Anybody ever try the Atkins Diet? (page 4)

Jim_TX

Okay - while I - personally - have not been on it, my ex-wife went on it a while ago - while we were still married.

If anyone decides to go on it - please consider your loved ones. While YOU, on the diet are picking meats from the menu, your mate may be sitting there wondering what they can have to eat. (Long story - we _used_ to share plates of food at restaurants)

What made it worse... well, for me - was that the ex-wife was on a 'meat' diet, and the daughter was a vegetarian. Sooooo... they would already have in their minds what to order, and then they would swap items that they could/would eat.

Meanwhile... look over at poor Jim... lost - not able to share with anyone, and having to buy a lot more food than he ever wanted to eat.

Okay - not what you wanted to hear, but to this day, I have a low opinion of that diet. While the ex-wife _did_ lose weight - I do not feel it is a healthy diet - especially if you do not take the vitamin supplements to offset the lack of vitamins and minerals that you are not getting in other foods not on the diet.

Just my .03 worth.

Regards,

Jim TX

Emiliano

Here is a link to a low carb site. I lost 50 lbs on the Atkins Diet. and have kept it off for 3 yrs.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/

Francois

About the caffenism. I did have the worst headache of my life (and I used to have migraines, this was worse), so I went to a truckstop and bought caffene pills. Worked just fine.

francois

DonnieDarko

The Atkins diet works by limiting your intake of carbs. Like anything else, this plan is not for everyone. I believe this diet change works best for people who tend to be "insulin sensitive" I'm hispanic and our diets usually are very high in complex and refined carbohydrates. there is a very high rate of diabetes, type2, in all hispanics which includes my family. I started on the atkins plan many years ago which forced me to cut out many of these "high carb" foods. at 32 I'm at my ideal weight and my cholesterol is at 114. I eat almost every vegetable imaginable and only limit my intake of the higher carb fruits. Ketosis is only adviseable for the first couple of weeks on the plan. This is so you can stabilize your blood sugar levels. Then you slowly introduce complex carbs back into your diet. When you are losing only about a pound a week then you stabilize your intake. The idea here is to find out how many carbs your body can process without creating an imbalance. Unfortunately, the american diet is saturated with refined sugar which for some individuals, who cells become insulin resistant can become life threatening.

Billygoat

I'm very blessed to have a pretty decent metabolism and a petite frame. I've never dieted for weight reasons, but I do have to watch my diet carefully for health reasons. I have many food allergies due to candida and I CRAVE, CRAVE, CRAVE carbohydrates. Which is exactly what I have to stay away from. But since I've eliminated a lot of simple carbs from my diet, I do find myself feeling better. My skin is clearer, my muscles are leaner, I don't feel lazy as often. When I intake too many carbs over a few days period, I can almost instantly feel the sickness draw over my body. I feel very bloated, my skin breaks outs, I'm constantly thirsty, my joints hurt. Ugh. It's terrible.

But I've found a few pointers that really help me stay off the carbs.

1. Water, water, water. Lots of it. Divide your body weight by pounds in two. That is how many ounces of water you should drink. (i.e. If you weigh 150 pounds, you should be drinking 75 ounces of water a day.) I've found that when I get a craving, more often than not, if I drink a glass of water, the craving will go away in about 10 minutes. Lime, lemon, or granny smith apples in the water makes it less boring.

2. Splenda. I hate the pink stuff (saccharine?) and Equal (aspartame) gives me migraines, but Splenda (sucralose) seems to taste pretty good and it doesn't have any carbs. I try to stay away from pops/sodas and I drink LOTS of decaf iced tea sweetened with Splenda. You have to have sweet tea down here in Texas. You can find this in the sugar section and it comes in a yellow box.

3. CarboLite Chocolate Bars. I've found these in the health food aisle at Albertsons. These are chocolate bars that are sweetened with Splenda. When I get a chocolate craving (one of my biggest weaknesses!) I eat just a few bites of this and the craving is gone. They actually taste pretty good, but they are pricey at $1.49 a pop. But I guess it works out as I can stretch one candy bar into 3 days. One pointer on these...don't eat too much in one sitting unless you're close to the potty. It can clean you out.

My best friend has been doing Weight Watchers for almost a year now. She lost 40 lbs in the first five months, but she's kept it completely off. She looks fantastic and says it's really easy.

My coworker that sits next to me is doing Atkins and it's killing her. I don't think this diet is for everyone. Only if you're super-duper-disciplined.

Just my thoughts...

Andi

Scarlet

Mulan I agree with you Weight Watchers is great. I lost 50 lbs on that diet and have found it so easy to stay on. I have reached my goal and am very happy. Excersise is very important too in any diet you choose. Remember water too. I drink 10-12 glasses a day and it just makes you feel better.

Anybody ever try the Atkins Diet?