Fri, Feb-15-02, 10:30
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Senior Member
Posts: 341
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 223/209/200
BF:
Progress: 61%
Location: Coastal Northwest US
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If there is time to change your mind about starting it, there is a step you'll want to have done before you begin. You need to get used to drinking lots of water. Increased water consumption is a must for the diet.
Get used to the taste of water, and increase your consumption of water to the appropriate level before trying the diet. This will help you separate the effects of the water increase from the effects of the induction of the diet.
Add water to your diet for at least 3 weeks, but ideally for about 2 months. Eat exactly the foods in the same quantities as you normally eat, but add the water. You'll likely lose about 1 pound a month doing just this (I lost 4 pounds in 5 months). Add multivitamins to your diet as well.
The amount of water you need to drink daily if you are not overly active is about a half ounce of water per pound of normal or ideal body weight for your height, and then add .33 ounces for every pound overweight. If you're very active, then up it to about .66 ounces per pound of normal weight and .5 ounces per pound overweight.
In the first couple weeks, you'll be in the bathroom quite often, but your bladder will settle down and you will urinate large quantites less often.
It was hard for me to adjust from 2 cups of water to 13 cups a day, but it was necessary.
Good luck.
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