My wife and I went on Atkins for several weeks back in…I dunno, 1997? That sounds about right.
And we just started on it again, Saturday morning the 18th.
Yes.
In 1997, I lost about 15 lbs., the wife, about 18. So far this time, I’m down about 4 - 4.5 pounds in the first 2.5 days. Yeah!! :):)
FWIW, we didn’t have any more of a problem gaining weight when we ent off the Atkins diet than after any other diet. AFAWC, the Atkins diet isn’t any more of a “lifetime commitment” than joining a bowling league. IME, you can use it as a tool to lose weight, then move on.
No data on cholesterol or triglycerides. About the same energy levels.
After awhile on the diet the first time, I had some funny sensations in my body that were hard to describe even then. My WAGs were that it could be potassium deficiency or too much aspartame. They went away a few weeks after I resumed a normal diet. (I’m taking potassium this time in addition to my regular multivitamins, and using a variety of artificial sweeteners, especially Splenda. We’ll see what happens.)
I also had some constipation. Less this time, so far. No biggie either time.
I happen to like steaks and burgers and eggs and cheese and all that, so compared to other diets that work, I find it quite easy. Sure, I’d like some stuff I can’t have right now, but let’s compare one important list from Atkins and most other diets: The List of Things You Can Eat As Much As You Want Of.
Most other diets:
- Leafy green vegetables
Atkins:
- Leafy green vegetables
- Steak
- Hamburgers
- Ham
- Pork Chops
- Lamb Chops
- Crab
- Lobster
- Eggs
- Cheeses
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Buffalo
…
You get the idea.
You can also eat limited quantities of nuts and (pure) peanut butter (the kind where the ingredients are peanuts and salt only - or just peanuts, like the stuff I buy at Trader Joe’s), but check the book or the Web site first for carbo grams, and watch the numbers.
I’d recommend it, because I think most people will have an easier time staying on it, due to being able to eat your fill of stuff that really fills you up. But it’s not for everyone. On any diet, you’re going to have to give up the pizza, the Big Macs, and the jelly donuts. But if you really would rather have stir-fried veggies over rice than a juicy steak, a traditional diet will probably be more up your alley.
I do want to share the list of what Mrs. F. and I ate, between us, on our first two days on the diet:
Two pounds of flank steak
1/2 pound of hamburger
One pound of boneless turkey breast
3/4 pound of bacon
9 eggs
3/4 pound cheese (cheddar and muenster)
2-3 oz. macadamia nuts
2-3 tbsp peanut butteer
plus lettuce, salad dressing, coffee with cream and artificial sweetener, etc. (One place we do deviate from the book is with caffiene. Yes, we’re addicted; frankly, we don’t care; the diet seems to work just fine even if you keep using it.)
It looks like a lot, but it really only amounts to ~1500 calories per person per day. (I expect I’m consuming ~1600 cal/day, and my wife’s going through ~1400.) The thing is, on Atkins, you’re sated; on this diet, if I’m hungry, I eat - I just avoid the carbs.
People say that Atkins works for the same reason other diets work: calories consumed < calories burned. That may be so. But I’ve done the 1200-calorie diets, and it takes me a week or more on one of those to lose what I’ve lost in the past two and a half days on Atkins, when I haven’t been limiting my intake anywhere near that much.
So I don’t know if there’s anything ‘magical’ or not about weight loss on Atkins, but it sure seems that way. And for me, it’s a much more enjoyable diet to be on, if I’m going to be on a diet at all.
Sorry to run off at the mouth so much, but each time I’ve stepped on the scale this weekend, the numbers are down yet again, while I’ve been stuffing my face to the max. I’m kinda hyped about that.
