Atkins Information

LegacyUser

Id like to start the atkins diet, but wondering where can i get information on it, i.e what i can and cant eat.

Do i have to buy a book or something, or can i get it free online ?

Thanks for any help.

Beruthiel

I think this will be better off in the Fitness Forum
B

Philbert

Try ediets.ie

I think you have to pay but apparantly its very popular and gets results.


edit/ Actually do a search on boards for "Atkins" or "Atkins diet". Lots of threads on the subject.....

commuterised

You can get all the info you need on atkins from atkins.com. It will tell you how to do each stage of the diet and also what foods you can and cannot eat. I would reccomend reading the book as it is important to learn how the diet works and gives you more info on each phase.

http://www.low-carbdiet.co.uk/
This is a great low carb website, with forums and also a shop where you can buy low carb stuff.

I've been following this plan for a while now, I feel great and I've lost 21lbs.
I had wheat and yeast intolerances so this diet suited me down to the ground.

Good Luck with it!

Stark

Haven't done the Atkin's diet but am doing low-carb to sort out my insulin resistance problems (used to be a sugar-addict).

I find these sites pretty good:

www.lowcarbshopping.co.uk
www.sugarfreeuk.com
http://www.sugarfreesuperstore.co.uk/

Be warned though, the sweet things can have a bit of a laxative effect (although the Belarte white chocolate from sugarfree.co.uk doesn't seem to and is yum yum yum). Besides you're better off just avoiding any sweet taste altogether as that way you'll just forget about sweet things. Watch out for diet sodas, they're as bad if not worse than regular sodas as they still stimulate insulin production and insulin production is what you're trying to avoid by going on a low-carb diet.

Stark

By the way it's not clear whether the diet will suit everyone.

From what I've read, it looks like people with Blood Types O and B who are naturally carbohydrate intolerant but well suited to breaking down fats and proteins will respond best to this diet. People with Blood types A and AB are probably best avoiding it on the other hand.

Wrestlemania

I am B+ is that good or bad.

FireFly

If you don't like the atkins diet, try the South Beach Diet. I like it better and its a bit more liberal with what foods you can eat, and you achieve the same results. The one main difference between atkins and south beach is if you go off the south beach diet its not a big problem and I'm not sure if atkins lets you have desserts but South Beach list desserts that you can have

Stark

Originally posted by Wrestlemania
I am B+ is that good or bad.

I'm a type B person myself, from what i've read (and this describes me down to the ground). Type B's tend towards chronic fatigue and weight gain around the abdomen due to carbohydrate intolerance. They also suffer from high blood pressure but low cholesterol (due to efficient protein/fat digestion). Atkin's diet should be good for you, I'm not on it myself although I am watching the carbohydrate intake. From what I've read also, chicken, tomatoes and peanuts can be problematic for people with Type B blood although I don't know how accurate this is. I know peanuts are problematic for me from experience, I haven't really noticed with chicken and peanuts, although I do go for the fish option these days instead of chicken.

dudara

I started an Atkins diet in the new Year and within two months I had reached my first goal of 65 kg (from 75 kg). I've been maintaining that with no bother since then. This is with the odd bag of chips and croissant as a treat occasionally.

Now I'm going to push on again and lose that last 5 kg hopefully. I was amazed with the ease at which the weight dropped off and I always felt that I had plenty of food choice available to me. Previously I suffered a lot from ulcer-like symptoms. I was often unable to sleep at night due to the burning pain and acid reflux, but that is all gone now, so it was obviously carb-related somehow.

The Atkins book is a good place to start, it a little too american, but there is lots more information on the Atkins website and other websites as well.

What i've learnt from a high-protein diet is to avoid processed foods and wheat.

Zombrex

If you are going to do the Atkins diet make sure you do it properly!

Most of the horror stories you hear about people having heart failure and such on the diet seem to come from people who didn't follow it properly.

First step would be to read the entire Atkins book, so you actually understand what you are doing. It is no good just asking what do I not eat.

Wrestlemania

Originally posted by dudara
I started an Atkins diet in the new Year and within two months I had reached my first goal of 65 kg (from 75 kg). I've been maintaining that with no bother since then. This is with the odd bag of chips and croissant as a treat occasionally.

Now I'm going to push on again and lose that last 5 kg hopefully. I was amazed with the ease at which the weight dropped off and I always felt that I had plenty of food choice available to me. Previously I suffered a lot from ulcer-like symptoms. I was often unable to sleep at night due to the burning pain and acid reflux, but that is all gone now, so it was obviously carb-related somehow.

The Atkins book is a good place to start, it a little too american, but there is lots more information on the Atkins website and other websites as well.

What i've learnt from a high-protein diet is to avoid processed foods and wheat.

Thats what I need only thing is I like a steak every now and then, I have been fairly sluggish and always tired to I relate that to the weight, also since putting on the weight I have gained a small fatty build up in my liver, specialist told me to loose the weight. So this may do it for me.

Any decent books you can recommend as it sounds perfect.

commuterised

I'm B+ and Atkins works fine for me

Corksham

As a chemist I wouldn't go near the Atkins diet which is mere calorie intake manipulation. The Atkins Corp is a Mulit-billion dollar company with massive marketing behind it so be careful what you read about how great it is.
Healty diet (which most of us fall down in) and excercise are yer only man in my opinion.

EKRIUQ

Try this website, its realted to all forms of low carb diets
its full of fat ass american women who give plenty of encouragement while dieting

Low carb forums

I've lost 2 1/2 stones since Jan

Emerson

I've spent ages reading up on achieving the optimum diet for wellbeing.
A book I would advise is Joe Fuhrman's "Eat to Live".. Picked it up in Bray myself earlier in the year.

It gives a balanced critique on the various diets out there and his own well thought out plan to achieve optimum nutrition from minimal calories whist feeling full. Basically, all you can eat Fruit and veg! Plus a plentiful amount of grains/beans/pulses etc (the less nutritionally dense, but beneficial nonetheless foods).

I've been eating 5 person portions of fruit and vegetables every day for the past 6 months and feel great for it. My acne has subsided considerably and I'm more alert..

I actually have had to eat more oats,brown rice, pulses to maintain my weight! I probably physically eat more than anyone I know, but because all of the stuff I eat is low in calories, high in vitamans/minerals/phytochemicals I probably weigh less than them! Basically, I don't have to worry about my weight.

Diets too high in protein starve the brain of carbohydrates making responses slower and affecting memory. The trick is to avoid nasty empty refined carbs (sugar, white flour, bread etc), not nutritionally rich plant based ones like deep coloured vegetables (greens, toms, carrots) especially & fruits. These are also full of anti-disease phytochemicals which protect against things like cancer down to the common cold.. The more you eat of them, the healthier you get!

Stark

No diet, not even the Atkins diet advocates giving up vegetables. They're delicious and nutritious As for fruits, some have higher sugar content that others. For example if you need to lose a serious amount of weight, you'll have to give up bananas for a while, but not long term. As for grains, they should be wholegrains and you shouldn't go mental on them thinking "the more the merrier".

Think the optimal ratios of carbs/proteins/fats is 40/35/25. I've heard 60g of protein a day per 150lb of body weight being recommend, although this requirement increases when you exercise as you have to replace broken down muscle tissue. An athlete could required up to 200g of protein a day (that's pretty hard to achieve, so most people don't have to worry about eating too much).

The one debatable thing about the Atkins diet is the induction phase. It seems to be the one thing unique to the Atkins diet. Other diets recommend going straight into what the Atkins diet refers to as "maintenance". I'd probably liken it to jumping straight into the deep end of the swimming pool in order to get used to the cold water as opposed to splashing around in the shallow end.

Emerson

Originally posted by Stark
As for grains, they should be wholegrains and you shouldn't go mental on them thinking "the more the merrier".

Absolutely, I wouldn't advocate going overboard on grains at all. I was refering to fruits and vegetables when I said "the more you eat of them, the healthier you get".

Grains are also acidic, the vast majority of people's bodys are too acidic already, most fruit/veg are alkaline forming (even oranges and lemons which I wouldn't have originally thought). So yea, don't go too mad on the grains.

I personally don't eat Banannas due to their high sugar levels giving me acne, it's an exception to the rule.

Wrestlemania

Bought the Atkins Book at Lunch time there going to get stuck into it and got a ncie reciepe book some seriously tasty dishes that dont taste yuck

dudara

I think that the induction phase exists for two reasons

1. to break the sugar craving. remember that americans have a diet with an incredible level of sugar, due to the whopping amount of fructose syrup in their diet. It's not as bad here in Europe, but it's getting there

2. the weight lost during induction is an incentive to keep going. so it also acts as a carrot on a stick.

I won't say I follow atkin's precisely, but his theory of regulating blood sugars make sense.

and to reply to a previous poster, yes the diet is about calorie manipulation, all diets are. By eating larger amounts of protein, your blood sugars don't oscillate and thus you don't feel the need to eat as often, thus meaning less carbs.

yop

I am a great fan of the diet. Buy the book, get the supplements, take your weight, get your tape and take all measurements.
Drink loads of water and possibly ease yourself off tea/coffee, to avoid caffeine withdrawl and also cut back on the bread, spuds, pasta etc a week or 2 before you start the induction.

Also it is good to pick a goal 2/3 week weight and if you achieve it then what ever you go above will be a bonus.

YOu will notice serious drop within the first 7-10 days, a lot of this is water and you may lose about a pound a day.

I lost 8 pounds the first week, then I lost 6 in the next. In week 3 I decided to come off the induction, I managed to lose another 2 pounds the following week.
Since then I am doin it semi, keeping an eye on the amount of carbs I eat, have no real interest in major bread, spuds etc intake.

I am playing soccer now as well so this is keeping the weight at a constant level, have no need to go back on induction.

Best of luck with it, any questions please ask, I will help if I can

Wrestlemania

Just finished my first week of Induction.

Lost 8 Lbs.

But I am going overboard in this respect.

I am mainly eating for Breakfast 2 x Atkins Bars each has 2g of net carbs.

I am also eating a lot of eggs mainly boiled and use them for snacks about 6 a day, is this to many.

I eat about 6 oz of chedder mainly with my evening meal, which is either chicken(Whole) , Beef steaks or Pork Chops and eggs.

I love the above food but the chicken does get a little boring. I am also taking a Multi-vitiam and drinking around 4 to 5 litres of water.


I had about 200g of Salted Peanuts I assume they can be eaten aswell.

The First 3 days had a sore head and was a little dizzy but feel great now.

I may goto McDonalds and order a few cheese burgers and 1/4 lb'ers but remove the bun and get rid of all garnish.

I am doing the right thing above and I am keeping to around 15 Carbs to 20 Carbs.

I think I may stay on inductions for a few weeks more.

tunney

Emmmmmm sounds healthy.

Wrestlemania

Is it really healthy or are you just messing, just want to be sure than I am not overdoing it.

tunney

Is it really healthy or are you just messing, just want to be sure than I am not overdoing it.

Whether or not you are overdoing it with respect to the atkins diet I'll leave that to someone who has actually done the atkins diet.

As for whether its really healthy - well I've made my feelings on the benefits of the atkins diet clear manys a time.

Trojan

I'll leave the science to those who know better, but it certainly doesn't sound healthy...

I did read somewhere (google might find) that an average egg yolk has over 2/3 the RDA of cholesterol, so maybe cutting back on them might be a good idea

eclectichoney

yeah eggs are definitely bad in that respect...i think recommended amount is no more than 2 a day or something??

logic1

Originally posted by eclectichoney
yeah eggs are definitely bad in that respect...i think recommended amount is no more than 2 a day or something??

Umm just eat the white.

.logic.

dudara

Even on induction, I didn't eat that many eggs. At the most 10 a week. And god, but I became good at cooking the ba*tards. Poached, scrambled, tortillas, omelettes etc.

Salted peanuts are a great snack when on Atkins, but there is something in the back of my head about not eating nuts on the first two weeks. Also, I don't know is the Atkins bars are officially allowed in the induction phase.

Having said all that, you've lost eight lbs, so something is working. After a while, this will slow down, and you might hit plateaus occasionally, but it will continue to come off.

Instead of chicken, buy tinned prawns/shrimps and make stir-frys etc with them. Tinned tuna fried with onions and curry spices is lovely. Buy Tescos value minced meat and make burgers.

Burger: Mince meat, finely diced onion and garlic, salt and pepper and an egg to bind. optional flavourings can include a little curry powder, cayenne pepper, some chopped feta. Whatever takes your fancy.

Wrestlemania

Cheers for that have calmed down on the old eggs now.

I am using about 1 to 2 eggs a day and they are Duck and Hen eggs free range.


The Atkins Bars are allowed as they have said on there site can be used in all 4 phases.

I just use 1 or 2 of them a day or less for late afternoon.

The Breakfast bars aswell are handy if you not a big brekkie person.


Cheese strings aswell within moderation are fairly handy for an odd snack.


I made a Prawn,chesse,chicken Omellette last night was cracking.

Down nearly 13 Lbs now. So Just at 16 Stone from 17 Stone in a week.

My Goal is my weight when I joined the army of between 85 and 90 Kgs as I have a big frame.

I think I will stay on induction for a least a month or maybe upto my holiday in August.

To be honest in one week it has got me very disciplined and I dont miss any off the previous foods but I will say the first 3 days were hell but I is cool now. So Pork chops tonite :-)

dudara

Stay on induction as long as you want.

If you fancy pasta, as I do sometimes, get a courgette and cut it into thin tagliatelle-like strips. Blanch them in boiling salted water for ~90s and then combine with a suitable sauce.

neuro-praxis

I've been doing the Induction for a week now and have lost 10lbs. My sugar addiction is gone, my skin is clearer, my icky tummy is feeling 100% better and I have bags more energy. Before, I was feeling sluggish and tired all the time, (and often queasy,) no matter how much I slept.

I miss bread, but have bought some wholegrains to make my own, to an Atkins recipe, so I'm looking forward to that.

I'm sure it's not for everyone, but this is the first time I have felt I could stick to a prescribed diet because my appetite has reduced dramatically. I'm free!

Plus, I get to have juicy steaks, tasty salads with dressing and home-made ice cream.

Although, I'll give an update in six months when it will have had a chance to have a proper effect on my body. I'm watching out...the bad press has made me wary. But, that said, I've read a lot about it, and now that I'm doing it, I'm reaping the benefits.

Wrestlemania

Originally posted by neuro-praxis
I've been doing the Induction for a week now and have lost 10lbs. My sugar addiction is gone, my skin is clearer, my icky tummy is feeling 100% better and I have bags more energy. Before, I was feeling sluggish and tired all the time, (and often queasy,) no matter how much I slept.

I miss bread, but have bought some wholegrains to make my own, to an Atkins recipe, so I'm looking forward to that.

I'm sure it's not for everyone, but this is the first time I have felt I could stick to a prescribed diet because my appetite has reduced dramatically. I'm free!

Plus, I get to have juicy steaks, tasty salads with dressing and home-made ice cream.

Although, I'll give an update in six months when it will have had a chance to have a proper effect on my body. I'm watching out...the bad press has made me wary. But, that said, I've read a lot about it, and now that I'm doing it, I'm reaping the benefits.

All I can say is well done and your a better cook than me.

I have gone below the 16 stone mark and in the 15 stone 12lbs range...I am walking a lot more and I do feel very healthy aswell.

Wrestlemania

Maybe we can share the bread and home made ice-cream reciepe.

dudara

I've lost 2 stone, bringing me from 12 to 10 stone. I want to try to lose another few to bring me to the 60kg mark, but overall I'm very pleased.

It is the only diet or way of eating that I've ever felt inclined to stick to, and I no longer suffer from digestive trouble, like I used to.

I'd be curious to hear how the bread goes. I have a recipe for pizza dough using soya flour, but I haven't got around to trying it out yet

Wrestlemania

I may get my hands on the Atkins Cookbook to look into it more.

I have been combining about 4 to 5 miles of walking aswell and my intake of water is close to 5 litres a day. So I be pi5sing like a race horse:D

dudara

All that water is a neccessary evil, unless you want to be more backed up than the quays at rush hour

Wrestlemania

Found a great cafe that will kinda cater for the diet aswell.

Sullivans on Duke Street the woman who owns it is doing it and she has nice mismatch dishes which you can configure yourself.

Have a go there it is nice.

dudara

I live in Cork, but I'll check it out next time I'm up.

A lot of resaurants tend to offer home-made burgers, so that's what I have when I'm out. Any meat dish, or fish dish that catches my fancy. I'll have the odd bowl of chips as well these days, because I can handle them.

Wrestlemania

I never like chips myself but hey I loved that bread.

I found a nice decaf coffee in Aldi and as we can use cream it tastes much better.

I used to load coffee with sugar but now the decaf and cream every now and then in the day it is cool.

dudara

Same here, I didn't think that I could drink coffee without sugar. However, that craving is gone now.

I didn't give up tea or coffee however. Atkins recommends doing, in order to even out blood pressure and hence blood dugar levels. However, I reckoned that cutting them out would achieve nothing for me, as I have good blood pressure. Maybe I was wrong, but it worked for me anyway.

Right now I'm munching my way through a bar of sugar-free chocolate and enjoying every second of it.

neuro-praxis

Basic Ice Cream Custard

500ml cream
4 egg yolks
5 tablespoons of sweetener (I think this is too much though - go with three maybe)

Heat cream in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Whisk in one egg yolk at a time. Whisk until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Beat in one tablespoon of sweetener at a time (taste it for yourself and see how sweet you want it).

That's basically it! Let it cool down and put it in an ice cream maker to churn, or stick it in the freezer. At this point you can add in chopped berries or nuts or flavouring or whatever you like to change the flavour. Keep an eye on the carbs of these extras.

Hint: it will go rock hard in the freezer and will need time to defrost before eating. Alternatively, stick a few spoonfuls of rum or vodka into it as that will prevent it from getting too hard.

It should give you six scoops, each scoop has 3.5 carbs in it. Delicious!

Also, you can just keep the custard in the fridge and have it over fruit or something. Yummy, too.

4 grain bread

(You can get all of the unfamiliar ingredients in any good health food store)

1 tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoon wholewheat flour
1 tablespoon maize flour
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons sweetener
2 tablespoons full fat ricotta cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
30g butter
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds (or sunflower or whatever, for on top)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Mix flours, sesame seeds and baking powder together. Beat in egg yolks. Sprinkle with sweetener and salt. Mix cheese with butter. Add dry ingredients to cheese mixture and blend well.

Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff. Fold into cheese mixture.

Spoon into small, oiled loaf tin. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and bake for 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

You should get 12 slices and each slice has 2.1 grams of carbs! Yay!

Wrestlemania

Thanks I will give em all a try.

anyone know where you can get sugar free choclate ??

dudara

I buy it in Natures way and places like that. What you're looking for is chocolate sweetened with maltitol. This is a sweetener that has very little impact on blood sugar levels. For instance, in one bar the carb content per 100g is 53g, but in that you can ignore the maltitol, giving a net carb of 9 g per 100g. This means that a 42g bar of chocolate contains 3.8 g of net carb.

The brands I find in these shops are Woodies, Cavalier and Sweet'n'Low chocolate.

EKRIUQ

Boots are now stocking a range of Atkins products:D

neuro-praxis

Update:

Despite the fact that Atkins works great for weight loss, I've decided to come off it because I can't face any more meat and cheese based meals. The prospect of eating at this point leaves me feeling a little ill, and I am missing decent servings of fruits and vegetables. And soy flour is truly disgusting.

It worked short term, but I realise now that I couldn't maintain this for the rest of my life. I've lost weight but it's not worth it any more!

Wrestlemania

I was getting a little pee'd of with it but I introduced nice salads, reduced the cheese and eggs and meat.

I am varying it but had a little lapse.

Had a subway before heading to cork on friday did'nt feel to well after it.

And also was at a stag but drank low in carb alcohol ie. vodka and one or two beers but burned it off the next day.


It can get a bit boring, so it maybe that you need to make snacks to have with you and vary it more.

I am trying to do it.


I may have the odd sandwhich here and there say once a week.

Today I had a turkish bap with cheese,ham,chicken and mayo remember it is one meal and the carbs are in the bun say around 20 to 30 maybe.

MrNuked

According to a documentary I saw, the Atkins diet works because eating large amounts of protein suppresses appetite.
Avoiding carbohydrate should only be an issue because carbohydrate-rich foods generally do not contain much protein.

DapperGent

The idea behind the Atkins Diet is that eating carbohydrates increases appetite.

The claim that that god awful Horizon documentary makes with regard to protein suppressing appetite are sketchy and unproven. The study group's diet was high in protein and low in carbohydrate and they were found to be eating less. It is impossible draw a conclusion that the lessening of consumption was due to the presence of protein rather to the absence of carbohydrate. It could be either or neither. Very very poor science in a surprising poor documentary given Horizon's usually high standards.

It is my personal belief that a carbohyradte loaded diet increases appetite and that lessening carbohydrate consumption lessens appetite simply due to the absence of carbohyrate rather than anything else. I can't prove this - it's simply and informed opinion.

By the way I don't do the atkins diet. I just don't eat bread, pasta, potatoes or sugar because I think they're bad for me. I replaced all that crap with vegetables and fruit and I feel loads better. I reckon everyone should give it a shot.

MrNuked

I read that the carbohydrate in white bread and other processed foods raises the blood sugar too quickly and causes the body to overcompensate with the production of insulin (which lowers blood sugar as I understand). Maybe this makes you hungry. However unprocessed carbohydrate foods like brown bread give you more energy more slowly and don't make you overcompensate with insulin.
Mixing carbohydrate consumption with fat causes the energy to be released more slowly too.
Personally, I generally eat a lot and always have. I am not careful about what i eat, but I prefer brown bread/brown rice etc. I never had to worry about getting fat, and the only time I put on any fat at all was a summer in America when I ate a lot of sugary candy.

dudara

the Atkins diet is an american solution to an american problem. Sugary, over-refined diets that caused obseity. It's really starting to become a problem here.

I have no problems with choice on Atkins. there's lots to choose from and when I do have a croissant, a dessert or something similar, I really feel bloated and uncomfortable afterwards. It's amazing the change that's been bought about.

that Horizon documentary was terrible. As a scientist, I had to laugh at some of the research that was presented. If I tried to do some of the statistics that they mentioned, my degree would be taken away from me and I'd be sent back to first year.