I have started the 14 day induction diet on the Atkins diet. Have any of you tried this diet? I am not a big meat consumer so I am trying to compensate with chicken and fish. I also have a cholesterol issue that has been kept in check with medication and maintaining a low cholesterol diet.
I would stay away from this diet especially since you have high cholesterol, I have had many friend that went on this diet, lost alot of weight, gained the pounds back with more pounds, to much protein and fat, it's not healthy.
Hi! I have not tried Atkins but read the South Beach Diet book and how it contradicts Atkins use of fatty all you can eat bacon, pork etc.... If this doesn't work buy the South Beach book. It really is a great book and seems TONS less restrictive then the Atkins. Good luck!
I have done Atkins and it's no worse than any other diet. You dont' have to eat all fatty foods, and most people gain back the weight they lose whether it's Atkins or Weight Watchers. It's because they go back to eating the way they ate when they gained in the first place.
I lost 60 pounds on this diet years ago and have just recently started it again. Am on medication for blood pressure and cholesterol also. I drink about 5-7 bottles of flavored water a day. Nuts, seeds and veggies can be eaten in moderation [I do these as snacks]. Celery is a great snack, as it burns more calories chewing it than it adds. Found I am liking foods I hadn't liked before - spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, etc.
I hate to be a naysayer, but this diet is dangerous. PLEASE don't do it! This diet causes you to lose muscle mass which is what helps you burn calories and fat in the long run. You can't do this diet forever and when you quit, you will gain it all back plus more. Eating all protein and very little carbs causes a release of nitrogen in your body which is dangerous! this is known as "ketosis" This is NOT a good thing! This is shock for the body.
I have lost 8lbs in 3 weeks on the Jorge Cruise 3 hour diet. On this diet you don't neglect carbohydrates (which is were your energy comes from) or any other food source. You eat a BALANCED meal and snacks on a timely schedule. You can even have a reese cup as one of your snacks!!!
Check out his book 3 hour diet and his website www.jorgecruise.com and 3hourdiet.com
Hello,
I have been on the Atkins diet. I started it reluctantly because of being overweight, but I also have high cholesterol, buying into the hype from the book saying it will lower your cholesterol, etc. I am not a big eater of eggs. I have never cared for them, so I had to come up with other ideas of what to eat for breakfast. I missed my fruits and vegetables, and wasn't used to eating all the fatty things they allow. After 6 months of being on the program, I had bloodwork done. To my horror, my cholesterol was even higher than before, but now, I also had Lipidemia...too much fat in the blood. I lost 40 pounds, but the trade off was my health, which to this day, I am still struggling with. My advice to you....STAY AWAY from Atkins. A safer alternative is Weight Watchers. More expensive, yes, but my Doctor says its a very safe way to lose weight.
While I like the occasional piece of good red meat ANY diet that tells me that fruits and vegies are "bad" is WRONG for me. God didn't put fruits and vegies on this earth for nothing. Plus with a cholesterol problem, the last thing you would want to eat is fatty meats and butter and such.
When I tried giving up coffee, I mixed normal coffee and decaf coffee together. For the first week I mixed 3/4 normal coffee and 1/4 decaf. Then gradually worked my way down to total decaf. You can also buy decaf, diet coke. I now mix my coffees 50/50. I would be careful on this diet, my husband tried a similar high protein, low carb diet and became very grumpy and began to really smell.
The doctor said that it was due to the kidneys trying to cope with all the protein and that he should try a low GI diet. This has worked wonders. You can buy books with lists of GI foods. It is as simple as changing from white bread to wholemeal bread, sweet potatoes instead of white or mix together.
My husband was on this diet and lost about 60 pounds. He then had a heart attack at the age of 37 and had a 6 way bypass. Now, we realize heredity had a part to play in this, but I am sure the Atkins diet precipitated the heart attack. A healthy eating diet is the only way to go. Use portion control and cut out sugar. Exercise and cut calories, drink water and eat lot of fruits and veggies. It's the only healthy way to go!!
Baked chicken and fish are healthy choices for you IF you are going to do this diet anyway. It's definitely not a healthy diet at all, especially with you already having hbp and high cholesterol. Cholesterol comes from animal sources, plain and simple, that includes dairy products. I do believe there are a couple of non-animal sources but can't remember what they are at the moment.
I am a nurse and suffer with very high cholesterol, a very fatty liver, insulin dependent diabetes and hbp also. My Dr. was kind enough to tell me "If it tastes good, SPIT IT OUT!" lol Which was basically the truth
Start walking 30 minutes a day and increase your water intake drastically. No matter how slow you walk to begin with, at least you are moving! You will pick up speed and distance as you continue to walk. You'll be amazed at the wgt. you'll pull off in a few weeks.
Goodness, Carol!!! I've had you on my mind since I read your posting. I have to agree with everyone that says Atkins isn't a good idea with high cholesterol. On the other hand, I do agree with Andjerm about the South Beach Diet. It was written by a cardiologist, Dr. Arthur Agatston. He didn't actually start the diet for weight loss purposes but to help his patients. The wonderful thing was that the patients did lose weight and had improved health. I read the book because I kept hearing about it....I didn't actually intend to go on "another" diet. However, I have to say it made so much sense and I told my hubby about it and he went out and bought the Dutch translation (I was in Calif with family when I read it and he was here in the Netherlands). We both use this program because it's such a healthy life style. It is basically a low and/or good carb diet. Well, anyway, I do strongly recommend low carb dieting and you can be so creative at mealtime. I laughed at my husband as he said grace the other night. He told God that he never knew what he was going to get but he always knew it was going to be good.
I don't mean to be negative, so I won't the word diet has a negative thought so it is diffcult to follow. Being creative yourself is the key the diets, the suggestions are so overwhelming, losing weight can be a chore. And who wants that silly as it sounds I need to lose weight as well having a buddy to share your struggles is good. Get a flat stone. Engrave a word that gives u hope believe keep this with you. I find that using your creativity to lose weights works better, if I need to be accountable to a special diet I will definitely lose. Although we live far apart.
Suggestions, daily hints. Would help me as well, I know drinking water. Is also a key is losing weight snacks when travelling is good to avoid temptation some nuts prunes etc. Buy a juicer, jack o lane is great. Fiber bulks up, makes u feel full plan your meals in the morning if u can. So your not eating from temptation. Crock pots are good cooking different meals are difficult for me at 58 and 15 lbs over weight. Is not good. I do not diet. But stay fit bike ridingwalking swimming for an middle aged woman I know I look great. But please do not worry. Use your planner for engaging in this journey using stickers to reward your efforts. Hope this has been helpful
good luck to u regards and best wishes.
Janet
Hi Carol,
When my husband became ill, we went on the Adkins diet. That was ten years ago. We lost weight and were able to do many more things. Your attitude is what is the problem. When you are cheerfully doing something to assist a beloved spouse, it is a blessing to you too. It isn't the diet, it is your attitude toward giving something up that needs to adjust. I haven't had sweets in ten years, but I love my husband more than what we eat. What if he needed to do this for you? Good luck and write to me if you need recipes. When I take food anywhere, people ask for the recipe! Some request I bring a certain dish when we visit with them! Hang in there and know the spouse matters more than the food.
Everyone is right! Once you get off the Atkins diet you WILL GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK! Any diet that limits your fruit sounds crazy to me anyway. Weight Watchers is great and if you don't want to join just buy some of their recipe books, they are fabulous. (Check out e-bay) Also, the mediterranean diet is really good. You could get some recipes from their as well. Exercise though is going to be what can really make a difference in your cholesterol.
Good luck!
As all the others have pointed out...quick fix diets NEVER work. If your serious about loosing weight do it the right way. Weight Watches is one of the best it has been approved by the FDA and it actually works if you follow the rules. They teach you how to change your eating habits and your eating good healthy food and along with eating right you can watch your cholesterol too. Good Luck!
Atkins sells chocolate bars. They are expensive but taste great. Thumbs up for eating low fat meats. Red meat is what really hurt my hubby when we did the diet together. Do see your dr on a regular basis so he/she can monitor you. Proceed with caution! As for coffee, just replace it with water.
I tried Atkins once and it did not work for me. I later started reading about the South Beach Diet, go the book at the library. It does limit your carbs especially for the first 14 days but it iis a very healty way to eat for your lifestyle. I have had great success with it. Please go to your library and check it out!
PLEEEEEEEAAAASE don't do this diet! This is so bad for you. If you already have issues with high cholesterol, this eating plan will only add to them. It will increase the acidity of your body and cause all kinds of other negative side effects. If you want to lose weight, just watch your portions, don't eat a lot of processed and/or fast food, and drink lots of water. Even gentle exercises like stretching and walking will help get you on the road to weight loss. There are no quick fixes or magic pills to weight loss... especially ones that can leave long-lasting damage to your body well after you have finished with this diet.
I gave it a shot about two years ago. I stayed on the 14-day induction period longer. I lost 18 pounds and then couldn't lose any more. Eventually I went back to a more balanced diet. However, within six months I was diagnosed with diabetes and Graves Disease and my blood chemistry was way out of whack. My doctor recommends Weight Watchers. A friend gave me a couple of their magazines, and I have two of their cookbooks. I am eating sensibly now, and maybe eventually I will lose more weight. Until then, the diabetes is the high priority. Atkins Schmatkins! Don't recommend it.
I was on the Adkins Diet for years and did wonderfully well. My cholesterol level before the diet was dangerously high 350. After doing Adkins - I had the BEST checkup that I have ever had. For me it was great until I quit smoking and then the diet no longer worked. The new weight watchers stinks. The old WW from the 80's was a better program. Hope this helps.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Can I chew sugar-free gum on the Atkins diet?
RJW from Staenville, GA
Yes, you can. Each piece has about 2 carbs so be careful with how many pieces you have.
Go to your local library! I have checked out 3 books on the Atkins program--and they still have more on the shelves! They even have Cookbooks! How are you doing so far on it? I have just started.....been on the program before and lost 30 lbs. in 3 months! Hopefully it will be that successful this time around! Good luck to you!
I cut my sticks of gum in half. Half the expense, half the carbs, lasts twice as long. It may not be much, but I am trying to be as conscientious and frugal as possible!
Absolutely, that's what it's for. Although regular chewing gum doesn't have much sugar when you consider how small each piece is. The best thing I have found is in the cordial aisle - not sure if you can get Diet-Rite cordials there, but they have less than one gram of carb per drink when made up. Check the labels and be careful of the so-called sugar substitutes. Most of them are full of carbs and no better for you than sugar. Sugarine is a good brand, and available in a convenient liquid.
Sugar-free gum is fine when counting carbs, just remember that not all sugar-free foods are low carb. Always check your labels for carbs per serving.
Good luck!
I am trying to loose weight, I've been doing the Atkins diet. At first it was going well I lost 18lbs in four weeks. I walk on my treadmill at least 5 times a week for 45 min, I have not cheated one time. For some reason the weight loss has stopped, and to make things worse I gained two pounds!
Hello, My name is Alex Huddleston and I am certified personal trainer and I would like to offer some suggestions for your goals. First, always consult a physician before beginning any exercise program or major diet change. Assuming you are a healthy individual in need of weight loss, the first step is looking at your diet. I personally am uncomfortable with negative connotations placed on the word diet, it is simply a word that describes what you eat, but food consumption is a diet all the same. Though you gave very few details about your actual intake, I would assume you have cut your carbohydrate intake tremendously and upped your protein intake. This would explain the initial weight loss and ensuing plateau.
When one deprives their body of carbs, the body reacts by ridding itself of excess water that it would normally use to inconjuction with consumed carbohydrates. You also received a second boost by your upped protein intake. The macro nutrient protein acts as a thermogenic, as your body's metabolism must speed up to process the protein. However, a plateau is inevitable with this style of dieting as there is only so much water your body can shed.
Eventually, your body will always attempt to strike a balance in all of its functions, homeostasis. In your plateau, your body has simply hit its balance of low water level and low carb intake level. Lets try easing back into a moderate intake of low-glycemic carbs but still keep your protein at a moderatly higher intake, along with healthy fats and break all of this up over 4-6 meals a day with majority of carb intake early in the day.
The key to weight loss in keeping ones metabolism revved up all day, helping you consistently burn an optimal level of calories. On another note, its great you are walking and hitting the treadmill, your completely heading in the right direction. After an extended period of time on any exercise though, your body will adapt and find a way to use the least amount of energy in any work as possible. Try to mix things up, especially in intensity, with the goal being heart rate level. The goal to shoot for here is 65-80% of maximal heart rate. With some practice, you will be able to stay at this level longer and longer.
If your a home-gymer, try walking outside, mall walking, maybe even a little jogging, anything to break the pattern so you don't get bored, because let's face it, if you are not enjoying what you are doing, you will not keep doing it. I wish you the best of luck with your goals,
Alex Huddleston, CPT-NCSF
If anyone has further questions, feel free to contact me at huddlestonalex AT gmail com
Disclaimer: All views expressed are purely opinion, always consult a qualified physician before beginning any exercise program or diet change.
Whenever you begin loosing weight, you hit periods where things level off. You need to switch up your exercise and eating habits. Please be careful with the Adkins diet. I tried it several years ago and got sick. For the past year, I've been eating according to the south beach plan, which allows almost all veggies and fruits, and includes portions of whole grains, and have never felt better. I started by getting the book at the library and ended up liking it so I bought one. This is the only thing I have ever been able to stick to long term. Please check it out.
My heart feels for you because I was also in difficult stress with my weight, like you I didn't look or feel great about myself till I went on the Atkins diet. It may sound untrue but I was 23stones to begin with, feeling down hearted. I went on & after 7months my weight came down to 11stones! But it was a struggle because the exercise I was doing towards a fast results every day were--10mins rowing, 20mins running on the treadmill, 15mins cycling & finally sit ups" as many you can do", all I will say is if you want it badly then don't give up, the result is unbelievable!
Your muscles have become use to walking on a treadmill, you need to amp up your exercise and make it harder; like swimming, bike riding running. the type of exercise that will make you sweat and work harder.
