Archive for the ‘Atkins Diet’ Category
Low Carb Diet Appetite Suppression
October 29th, 2009
One welcome side effect of a low carb diet is appetite suppression. Two things work together to cause appetite suppression. Eating a high protien diet and entering ketosis. The Atkins Diet Plan in particular is effective at suppressing your appetite with its mix of available foods.
Replacing refined carbohydrates with good quality high protein foods has an appetite suppressing effect. It helps to stabilize blood sugar levels, avoiding blood sugar peaks and valleys that cause food cravings and hypoglycemia. Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) causes weakness, dizziness and hunger. Blood sugar feeds the muscles, brain, and organs so when your blood sugar is low your body craves high carbohydrate foods like sugar, refined flour, and white potatoes. These foods will quickly raise your blood sugar and even create a kind of euphoria as your blood sugar rises.
However, the real key to the appetite suppressing effects of the low carb diet is entering and staying in ketosis. Ketosis occurs when you are carbohydrate starved and your body begins to only partially burn bodyfat. Ketones, the product of ketosis, are molecules of fat that have not been completely burned. Most people report that once they are in ketosis their hunger goes away. This us usually between the 3rd and 5th day on the induction phase of the Atkins Diet Plan. Once you are in ketosis it is much easier to maintain the diet. This is normally considered a dangerous condition, commonly found in people with diabetes. However, according to Dr. Atkins, it is safe to stay slightly in ketosis. This gives you the benefit of appetite suppression and accelerated fat loss without the damaging effects of ketosis.
The key to staying slightly in ketosis is to modify your carbohydrate intake to keep yourself in ketosis. You check your urine periodically during the day to see if you are putting out ketones. Pass a keto-stick through your urine stream and check the color of the stick against the color scale on the bottle. The more purple the stick, the more ketones you are excreting. The trick is to adjust your carbs to keep that stick just slightly purple. By staying just slightly in ketosis you get the benefit of appetite suppression without the serious side effects of being in full blown ketosis. This is the secret to making the Atkins Diet Plan work.
Here is a valuable tip to help suppress your appetite.
Eat mostly high quality, low fat protiens. For instance, eat eggs. Eggs are high in protien and essential nutrients. They are also low in carbohydrates. And if you only eat the whites, they are very low in fat. A recent study showed that eating eggs for breakfast would actually stave off hunger pangs through the rest of the day. The research concerned two groups of women. One group ate eggs for breakfast and the other had a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. The calorie count for both breakfasts was exactly the same. The subjects kept track of what they ate the rest of the day and answered questions about their levels of hunger and satisfaction throughout the day. The results showed that the women who ate the eggs for breakfast felt more satisfied throughout the entire day. They ate less at each meal than the women who were in the bagel group.
Eggs contain about 6 grams of protein each. This helps to even out blood sugar and produces a feeling of satisfaction. Both of these factors help to curb cravings. Egg yolks also contain lutein and xenazanthin. These nutrients have been shown to have incredible effects on eye health. So it’s important to eat the whole egg, and not just the white. Eggs contain choline that is important in brain functioning and memory. These nutrients are just an added benefit to the appetite suppressing qualities.
Broccoli and cauliflower, two of the acceptable vegetables on the Atkins program, also have appetite-suppressing effects. These vegetables are very bulky and they help make your stomach feel full. When your stomach feels full, it will actually create a chemical response in your body. Your body will reduce its appetite because it believes that your stomach is full of high calorie foods. This will happen regardless of what is in your stomach. You can achieve the same results with water and psyllium husk fiber. Both broccoli and cauliflower provide bulk in your diet and are essential vegetables on the Atkins plan.
The Atkins diet focuses on eating small protein balanced meals a few times per day. This will help keep your blood sugar stabilized and avoid carbohydrate cravings. With high carbohydrate diets, you are riding the wave of carbohydrate highs. After you eat, you feel great and full. Then a few hours later, you come crashing down and are hungrier than you were previous to eating the carbohydrate. This cycle continues and, over time, you will eat more and gain weight. The protein, fat and vegetable meals of the Atkins plan put your blood sugar back in balance. They provide just enough of each type of food, with a proper amount of carbohydrates (from the vegetables). The vegetables provide quick carbohydrate energy, and the protein gives the meal staying power. This combination helps suppress your appetite.
The Atkins diet is actually a craving control diet that can help suppress your appetite. If you’ve had a problem with carbohydrate cravings before, this new way of eating will help control those cravings. The more you eat on the plan, the better your cravings will be controlled and the easier it will be to follow the diet.
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Apply This Secret and Win at Low Carb Dieting
October 27th, 2009
Low carb dieting on the Atkins diet can be difficult if you don’t do it right. One big factor in making your diet successful is eating a wide variety of satisfying food. Work these foods into your low carb diet and watch the pounds melt away.
This is a list of Atkins diet foods allowed in the induction phase.
All eggs, including: deviled, fried, hard-boiled, poached, omelets, soft-boiled, scrambled.
All fish, including: bass, cod, flounder, haddock, herring, perch, pollack, roughy, salmon, sardines, sole, tilapia, trout, tuna, walleyed pike.
All fowl, including: chicken, cornish hen, duck, goose, pheasant, quail, turkey.
All meat, including: beef, pork, lamb, veal, venison. Bacon and ham are allowed if they have not been sugar cured.
All shellfish, including: clams, crab, octopus, shrimp, squid. Oysters and mussels are limited to 4 ounces per day because of their higher carbohydrate count.
You may eat these foods to until your satisfied. The following foods are allowed with some restrictions.
You may eat 3 to 4 ounces of certain cheese. They include hard, firm, soft and semi-soft aged cheeses. You should check the carbohydrate content of your cheese before you eat, keeping in mind you are allowed only 12 to 15 carbs per day. You can enjoy cheddar, goat cheese, gouda, mozzarella, swiss, and blue cheese.
Salad vegetables are next on the list. These are a good source of fiber. Remember to count carbs. These low carb veggies are your first choice: alfalfa sprouts, arugala, bok choy, celery, chicory, chives, cucumber, daikon, endive, escarole, fennel, jicama, lettuce, peppers, radicchio, radishes, and romaine.
These vegetables are slightly higher in carbohydrates and you should use them carefully, making sure to stay within your daily carb limit: artichoke, celery root, pumpkin, artichoke hearts, rhubarb, asparagus, chard, sauerkraut, bamboo shoots, collard greens, scallions, dandelion, snow peas, bean sprouts, dandelion greens, spaghetti squash, beet greens, eggplant, spinach, broccoli, hearts of palm, string or wax beans, broccoli, kale, summer squash, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, tomato, bean sprouts, leeks, turnips, cabbage, okra, water chestnuts, cauliflower, onion, and zucchini.
Of course you will want to use condiment and garnishes to make the food more palatable. Use spices and herbs to taste (make sure there is no added sugar). Butter and sour cream will also make this diet easier to follow. Just remember these are very high sources of calories, so limit there use.
You’ll need oil to cook with. Olive oil is good. So are canola, walnut, soybean, grape seed, sesame, sunflower and safflower. Avoid margarine and other trans fats.
If you have a sweet tooth you will want to use sweeteners. Sucralose (Splenda), cyclamate, saccharin, and acesulfame-K are okay to use. Do not use maltose, dextrose, fructose and anything else that ends in “ose”.
The beverage of choice on the list of Atkins diet foods is water. Filtered, spring, mineral or tap will do just fine. Other beverages are allowed if there are no added carbs, make sure to read the labels.
Diet soda is okay if sweetened with Splenda. Avoid caffeinated beverages. Caffeine can caused blood sugar to spike in some people.
If you need more variety in your diet you can add these foods occasionally. 10 to 20 olives or half of a small avocado per day. Or instead have 2 or 3 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice, 1 oz. of sour cream or 3 oz. of unsweetened heavy cream. You do need to be careful eating these because they may slow down your weight loss efforts. If you see you stop losing after eating these foods then you will need to avoid them in the induction phase
3 Tips For Low Carb Success
October 27th, 2009
1. Go easy on the fats. Yes you can have some fat on a low carb diet. But fat has a lot of calories and calories still count even on a low carb diet. Use very little added fat. Yes, a tablespoon of butter in your scrambled eggs may make them taste better but a teaspoon will taste just as good with far fewer calories.
2. Get plenty of fiber. Fiber binds to fat in the digestive tract making it unusable. Less fat absorbed equal fewer calories.
3. Concentrate on fresh vegetables. They are low in calorie and high in fiber. Choose high water content, low carb vegetables. Eat them in moderation. They give variety and color to your diet. Low carb diets can get very boring. For instance, jicama is a good choice. It has a slightly sweet taste and the sugars are indigestible. . It’s that simple. Concentrate on eating lean meat, poultry and fish. Take a fiber supplement that has both soluble and non-soluble fiber. The soluble fiber will absorb fat in the small intestine. The non-soluble fiber will give you bulk to help keep you regular. Because low carb diets are usually low in fiber it is important to supplement. You will feel much better for it.
Choose your carbs well. Concentrate on getting high nutritional value from your food. Compare a piece of white bread and an apple and you’ll find ounce for ounce the bread has almost 4 times the carbs and 5 times the calories.
Follow these simple tips and your weight loss will be faster, easier and more enjoyable.
Dummies Guide to the Atkins Diet
October 26th, 2009
Dr. Robert C. Atkins took the weight loss industry by storm when he published his now famous book “The Atkins Diet”. He said to ignore the fat and limit carbohydrates to lose weight. Countless people have had great success with The Atkins Diet. That success speaks volumes.
The truth is though, it’s not for everyone. Talk to your doctor before you start the Atkins diet, or any diet, to be sure it’s a good choice for you.
No counting calories. And say ’so long’ to processed junk food. You’ll eat far fewer carbohydrates. You will concentrate on eating lean protein and low carb high water content fruits and vegetables.
Your goal is to put your body into ketosis. By keeping your carb intake below what is necessary to replenish the glucose stored in your muscles, you force your body to burn fat for fuel. The fat molecules won’t burn completely. You will literally be expelling fat molecules from your body without having to burn them first. This is ketosis.
The Four Stages Of The Atkins Diet
1. Induction
You start by severely reducing carbohydrates. No more than 20 grams per day. The induction phase lasts at least 2 weeks. Those that have a large amount of weight to lose may want to stay in this phase longer. Here is where the rate of fat loss is the highest.
You will see the greatest weight loss during this stage. These lost pounds will come from fat and water loss. As you deplete your stores of glycogen you will flush large amounts of water from your body. The good news is this will probably lower you blood pressure and it is very encouraging to see your weight drop so fast. Great for your confidence.
Expect to lose 15 pounds or more in the first two weeks.
2. Continuing Weight Loss
Now that you are done with the induction phase you can increase your carbohydrate intake to 25 grams per day. You will check you ketone output daily. You will slowly increase your carb intake until you stop producing ketones. You then cut back on the carbs a little just to stay in ketosis.
You want to stay slightly in ketosis so you will continue to excrete partially burned fat molecules. Here is where you begin to introduce low carb high water content vegetables to your diet.
Stay in this stage until you’ve reached your weight loss goal.
3. Pre-Maintenance
In the Pre-Maintenance stage you begin to introduce more low carb vegetables and some fruit to your diet. You need to watch your weight very carefully here and keep close count of your carb intake.
You will add carbs until you stop losing weight.
4. Maintenance
You now know how many carbs you can eat to maintain your weight. Continue to count carbs and choose healthy fruits and vegetables. Eat lean protein and get some exercise.
From this point forward you know what you need to do to maintain a healthy weight. Now go get some fresh air and have some fun.