Not in everyone apparently...
Posted on 03/23/2010 1:43:41 PM PDT by Coleus
The world's most famous diet is back. And this time around, it's easier to swallow. The Atkins Diet, the original low-carbohydrate regimen launched by Dr. Robert Atkins in the '70s, has been reworked in a new book that promises it's healthier and more effective than ever. "The New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great," penned by Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek, adapts the infamous plan for the 21st century. "The best way to describe this book is that it makes it easier to do the Atkins Diet than ever before," says Westman, a co-author who also is an associate professor of medicine at Duke University. "We've added a whole new element of flexibility and rewritten the Atkins Diet to include all the updates in science."
Since its inception in 1972, the four-phase Atkins Diet, which stresses high protein and minimal carbohydrate ingestion, has proved both popular and controversial. Actresses like Renee Zellweger,Jennifer Aniston and Kim Cattrall all employed the weight-loss regimen to shed unwanted pounds, but critics have long complained that the diet seemed to promote meats and fats, not fruits and vegetables. That's a thing of the past. The new Atkins Diet puts to rest this anti-veggie bias once and for all, by supporting vegetable consumption from day one. "If there is one thing to disprove, it's the myth that vegetables are not included on Atkins," says Westman. "That's just not true. On a day-to-day basis, we want people to eat four to five servings of them regardless of the phase."
In fact, the new Atkins Diet allows followers to eat more vegetables than ever, by discounting grams of fiber from the total grams of carbohydrates, which the book's authors refer to as "net carbs." "We instruct people on using 'net carbs,' which allows them to subtract the fiber grams from the total grams of carbs," says Dr. Westman. "Atkins has always been a way of eating that promotes good, healthy food like vegetables." "The New Atkins for a New You" also puts to rest the myth that followers were encouraged to gorge themselves on foods high in protein, like red meat.
"There was a misunderstanding that you could eat as much protein as you wanted and people who didn't know how the diet worked would just gorge themselves," says Westman. "But there's a hunger control that just occurs naturally in the body. In studies that have been done, people eat until they have matched the appropriate protein intake for their body. It should just happen naturally." The new diet has lightened up on caffeine and alcohol, two substances long banned by Atkins as well.
"It's okay to have limited amounts of coffee," Westwood says, citing both caffeine's good and bad effects on blood sugar and weight. "Alcohol is the same way," he says. "The small things we don't sweat so much anymore. There were a lot of people who would stay away from Atkins because they felt that they couldn't give up coffee or an after-work drink. Well, now you don't have to. That's such a small thing. The big picture is much more important." That big picture still prohibits sugars and refined flour. Breads, rice and foods with flour (including those that are deep-fried or breaded), along with pasta, are on the banned list.
But even without flour and sugar, those looking to lose up to 15 pounds in two weeks are not required to give up all of life's tasty pleasures. Desserts that are artificially sweetened, and even fast food, are still on the menu. According to Westwood, "Diet Cokes, grilled chicken or sugar-free Jello with cool whip are completely acceptable. Cheesecake is the classic example of something that tastes just as good with sugar-free sweetener. You can have sweet things, it just can't be sweetened with sugar, because sugar has carbohydrates and calories in it."
On the whole, the new Atkins Diet attempts to make the weight-loss regimen more inclusive, by scaling back some of the more Draconian restrictions. "We're trying to adapt this method to young people who are healthy and just have 10 or 20 pounds to lose. And also for someone who is 60 years old and 150 pounds overweight," says Westwood. "A lot of weight-loss programs have food deprivation built into them, but with the new Atkins Diet, you can be satisfied and lose weight. It's all about options and flexibility." That's something all New Yorkers can sink their teeth into.
From NEW ATKINS FOR A NEW YOU by Dr. Eric C. Westman, Dr. Stephen D. Phinney and Dr. Jeff S. Volek. Copyright © 2010 by Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Fireside, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Not in everyone apparently...
He means when you’re on Atkins. You don’t stuff yourself with meat the way people think because the diet itself curbs your appetite.
I hate that ‘no pasta’ bit. But isn’t this sounding like the South Beach diet now?
Atkins plus vegetables goes by another name...South Beach
Is it similar to South Beach then? Cut out bad carbs, sugar?
Okay, I’m gonna get myself in trouble here! I was on Atkins for a few years, and hey...it worked. Only thing was, I was starving to death, had no energy and was getting sick. A few years later I became a personal fitness trainer...stay away from Atkins, that’s all I’m gonna say.
I lost 26 pounds over the last six months just by cutting way back on sugar and fast food.....202 to 176 for a middle aged male. Feel a lot better, too!
I don’t know. Was never on South Beach, but it sounds like they’re trying to soften it.
I tried Atkins for a year. Lost ten pounds, then nothing. One year of no pasta. Didn’t seem worth it.
Based on my experience, a moderately low carb, high protein diet is best as a lifestyle. Save the super low carb, high fat approach for small stretches when you really want to get ripped up. In all cases the first step to health eating is throwing the empty calories (refined sugar, refined flour, high fructose corn syrup, fried crap, etc.) out the window.
That’s great, congratulations!!
About a year ago I lost 30 pounds in three and a half months. Never felt weak, hungry or sick a minute. When you first start Atkins you may lose a lot of potassium which will cause negative side effects. I take 300 mg of potassium everyday anyway and I didn’t have any problems.
My philosophy these days is: Eat healthy (five small meals a day instead of 3 biggies), everything in moderation, exercise. Works so nicely! :-D
Have you looked at The Perfect 10 diet? It is sort of like Atkins, but veggies. No fake sugars. Based on 10 hormones, insulin control.
I need a personal trainer too. Hah!
ping
Actresses like Renee Zellweger,Jennifer Aniston and Kim Cattrall all employed the weight-loss regimen to shed unwanted pounds, but critics have long complained that the diet seemed to promote meats and fats, not fruits and vegetables. That's a thing of the past. The new Atkins Diet puts to rest this anti-veggie bias once and for all, by supporting vegetable consumption from day one. "If there is one thing to disprove, it's the myth that vegetables are not included on Atkins," says Westman. "That's just not true. On a day-to-day basis, we want people to eat four to five servings of them regardless of the phase." In fact, the new Atkins Diet allows followers to eat more vegetables than ever, by discounting grams of fiber from the total grams of carbohydrates, which the book's authors refer to as "net carbs."Obamacare will of course impose a 10 percent tax on all diet books and cookbooks, in order to pay for obgyn services for illegal aliens.
Thanks for posting this. I started on Atkins a month or so before the new book came out. As far as I can see it is not really that much different.
But I like it. Workouts seem to have much more effect on a low carb diet. Carbs increase insulin which decreases testosterone and growth hormone so if you eat a lot of carbs you don’t get as much benefit from all the weights and cardio.
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