Uncovering the Atkins diet secret

[Guest guest]

>. If someone had vitamin deficiencies and needed more fresh vegetables and

fruits to get them an Atkins type diet might make the situation worse.

 

I have to disagree with you here, Frank. People do not " get " Atkins. If you do

Atkins " wrong " - which I must agree many people do, deciding they can just eat

all the meat they want, and NOT eating their fresh vegetables, then of course I

would agree. However, people who do that have not actually read, or are not

following, the guidelines as written by Atkins. EVEN during the two week

induction period he insists on 3 cups of fresh raw greens. After induction, he

insists on a balanced diet, increasing fresh veggies and low glycemic fruits.

You add things back to the diet slowly, incresing by 5 carb increments per week,

going from low glycemic to higher, seeing what your body can handle along the

way and still lose weight. Many people are able to get up to 40 or so carbs,

some up to 80, and still lose weight. Some are able to include most green and

colored veggies, and even some whole grain products, as well as berries and

small portions of low glycemic fruits.

 

It is all laid out very specifically to maximize a balanced way of eating.

Atkins is not high protein diet, it is a low carb diet, particularly low in

processed carbs. All the recent reportings about " changes " in Atkins are a

media frenzy that has nothing to do with Atkins. The Atkins center has

reestablished that nothing has changed with Atkins - they have always said that

saturated fats should be used with care, have always said to eat red meats only

in moderation, balanced by poultry and fish and other sources of protein. They

have always said eating too much protein is a problematic for weight loss, as it

can convert to glucose. They have always stressed eating a balnced diet, with

an abundance of fresh vegetables and a variety of low glycemic fruits. I've

read the books - all of them by Atkins, and can testify to this fact. People

who say they are doing " atkins " but are just substitutinn protein for carbs are

not doing atkins. That is not what atkins is about. Joy

 

 

[Guest guest]

In relation to the quoted article, it presents more fallacy. First, it has

never been a secret that one of the key benefits of the Atkins diet is that you

are not as hungry. High carbs and refined foods increase hunger. Low carb

balanced diet suppresses appetite, in part because you are getting all you need,

and are not getting overdoses of insulin (particularly for those of us who are

insulin resistant). Dr. Atkins specifically describes all of these benefits in

his books - it is no secret. It is a part of what makes this diet such a

delight, when followed correctly. When you overindulge in proteins, you can get

back on the craving bandwagon, because it gets converted to glucose and sets off

insulin surges. However, followed correctly, you are not hungry, and you do

naturally decrease your total food intake. Most of us are eating more calories

than when we tried low fat diets, but we are not overindulging in protein - most

of us are actually eating less meat than prior to eating Atkins. Smaller

portions are fulfilling. As to where the calories go - yes, it does take more

calories to burn meats than carbs. But again, most of us are eating less meat

than prior to Atkins, contrary to public perception. The " secret " if there is

one is in the ketosis factor. No, you do not lose calories in your urine. Dr.

Atkins never said that. However, while in ketosis, you burn more calories to

utilize as body energy than while not in ketosis. You get this energy from

metabolizing your body fat, rather than from metabolizing glucose which is what

happens with a traditional diet. The only thing that happens with your urine is

that ketones spill out, a natural and measurable byproduct of being in the

ketosis metabolic mode. Whoever wrote this article, and did these studies,

seems to have never actually read an Atkins book - and if they did, certainly

did not understand much of anything that he was saying. Joy