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Started the New Atkins 2 weeks ago...

Old 08-17-2010, 04:36 AM
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Default Started the New Atkins 2 weeks ago...

I started the New Atkins 2 weeks ago. I am now on week 3. I am upping my carbs this week to 25. So far I have lost 6.2 lbs., which is quite awesome for me.

I have tried every diet known to man/woman and haven't lost that much weight in over 4 years. This might be TMI, but am in pre-menopause and seem to not be able to budge a pound. So thankfully with doing Atkins it has moved.....Yeah!!

I have severe asthma, so getting in lots of exercise is very hard for me. I purchased a pedometer and started out with getting at least 5000 steps and up it by 100 every week. I mostly walk at work in 10 min. intervals when time permits.

I will say this: I haven't had to use my inhaler nearly as much as I did 2 weeks ago.

I did Atkins about 5 years ago and lost 25lbs. I kept it off until I got plum lazy. It's my fault for gaining back the weight, not the diet. You can't sit on your butt and drink 6 pack of pepsi, chips, candy, icecream and expect to keep the weight off............
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Old 08-17-2010, 04:52 AM
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Do you consume dairy at all? If so, you might want to research dairy and asthma. I am not asthmatic, but I even noticed easier breathing and less congestion when I quit dairy.

And I feel obligated to advise you of what the American Heart Association says about high protein diets.

High-Protein Diets
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Old 08-17-2010, 05:15 AM
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Only dairy I consume is in cheese. I have never been a dairy type eater. I was eating alot of wheat products and have quit eating wheat and my asthma has eased up.

I have the New Atkins book and the Dr. Oz book and on and on......and most all of these books go along the same story line.

Like I said, I have tried every diet I can think of, even got put on diet pills from doctor and nothing has worked like the Atkins. Let me clarify that I probably don't follow it correctly, but I drop my carb count down to where I can lose and see what my count will be.........

This has been the only diet I can stick with. I'm not a big meat eater, but love veges. I'm getting plenty full. I feel more energetic. And I have quit obsessing over food. I used to think about food 24/7 now it more like 12/7....LOL...

I know there is a lot of controversy on the Atkins. I'm not going to harm my body. The way I was going I was harming my body.
Most all my vegetables come from our own garden and we raise our own beef and pork. No chemicals have been used.

What I was eating was lots of pasta, lots of sugar. I haven't cut carbs out, I still eat them, just healthier.
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Old 08-17-2010, 06:35 AM
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Originally Posted by haganeedle06
Only dairy I consume is in cheese. I have never been a dairy type eater. I was eating alot of wheat products and have quit eating wheat and my asthma has eased up.

I have the New Atkins book and the Dr. Oz book and on and on......and most all of these books go along the same story line.

Like I said, I have tried every diet I can think of, even got put on diet pills from doctor and nothing has worked like the Atkins. Let me clarify that I probably don't follow it correctly, but I drop my carb count down to where I can lose and see what my count will be.........

This has been the only diet I can stick with. I'm not a big meat eater, but love veges. I'm getting plenty full. I feel more energetic. And I have quit obsessing over food. I used to think about food 24/7 now it more like 12/7....LOL...

I know there is a lot of controversy on the Atkins. I'm not going to harm my body. The way I was going I was harming my body.
Most all my vegetables come from our own garden and we raise our own beef and pork. No chemicals have been used.

What I was eating was lots of pasta, lots of sugar. I haven't cut carbs out, I still eat them, just healthier.
Cheese is concentrated dairy. You might a significant improvement by cutting out dairy altogether. Couldn't hurt for a couple months.

It is great you are eating more veggies and that is probably the reason you aren't obsessing or craving more food. Believe it or not, most Americans starve themselves of microntrients, and your body craves more of them when deficient. It does this despite the amount of calories you consume. A nutrient dense food has a lot of micronurients and fewer macronutrients (calories). Veggies are the most dense, with fruits next, then grains, most beans & legumes, and finally nuts, meat, dairy and eggs being the least dense.

Carbs are not the enemy. I lost 70-80 pounds eating a diet of 80%-90% carbs. The key was that I was eating mostly fresh raw fruits and vegetables which have a LOT of nutrients. I make ice cream with frozen bananas, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, spinach, kale, flax seeds, etc. I throw them in my vitamix and it makes a soft serve ice cream like food. It is like eating ice cream everyday! Although you need to be careful with such concoctions, because you substantially increase a fruits glycemic load when you blend it up.

Do you think you can eat the way you are eating now for the rest of your life? Because that is what you need to be able to do to keep the weight off. Most people drop the fad diets when they reach a goal or when they fail to reach a goal, and put it all back on plus more. I did this myself for years.
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Old 08-18-2010, 04:09 AM
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I have pretty well ate like this my whole life........it's the added stuff that I have to stay away from.....chips, soda, icecream, chocolate, cookies, cake, pie, candy etc.....I can't have these everyday and expect to lose any weight. Plus the fact that I have a sit down job and no energy............

I also think I was eating too much at a time. Eating past the full feeling.

Will have to say, cutting these out I have more energy and I get up at work and instead of taking a smoke break (I don't smoke) I take a walk break.

So, I have to say Yes I can eat like this for the rest of my life. I have learned my lesson. I don't want to feel sluggish my whole like and have to take a nap everyday just to make it though. Which I haven't napped in a week now.

I will revamp the diet to fit me. I'm not saying I will strictly stick to the book.

In two books I read they talk about grocery shopping and to stick to the outside isles of shopping. Sure it takes a little longer to cook everything from scratch, but it actually makes me feel better. I guess that's all that really matters. Am I saying I won't induldge......heck no, I will not ever forbid myself from having icecream once in a while or a candy bar........but I can never go back to how I was eating.
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Old 08-18-2010, 06:09 AM
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Default Atkins round 2 for me.

Hi Haganeedle,

I'm going to be starting Atkins for the second time. Next week. I'm kind of in a transition - psych myself up time right now. When I was on Atkins I felt the best I've ever felt. I also did not eat such an abnormal amount of meat, contrary to what everyone thinks, especially once I added nuts. It's the fats that make the diet work and those healthy fats found in nuts add up quickly. Good luck on your diet. I look forward to hearing about your progress.
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Old 08-18-2010, 08:40 AM
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I have a question you may be able to reply to...
So I'm trying to do a low carb diet watching my calories. So, the percent fat has to be 65% because otherwise you eat too much protein, which can be converted to sugar, correct? But what if I eat 45% fat, BUT my proteins don't exceed 80 grams (since I'm eating low-calorie)? 80 grams is not too much protein in 1 day, but still my ratio is screwed up compared to Atkins.
What do you think?!?! I only wish Atkins was alive...

Thanks!
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Old 08-18-2010, 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by vsabino
I have a question you may be able to reply to...
So I'm trying to do a low carb diet watching my calories. So, the percent fat has to be 65% because otherwise you eat too much protein, which can be converted to sugar, correct? But what if I eat 45% fat, BUT my proteins don't exceed 80 grams (since I'm eating low-calorie)? 80 grams is not too much protein in 1 day, but still my ratio is screwed up compared to Atkins.
What do you think?!?! I only wish Atkins was alive...

Thanks!
If you are following a calorie restriction plan, chances are that you are not following Atkins anyway. My understanding is that gluconeogenesis (the process by which the body creates glucose from non-carbohydrate sources, such as protein) will only occur to a level sufficient to meet the body's requirements (i.e. maintain blood glucose level). Any excess after that will be stored in the organs and muscles as amino acid. I am probably oversimplifying it, and I invite anyone who knows better to correct me. I have seen it mentioned several places that a person on a ketogenic diet can safely consume one gram of protein for every pound of body weight. With that in mind, you are probably very safe at 80g.

Dave
___________________________________________
stats, inspired by Ron

Male, 6'0" tall, 37 y/o

Starting weight, 4/19/10 (started Atkins) = 287
6/16/10 (finished Atkins book & joined Fitday) = 261
latest weight 8/03/10 = 244.5
mini goal (wedding) 9/4/10 = 235
ultimate goal for lifetime maintenance by 4/19/11 (one year mark, 100 pounds loss) = 187
This will be my lightest weight since high school!
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Old 08-18-2010, 11:11 AM
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Originally Posted by CoeyCoey
Do you consume dairy at all? If so, you might want to research dairy and asthma. I am not asthmatic, but I even noticed easier breathing and less congestion when I quit dairy.

And I feel obligated to advise you of what the American Heart Association says about high protein diets.

High-Protein Diets


I'm not seeing anywhere in this article where they define what "high protein" means. I've changed my diet recently, and am now eating much, much more protein than I ever did. A typical day's diet for me used to contain about 25 grams of protein. Now, I'm going out of my way to consume about 100 grams per day (which is about a gram per pound of lean body weight). That's because I'm trying to gain muscle. Realistically, while cutting calories, I know I can't expect to gain much muscle, but I absolutely don't want to lose any.

My daily protein comes mostly from fish, lean chicken, and low-fat cottage cheese. My daily percentage of fat is usually about 30%. Rarely as high as 35. My carbs and protein are generally more like 25% and 35%, respectively.


When they say that the average American eats more protein than they need, they again do not define what that means. First of all, they don't say how much protein the "average American" eats, in terms of grams per lean body weight. Second of all, they still haven't told us how much is too much and how much is too little. When they say that people eat more protein than they need, does that mean than they need in order to not suffer from a protein deficiency? Or that they need to not have health problems due to an excess of protein?

I have no clue what the average American eats. The stereotype is the paunchy American with a big greasy hamburger and super-sized fries, but I personally don't know too many people who eat like that on a regular basis. Most people I know who are prone to overeating are much more likely to have too many doughnuts than too much meat. The article tells us nothing about the people who were studied to determine what the "average American" eats. How many people were there? Were they polled at a shopping mall on their way to the food court?

What they do tell us is that many high protein foods contain a lot of saturated fat, and that that is bad for you. Okay, fine. But since this article is about the dangers of too much protein, I would expect to see information from a study about protein intake, in isolation from a too-high fat intake. In other words, how much fish is too much? How much lean chicken is too much? When people start having ill effects like ketosis (whatever that is), how much protein per body weight have they been eating? Does it make a difference whether the person is a little old lady doing her needlepoint or a heavyweight boxer? The article doesn't seem to tell us any of that.

I have no opinions about whether a high protein diet is good or bad for any particular individual. At this point, I don't even know what the definition of "high protein diet" is. I just think that article, like so many, needs to be read with a critical eye.

I also think that it's good for people to listen to their own bodies, and pay attention to how they feel. We all need a variety of foods, but what is the perfect diet for one person might not be ideal for another.

Evelyn
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Old 08-19-2010, 12:43 AM
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vsabino,

I have not tried to reduce calories while also doing atkins, but when I first started I also had your issue with the fat levels. Since I was trying to follow Atkins I had to add some fat in, healthy fats like olive oil on salads, nuts and seeds, etc. Without baked goods and bread to slather with butter/margarine, your fat intake needs a boost. Of course, adding in the oils ups your calories, but I seriously still had no problem with a modest weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week, quite steadily for about 6 months.
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