[ko_kyi]

"This Atkins diet -- or, I call it Fatkins diet -- is going out unchallenged. People are starting to believe it," Adams said.

My ass. No diet has ever been so pilloried as Atkins. I lost 22 pounds in one year just doing Atkins (and not very strictly, either) and exercising more. When I tell people I do Atkins they sometimes say "Oh, that crazy diet." Then I show them my breakfast and lunch, which I take to work every day.

Breakfast: Black coffee, strawberries, mango, 2 hardboiled eggs

Lunch: big Mixed green salad with carrots, tomato, and sliced barbecued steak.

I figured out why Atkins works for me: I eat about the same amount of meat as before, no starches, no sodas, no desserts, and more fresh veggies. No fried foods, no margarine. Blood pressure and cholesterol much better.

[machman]

I do have to agree with the core thesis of th atkins. But the biggest thing I think that changes when people eat this way is they cut down on saturated fats, processed foods, and surgar. Basically, they stop eating calories that have little nutritional value.

I'm not going to cut out grains, but I eat whole grains as much as possible. My current breakfast is something coffee (I do add a touch of half & half), a cup of shredded wheat, a cup of strawberries, mix it with some non-fat fruit low sugar yougurt, and add for protein egg beaters and a slice of whole wheat bread or whole wheat english muffin with non-fat margerine. That's alot of food, and less than 500 calories, and quite low fat. Lunch, tuna salad, or lean roast beef sandwich with lettace and mustard, maybe a cup of chicken noodle soup. Dinner, something with protein, broiled chicken, fish, maybe a small baked potato or whole grain rice or pasta. Desert, maybe more fruit with a yogurt again. At the end of the day, it adds up to usually between 1500-1700 calories. Plus, I try to do some exercise to burn at least 400 extra calories a day and keep my metabolism up. Most of the charts I see for someone my age and height say normal calorie intake should be about 2900 calories a day.

What I avoid? Sweets (candy, cake, coke), fried foods, rich creamy sauces, mayo, and I try not to eat processed food or white bread/pasta. Whole grain if at all possible.

Pretty soon I am going to start increasing my caloric intake, I would like to build a bit more muscle. I will probably start doubling the amount of protien I have with my meals. At most I figure I would add about 1000 calories a day. At that level, with more muscle mass and continuing on a workout program I should be fine.