Though again I must stress that the Atkins diet doesn’t “end” - or it’s not meant to. If you’re following it correctly, the third phase is to keep your carbs lower than you used to eat - forever. Kind of a tall order, but it’s working for me. You really have to read the book to have a proper view of how the scheme works, though.
Lib, you’re in the States. There’s a stuff called “Splenda” that is made of sugar, has zero calories* and tastes identical to sugar. I’ve tried other sugar substitutes for years and couldn’t get past the taste. This stuff is good.(it’s so close you can even bake with it)
Fenris
Fenris. My new hero. 
Lib, this stuff is so good, you can (hypothetically) put a spoonful of it directly in your mouth and only notice the slightest hint of difference from sugar.
Best. Food-subsitute. Ever.
And as a fellow coffee/cream/sugar junkie this stuff is a lifesaver.
Fenris
I just wanna toss in a few things—
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I did Atkins at the end of this summer and shed 30 lbs. in 3 weeks. My pants are large enough to have people living in them now.
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My energy levels are a LOT higher now. When I came off Atkins, I didn’t need to take afternoon naps anymore.
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My blood pressure is the lowest it’s ever been in my life, which is counterintuitive to a high-cholesterol diet.
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Most people who’ve yelled at me about Atkins haven’t done their homework on it. I’m not saying that to disparrage anyone on these boards. However, when people yell at me about “that low-carb diet,” I find that when I press them on it either a) they haven’t done ANY research on it beyond hearsay, or b) everything they “know” about it is wrong (i.e., my low blood pressure is proof of that).
My $0.02.
My main concern with the Atkins diet, and other, similar low-carb diets is not their effectiveness–there’s a lot of evidence that they do work. I’m mainly concerned about their long-term effects on one’s health, and there’s not much data on that.
[tangent]
Also, I don’t think that “low-carb” is necessarily the best name for this. After all, fruits and vegetables are carbs, and IIRC, even in the induction phase, one is encouraged to eat plenty of salad. Perhaps low-starch or low-simple carb would be a better name?
[/salad]
“Funded by” and “conducted by” are entirely different things.
And if you know Atkins funded it, you also know WHY:
And why does it piss you off so much? The diet WORKS. And my doctor, an endocrinologist, told me it was the best thing for me. (Not the Atkins plan specifically, but low-carb)
Were you just a little overweight, or were you seriously obese?
The reason I ask is that you will naturally gain back some some energy and your blood pressure will go down if you lose weight starting at the standpoint of obesity almost regargless of what diet you use.
It’s literally exhausting on your system to maintain obesity, hence your tired.
There was a study cited in Runner’s World a few months ago, about the Atkins diet.
They put half the group on the Atkins diet, and the other half on a regular diet with the same amount of calories.
They found that overrall those on the Atkins diet reported lower energy levels and then degraded performance on the treadmill tests as well.
I don’t think is alarming or surprising, as carbs provide you with quick ready energy.
Your net energy gain from losing weight, exceeded the loss of energy you got from Atkins, and you felt better.
I just wanted to say thanks, Stoid, for posting that story link.
- toadspittle, who’s currently eating cheese (and is still 30 lbs. lighter after 2.5 years on Atkins)
Except it’s kind of fizzy in coffee…but the taste is pretty close.
Also, I’ve had it in low calorie juice and can barely tell.
Question for the Atkins people - I just can’t imagine doing endurance exercise w/o carbs. If I were being totally honest, I would say that I could do with less than I’m currently getting - but are there hard exercisers who do no-carb diets? Or is more for sedentary, light exercise people?
Three of us at work have been on Atkins since the beginning of October and we’ve all lost over a dress size. My favourite jeans (UK size 8) are sitting in the wardrobe and I want to get back in them! Apart from the weight loss, the best thing has been breaking my addictions. I would eat loads of sweets and crisps, gallons of Coke and buckets of coffee. If nothing else my snacking habits have gone.
Question about Splenda. Since it’s made from sugar, doesn’t that mean it is high carb even though it’s zero calories?
Grabbing the box:
For 1 packet
Calories: 0
Total fat: 0g
Sodium: 0g
Total Carb Less than 1g*
Protien 0g
“Suitable for people with diabetes”
It’s made of “Dextrose, Maltodextrin and Sucralose”.
Apparently that “sucralose” stuff isn’t recognized by your body at all as sugar or carbs. (from their web-page)
I wonder if it’s that “reverse sugar” I’ve heard of (the molecule goes some other way and your body doesn’t know what to do with it.) But I thought that was still pretty much science-fiction.
Fenris
Fenris, no it’s definitely not science fiction. There are “Left” and “Right” versions of all of the sugars, but the vast majority of the sugars we eat are “Right”, rather than their symetric but opposite “left” sugars. I believe the same is true for some complex fats, but I am not sure about the fats. This is the “technology” that went into the “Wow” or Olestra potato chips. Unfortunately, there are bacteria that can eat these sugars, and they produce gas when they digest the sugars. This can lead to some unpleasant GI side-effects, and is what led to the recall/end of the Wow chips. So, if you don’t limit your intake, there can be some unfortunate, but not unsafe side-effects.
I know the tech existed, but I thought that it was insanely expensive to make “left” sugars much like how we can make anti-matter, but it’s WAAAAAAAY to expensive to do so (hence the science-fiction tag)
And the Olestra gave me some mild issues, I’ve never had any issue with Splenda.
Fenris
Then you’re lucky, ** Fenris. ** As far as fake stuff goes, Splenda is damn good, and I really like most of the CarboLite candies that are made with it. But more than a bite or two and I am Explodo Girl… that is if I’m lucky enough to be passing the stuff, usually it gets stuck and I am Bloato Girl. Ugh. So any time I want to indulge, I have to take an anti-gas tablet with it.
** Threemae, ** would Beano work? The chemical gas controllers aren’t that great and they sometimes irritate. A natural enzyme solution would be ideal…
Huh. In the (admittely small and non-representative sample) circle of friends/family who use Splenda, I’ve never had any of 'em mention a problem. And I’m usually (Olestara being the only exception) the one with the sensitive tummy.
:: relooks at Stoid’s post
“CarboLite candies”??? :eek:
Sweets are what usually makes me blow a diet.
:: rushes off happily to check the web ::
Er…lack of sweets are usually…etc
The yummiest is the Chocolate Almonds and the chocolate bars.
Is the atkins diet High protein/low carb or high fat/low carb?
iirc from my physiology class 2 years ago.
one of the problems in starvation is that the body begins to eat all the fat stores exclusively. the breakdown of which increased blood ketone levels. This increases the acidicy of the blood. If your blood didn’t have buffers it’d get bad real quickly, but even still blood has a tolerable PH range of what? .3?
Of course this is an exclusive fat diet.