Ultimate Atkins Weight Loss: The Secrets!
By Kim Droze
eDiets Managing Editor
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"I'm doing Atkins " Ask any waiter or waitress and he or she will tell you they hear those words proudly uttered by a growing number of customers. With an estimated 10 million Americans following some variation of a low-carb program, the Atkins Nutritional Approach is everywhere from the shelves of your local gas station mini-mart to the menus of your favorite restaurant.
Three decades after its launch, the Atkins' low-carb lifestyle continues to grow in popularity. And with good reason. The Atkins Diet yields maximum results with minimal effort. There's no counting calories, no complicated point system. It's about weeding out the unfavorable carbs that lead to obesity and replacing them with a well-balanced diet consisting of natural fats and healthy carbs.
Yes, despite what many people believe, there's a lot more to Atkins than just feasting on bacon and eggs for breakfast and steak and butter for dinner. There's a set of checks and balances with the Atkins Nutritional Approach that keeps the body performing at optimum health, so says Jackie Eberstein, director of nutrition information at Atkins Health and Medical Information Services.
Eberstein started working with program founder Dr. Robert Atkins way back in 1974. Over the past 30 years, she's heard plenty of myths about the Atkins approach.
Eberstein says there are far too many men and women who've never turned a page in Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution or visited eDiets, which offers personalized versions of the Atkins Nutritional Approach . Those are the folks at risk for doing Atkins all wrong.
I think a lot of people are doing it wrong from what I see in some chat rooms, Eberstein tells eDiets for this Atkins Exclusive. The hardest thing to get people to understand is that while you want to lose weight fast, it's not necessarily in your best interest.
Losing fast doesn't give you time to change your behaviors. Some weight issues are related to behavior. It's not just how food affects your chemistry. You have to look at your habits and how you use food inappropriately sometimes. If not, you'll keep falling into the same trap and and keep going back to your old food plan because you didn't learn how to maintain your lost weight.
Eberstein says it's important to stick with the facts. That means following the tried-and-true advice of the late Dr. Atkins. The controlled-carb lifestyle consists of four phases: Induction, Ongoing Weight Loss, Pre-Maintenance and Lifetime Maintenance. Eberstein says in order for people to be successful for a lifetime, it's important to experience all four phases of the Atkins Nutritional Approach.
Perhaps the best advice for starting Atkins on the right foot: get a copy of one of Dr. Atkins books. Whether that book is The Atkins Essentials or Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, find the time to read it cover to cover.
It's not about skimming the book, Ebersetin says. It's about reading the whole book and understanding the chemistry. The books are written in a way that's not complicated. It helps you understand why certain foods are okay and certain foods are not okay. Two years down the road, you'll be able to make more appropriate and proper food choices if you know how they impact your body.
There are people who say a friend told me how to do Atkins, or they only read one section of the book and get no other information.
Are you guilty of any of these common mistakes?
The I'm-on-Induction-for-life! Fanatic Eberstein says these are the ones who attempt to stay on Induction so they can hurry up and get to their goal weight. If you don't go through the four phases of the Atkins Nutritional Approach, you aren't going to learn what you need to maintain along the way. You're going to have more difficulty finding your maintenance plan. You also won't experience the process of re-introducing favorable carbs into your diet. Your carb levels aren't as restrictive in the higher phases of Atkins. You'll lower the amount of fat and protein you take in and make room for other healthy carbs as you expand your program.
The Low-Fat Low-Carber! Some people think they can actually do a low-fat version of the Atkins Nutritional Approach by cutting calories and fat. Eberstein says that you need fat for a reason. It makes you feel satisfied and gives you more control of what you're eating. When the blood sugar is stabilized, you aren't overcome by cravings.
The Weekend Warrior! There are those people who think they can strictly follow Atkins all week long then turn the weekends into a free-for-all of food. By doing this, you're never stabilizing your chemistry. In the long run, it's not going to work. It's also not good for your body because you keep upsetting your insulin levels. It takes three or four days after that for your blood sugar to stabilize.
The Meal Misser! Not hungry? You still need to eat. Going all day without eating makes your calorie intake too low and slows your metabolism. You should eat at least three meals a day and an evening snack. Consuming five or six meals a day is even better for the body because your blood sugar stabilizes even more and your metabolism functions at its optimum level.
The Low-Carb Product Lover! Is your pantry packed with every low-carb product on the block? That's not necessarily a good thing. For the most part, you should be consuming whole foods. Not to mention the fact that some of the low-carb products on the market may not be as healthy for you. Eberstein points out that some products contain trans fat, a substance unhealthy for your cardiovascular system. She stresses that Atkins products DO NOT contain trans fat.
The Scale Watcher! Some folks think because Uncle Joey lost 15 pounds his first couple of weeks following Atkins, they should too. Eberstein says every body is different. You won't necessarily lose as fast as your fellow Atkins followers nor will you lose the same amount of weight week in and week out. Some of the factors that may determine how you lose include hormones, metabolism, muscle mass and amount of exercise.
The Anti-Exerciser! When following Atkins, you don't need to exercise right? WRONG! If you're not exercising, you need to start. Exercise is especially important as you get older, says Eberstein. As we age the metabolism slows and we lose muscle mass. The less muscle you have the less calorie-burning tissue you have. Even if you're in your forties eating the same amount you did in your twenties, you're going to gain weight. So get started with an exercise program today.
Now that you know the difference between Atkins facts and fiction are you ready get your own personalized carb-controlled plan? With the Atkins Nutritional Approach as powered by eDIets you'll receive customized menus, shopping lists and recipes, plus 24/7 peer and professional support. To get started with your personalized Atkins program, CLICK HERE !
