You've done it. You've made the commitment to a healthy lifestyle with Atkins. Congratulations, you're now in the Atkins Diet Induction Phase
. Now what?
The Atkins Nutritional Approach is based on a four-phase eating plan that focuses on the consumption of nutritious, unprocessed foods. The plan is to get your eating habits balanced again, so you not only lose weight, but increase your energy level and gain a strong sense of well-being.
The first phase of the Atkins Nutritional Program sets the stage for you to reach your goals. Induction is designed to jump-start your weight loss, end your carb cravings and stabilize blood sugar levels. It lasts a minimum of two weeks and will switch your body chemistry to burning primarily fat for energy rather than burning carbohydrates.
One of the most attractive aspects of the Atkins Diet plan is that you have fewer limitations on the amount of food you eat. More importantly, it?s about the kinds of food you put on your plate.
The amount of carbohydrate in your diet determines both blood insulin level and weight gain. By following an individualized controlled carbohydrate nutritional approach, people at high risk for chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes and arthritis associated with obesity can improve their health.
The focus of Atkins Diet is grams of Net Carbs, not calories. During Induction, you are allowed 20 grams of Net Carbs. As you progress to the other three phases you will learn to add Net Carbs in 5-10 gram increments. Although carb intake is the main focus, as you move out of Induction, you will gain weight if you take in more calories than you expend.
Atkins works by restricting the amount of carbohydrates you consume. The body first burns carbohydrates for fuel. However, when you reduce your intake of carbs, your body primarily burns fat.
When you do Atkins Diet , you will find the threshold, where you will neither gain nor lose weight. Your Atkins Diet Carbohydrate Equilibrium (ACE) is the amount of carbohydrates you are able to consume to maintain your target weight. On the Induction Phase your meal plan is limited to 20 grams of Net Carbs daily. Once you move beyond Induction and deliberately slow your weight loss, you will incrementally increase your intake of carbohydrates and eat a wider variety of nutrient-dense foods.
Your metabolic resistance influences your ACE, as do other genetic and lifestyle factors including your age, gender and level of activity. Since you can positively influence your ACE by staying active, you need to exercise.
You are ready to move on to the second Phase if you are close to your goal weight, or want more variety in your meals. You may be bored with the options available on the Induction phase and be willing to take on slower progress in return for eating a wider variety of foods.
There are two reasons to follow your personalized Atkins program very closely. First, all carbohydrates are not created equal. Even bread made from 100-percent whole-wheat flour contains enough refined carbs to produce an insulin-raising, fat-storing effect in many people. In later phases of the program, if your weight loss is progressing well and you have increased your daily intake of Net Carbs, you may eat an occasional slice of whole-grain bread.
The longer you consume no more than 20 grams of Net Carbs daily, the more body fat you will burn. Depending on how much weight you need to lose, you can safely continue with Induction as long as you feel well and are experiencing a high energy level, normal sleep patterns and stable moods. Someone with a lot of weight to lose might stay on Induction for six months or more.
But don't get stuck on Induction. Segueing from one phase to another will help you establish the habits that will become part of your ongoing lifestyle.
If you have a modest weight loss goal (20 pounds) and start losing rapidly, it's important to move ahead so you can establish the good eating habits that will become part of your ongoing lifestyle. Segueing from one phase to another will help you maintain a healthful weight, and end yo-yo dieting.
After two weeks on Induction, you will have a good idea of how easily you lose weight, which will allow you to personalize the path you take.
Check with your doctor. Be sure to schedule an appointment with your physician before you begin Atkins or any new weight loss or exercise program. Losing weight can be good for your health, energy level and well-being, but it's important that you review your program with your physician first.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
-- Albert Einstein
Sometimes when we're working long hours or jammed with extra responsibilities, we tend to forgo our workouts until things calm down. Instead of bailing on your exercise plan, I recommend following Einstein's suggestion -- use some imagination.
I'm providing 20 easy and surefire ways to burn 100 calories. You might want to add one per day or a few per week. Try not to look at it as, "this isn't enough." Instead, focus on the cumulative effect. Meaning, if you perform even just one of these activities per day, that's 700 calories burned in a week and 2,800 burned in a month. That will make a difference.
Here's my top 20 in no particular order. Have fun!
1. Vacuuming -- 25 minutes of vacuuming around your home will burn just about 100 calories.
2. Gardening -- Like to garden? It's the digging and raking that will reap the most fitness benefits. These are the bigger calorie burners when it comes to gardening. In fact, you can burn up to 100 in just 15 minutes with these movements.
3. Walking -- The easiest and one of the most natural movements known to human beings. Fifteen minutes of brisk walking will burn approximately 100 calories. A brisk daily walk at lunch time or after work will make a difference.
4. Jogging in place -- Need a quick pick me up before work? Jog in place for 12 minutes and burn a little more than 100 calories.
5. Dancing -- 20 minutes of dancing at a moderate pace will burn 100 calories. C'mon, you know you love to do it, so have some fun with it.
6. Ironing clothes -- If you have to do it for the whole family you might as well know the calories you're burning. Just a bit more than 100 calories in 25 minutes.
7. Badminton -- A casual, noncompetitive, 20-minute game of badminton will get you to the mark, and it's a lot of fun.
8. Housework -- Vigorous housework for 20 minutes will burn a little more than 100 calories. You have to do it, so why not make it count?
9. Volleyball -- Twelve minutes of volleyball is all it takes to reach our magic number. Not a bad way to burn some calories while on the beach.
10. Biking -- How about a light bike ride in the summer? A light intensity of approximately 10 mph will burn more than 100 calories in just 40 minutes.
11. Golfing -- Just 20 minutes of golf will burn 100 calories.
12. Swimming -- I'm not referring to swimming laps or training for the Olympics. Just a 15-minute leisurely swim will get us to our goal.
13. High-impact aerobics -- You might wonder why I would include this. It's not like you're going to aerobic class for 10 minutes. However, if you're pressed for time or working long hours, invest in a fun aerobic videotape and use it for 10 minutes (after a warm-up) each day. That's close to 120 calories in just 10 minutes.
14. Car waxing -- Forget the car wash. Do it yourself on a hot summer day. Just 20 minutes of waxing your car will burn more than 100 calories.
15. Frisbee -- A fun 30-minute Frisbee toss with your kids or a friend will burn up our needed calories, and it's a bit more pleasurable than a boring jaunt on the treadmill.
16. Take the stairs -- If you work in an office building, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Approximately 20 minutes will burn about 100 calories. You don't have to do it all at one time. Just make sure to spread it out during the day.
17. Pushing baby stroller -- Pushing a stroller burns approximately 60 calories in 20 minutes. No problem, two nice and easy 20-minute strolls per day will get the job done without even breaking a sweat.
18. Mowing the lawn (self-propelled mower) -- 25 minutes and you've burned about 100 calories. Just like cleaning, it needs to be done so put a little oomph into it.
19. Painting -- Need to paint a room in your home or apartment? You can burn approximately 100 calories with 20 minutes of painting. Plus, you get a better-looking room at the same time.
20. Weight training -- 15 minutes of vigorous weight training will burn approximately 100 calories. You don't have to workout forever. Just three 15 to 20 minute session per week will keep your bones strong, muscles tight -- and you'll keep burning calories after your workout.
Now go burn some calories, but check with your doctor before starting this or any exercise program.
*All counts are based on a 150-pound individual.
Health benefits of almonds, broccoli, and red wine
After almonds, broccoli, and red wine appeared on the list of "power foods" dieters started asking us questions about their health benefits.
Almonds help reducing cholesterol better than oats and soy, the two recognized champions. Eating a handful of almonds with skins a day reduce risk of heart disease.
A study published in the May 2005 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that almonds can reduce artery-damaging inflammation.
Another study involving overweight and obese people showed that an almond-enriched low calorie diet can help shed pounds more effectively than a low calorie diet alone. Dieters eating almonds had a 62% greater fat and inches loss(International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, January 2, 2004)
More about almonds -> click here
Recent dieting trend turned to the benefits of red wine. The Mediterranean group of traditional diets have red wine on their staple food list, along with olive oil and fish. Research showed that having a glass of red wine daily can prevent heart disease.
More about red wine -> click here
Broccoli is considered a power food because of its exceptional nutritional value. As an article published in September 2004 issue of the Journal of Nutrition revealed, it contains plant chemicals with significant cancer-preventive effects.
More about broccoli -> click here
Broccoli is one of the small number of vegetables and fruits that significantly reduced the risk of heart disease, as showed research reported in May 4, 2004 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Here's an almost full list of nutrients in 1 cup of broccoli (first figure is amount; % is for Daily Values):
Calories 24.64
Calories from Fat 2.77
Total Fat 0.308g 0%
Saturated Fat 0.0475g 0%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.147g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0211g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 23.76mg 1%
Potassium 286mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 4.61g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2.64g 11%
Protein 2.62g 5%
Q: What can I have for a snack and still stay in the Zone?
Answer:
On the Zone, every meal and snack should provide 40 percent of calories from carbohydrate, 30 per cent from protein and 30 per cent from fat - 40:30:30 ratio.
To make the Zone easier to follow, it's recommended that you divide your plate into three sectors: one for low-fat protein and the remaining two sections with vegetables and fruit. How to apply it to snacks?
Have a piece of low fat hard cheese, a halve avocado, and a handful of nuts. Or, mix 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese with 1/2 cup of berries (fresh or frozen and thawed) and add a handful soy nuts.
More about Zone snacks
Q: What are functional foods? What is a typical example of a functional food?
A: The term Functional Foods is used to describe foods with added ingredients proved of being capable to produce certain health benefits...
Out of various vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains, many are very good for you. But some are better than others and some are so good that not only feed you but can heal and prevent diseases.
When a food is researched well enough and recognized as providing health benefits beyond basic nutrition (being healing and protective) - it is officially put on list of functional foods.
Here's a sample list of official functional foods:
apples
beef
cheese
berries
broccoli
carrots
chocolate
cinnamon
citrus
cocoa
collards
corn
cranberries
cruciferous vegetables (like cabbage and lettuce)
eggs (especially yolk)
flax seeds
garlic
grapes
honey
leeks
fish oils - e.g., sardines for your snack
lamb - e.g., cold cuts
oat
onions
peanuts
pears
psyllium husk - add it to your snack shakes
red grapes
rolled oats - e.g., as oat bars
rye - e.g., as whole rye bread or crackers
salmon
scallions
soy - e.g., soy nuts for your snack
spinach
strawberries
tea
tomatoes
tuna
walnuts
wheat
wheat bran
whole grains
wine
yogurt
Three ways to lose an EXTRA pound of fat (at a minimum) each month!
By "extra," I mean aside from the fat you will already lose as a result of your daily exercise regimen. What I am talking about here is making a small change in your lifestyle to lose a ton (well, maybe not quite that much) of weight over the course of a few months.
So how do you do this? If you read my e-book, The 10 Most Notorious Fitness Myths of All Time (...So Far!), you will recall I mentioned that we burn on average about 100 calories per mile, whether we walk or run that mile. You can use this fact to your advantage.
The question then is how can you easily put on extra miles? It really isn't very difficult at all. All you have to do is set a goal of walking an extra mile each day. Not all at once, but throughout the day. To do this, simply change your daily habits. Consider doing the following:
1. Park in the back of the parking lots whenever you go out. This simple little trick not only racks up the mileage with minimal extra effort on your behalf, but it also can save you a lot of potential headaches. If you notice, many of the people that park in the spaces close to the door are very selfish. They fight like cats for those spaces, and they will wait forever for someone to pull out of a close space. You've seen them. They will hold up traffic for several minutes waiting for the person to relinquish that cherished close space.
Meanwhile, there can be many free spaces in the back. No one wants those spaces because it means extra walking. Believe me, you can park in the next parking lot and still be in the building long before the person that circles around waiting for that close space. Also, the door dings tend to happen in the spaces close to the door. Is there a correlation here?
2. Take the stairs instead of the elevators. I know it is tempting to ride the vertical car, but just stay focused on your goal. Remember, you are looking to change your lifestyle. This means you must "waste" energy throughout the day. Taking the stairs is one way to do this in a big way! When you take the stairs you are using your largest muscles (your legs and back) and getting back dividends!
3. When you are working, take a break and walk around for just a few minutes. If you took four or five breaks during your work day and took a leisurely walk for just five minutes each time, you would have walked an extra mile!
Now, if you make these three simple changes in your daily life, you will easily cover an extra mile or so each day. And that is a very conservative number. The fact is, it would more likely be several miles each day. However, if you covered just a little over one mile each day by making these three simple changes, it would add up to one pound of fat in a month! And that is fat that you will lose outside of your normal training.
So, follow this training advice and make these simple changes. It will pay off big time!
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