Well spotted Daisie
I have reproduced the article below. There are various links on the original.
More to Atkins than Cutting Carbs
Susan Burke
I had lunch with my friend the other day. As we sat down and she pronounced, “I’m on Atkins.” Then she ordered a cheeseburger, no bun. Hold the fries, but bring a plate of olives and blue cheese dressing. Uh oh, I said to myself. I could see what was coming next!
I asked, “How long have you been doing Atkins and how much weight have you lost?” She grinned sheepishly and said, “I’ve lost 15 pounds, but I’ve gained back 8!” She said, “I’ve been doing Atkins for three months - on and off. I don’t understand why I just can’t keep the weight off.” I said, “Did you get the Atkins for Life book?” She said, “Well, I haven’t read the book, but I know how to do it. I eat mostly protein, and I lose weight! I’ve done it before. But as soon as I went off it, I gained a lot back. It’s frustrating.”
What Atkins Is… And Isn't
My friend isn't the only one who is frustrated. It is frustrating to me, too! And for the people who work for Atkins. Not only is my friend not doing Atkins, she’s setting herself up for another failure. She wants to lose weight, but perceives dieting as deprivation... and that's a form of punishment! She “goes on” diets, changes what she normally eats, loses some weight and then “goes off” the programme. Then she goes back to what she usually eats and regains the weight. It is the typical yo-yo syndrome! She never changes her eating habits permanently. She’s always looking for the quick fix.
Veteran eDiets subscribers know what I am about to say: all diets work, and no diet works permanently... unless you make the lifestyle changes that let you maintain the weight loss. The Atkins approach depends upon you making a commitment to change.
Misconceptions Persist: The Skinny on Atkins
There is a persistent misconception about the Atkins programme. The myth is that it’s all meat, all the time... that it’s strictly a bacon and burger diet. Moreover, that unless you eat red meat, you can’t do Atkins. Finally, the myth persists that you can’t ever eat bread, fruit or potatoes on Atkins. All of these ideas are false and they totally miss the point.
The Atkins approach means rebalancing your approach to food and making the commitment to eliminate the unhealthy foods. Dr Robert Atkins promoted healthy, high-fibre foods, including vegetables, whole grains, fruit and starchy vegetables. The portion size of carbohydrate food counts although you can eat liberally of protein and fat foods. Even during the first phase, Induction, you include nutrient-dense carbohydrates: dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli, spinach, aubergine and other high-fibre vegetables. Moreover, you can do Atkins and eat only fish and chicken and tofu if you prefer to avoid red meat.
At eDiets, we make it easy to do Atkins right. Follow the programme to the letter and you'll achieve permanent weight loss without compromising your health.
Induction The entire programme is NOT about Induction. Only on Induction do you control carbohydrates severely. During the first phase of Atkins, the aim is to get serious about your weight and health and to jump-start weight loss. Now is the time to really concentrate on changing your bad habits and eliminating the unhealthy carbs like simple sugars and refined flour. You will lose weight! After two weeks consuming only 20 grams of Net Carbs a day, you can begin to add more healthy carbohydrates back on a weekly basis.
Ongoing Weight Loss is the second phase. (You need to follow Induction for a minimum of two weeks, but if you have a lot of weight to lose, you can safely stay on Induction for six months or even longer.) Now you’re continuing to add more healthy carbohydrates back in 5-gram increments each week as long as you continue to lose weight, although the rate is deliberately slowed. They can be in the form of high-fibre fruits like more vegetables and salad, strawberries and blueberries, and seeds and nuts. You can also incorporate fresh cheeses in addition to the aged cheeses you ate in Induction. Some individuals can even incorporate small portions of whole grains during this phase.
It is important to add these foods one at a time so that if any interfere with continued weight loss you can back off. As you continue to lose weight, you feel better and have more energy. Your motivation to continue and to choose healthy foods gets stronger.
When you’re within 5-10 pounds of your goal weight, it’s time to move on to Pre-Maintenance. Dr Atkins wanted his clients to know that the Atkins programme is a lifetime maintenance programme. Changes you make should be permanent. That’s why he called his final book Atkins for Life.
You can now add carbohydrate back in 10-gram increments each week so long as you continue to lose, almost imperceptibly. The purpose of this phase, in addition to losing those last few pounds is to become familiar with the way you will be eating for the rest of your life. Here is where you’ll learn how to make necessary adjustments. If you stop losing or gain, simply drop back five or 10 grams of Net Carbs. Here is a great opportunity to understand your body and your needs more completely. Continue your fitness and activity programme, build some lean muscle to make your body more metabolically active and balance your menu with healthy complex carbohydrate foods such as whole grains, legumes and occasional and moderate portions of starchy vegetables, including even a potato now and then.
Once you have reached your goal weight and maintained it for at least a month, you can officially move to the final phase of Atkins known as Lifetime Maintenance. At this point you will have learned your personal ACE (or “Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibrium”), meaning the level of carbohydrate you can eat daily and neither lose or gain weight. If you can maintain your weight at 65 grams of Net Carbs, you have an ACE of 65.
Lifetime Maintenance is your permanent way of eating. Continue to enjoy the same foods you did at the end of Pre-Maintenance. For most people, this means that they can now eat most nutrient-dense carbohydrates. Do be sure that your portion sizes match your needs. Continue to stay away from white flour, white sugar and foods made with them or trans fats. Most people can even indulge in the occasional “forbidden food,” such as having a piece of cake at a friend’s wedding if they do so as a rare exception instead of a regular habit. Most importantly, you do not go back to your old way of eating - and if you regain more than five pounds, take it off immediately by dropping back to a lower carb intake level.
By the way, there is no reason not to enjoy an occasional sweet treat as an Atkins follower. Atkins Nutritionals makes dozens of low-carb foods, among them chocolate bars and other sweets that will not cause weight gain if used properly. Many of these products are suitable for all phases and are labelled so that you know exactly what’s in them, providing the number of Net Carbs, the only ones you need to count when you do Atkins.
The answer to my friend's question - "Why can’t I maintain my weight loss on Atkins?" - is that she’s not doing it right. Do Atkins correctly, and you can lose weight and keep it off permanently.
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