to loose weight or get the bad numbers down and the good numbers up. Use the vitimins.

Alas