Atkins diet....

MrsCannibal · Jun 8, 2004

Fell in love with the country, and opened a school over here. The rest as they say is history................. :)

Wow...much more interesting than most history! Love talking to people who are living their own adventure, not just bobbing along with the flow...:)

Indy, LPN, LVN · Jun 8, 2004

I tried a version of this... I read the "power protein" book and didn't see my doctor first. One thing I liked was the tools for body assessment, for getting your BMI, your nutritional requirements as far as protein/calories, etc down on paper.

The suggestions I would have are:

1- buy morton's lite salt. I don't remember what about the diet made you have to watch your lytes, but that salt is more balanced so you're less likely to have problems with it.

2- watch your blood pressure and know your baseline. The diet I tried recommended SUDDENLY going from 200 to 30 carbs per day and I bottomed out my BP doing that. ... and I also ignored my childhood history of hypoglycemia, which is why I'm not on the thing anymore.

3- watch your I's and O's. Seriously, don't put a hat in your toilet or anything but you know, or can figure real quick, how much you drink. And the average bladder feels the urge to void at between 300-500ml; so multiply number of voids times each number for a ballpark idea, and if you get behind, see your doctor. The reason for this is the Atkins diet, at its weight loss end (the real low carbs end) encourages ketone production, and you could have some renal damage.

I don't mean to scare you off weight loss! Just, as a nursing student, it's good practice to take care of yourself while preparing to take care of others. And relax a little- Yes, you wanna lose weight... but you know school is gonna give you all sorts of things to obsess over that aren't weight related, so don't let your diet drive you bonkers on top of all that.

Spoiled1, MSN, RN · Jun 8, 2004

I would love some ideas for breakfast though because after a while eggs and bacon get a little tiresome Someone told me they eat chicken I think I will try it this week.:)

if you go to www.atkins.com you can sign up for a newsletter/magazine that comes loaded with atkins brand foods and recipe ideas. I get it once a month, and its free!

bbear · Jun 8, 2004

I tried a version of this... I read the "power protein" book and didn't see my doctor first. One thing I liked was the tools for body assessment, for getting your BMI, your nutritional requirements as far as protein/calories, etc down on paper.
The suggestions I would have are:
1- buy morton's lite salt. I don't remember what about the diet made you have to watch your lytes, but that salt is more balanced so you're less likely to have problems with it.
2- watch your blood pressure and know your baseline. The diet I tried recommended SUDDENLY going from 200 to 30 carbs per day and I bottomed out my BP doing that. ... and I also ignored my childhood history of hypoglycemia, which is why I'm not on the thing anymore.
3- watch your I's and O's. Seriously, don't put a hat in your toilet or anything but you know, or can figure real quick, how much you drink. And the average bladder feels the urge to void at between 300-500ml; so multiply number of voids times each number for a ballpark idea, and if you get behind, see your doctor. The reason for this is the Atkins diet, at its weight loss end (the real low carbs end) encourages ketone production, and you could have some renal damage.
I don't mean to scare you off weight loss! Just, as a nursing student, it's good practice to take care of yourself while preparing to take care of others. And relax a little- Yes, you wanna lose weight... but you know school is gonna give you all sorts of things to obsess over that aren't weight related, so don't let your diet drive you bonkers on top of all that.

The way electrolytes can come into play with the Atkins diet:

When a person goes on a low-carbohydrate/low-fat/high protein diet, it forces the body to metabolize fat for essential nutrients. Consequently, the body loses weight. But in the process, they can produce huge amounts of ketones (the metabolism of fatty acids results in ketone production). The excess ketones causes the blood pH to decrease. The blood becomes more acidic. A decrease in pH could also make it very difficult for sodium ions to leave the small intestine and enter into the bloodstream. Sodium, of course, is essential (among other things) for proper neural function. If there are other underlying medical conditions (possibly unknown to the dieter), a host of other imbalances can occur which can prove life threatening in some cases.

That's why you should always consult with your doctor before starting such a diet.

susanna · Jun 8, 2004

Heard a lot about this diet and want to try it to shed about 10-20 pounds and keep em off. Can you do it if you're a vegetarian though? It doesn;t sounds like it. You basically just cut out all sugar and eat mostly lots of veggies for carbs and protein and fat.

Ill try it then get back in a couple of weeks to tell you guys how the weight goes.

Silicone · Jun 8, 2004

too confusing counting and anticipating all those points
Think I will just go out and Buy a Foot Long Chili cheese Coney
with 2 burritos on the side and some onion rings
----------
How about a large deep dish pizza with extra cheese, pepperoni, bacon and jalapenos sound
with a side order of hot buffaloe wings yum

I got heartburn just reading that!

suzanne4, RN · Jun 9, 2004

Heard a lot about this diet and want to try it to shed about 10-20 pounds and keep em off. Can you do it if you're a vegetarian though? It doesn;t sounds like it. You basically just cut out all sugar and eat mostly lots of veggies for carbs and protein and fat.
Ill try it then get back in a couple of weeks to tell you guys how the weight goes.

You are just basically talking about Atkins and South Beach. If you don't change your eating habits, and just do this for a couple of weeks, you will go right back to where you started at.

If you keep your sugar intake way done or none at all, you are going to lose weight, and if you cut out any of the soft-drinks, you will be way ahead. The sugar-free ones are loaded with sodium, so that you retain water, unless you can find the ones that are actually made with Splenda.

I think that you need to read more before starting anything. And yes you can do it as a vegetarian, just make sure that you get enough protein from soy products, etc.

susanna · Jun 9, 2004

If you keep your sugar intake way done or none at all, you are going to lose weight, and if you cut out any of the soft-drinks, you will be way ahead. The sugar-free ones are loaded with sodium, so that you retain water, unless you can find the ones that are actually made with Splenda.
I think that you need to read more before starting anything. And yes you can do it as a vegetarian, just make sure that you get enough protein from soy rpoducts, etc.

Cool beans. Fatty stomach and thighs, here I come! Hope I don't go crazy and eat all the cookies and cola in the house though. Mmmmm, cookies.

suzanne4, RN · Jun 9, 2004

Cool beans. Fatty stomach and thighs, here I come! Hope I don't go crazy and eat all the cookies and cola in the house though. Mmmmm, cookies.

Why don't you just give the colas and cookies away and get them out of the house? That way the temptation won't be there. :)

NP2BE · Jun 10, 2004

Just a word of warning: A lot of people are gonna tell you this is a terrible diet. Get the book. Read it. The first two weeks are the most strict. You cannot stay on the induction forever. If I remember correctly, the book is called "Atkins for Life."
I am currently taking a Nutrition Course and my instructor is constantly putting Atkins down because SHE SAYS it is not a diet you can adhere to the rest of your life. That and she says you need at least 50 to 100 g of carbs for "protein sparing" in your diet. I told her I believe Atkins tells you 70 g carbs - the first 2 weeks. I did ask her once if she read the book. She mumbled her answer. She continues to put Atkins down in lectures. Not wanting to risk a bad grade, I just ignore the barbs.
Once again - READ THE BOOK. It is a great diet - but you must follow the directions. Good luck all!

Yeah, I got alot of people telling me how horrible this was, about 8 people told me it was a terrible diet,. all of them were nurses. I went out and did research on my own and found out the eact opposite. Many ppl in healthcare were opposed to this diet when it became popular, but research is out showing lowered cholesterol and weight loss with it, higher success rates. My word of advice, do your own research. Its a good diet.

zooge · Jun 20, 2004

i asked for your help a couple of weeks ago. there were a few of you who emailed me. i found the exercise ideas to be the most help. i went to the dr and i tipped the scales at 258lb :imbar i am only 5ft 3in tall. see i was not kidding when i said you may save a life here. alway he adviced me to do the atkins diet. this was on the 27th of this month. i ran out bought the book that day and began the diet the following one. i feel so much better already it is like i actually have energy now. the first two days i was the i could not have my bread! once i felt the energy to increase i was . well today i could not wait any longer and climbed on the scale. i lose 2lbs. i am 256lbs for me this is big in a good way:chuckle
here is the question: have any of you been on this diet? i hear so many different things about it. but the dr. is the one who pointed me is this direction.
thanks to all of you who offered a helping hand in my time of need!

i suggest you do something that will improve your health instead of causing damage to you .go total vegetarian instead.another name is vegan.

and do drink lots of water and try to regular walking too. you will feel healthy for it (lots) and you can stay on it for life and you will lose weight too.

great place for recipes is http://remnantprophecy.sdaglobal.org/library-web/recipes.htm

if you have your doubts about this, just do some research on cjd and then decide if you think atkins is a good choice for a diet.

we have been total vegetarian for 20 years and have raised our children this way.not one of them (and we have 8) has to think about their weight and neither do i.and the children are all healthy too.

Sheri257 · Jun 20, 2004

Yeah, I got alot of people telling me how horrible this was, about 8 people told me it was a terrible diet,. all of them were nurses. I went out and did research on my own and found out the eact opposite. Many ppl in healthcare were opposed to this diet when it became popular, but research is out showing lowered cholesterol and weight loss with it, higher success rates. My word of advice, do your own research. Its a good diet.

If you read the Marieb textbook for Physio (which a lot of schools use for that course) it explains how these kinds of diets are dangerous (p. 968 of the 6th addition is most relevant, although a complete explanation of how all of it works starts on p. 964).

If you actually read and understand any of the basic physiology, you'll see the danger here. My Physio teacher, who has a PhD in physiology, also thinks Atkins is extremely dangerous.

But hell ... what do eight nurses, a PhD in physiology and the author of a standard Physio textbook (who also is an RN and PhD) know? Certainly you know better than they do.

It's not like these people make money by criticizing Atkins. Maybe they're health experts who are simply trying to prevent health problems.

But go ahead ... feel free to kill yourself. At least you've been warned.

:chuckle