The world goes Atkins’
September 7th, 2003
I think I started doing this diet at just the right time in our culture. Lots of things are now low carb, and other things that always have been are now being advertised as such. I just saw an ad for Miller Light that touts their beer having half the carbs of Bud Light. Miller Light has 3.2 grams per twelve ounces, while Bud has 6.6. That compares to 13.2 grams for a regular beer, or 2.6 grams for Michelob Ultra.
I haven’t tried Ultra yet (I will next Monday), is it any good? I’ve heard it tastes like water, but my Dad likes it.
I’ve lost five pounds in under a week, and my energy seems to have returned. Whooo hoo! I want to do a graph of my weight loss for the sidebar, but I can’t figure out a way to do it right.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Eek, run screaming while you still can.
1) 5 pounds is 17,500 calories. It’s likely a lot of what you have lost is water. Consider that a marathoner, if not properly hydrated, can lose between 5% and 10% of his body weight during the duration of the race. On pages 164 and 165 of Gina Kolata’s book “Ultimate Fitness,” she mentions this, stating a loss of 12 pounds because of what was known as the “marathon rule,” which dictated no hydration.
2) Read, educate, read, read. There are many types of low-carb diets. Diets that restrict simple carbs but still allow you brown rice, wild rice, fiber-based cereals like Kashi, dried and fresh fruits, and an umlimited supply of vegetables while properly restricting saturated fat intake and maintaining the proper balance of the “good fats” - yes, go go go. Those are also known as bodybuilder diets.
Please don’t put your body through ketosis. Not everybody has to be quite as radical as I do, but, please learn all you can and keep your eyes open. Just because Atkins is popular doesn’t mean it’s right.
(If found all this because I called up your blog to blogroll it, and I’m not known to be silent).
Oh, and this is from which I speak.
hln
Sure, some of it is water weight. I’ve been drinking at least 64 ounces a day, which paradoxically will naturally cause you to lose water weight. That doesn’t mean I’m dehydrated.
Lots of people seem to think that Atkins doesn’t allow any carbs, but that’s simply not true. After the initial two week induction you’re to add 5 grams of carb per week until you stop losing weight. Once you near your goal weight you add 10 a week until, again, you stop losing weight. Once you’ve lost the weight you’re allowed as many carbs as you can eat without gaining more than 5 pounds.
People also frequently assume that you’re allowed to eat any and all fat, but the diet discourages intake of hydrogenated fats, such as those in margarine. I’ve found it really hard to eat a ridiculous ammount of unhealthy fats when I’m not allowed to eat carbs, most of those fats are in highly processed junk food.
Here’s where I’m coming from. There’s nothing dangerous about ketosis unless you have kidney problems. Ketoacidosis is frequently confused with ketosis, and that’s dangerous, but only happens to those with no insulin at all.
I think that the scientific evidence for Atkins working is there or coming, certainly the anecdotal evidence is there. American’s are the fattest people on earth but this is usually interpreted as a sign of gluttony. But when did we become the fattest? In the forty years after the introduction of the food pyramid that has carbs on the bottom. The government experiment involving two hundred million Americans has failed, it’s time to try something new. For me, that’s Atkins.