Answer
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Get down to basics. The Atkins diet stresses fresh foods. It is not a
high-fat diet.
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Eliminate junk food. Some of the largest sources of fat in traditional diets are junk foods and convenience foods. On the Atkins diet, you may well end up eating less fat than you did before, even though you are eating a larger amount of meat, fish, fowl, eggs and butter.
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Eat less. On a low-carbohydrate diet, you actually eat less than on a low-fat diet.
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Read up on scientific
studies. There is much scientific evidence to refute the claim that
fat is the primary cause of heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses.
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Indulge - eat butter, cream and the skin on the chicken.
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Avoid hydrogenated fats. Hydrogenation occurs when vegetable oil is changed from a liquid to a solid. This changes the chemical bonds so that the fat is no longer healthy to eat. Margarine is a common example of a hydrogenated fat.
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Avoid heating vegetable oils to high temperatures. This can alter their bonds.
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Control your blood sugar. The basic Atkins diet program has been very helpful in stabilizing the blood sugar of diabetics.
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Curb your cravings. Many people find that their food cravings come under control with the Atkins diet.
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Explore the statistics. Saturated fat is supposed to be the bad guy right now. But statistics show that between 1910 and 1970, the proportion of butter consumption drastically decreased, from
18 pounds per person in 1910 to only 4 pounds per person in 1970. Consumption of margarine and other refined vegetable oils, which are
polyunsaturated fats, rose 400 percent. Heart disease has increased drastically during this time.
The Atkins Center believes that obesity, heart disease, diabetes and
hypertension, all of which have been increasing dramatically over the years, are not linked to the amount of fat in the diet. Instead, these conditions are caused by blood sugar disturbances and insulin disorders caused by excessive refined carbohydrate consumption. The average American now eats 150 pounds of sugar a year, up from less than 10 pounds in the 19th century. If you have any questions or concerns, contact a physician or other health care professional before engaging in any activity related to health and diet. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional Medical advice or treatment.
Using fat as your primary fuel is the key to my weight loss diet. Getting to the fat stores requires limiting your carbohydrate intake.
Carbohydrates have a very short storage time in the body - about 2,000 calories -, which means that in two days, your body is looking for more
fuel.
Filling up on foods like meat, fish, fowl, eggs and cheese will help you to reduce your carbohydrate intake, thus encouraging an automatic switchover (chemical change) in which stored fat becomes your primary fuel. Eat. My diet has been successful because it allows people to eat foods they usually deny themselves and still lose weight.
Supplement your meals with the recommended vita-nutrients in my book. It's part of the program, and if you're not doing that, you're not on the program - just some hybridization of it
Remember that this is not a no-carbohydrate diet. It has many levels. There are four that I discuss in my book: the induction level, the ongoing weight loss level, the pre-maintenance level and the lifetime maintenance level.
Enjoy!
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The 14-Day Induction Diet
1.Restrict carbohydrate intake to 20 grams per day.
2.Avoid eating fruit, bread, grains, starchy vegetables or dairy products other than cheese, cream or butter during this period.
3.Remember that intake of carbohydrates is usually 3 cups of salad vegetables or 2 cups of salad vegetables plus 1/3 cup of cooked vegetables whose composition is less than 10 percent carbohydrate.
4.Eat other permitted carbohydrates such as nuts, seeds and olives - as long as your total remains at 20 grams or below.
5.Choose vegetables such as asparagus, okra, eggplant, all salad vegetables, and broccoli - any nutritious, no starchy vegetable, which is 10 percent carbohydrate, or less. You will need to use a carb counter to see the full realm of your choices.
6.At this first level, eat all meat, all fish, all fowl, all shellfish, and all eggs. They are all permitted, except for luncheon meats containing nitrates or sugar and products that are not exclusively meat.
7.Eliminate diet cheese, cheese spreads, and whey cheese. All other cheese is permitted, unless you have an allergy to milk products.
8.Eliminate caffeine if you are addicted to it. Otherwise, you may have it in limited amounts.
9.Drink water, herbal tea (no barley, dates, figs or sugar), club soda, and decaffeinated coffee and tea. Read labels carefully if you are drinking diet soda, flavored bottled water and iced tea. Make sure there are no carbohydrates in your beverages.
10.Avoid margarine. It is considered a health hazard. Butter is permitted.
11.Use vegetable oils such as canola, walnut and soybean. Look for labels that say "cold-pressed." Avoid heating polyunsaturated oils; heating changes the chemical bonds, making these fats unhealthy.
12.Use mayonnaise, unless you are on a yeast restriction.
13.Avoid all "diet foods" unless they specifically state that they contain no carbohydrates.
14. Read all labels carefully. A label that says "sugarless" does not necessarily indicate that the food doesn't contain carbohydrates.
15.Check labels on chewing gum, over-the-counter medicines and other products you may not normally think of as food. Many contain sugar or other carbohydrates.
16.Use lipolysis-testing strips to test your urine, to make sure that you are in ketosis - which means you are burning fat.
17.Take supplements and vita-nutrients according to the Atkins plan.
This initial stage helps to efficiently switch your body from burning carbohydrates to burning fat as fuel. It also stabilizes your blood sugar and stops food cravings using abstinence rather than moderation. It also helps to break addictive eating habits to sugar, chocolate, caffeine, etc.
There are no restrictions on the amount of fat or protein you can eat. Speak with your doctor before beginning this diet if you have any chronic health conditions. Certain medications may make it more difficult to lose weight, and certain illnesses may call for a restriction of protein.
1.Buy food in its freshest state. Opt for fresh produce, for example, instead of canned.
2.Select nutrient-dense vegetables. These include asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, okra, turnips, collard greens and dandelion greens. There are many more.
3.Use salad vegetables. These include romaine lettuce, bok choy, peppers,
jicama, radishes and escarole.
4.Eat berries - strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. They are relatively low in carbohydrates and high in nutrition.
5.Have some sweet fruit but sparingly, in accordance with the diet. Fruit is full of nutrition but high in sugars and carbohydrates.
6.Eat nuts and seeds, which are high in protein as well as other nutrients.
7.Avoid processed foods as much as possible. They are usually high in carbohydrates and contain many ingredients that your body does not need.
8.Avoid processed foods that contain ingredients such as corn syrup, maltose, dextrose, fructose, and lactose. These are all sugars, which add plenty of carbohydrate but no nutritional value to the food.
9.Read labels carefully, especially if you are going to have cereal or bread. Many contain huge quantities of sugar and other ingredients that your body doesn't need.
10.Buy whole grain breads and unsweetened cereal made from whole grain if you want to have those products. The Atkins diet permits small amounts of them once you are at your desired weight.
11.Buy pasta made from whole grain, or egg pasta; these have higher nutritional value.
12.Avoid candy, sweetened soft drinks and baked goods. These contain "empty"
calories (no nutritional value) and lots of carbohydrates.
13.Drink alcohol in moderation.
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Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL)
18.Figure out your critical carbohydrate level for losing (CCLL) when you enter the ongoing weight loss level (OWL). This number is, as defined by the Atkins diet, the most liberal level of carbohydrate consumption that corresponds to your own individual metabolic capacity to continue taking off excess pounds.
19.Increase your intake of carbohydrates to the level where you will still continue to lose weight.
20.Continue a close count of your carbohydrate intake. For an average person with an average metabolic resistance, that number is between 15 and 40 grams of carbohydrates per day.
21.Stick with low-carbohydrate vegetables, seeds and nuts.
22.Learn new recipes to keep the food interesting. Use the Atkins recipes and cookbooks, or similar ones for low-carbohydrate cooking.
23.Experiment with new vegetables. There are a huge number to choose from,
both for cooking and eating in salads.
24.Eat berries. Fruits are still restricted because of their high sugar content, but berries are lower in carbohydrates, delicious and packed full
of nutrients.
25.Expect weight loss to diminish as you liberalize the diet. You can speed
up or slow down the diet, depending on your carbohydrate intake.
26.Continue taking vitamins and vita-nutrients as designated by the program.
You must successfully complete the induction level before moving on to the ongoing weight loss, or OWL level. This is the main part of the weight loss program and is more lenient than the induction level.
If you stop losing weight, or if it is very slow in coming off, you may need to adjust your program. Read the book for tips on what to do if you are very metabolically resistant. Also check out any medications you are taking. Some of them may make it more difficult to lose weight.
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Pre-Maintenance
27.Production of ketosis begins to vanish at this level. You can deviate a little, but don't lose track of the basic diet.
28.Increase your carbohydrate intake, as long as you are still able to lose those last few pounds.
29.Begin deviating very slowly. Start with one or two deviations a week, such as a baked potato or a serving of fruit.
30.Be careful about not blowing the complete diet. Deviate sensibly.
You arrive at the pre-maintenance level when you only have 5 or 10 pounds left to lose. It is the interim period between weight loss and maintaining
your new weight.
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Maintenance
31.Figure out your critical carbohydrate level for maintenance (CCLM). This
is the amount that you can eat and not begin to gain weight.
32.Fluctuations in weight are common, as long as they are very small. Once
you go 5 or more pounds above our ideal weight, it's time to cut back again.
33.Remember that this diet will always restrict your carbohydrate level somewhat. A person with an average metabolism usually must stay between 40
and 60 grams of carbohydrates per day. Continuing with fresh no starchy vegetables, seeds, nuts and berries is the easiest way to eat more variety
and still remain within your personal boundaries.
34.Cautiously reintroduce vegetables that contain more than 10 percent carbohydrates, as well as whole grains such as oats, barley and couscous.
35.Keep the sugar, white flour and processed foods out of your life, except
for special occasions. Sugars supply empty carbohydrates devoid of nutrients.
36. Take care not to reactivate old addictions to sugar, starchy foods, bread and so on.
37.Continue taking vita-nutrients as prescribed in the diet.
38.Exercise. You should have been doing this all along, but if not, now is
as good a time as any. It will help keep the weight off, reduce fatigue and
keep you in better health.
Avoid losing track of your carbohydrates once you reach the maintenance level. This is the weight where you want to be - and more importantly, where
you want to stay. The Atkins diet is a lifetime plan to keep you slim and healthy, with good eating habits.
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