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JULY
2003 - What
a Difference a Month Makes! My first intro to Atkins was as a child when my parents would do Atkins (the meat diet!) and lose a lot of weight. It has never entered my mind since, probably because of all the bad publicity it has received over the years. When Mr. Atkins died recently from his fall on the ice, the whole Atkins diet and low carb eating came back in full force. I saw the books at Costco but kept passing them by without much thought. Then I saw a tv show about the Atkins diet being the one that people lost the most weight on and the reasons why. Then my mom e-mailed that she was doing it again because she remembered how easy and "good" it had been when she had done it before. Me, ever the skeptic, decided to do some research on the Internet to see what the big deal was as I really knew nothing much about it. I first read every negative thing I could find on it and found out that actually the negative wasn't what I had thought and much was old info that had actually been disproved or misrepresented. Then I went for all the positive information, including testimonies of people who had done it (and kept their weight off for years). I also read many other articles that were not doing "Atkins" but doing low-carb and it all started making sense. I got the books at Costco and started reading all about the program and why the chemistry of eating low-carb instead of low fat works. The biggest difference I have noticed in doing Atkins is that I am not having ANY cravings for foods like I always have when doing any other "diet". The reason, I think, is because eating so much protein and not worrying about fat leaves you feeling satiated and satisfied. There are lots of choices to choose from including fish, poultry, beef, eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, cheeses and then salads and many veggies to choose from. I am also drinking water for the first time in my life consistently, along with taking my vitamins faithfully. One of the things recommended is to completely go off of caffeine because it tends to cause food cravings. Sugar is the other no-no that has to be given up. I have always been the biggest sugar and caffeine addict and knew that this would be a HUGE change for me!! But committed to give it a try, I went cold turkey off of both. The first 3 days I had to put up with some headaches but I never needed to take any pain reliever until I started having leg pains on the 3rd and 4th day. I read to see what the problem was and realized that I needed to add a potassium supplement to my vitamins. It immediately took the pains away and I have been pain free ever since. Since I decided to begin Atkins, I have found people coming out of the woodwork who have also started doing it. All have lost about an average of 10lbs the first 2 weeks and are feeling better than they ever have. We laugh about how satisfying our eating is and how amazed we are that in all of our dieting experience we never stumbled across this jewel. My husband started after I did and lost 5 lbs his first 4 days. He and I are feeling so energetic and have started walking as many nights as possible to get a little bit of exercise in. My daughter is starting on Monday and is so excited after seeing the success of her parents and other friends of ours. With all the BBQ's this summer, eating will be a breeze. We have already had many social occasions and they have all been relatively easy. We have contributed either hot dogs or chicken chef salad or ham and turkey and cream cheese and cheese sticks rolled up together. We went hiking at Mt. St. Helens and found it easy to put together snacks that we could eat. My husband has found interesting and filling things to take to work. I feel like this is finally a way to lose weight and be healthy that I can actually succeed in. It just makes sense. The books have been such a help in addressing so many of the "whys" of Atkins, especially why it works compared to other weight loss plans. People's blood pressure, cholesterol and other health problems all seem to improve greatly from this way of eating and losing weight. The "rules" of what you can and can't eat make it a "no brainer", almost, in grocery shopping and cooking meals. I was worried that this would take more of my time in the kitchen but I am finding that it doesn't. I have so much more energy to put into the rest of my life as I am not thinking of food at all during the day except to think what I am going to make for breakfast, lunch or dinner. No food cravings to have to distract myself from during the day, no calories to count (only carbs which you get good at really fast since most meats have zero carbs!). I do spend more time in the bathroom because of all the water I drink. (I am actually surprised to find out that I like water!) So, this has been a great few weeks and I am feeling like I finally am on my way to a healthier and happier me! I am excited to have many other friends and family members doing this also as it is always encouraging to compare notes. I definitely advise anyone that is thinking of doing Atkins to get the book(s) because there is a lot of information that is really helpful. Also, this is not for anyone that is pregnant or nursing. If you are diabetic on meds, you also would need to have a doctor follow you through as your meds would need to be adjusted due to the affects on insulin. (This is what the book tells you. I am not a doctor nor do I offer any medical advice. That is what doctors are for.) :-) But for the normal, overweight person like myself, wanting to lose weight and be healthy without the cravings, this looks like a winner! I also checked out a book from the library called "Carbohydrate Addicted Kids" which I will soon be reading to see how to wean my children off of so many of the carb-laden foods they eat. I will let you know next month what I find out for the kids, who don't need to lose weight, but would enjoy the benefits of lower carb eating, including more focus and less hyperactivity. We shall see! "I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined to me and heard my cry….He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God…" Psalms 40:1,3 |
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