The Real Skinny on the Atkins Diet
Written: Jun 16 '00 (Updated Jul 24 '00)
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Pros: All the protein you can eat, increased energy, not hungry, documented health benefits
Cons: You get sick of eggs for breakfast, athletes may need more carbs, still controversial
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| WorkingMomof2's Full Review: Atkins Diet |
Very few diets have created as much controversy as the Atkins Diet. Nutritionists and staunch 40-30-30 advocates vehemently denounce the Atkins diet as unsafe; however, not only does this diet actually work, but new scientific studies continue to support it’s efficacy without side effects. I've done quite a bit of research into this, and will share both my personal experience and some of the research with you here.
Overview of the Atkins Diet
First developed over 25 years ago, but popularized in 1992 by Dr. Robert Atkins, the Atkins diet is a low-carbohydrate diet. The most simplistic explanation of this diet is that, theoretically at least, by severely limiting your carbohydrate intake, you force your body to burn fat as a fuel source (instead of adding fat, you are actually reducing your fat stores). The direct benefit of this is that you can eat unlimited – yes, you heard that right, unlimited! – amounts of food, as long as you keep your carbohydrate levels below your threshold. For most people, this is 40 grams of carbohydrates (or less) per day.
Other touted benefits include an increased energy level, reduced yeast infections (systemic, not just vaginal yeast infections), reduced food intolerances, a generally reduced appetite, and a reduction in cholesterol and triglyceride levels, etc.
Dr. Atkins is a cardiologist by training, and his emphasis is heavy on the heart-related benefits of the diet. Since this was first introduced to me by my father, a two-time bypass patient, I paid special attention to this part. When my father first talked to me about the Atkins diet, I poo-poo’d it, stating emphatically “Diets that eliminate or control any aspect of your diet are unhealthy; it’s far better to eat everything in moderation.” After reading the Atkins book I was intrigued; after trying the diet I was amazed.
While my father has not yet tried the Atkins diet on a long-term basis, two of his friends who also have heart conditions have. Both have experienced significant (but regular and controlled) weight loss, been able to keep the weight off for over two years now, and most importantly, their medical test scores are fabulous. This is consistent with Dr. Atkins 25 years of clinical experience with the Atkins diet on his heart patients, and numerous other studies as well. A great number of these studies are cited in Atkins' book, and more have been published since then.
Since your goal is to put your body into Benign Dietary Ketosis (BDK), where you are burning fat as a fuel source, you have to limit your carbohydrate intakes to create this situation. There are four stages of the Atkins Diet:
1. The Induction Diet – 2 weeks of severely limited carbohydrates, not to exceed 20 grams of carbs per day.
2. Ongoing Weight Loss – You increase your carbohydrate level to your maximum level (called your Critical Carbohydrate Level) without increasing your weight, typically between 15 and 40 grams/day.
3. Pre-Maintenance – When you only have 5-10 pounds left to lose, you slow down even further, so that when you hit the “maintenance diet” you are already ready. You add in a few more carbohydrates until you find the perfect plateau where you neither lose nor gain. Drop just below that level, and you can slowly drop those last few pounds.
4. Maintenance Diet – A lifestyle of eating, at a level of carbohydrate intake where you feel best, without regaining weight. This has already been pretty well established in the pre-maintenance where you found your plateau level by trial and error.
The carbohydrates that integrated into your diet at each phase should be healthy carbohydrates – vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and salads; one of the primary goals of the diet is to limit your intake of refined sugars, white bread, milk, etc.
My Experience with the Atkins Diet
I was introduced to this book by my father, who as I said above, has a heart condition and has already had two bypass operations. Since I had about 18 pounds of baby weight still to lose, once I got over my initial skepticism, I figured I’d give good old Dr. Atkins a try. I went on the induction diet, and held my carbohydrate intake level to 15-20 grams per day. I lost about five pounds during the induction phase, and another eight pounds in the next six weeks on the ongoing weight loss section. During the next two weeks I only lost one pound (on the pre-maintenance section) although I will admit that I had several days when my carbohydrate levels were far too high and I put myself “out” of ketosis.
I did buy and use the lipolysis strips, which measure ketones in your urine. These are a simple paper strip, you dip it in your urine to see if you are producing ketones. A color change indicates the level of ketones present in your urine, which indicates how effectively you are burning fat. It also tells you if (and this never happened to me) you are too far into ketosis, and into an unsafe level. I also took vitamin supplements every day, as directed (I do this anyway, but I was especially careful the entire time I was on the diet, and had to go buy sugar-free vitamins!).
I will also say that although the diet did work for me (I lost 14 pounds in 10 weeks), I was not thrilled with it. I never realized how much bread I really do eat until I went on this diet. I would gaze longingly at the sourdough bread at the grocery store, and just walk away. I mastered analyzing every single fast food menu in search of grilled or broiled meat that I could eat without a bun or a carbohydrate rich sauce (no catsup, but mayonnaise is fair game!). Deep fried food is fair game as well, but without breading, which is virtually impossible to find. I ate a lot of Caesar salads (minus the croutons) when I went out, or broiled steak/chicken and salad plates. After the first two weeks, I would hoard my carbohydrate credits so I could have a glass of wine with dinner, and still lose weight!
Lunch and dinner were never too hard – a grilled steak, burger, chicken breast, shrimp, even lamb, plus a side salad and even a vegetable as I progressed on the diet a little. I also found that if I broiled a large chicken or turkey breast, I could eat the leftovers and dip them in ranch dressing and it was a very satisfying meal. What I did struggle with, though, was breakfast. Eggs and bacon sound wonderful, until you have to have them every single day. Cream cheese is legal, but bagels aren’t. I ate a lot of hard cheese, I would roll up sliced buddig ham with a little cream cheese on it, or cook an egg in the microwave (1 or 2 slices of bacon wrapped around the inside of a custard cup, with an egg – yolk popped – cooks in about 1 minute. Yum!). Nonetheless, I was quickly sick of eggs and bacon, and longing for a banana or glass of juice.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I wasn't hungry -- well, that isn't to say I didn't get hungry at all. Rather, when I got hungry, I could go grab a snack of any protein food I wanted. I also found that after the first few days I had my normal energy level, and to be honest, I was much better than I normally do. Of course, seeing those little numbers dropping on the scale kept me motivated as well!
When I decided to go off of the Atkins diet (I was near the end of my weight loss and knew that this was not going to be a long-term “lifestyle” diet for me), I went cold-turkey. Well, with one little celebratory binge. We had pizza one night, and I gorged myself. Believe me, Pizza Hut never tasted so good! After that, I went back onto a normal maintenance level “healthy” diet, with a 40-30-30 balance. My weight fluctuated for about a week, up and down in a 2-3 pound range. I wasn’t sure if it was diet adjustment, or just in “shock” to the pizza! But after that first week, my weight returned to the pre-maintenance level, plus one pound. So my total weight loss was 13 pounds, which I have kept off.
I also integrated more exercise back into my routine shortly after this point, going from exercising 2-3 times a week to exercising 3-5 times a week. I dropped a few more pounds, and two more dress sizes without any further dieting. While my body weight now is closer to the post-Atkins point, my pre-baby clothes fit perfectly and I believe the weight difference is increased muscle mass. I didn’t have my Tanita Bodyfat scale (reviewed at http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-4D4E-F4CEEE-38C05346-prod8) before the baby; however, I use daily as another way to track my body fat and diet.
ADVICE FOR THOSE CONSIDERING THE ATKINS DIET
I would offer a few pieces of advice to anyone seriously considering the Atkins diet, either as a temporary or lifestyle diet.
• Read the Book!
Atkins has written a book called Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution . This is a fairly inexpensive paperback book, available at almost any bookstore or online. The book addresses the reasons people overeat, insulin reactions, specific steps to success, cautions, etc. He gives specific examples of clinically obese individuals who were failing to lose weight, or even gaining weight on reduced fat, low calorie diets (1200-1700 calories, low fat) who then dropped and kept off their excess weight rapidly on the Atkins diet, eating steak, eggs, butter and cream cheese! I learned a lot about the science behind the diet, and was able to feel safer with this diet than I might have if I’d just jumped in and tried to reduce my carbohydrate intake on my own!
In the book, Atkins also cites numerous studies that support both the effectiveness and safety of his program, including several heart specialists’ endorsements. He also includes sections on eating out in the real world, tips on how to keep the weight off, and a fairly comprehensive carbohydrate counter.
• Don’t Cheat!
I mean this in both the positive and negative way. You cannot stay on induction diet too long – one couple I know very well did this. They stayed at 15-20 grams a day, and the husband figured “If 15 is good, 5-10 is even better!”. After six weeks at these super low levels, the husband ended up hospitalized in organ failure. That was a wake-up call to them both, and she stayed on the diet but increased her carbohydrates to the OWL levels that she should have been on (and did continue to lose weight, until she got pregnant and went back onto a normal diet).
You also cannot cheat by sneaking in a little food. The basis of the diet is that your body has this maximum level of carbs needed just to stay out of ketosis. One apple, just one bag of chips, or a slice of bread can hit that level, and then all of those extra calories you are consuming now count against you! It takes a while before you are comfortable knowing how many carbs are in your everyday food – but nowadays there are so many support groups out there and internet resources to help you! The easiest thing I found was not to even have the food around (although I did typically make a rice, pasta or potato dish for my husband & son, and I chewed sugar-free gum while cooking to keep from grazing!)
• Do the Pre-Diet Tests
Dr. Atkins advises that every new dieter undergo a series of pre-diet checks and tests, including a Glucose Tolerance test, blood pressure, thyroid function, and a complete lipid profile including cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL/HDL ratios. The lipid profile is supposed to be completed again after the Induction diet for all cardiac patients. Since I had just had a glucose test (during pregnancy) and relatively recent cardiac profile (due to my father’s condition) I skipped this; however, I would have to say that I would personally recommend that everyone who goes on this diet do the testing (before starting) to be safe, and after dieting if you have a heart or medical condition that needs monitoring.
Recent Research
There are studies that abound both ways on this diet. While Dr. Atkins lists TONS of studies supporting both the science and the safety of his diet program, they are in his book and of course that gives you just a little bit of doubt. Some clinicians have come out and endorsed this as well, and I saw a significant resemblance of the Atkins Diet to the Mayo Clinic Heart Diet (I think I have that right?) that my father was put on before his second bypass operation.
Some recent studies support either some or all of the Atkins principles : Web MD (Feb 25, 2000) published advocating eating low-glycemic carbohydrates (whole grains, beans and vegetables) to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and maximize athletic performance. At the Southern Society of General Internal Medicine in New Orleans, a study was presented that found mildly obese patients on the Atkins diet lost an average of 21 pounds in four months. Dr. Westman of Duke University showed that not only did the Atkins patients lose weight, but they also lowered serum cholesterol and triglycerides, while significantly raising HDL (“good”) cholesterol. He said they did not see any of the safety concerns with regard to blood chemistry or major organ function during this study. (Reuters, Feb 21, 2000; Muscular Development, June 2000).
Summary: Atkins for the Athlete, and Atkins for You
Despite the articles above, it is a generally held belief that athletes performing power exercises need the short-term energy provided by carbohydrates, versus the longer-burning energy provided by burning fat. If you are an athlete performing power exercises or endurance training, you would want to talk to your trainer or physician specifically about this before starting on the Atkins diet, and monitor your performance as well. Certainly, the increased demand on your body might increase your minimum carbohydrate level, and you would want to be sure that the carbs you included in your diet were low-glycemic (long-burning) like whole grains, vegetables and beans.
If you are not a power athlete or endurance athlete, and are interested in the Atkins diet, I would strongly advise following my tips above – read the book first, and talk to your doctor. Do whatever testing you and your doctor feel are appropriate, especially if you are currently significantly overweight and/or have a heart condition. Then try the induction diet, and see how you feel. Don’t cheat – either by straying off of the diet, or trying to stay on it too long.
The Atkins diet may be controversial, but it works amazingly well. I have personal knowledge of two cardiac patients that have not only lost weight but also significantly improved their cardiac profiles by following this diet. I personally lost – and kept off – my post-baby weight using the Atkins diet. And while this is not a diet I can follow as a lifestyle, many people do, successfully. I think the bottom line is that only you (in conjunction with your doctor!) can determine what is right for you. In the meantime, happy and healthy eating!
If you want to do some further research, here are a couple of good sites to look at – and I’ve included both positive and negative resources!
http://www.atkinscenter.com/ (The official Atkins Center Website)
http://weightloss.about.com/health/weightloss/library/weekly/aa041399.htm (Atkins Diet Tips)
http://weightloss.about.com/health/weightloss/msub44.htm (A long list of links to different Atkins Diet resources)
http://homearts.com/gh/health/67dietb1.htm (A negative Review of the Atkins diet and book)
http://www.ctel.net/~lynzac/ketoklub/ (The KetoClub, a support group)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380727293/cowboyde/104-9781488-0133539 (Reviews on the Atkins Diet Book on Amazon.com)
http://www.phys.com/b_nutrition/02solutions/diet_debunker/atkins.html (A negative review of the Atkins diet)
http://www.lowcarb.com/ (A resource for the low-carb shopper)
http://www.escribe.com/health/atkins/bb/ (Atkins Bulletin Board)
http://www.heartinfo.com/nutrition/atkins103097.htm (The Heart Information Network review of the Atkins Diet)
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