I recently started a Low-Carb diet, specifically the Atkins Diet. The basic premise is that by severely restricting your intake of carbohydrates (sugars and starches), your body is fooled into burning its own fat to make glucose. The nice thing about the diet is that you can eat fat and protein until you're full without worrying about counting calories. So far, the diet is working great for me. I've been eating steaks, bacon, cheese, eggs, butter, salads, etc... and losing weight like crazy. I don't typically count calories, but I have added up a couple of days and am probably eating between 3,000 and 4,000 calories per day. I do light exercise, but hardly enough to burn off a significant number of calories.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This page is based on my own personal experience and my own understanding of how the diet works. I've tried to be as accurate as possible, but you should do your own research and verify what I've told you here. This page is not going to be a comprehensive diet plan so you'll need to read more on your own.
Unfortunately, it's hard to find low-carb food in stores and restaurants. Restaurants are easier, because you can often have meals prepared specially, leaving out certain ingredients. I recently ordered a Tex-Mex meal consisting of two tacos and two enchiladas. I dumped the tacos out and discarded the shells and unwrapped the enchiladas and discarded the tortillas. I'd asked for no rice or beans, leaving me with a low carb Tex-Mex meal. It was quite delicious.
Probably the most important thing to remember while on this diet is to drink water. There are some adverse effects that can occur if you don't, including gout. If you drink plenty of water, though, you have nothing to worry about.
On the plus side, I have been less hungry and feeling better. A surprising side effect is that I seem to be able to eat cheese with impunity. Before, I had a lot of trouble with all dairy products. I haven't had the nerve to try much in the way of cream, but the periodic headaches I'd get from the dairy and yeast have completely gone away.
This is a fried rice substitue made with shredded cauliflower. Yum.
The Atkins diet is based on sound science. When you restrict carbohydrates, your body eventually shifts into "starvation" mode, creating needed glucose from fat and protein. Fortunately, it uses your body's fat, making you lose weight. As long as you eat plenty of protein, you won't have the muscle loss associated with true starvation where the body is robbed of muscle to maintain vital functions.
While most of the body can create energy from anything, the brain requires glucose. Fortunately, the body is quite capable of making this glucose, thus your brain burns the created glucose and the rest of your body burns fat. This fat burning process creates ketones that are dischraged in your urine, hence the name, ketosis. You can measure ketones using simple test strips to see if you are in ketosis. You have to be careful, though, as I usually show no ketones even though I'm losing weight.
One thing to keep in mind when reading critiques of the Atkins diet is that most of them are critical of the induction phase. During induction, you are supposed to eat 20 grams or less of carbohydrates per day. This is very strict. During ongoing weight loss, you should eat around 100 grams or less per day. This is still pretty restricted and many people stay on induction all through their weight loss. However, and this is important, once you've reached your target weight, you're supposed to add carbohydrates until you start gaining weight, then back off. You should still avoid processed carbohydrates such as white flour and pure sugar. Most of your carbohydrates should be whole wheat, brown rice, vegetables, and other natural sources. So the maintenance diet consists of meat, fats, and vegetables. Aside from the massive quantities of bread, it's a pretty balanced diet. For some reason, nutritionists and the government seem to think that eating a bunch of starchy empty calories in the form of bread and potatoes is good for you. I suspect it's good for the factory food farm lobby...
Last modified: Friday, January 17, 2003 by
Bolie Williams IV,
bolie@io.com.
This page is Copyright 1998-2001 by Bolie Williams IV, all rights reserved.