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Truly a monumental undertaking, which I take on solely due to the altruistic nature of my soul. ( That and the fact that work is incredibly boring today. )

Any topics I miss, yell at me and after I read the post I will edit them in.


Topic One : Health Issues

Its a consistent question around here. People have been inundated with the concerns of uninformed friends, internet myths, and even occasionally medical personnel. Its evident in the fact that even within this forum there are people that, when they feel funky for even a day or so, start thinking that they need to ingest some carbs to "fix" their bad feelings, and occasionally even engender feelings of concern about their health. Hopefully we can dispel that concern right here. The empirical data gathered over the years of Atkins, and be informed, it is YEARS of data, indicates that the Atkins diet is possibly the single best way of living for a heart healthy and physically sound existence. The Atkins diet center founded in the 70's was involved with treating patients with cardiovascular diseases and with diabetes, which when you think about it and their success, makes the average uninformed person's opinion that Atkins diet will kill people by creating heart problems is ridiculous.

Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine was instrumental in probably SAVING people's lives that had heart conditions and severe diabetes, and that tradition has continued on an even broader scale with his books as he took his diet out into the mainstream. The evidence you hear to the contrary is nothing but the mewling of FDA food pyramid sycophants who are unable or unwilling to grant the possibility that their mindset may be incorrect.

Reading some of the Atkins Diet books will provide you with a research basis to investigate the medical claims made on a much more in depth level. There are many success stories there of individuals who were significantly overweight and out of shape, with horrible cholesterol and other medical conditions, that were completely reversed by the diet.

Another interesting bit of reading would be the Inuit Indians. They survived and some still do survive on a diet almost strictly consisting of meat and whale blubber, yet their physical condition is on a level most americans could never hope to aspire to. Heart conditions and attacks are a virtual unknown among these tribes, an indication of the safety of the diet.

People's rebuttals almost invariably contain a form of this statement. "How can you not be damaging your heart when you are eating so much fat?" Well there's several reasons. One is that fat in and of itself is not inherently BAD for you. Even cholesterol is not bad for you. If it was, the number doctors would have you shoot for on your "bad cholesterol " would be 0. Why is it not 0? Because both types of cholesterol coat the linings of your veins and heart. Fats are required components of the body's ability to function as well. It is not the consumption of fats, but of the excessive consumption of SUGARS that caused the obesity epidemic we have in front of us now. It is when you consume too many sugars coupled with high levels of calories that forces your body to store extra fat reserves.

A second reason is that when you go on Atkins, you enter Ketosis. Once you are in ketosis, your body is actively consuming fat, especially the excess fats from your diet. The concern is not that you could consume so much fat as to actually get more into your body, but that you could consume enough that your body would merely burn it instead of the fat you currently carry. Once on ketosis, your body will consume the fat sources it sees as fast as it can, without creating more. That's the method that keeps you healthy while consuming a high fat diet.

Without that excess sugar, your body does a couple things differently. Number One, it is unable to store copious amounts of fat because the mechanism for doing so has been removed. A second affect is the burning of your fat through the process known as Ketosis. It's this mechanism that allows Atkins to work MORE efficiently than other diets. Even without Ketosis's existence, Atkins diet would still provide people with weight loss due to the removal of the bullcrap sugars and carbs that are poisoning our blood sugar, but its this Ketosis that gives us the significant advantage over the disbelievers.

So now we come to the next favorite claim of the infidels. The myth that Ketosis is dangerous, namely that Ketones cannot be burnt by the brain in amounts that will keep you from being "in a fog", as my doctor and nutritionist have put it. The simple fact is that your body is capable of burning ketones as brain energy, and ALSO that what it cannot get from ketones, it is STILL getting from your body as sugar, but synthesized from protein in a slightly less efficient system, which becomes part of the metabolic advantage. So the claim that your brain cannot function on Ketosis because it does not get enough fuel is simply another smoke and mirrors claim. This ties directly into the claim that Atkins will eat your muscles. A well balanced Atkins diet that consists of enough protein is more than sufficient for not only sustainable muscle mass, but increased muscle mass.

Many prominent bodybuilders, Joe Weider, Dorian Yates, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, and hundreds of others go through low carb cycles on their training regimens. They use the atkins method to cut their body fat by getting into Ketosis while not burning any muscle mass. Their protein intake is higher than the average person on atkins would probably have theirs at, giving them some additional glucose, but other than that they are following a strict 20 carb Atkins Induction phase during this part of their training.




Topic Two - Sustainability

This is one of my favorites. If I can digress into a personal amusing story regarding this, I would like to regale you with it. I was once berated at great length and with poor information by a friend who had lost weight on a low fat calorie restricted diet that had him eating miserable portions and crappy foods. He was 250 lbs, lost down to 210, and then gained it all back plus some more. He was insistent above and beyond the "health concerns" that my diet was not sustainable, that eating as he put it, "meat and cheese" for the rest of your life is an impossibility. Casting aside my PERSONAL capabilities regarding meat and cheese ( I would be perfectly happy doing so forever ), this is indicative of people's opinion regarding the Atkins diet. Their misconception that all you get is eggs, cheese, and meat is what has kept this diet from sweeping the entire country, and likely solving our obesity problem.

In terms of sustainability, there are a few sub topics on this. One such sub topic is the mental sustainability. This is the most important aspect of any diet, the part that most people who fail on a diet are susceptible to. The idea that there are any diets out there that are magically sustainable without your mental discipline is a falsehood perpetrated by the other diets in order to get you to switch to them. You and you alone are responsible for continuing your diet, now and in the future of your life. There is no magical way to lose 60 lbs, and then go back to sitting on the couch in front of ER eating Nestle Nilla Cakesters dipped in Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream. It's a permanent change of life... and THAT is the sustainability on the mental side of things. It's that sustainability that Atkins actually has an advantage over, because contrary to popular belief, it's food variety and quantity give it an advantage over the other diets out there.

The sub topic that brings us to is the food variety. The meat and cheese claim as the veterans of atkins know is a ridiculous claim. After the admittedly strict Induction phase, you will start adding many of the items back into your diet that have been lacking, fruits, nuts, even whole grains. The only thing that will constantly remain out of your diet is crap sugar stuffed into everything you eat, and what was the point of that anyway? Since we've already established your body can create energy from a variety of sources, the counter claim to atkins that you need carbs for energy is exposed as so much bullcrap.

I myself enjoy several dishes that are quite excellent. I make a Raspberry Bavarian Cream that is to die for, with real raspberries in it. I also enjoy an almond encrusted spinach salmon dinner at least twice a week, as well as cajun spiced alaskan king crab. A dig around the forums in the recipe section turns up virtually any recipe you could ever want out it, and provides a great counter proof to the claim that the Atkins diet is so restrictive that people give up.

The claim that people give up on Atkins, ergo it is a bad diet is ridiculous to the extreme. Studies that placed Atkins diet in with the other conventional diets have shown that its dropout rate is no higher than any other diet, in fact several showed that the ability to eat more food and not to feel starved was a factor in even LESS people dropping off it than the fat restricted or calorie restricted diets.




Topic 3 - Weight Loss Progress and Diet Menu

There are continually questions regarding weight loss stalls and diet menus. I think we should have a few of the question already answered here so that people can refer to them routinely.

Proper Induction - The first order of business is understanding what induction is and what it is doing for you and to you. The INDUCTION phase is the most important phase of Atkins, if you want to rank them. A proper start on induction is absolutely critical to success. it is induction and its 20 carbs or lower setup that basically jump starts your body into ketosis.

The ACCEPTABLE FOOD LIST is there for Induction for this reason specifically. Not only is the goal to get you under 20 carbs to start the ketosis, but to make a change in your blood sugar and insulin levels, and flip you from a glucose ( sugar ) burning machine to a ketone ( fat ) burning machine. THAT is why there are certain food items not placed on the Acceptable List, even though they would allow you to stay under the carb limit, they have sugars that would spike your blood sugar/insulin levels and defeat the purpose of the initial Induction phase.

Under NO circumstances will you see a Yes answer to any question that carries in it the topic "Can I eat this under induction if it is not on the Acceptable Food List?" The answer to that question is always NO. A qualifier to that statement is the people who plan on being on induction for months. If you have a substantial amount of weight to lose as I did, you can expect after a few months to probably upgrade your caffiene/diet soda intake, as well as perhaps adding some additional carbs in in terms of heavy creams, etc etc. As long as you are on induction, keep watch of that though, as they build fast. Needless to say though, this is months down the line. In the first 2 weeks to month of induction, NO DEVIATION SHOULD BE ALLOWED. That's just the way it is. This diet is based on a incredibly powerful chemical process in your body that will regulate your sugar levels, burn your fat and lower your cholesterol, but it cannot do that if you do not provide it with the means to BEGIN that chemical process.

The aspect of sustainability rears its head again in terms of the induction discussion. It is induction that installs the discipline and removes the cravings that have been the ingredients to our weight gain up to this point. To begin a diet already looking for what things the diet does not allow that you can add in, is a recipe for failure. You MUST throw yourself into induction with the full intention of not only following it, but welcoming it. There are a great many posts of people who say "I don't like eggs, I don't like vegetables, I don't like fish, I don't like etc etc." Pardon my insensitivity, but tough shit. Do you like being fat? Neither did I. I had NEVER eaten salmon or tuna or crab voluntarily before atkins under the misguided assumption that it was gross. In fact, its excellent, but the point is that people's opinions can be changed, and are not always correct. In any case, if you start on ANY diet including and especially this one already refusing things that you will do, then you will not succeed. I'm not going to hold anyone's hand and tell them that if they won't expand their diet beyond beef and eggs and bacon with some velveeta and blue cheese drenched on lettuce so that they can stand it will succeed. They won't. You can either accept eating things you may not like initially and learn to like it, or you can wake up in the mirror every day and learn to love your gut. That's just the fact of the matter. An appropriate adage for this forum and topic i think would be,,,,, you cannot have your cake and eat it too. You will find if you search for recipes and make up some of your own that there are a great many ways to get your veggies and fibers in and enjoy it, even if they are items you would have initially thought you could never stand.

A little curry or creole seasoned steamed vegetables over some chicken/beef/fish is one of my favorite techniques. If you absolutely can't stand something, season it. It's the same principle as getting super drunk when you are out on a date or hanging out with people you can't stand. If you get drunk/season enough, you won't notice that you're not enjoying the company/food you are with/eating.


As far as weight loss stalls go, it's not a stall if its less than a month. I hit a wall at 228 a few months back, and after 3 weeks of not moving, I adjusted my calorie intake and added some gym time, and was able to shake myself loose. Most of the time a stall will go away on its own, but you can shake it loose by a few methods. The fat fast, the meat fast, lowering your carbs for a few days to a week can sometimes shock your weight loss back into high gear. Additional exercise will also provide an impetus that can assist you in getting back on track.

Another aspect of possible weight loss stall or weight loss not starting is the calorie count. I will be the first one to say that you can eat more on Atkins than any other diet, but INITIALLY at least, you should be both TRACKING your portions, and limiting them to REASONABLE amounts. a 3,000 calorie diet per day in the first couple weeks of induction is not going to result in a great deal of success unless you are significantly overweight. A 20 carb or less induction coupled with about 1,500 calorie intake is probably the best bet to get your induction started on a strong footing.


Topic 4 - Lifestyle Modifications

One of the most important aspects of successful dieting/living is to CHANGE the way things were, not just your diet but the aspects of your life that led to it. Change the things that made you eat. If you are like me and found yourself constantly walking to the kitchen for no reason whatsoever, remove yourself from the environment. Get out of the house, even if not to exercise, just to do something to keep you away from the fridge. I find sometimes when I was craving that just going to Barnes and Noble with a water bottle was a successful way to avoid a craving that I was feeling start to weigh on me. Something else to do with your time that will make you feel great as well as help you stay away from the food is to reconnect with old friends. I decided to start catching up with people I had not seen in a long time, mostly because of my reluctance to go out into the world while I was superlardoboy. Not only was linking up with old buddies great for keeping me away from places where I could fall for a craving, but your friends will end up complimenting you on your weight loss success, giving you those pleasure endorphins that we crave... you know, the ones we usually get from eating scoops of peanut butter with one spoon while eating chocolate custard with the other spoon? Yeah... turns out you can get those endorphins from things that aren't 4,000 calories, like a friends compliment, or the satisfaction of a successful gym workout.

I think that's the most important aspect of the Atkins way of life or any diet. Find ways to change for the POSITIVE so that you do not fall back into the same self destructive negative habit you got in trouble with.

I have more to post, but work has all of a sudden picked up, so I will edit more in as I can...and also collate other people's opinions in it.

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Updated a bit more.

[Forex Autopilot]

It's the same principle as getting super drunk when you are out on a date or hanging out with people you can't stand. If you get drunk/season enough, you won't notice that you're not enjoying the company/food you are with/eating.


LOL! I love it! Great analogy!

[Madjostok]

This was extremely informative. Thank you!