Posted on 10/04/2003 11:42:34 AM PDT by carlo3b
By: Master Chef, Carlo J. MorelliBecause of a Doctor named Atkins and his hypothesis of weight loss and diet, everything that was UP, is now DOWN, and everything that was FAT is now getting a great deal THINNER.
The Atkins diet is basically the polar opposite of the prevailing knowledge we have been taught about healthy eating since the word "calorie" was brought into vogue some 50 years ago.
For the past 30 plus years, this controversial diet has quite simply never been far from the spotlight, or the bestseller list. Celebrities loved it. Health experts hated it. However, more than a few high profile, beautiful people, support the Atkins theory of weight loss, not just in theory, but in full frontal, or even more appropriately they stand behind it.
What made Dr Atkins Diet so difficult for the medical, and nutritional establishment to swallow, was his near total repudiation of their unanimous conclusions on weight, health, fitness and diet. After the years that the medical community spent building a solid consensus, and food pyramids, Atkins had the audacity to blame them for the failing physical health of the American people.
He suggested that people on his diet should eat foods like cheese, steak and sausages - which are high in fat - but not those that are high in carbohydrate, like pasta, bread and cereals. OUTRAGEOUS, claimed the so-called experts, DANGEROUS, was the clarion cry, and some went so far to suggest FATAL, could be the result. That was decades ago. Legions of people say the fine Doctor was right, and the so-called pros were WRONG!
Well, who is right, and which one needs to eat their words. Here are some facts that can not be disputed. Running parallel to the time line of the the growing health awareness campaign, concerning the average American diet.. phenomenal weight gain has been attributed to be the single most damaging health concern. However, it has to be said, the same approximate starting point in time, coincides with the popularity of the TV, thus TV dinners and such activities as channel surfing in lieu of... well, you understand where this is going..
Further, the same period gave birth to the beginning of the famous fad diets that dominated the conversations, airwaves and the market place. Each of these utopian gastronomic innovations, promised Venus like results.. Of course none did, and that gave way to the DIET PILL. The various miracle pills promised, that without changing our ways of living that got us to where we were, they promised and promised, and finally they just pooped out.
STAY AWAY FROM MEAT, stay away from milk, no eggs, apples, chicken, soda, just stay away from chips... well, just stay away from me! Eat fish and everything natural, the nanny crowd told us.. Sure, easy for those who lived by the swordfish can die by it, for all I care. But that ain't me, too many Moe said
Desperate to fit into last years bathing suit, folks began pursuing crash diets in hopes of losing unwanted pounds in a few days. Eat apples, bushels of them, chased with wine. California and Washington state's wallets bulged, but so did everyone's midsection.. Broccoli, was the next panacea, but that caused gasterea. Followed by cabbage, grapes, then watermelon, and then finally just water, gallons of it.. and the unwanted pounds will just float away.
All during this tumultuous period, spanning over 40 years, the medical and diet constabulary kept preaching variety, balance, and building on blocks of food groups, recommended daily servings, counting, counting everything, and vitamins.. blue ones, green ones, big ones, little ones, and oh yeah.. exercise. We sure needed exercise, after taking exactly, 77,000 milamorons of assorted vitamins.
Lest we forget EXERCISE! Health clubs popped up everywhere, and everyone was now sweating, jogging, pumping, cycling. The economy in the health and fitness industries grew and grew, but unfortunately so did the size of our collective gut! Exercised worked then and it works now.. no argument, but most of the people living in our fast paced country simply wouldn't or can't devote that much time to the Stairmasters.
Labels, by golly, it was the labels, IF MANUFACTURERS WOULD JUST TELL US THE TRUTH.. put it on the box, package, bag, can.. everything in black and white each and every milimicrogram, and how many.. croscamelose sodiumdelcamicium are in it, so we can judge for ourselves.. the health nut crowds demanded, everyone would manage their own weight..
After decades of gaining, and billions of dollars, in labeling, counting, sweating, weighting, and popping, and after eating, lite, low, high, less, joining anything with a promising name.. burp.. we are fatter than ever, and dangerously ill with obesity causing heart, lung, and diabetic seizures.. it brings us to WHERE?
Were the experts wrong? Is balance, counting and labels the only way to a healthy life? NO, attitude is. If you are really fat or getting that way and feeling the weight of it on your mind and body, you have to make a decision. You and only you can change your direction and your dress, or belt size. There can be no, South Beach, Palm beach, or beached wale, that will make a difference without you demanding it of yourself.
The good news is Atkins, and modifications of it, works for most people. If you are truly serious about losing weight, there is now a way to do it that millions of people have proved, if you can believe millions of people. Even the naysayers have begun to come around, and have finally published the first real study of its kind, American scientists have found that over 12 months Atkins dieters lost more weight than those on a conventional low calorie diet, says the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine!! YIKES..
If you don't think that little tidbit choked as it came out, you have been sleeping over the past 30 years. Atkins has been saying to anyone that would listen, and apparently millions have, that Carbohydrate provides energy, and Dr Atkins' theory is that if carbohydrate intake is restricted a body will get its energy by burning fat instead, which will result in weight loss. It's that simple!
Followers of the diet can't get enough of it - they say it works. But some medical experts have still raised serious concerns about the diet's long-term safety. Somewhere close is the real answer, and if you follow the letter of this learned Doctor's diet guidelines, as well as your own body clock, you will lose the weight you wish, and most of all, keep it off.
The Major Benefits of the Diet, in short. Excerpts courtesy of The Atkins Center.Diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates like bread, pasta, cereal, and other mainly "low-fat" processed foods increase your body's production of insulin. When insulin is at high levels in the body, the food you eat can get readily converted into body fat, in the form of triglycerides (to top it off, high triglyceride levels in the body are one of the greatest risk factors for heart disease).
Even worse, high carbohydrate meals tend to leave you less satisfied than those that contain adequate fat levels; so you eat more and get hungrier sooner. If you find this hard to believe, think about how much pasta you can eat at lunch and then how hungry you are running to the vending machine for another "carbo-fix" in the mid-afternoon. If the pasta you ate was really giving your body what it needed, you would stay full until dinner time. So the typical low-protein, low-fat meal leaves you eating more and hungry sooner.
So what should you do? Get off the insulin generating roller coaster of the low-fat diet and start cutting down on your carbohydrate consumption, especially the worst offenders: sugar, white flour and other refined carbohydrate-based products. What can you expect from this? Three wonderful results:
1) You'll start to burn fat for energy: Since carbohydrates are the body's primary energy source, you'll rarely use your secondary energy source, you own body fat, for energy unless you restrict carbohydrate consumption. This offers a lifetime of body fat burning, which is the goal of most people trying to lose weight.Key Information About Sugar2) You won't feel hungry in between meals: The biggest battle that most people have with weight loss is the constant obsession with food (for example, if you've ever thought about dinner when you're eating lunch). Again, much of this is caused by blood sugar fluctuations that are aggravated by carbohydrate consumption (especially the refined kind). By cutting the carbs, you'll maintain a more even blood sugar level throughout the day. No more false hunger pains or mid-afternoon brain drains.
3) Your overall health will improve and you'll feel better: Many of the toxins you take into your body are stored in your fat cells. By getting your body to burn stored fat, you allow it to clean itself out. Combined with the benefits of stable blood sugar, the end result is that many common ailments you have been experiencing could well be alleviated. Fatigue, irritability, depression, headaches, and even many forms of joint and muscular pain simply go away. Furthermore, you should see a significant improvement in your blood profile, (including cholesterol and blood pressure levels). All this leads to better health and well-being-- something all of us strive to bring into our lives.
It contains no vitamins. No minerals. It is 100% carbohydrate. So it must be metabolized immediately. The stores of nutrients built up in your body are called out like militia men, to "charge" the sugar, and similar forms like glucose and fructose, and turn it into ready energy, depleting your body in the process. Sugar is an energy sucker: the Anti-Nutrient.
White flour is its second-cousin—almost as bad. When you partner the two together— flour and sugar—it spells disaster for anyone trying to maintain a healthy body, let alone someone who is fighting disease or trying to lose weight. If they are consumed on a regular basis, the body is in a constant state of nutritional deficiency. If you don't believe that sugar is an anti-nutrient, try having a rich dessert after dinner on a night you're feeling under the weather – you'll be sure to wake up the next morning with a full-blown illness.
What's frightening is that in recent years, the government and other advisory groups like the American Medical Association have encouraged the consumption of flour by unveiling a new food pyramid that is based on grains and recommends six to eleven servings a day. And no distinction is made between white processed flour, which is stripped of the nutrients, especially important trace minerals, and the much more healthy whole grains (unless you have a food allergy). And the result? Americans now think they're making healthy choices by loading up on cereals, pasta, crackers and breads. We even have products like Pop-Tarts®, with 39 grams of carbohydrate, 20 of which are sugar, carrying the American Heart Association Seal Of Approval. It is a travesty.
So how do we protect ourselves and stay healthy? One thing we can do is eat a healthy, balanced diet of low-carbohydrate foods. And when our foods fail us, as they often do after being picked, shipped, stripped, processed and packaged, we can protect ourselves with solid vita-nutrient support. It is critical that you include this extra "insurance policy" to take you into the kind of healthy life we all want to lead.
(Pop-Tarts® is a registered trademark of Kellogg's USA, Inc.)
Answering The Critics
While mainstream medicine and nutrition have, on the whole, criticized the Atkins Diet, the facts speak for themselves:
Dr. Atkins and his colleagues at The Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in New York have treated over 60,000 patients using the Atkins Diet as a primary protocol. These patients experience all the beneficial effects detailed above, as well as improved blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and a lower or completely eradicated dependence on prescription drugs.
While the mainstream critics continue to lament the consumption of fat as the root of America's weight problem, only carbohydrate consumption (mostly refined) has increased in the past few decades, while fat consumption has declined (as the "low-fat/high carb" diet has been promoted as the best nutritional option for every living person). During this time:Obesity, which in the past had consistently applied to about 25% of the population, increased to 33%While medical and nutritional journals are filled with studies documenting the body's requirement of essential fatty acids and essential amino acids (derived from protein), there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. Why then does the FDA recommend an average of 16 servings a day?
Heart disease now accounts for 50% of all deaths, up from 40% in the 1970s
Cases of diabetes are growing in near epidemic proportions (in fact, children are now contracting adult-onset diabetes)
Hypertension, chronic fatigue and attention-deficit-disorder are now well recognized conditions.
All of these conditions are linked not by the amount of fat in ones diet, but by blood sugar disturbances and insulin disorders caused by excessive refined carbohydrate consumption (FYI: The average person now consumes over 150 pounds of sugar a year, up from less then 10 pounds in the 19th century).The Atkins Diet is not a no-carbohydrate diet. The diet focuses on very limited consumption of the types of carbohydrates that tend to spike blood sugar levels the most, including non-whole grain bread, pastas, refined sugar products, juices, and high sugar/starchy fruits and vegetables. Atkins Dieters learn to determine their personal sensitivity to carbohydrates, as a way to manage their weight and health for life.
Have you actually read the diet or are you just going by what you think? This way of eating is more balanced than you think.
After the first two weeks you add in carbs until you stop losing weight and then you reduce them by 5g/day or there abouts until you reach your goal. If people would read the book they would see that it isn't NO carb diet but a controlled carb diet.
I have been doing Atkins for 64 days now and have lost 16lbs.
Thanks for your thread.
This slightly modified classic dish is special enough for the most elegant dinner party. Everyone will applaud your culinary prowess. This dish can be made a day ahead and cooked just before serving.
Come on...try it, you can do it, I promise it's really easy! ......really :)
Petit Wellington de boeuf et de sauce verte à poivre
Individual beef Wellingtons with green peppercorn sauce
Always bring any beef or steaks to room temperature before preparing.
1) Coat steaks lightly with olive oil and season both sides with salt and pepper (press in firmly with palm of your hand).
2) Using a heavy frying pan (cast-iron is perfect) over medium high heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sear the steaks, moving them with tongs a little so they don't stick to the bottom, for 2 minutes per side or until brown and crisp on the outside. Cook only partially - do not overcook. Remove from heat and refrigerate steak, covered, until well chilled, about 1 hour.
3) Wipe frying pan and place over medium heat, melt butter. Add shallot or green onions and garlic; sauté approximately 3 minutes or until slightly softened. Add mushrooms, thyme, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Continue, stirring, until mushrooms are lightly browned and their liquid is evaporated.
Remove from heat and transfer mushroom mixture to a bowl to cool completely; set aside.
4) On a lightly floured surface, roll out yeast puff pastry into two (14-inch) squares. Trim edges to form two (13-inch) squares and cut each square into four (6 1/2-inch) squares.
TIP: Work with one sheet of puff pastry at a time, keeping the unused pastry covered with a damp cloth so it won't dry out (once it starts to dry out, it is impossible to work with).
5) Working with one square of puff pastry at a time (keeping other covered), spread 1/8th of mushroom mixture on the pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch edge on all sides.
6) Place chilled steak in the center of the mushroom mixture; pressing it down gently. Wrap two opposite corners of puff pastry over the steak, overlapping them. Seal seam with egg wash.
7) Wrap remaining two corners of pastry over steak and seal with egg wash. Wrap the pastry up over the steak and seal the edges. Place seam-side down on a non-stick baking sheet. Brush the tops with the egg wash.
Repeat with remaining 7 steaks. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
Decorate the Beef Wellingtons using the scraps from the puff pastry. Cut pastry into shapes with a cookie cutter or cut into leaf shapes with a knife and "glue" to the top of each Beef Wellington with some of the egg wash. Brush top of decoration with additional egg wash.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
8) Baking; brush top and sides of each Beef Wellington with some remaining egg wash. Bake approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until pastry is golden and the internal temperature of the meat registers 120°F.
Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Rare - 120°F, Medium Rare - 125 °F, Medium - 130°F
Makes 8 servings.
While steaks are in the oven, prepare sauce.
1) In a medium frying pan over medium heat, melt butter.
2) Add shallot or green onions, green peppercorns and sauté until onions are soft.
3) Add brandy and cook until liquid is reduced by half.
4) Add cream and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and dill.
To serve, spoon some of the Peppercorn Sauce on each individual plate. Place one Beef Wellington in the center. Drizzle a little more sauce over the top and garnish with a dill sprig.
Voila, you are a gourmet chef!
They would have to pry my lifeless fingers off of any list that I have to get your name off of it!! THERE!.... sigh.. ;)
Once the induction stage of the diet, which is very restrictive, passes things get rational again. Once you achieve your goal, as has been explained by others you are required to eat fruits and veggies..I know, I know.. it's not for everyone.. :o)
Great point.
It doesn't have to be that way, there are interesting recipes that have real panache, available to eat.. It doesn't surprise me that there are additional studies that challenges the diet.
There have been hit pieces against Dr. Atkins for 30 years. I am a late convert, I watch to see if anyone aside from the normal % of reactions to anything would spring up.but they haven't materialized to prove to me a pattern of failure, that is greater than the benifits.
I can no longer sit idle and watch the successes without rethinking my position.
White button everyday mushrooms.. sliced thin to 1 cup. Congratulations on your successful weight loss I know how good it must feel!. . . :)
LowFat Macadamia Amaretto CheesecakeCRUST
BATTER
- 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 large egg white
- 1 Tbsp. butter (melted)
- 2 Tbsp. Macadamia nuts, (crushed)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
- 1/2 lb. nonfat cream cheese
- 1/2 lb. reduced fat cream cheese
- 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp. amaretto liquor
Crust,
1) Spray or wipe a 6-inch springform (cheesecake) pan with Veg. oil.
2) Mix melted butter with the graham cracker crumbs and egg white with a wooden spoon in a bowl.
3) Add the crust to the pan and patting it along the bottom and sides of the pan, approx. 2" + high.
4) Press the Macadamia nuts on the sides and bottom of the crust. Chill crust at least an hour, or until ready to add the filling.
Cheesecake
5) Microwave cream cheese on high for about 30 seconds. Using an electric mixer, blend the sugar and the cream cheese in a bowl until it forms a uniform structure.
6) Add egg whites and remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
Pour the batter into the cheesecake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.
Cool and serve.... Yummmmmmmmmmm
Yield: 8-10 slices
Here are a few more LOW Fat recipes for our more traditional dieters.. :o)Low Fat Beef Stroganoff
1) Using a large pot, boil noodles until tender. Drain and return to pan. spray with cooking spray to cover lightly.
- 1 12 oz can of roast beef in gravy.
- 1 12 oz bag of extra wide (non-fat) egg noodles, or plain
- 1 16 oz container of light or nonfat sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 lg. clove
- 1/2 of a small finely diced onion (optional)
- 1 or more cups of fine sliced mushrooms..
- Butter flavored cooking spray. (or 1 Tbs.. Butter)
2) In a nonstick pan using cooking spray, sauté onions and garlic until onions are transparent.
3) Add mushrooms until just tender.
4) Add meat and all other ingredients to the noodles. Blend well and heat up.
Serve with a baked potato or small salad with low fat dressing
Yields 6 servings depending on if you use low or no fat (no butter) calories 550 fat grams 10Régime Gell-o' l'orange en Salade
Diet orange Jell-o, salad! .. :)1) Dissolve jell-o in boiling water.
- 2 boxes sugar free orange jell-o
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 oz. cream cheese (I also use the lite version Do not use the fat free)
- 1 small can pineapple, drained (save the juice)
- 1 small can Mandarin oranges, drained (save the juice)
- 3 cups low fat whipped cream (Do not use the fat-free)
2) Stir in 1 cup of juices from drained pineapple and oranges. Let set until consistency of a raw egg.
3) Beat cream cheese at low speed until smooth.
4) Add pineapple, oranges, and jell-o. Blend well.
5) Mix in whipped cream.
Refrigerate till firm. Serves 4.
Diabetic Apricot Muffins
1) Soak apricots in boiling water 5 minutes. Drain and discard liquid.
- 1 cup chopped dried apricots
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup sugar substitute or sugar
- 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
- 1 cup lite sour cream
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1 T. grated orange peel
- 1/2 c. chopped pecans
2) Cream sugar and butter, add sour cream, mix well.
3) Combine the dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture just to combine - don't over beat. Batter will be VERY stiff. don't worry. (Do not thin)
4) Add drained apricot pieces and nuts and orange peel. Pile up (the batter will almost be so thick that you can form balls) into greased muffin tins. Heap them high--should make exactly 12.
Bake 18 minutes or so at 400 degrees.
Serve warm with a little butter.__________________________________________________
Great Northern Chili
1) Rinse and simmer beans (in water) in large pot with 1 onion and garlic until almost tender (2-3 hours), drain.
- 1/2-3/4 pound white Great Northern, or navy beans, or 2 14 ounce cans, drained
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 4 ounce cans chopped chilies
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 - 4 (3 - 4 cups) large cooked chicken breasts, cubed (preferably grilled).
2) Combine cooked (or canned) beans with onion and garlic back to large pot with chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 1/2 - 1 hour until beans are soft.
3) In a skillet, saute remaining onion in oil, add chilies and seasonings. Mix thoroughly. Add to beans. Add cooked chicken.
Simmer 1/2 - 1 hour longer. (Adjust with more or less broth for desired consistency).
Optional: Top with cheese, scallions, tomatoes, olives, cilantro, guacamole.Makes 6 8 servings
It's all in your mind! According to the "experts," the Atkins diet is bad for you!!! Stop right away!
Mark
/sarcasm
Alfredo sauce is great on brocolli and cauliflower too!
Mark
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