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The
Atkins' Diet: One That Really Works
Personal
submission
by Larry
Simpson
Let
me start out by saying which type of
person I believe should be reading this
article.
Dieting isn't for everyone.
Some people are perfectly happy
being their current weight.
If that is your situation, and
you feel good about it both spiritually
and physically; then no need to read on.
But if you feel as I once
felt--tired, sluggish and having trouble
breathing--you may find this article of
great value and interest.
Dieting
does not have to mean your end goal
should be looking thin or trying to be
something you were not biologically born
to be.
Moreover, dieting should only be
undertaken when it is completely your
own idea; you are in good health (such
that you can sustain a diet safely); and
you want to feel better either
psychologically or physically.
Still
with me?
Good!
I
doubt that there is anyone reading this
article that has not tried some form of
dieting.
And, like me, I am sure many of
you have had every one of them
eventually fail.
That was my experience, at least,
until a friend of mine in my office went
on the Atkins' Diet and I saw the
results.
I asked him how he did it, and he
answered by loaning me his copy of a
book entitled, "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution".
That was two years ago.
I lost 30 pounds after following
the advice of the book, and I have never
gained it back.
In my opinion, it is the only
diet that could ever work for someone
like me.
The reason is simple: I love to
eat!
Believe
it or not, this diet will let you eat a
lot of food.
I never felt starved!
There is only one catch
though...you have to follow it
explicitly--no exceptions.
I
am not going to try and tell you
everything that Dr. Atkins tells you in
his 446-page bestseller within the
confines of this article.
You will have to read the book
yourself if you want to learn everything
there is to know about the diet.
Instead I am going to give you in
this article just the basic theory.
I will relate my own experience
as a possible template for how I think
anyone can make it work safely for them.
In
its most basic descriptive, the Atkins'
diet is a short-term, ultra-low
carbohydrate diet.
Two things you need to get from
this sentence:
1.
This is not a diet that you
follow for a long period of time.
2.
It has a very strict limit for
daily carbohydrate intake that you must
follow explicitly.
The
diet is short-term because it takes only
a small amount of time before you start
shedding weight at an unbelievable rate.
Once you start the diet, it takes
usually no more that 14 days before the
weight loss really kicks into high
gear...or at least, that is what Dr.
Atkins' says is the average time
requirement.
For me, it was more like 3 weeks
and I was just about ready to give up
before the fat meltdown started
happening.
And
depending on metabolic resistance, once
the meltdown starts, his book says a
person with average resistance can look
forward to losing 8 to 15 pounds per
week.
For me, it was more like about 5
pounds per week.
I stayed on the diet for nearly 2
1/2 months.
After that, I merely followed his
"maintenance plan".
Believe me, the maintenance is
the easiest part, so you don't have to
worry about the fat returning when the
diet is completed.
How
to Get Started
First
I advise you to buy Dr. Atkins book.
(I don't make any money off this
endorsement.)
If you go to GNC and buy the
"starter kit" for the Atkins'
Diet, it contains a little summary
version along with the supplemental
vitamins, minerals and essential oils.
This is what I bought at first.
Later, I went to my favorite
bookstore and bought the complete text.
Second,
buy a bottle of ketone test strips from
a local drugstore or a health food
store.
These are important for two
reasons:
(1) They keep you from overdoing
the carbohydrate thing such that your
body goes too far into ketosis; (2) The
color coding shows your progress as you
begin to approach the meltdown zone for
losing stored body fat.
This second fact provides an
added stimulus for sticking to the diet.
You begin to say to yourself,
"Wow, I am almost there...I can
hardly wait!"
When
your body is releasing ketones, which is
measurable in your urine, you know that
you are consuming fat.
Ketones are the by-product of fat
consumption.
Third,
you start the diet and eat anything you
want providing that you do not exceed 30
grams of carbohydrate per day.
Dr. Atkins also recommends that
you cut back or eliminate the amount of
caffeine in your diet.
And to ease the stress on your
kidneys for filtering all the ketones,
start drinking lots of water every
day...at least 48 ounces per day.
Fourth,
start some kind of exercise program to
help accelerate the fat loss and weaken
the metabolic resistance.
It does not have to be high
impact or stressful.
Dr. Atkins has some good advice
on how to ease into an exercise program
gradually and successfully.
Again, buy the book.
How
Do You Handle the Cravings for Sugar and
Starch?
Sugar
and starch are the two big sources for
carbohydrate.
So how do you handle the urge to
eat these kinds of foods when you start
restricting the carbohydrates so
drastically?
Dr. Atkins gives lots of good
advice in his book to handle this.
I personally found that once I
weaned myself off of the sugar and
starch for a long enough period of time,
the craving diminished completely.
I also would eat the Atkins'
candy bars when I felt the urge for
sugar.
Unlike a lot of health bars,
these actually do not taste like
sawdust.
Another
favorite of mine was to eat a big bowl
of strawberries with whipped cream.
I would really pile on the
whipped cream.
Realize that the Atkins' diet
does not restrict the amount of fat you
eat.
This was my occasional dessert
and I could eat it without violating my
30-gram intake rule.
There
Are Many Myths and Critics.
Lots
of people are going to try and talk you
out of this diet.
I even had the fellow who worked
behind the counter at GNC trying to tell
me it was not healthy.
He regurgitated some of the same
myths that many people have put forth
concerning the Atkins' diet.
You may have heard some of these
same myths already yourself:
1.
The ketosis-state of the diet is
harmful if not dangerous.
2.
It leaves you tired and weak.
3.
You will feel starved or hungry.
4.
It will harm your kidneys.
5.
The high fat content is
unhealthy.
6.
You will crave sweets more than
any other diet.
7.
You will have bad breath.
8.
It forces you to eat meat so it
won't work for vegetarians.
9.
The weight returns after the diet
is completed.
10.
It will lower your sexual
performance.
Dr.
Atkins addresses all of these myths in
Chapter 26 of his book.
In fact, I advise anybody who has
a fear of this diet to go into a
bookstore and just turn to Chapter 26
and read Dr. Atkins' answers to these
challenges.
None of them are true.
In
Summary
Like
I said in the beginning, dieting is not
for everyone.
But if you do diet, pick one that
is going to work near and long term. I
have tried everything in my lifetime to
lose weight.
This is the first diet I have
ever found that really works in taking
the fat off quickly and keeping it off.
Be careful taking bad advice from
others who have never tried the Atkins'
diet.
This even includes some doctors
who are misinformed or have allowed
themselves to become victims of
unsupported myths.
Try it for yourself and see what
I mean.
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