Low Carb This!

It is often said that the induction phase of the Atkins diet is the most significant part of the diet. This is the part that decides the success of your weight loss program. But it is not all about the foods that are acceptable. There are also some rules that need to be followed.

When you are going through the induction phase, you need to consume three meals a day, or you must have five meals of a smaller size per day. This is more suited to people who feel hungry often during the day. At the same time, you will have to take care that you do not crave for carbohydrates. This can be managed by constantly taking in the permissible proteins and vegetables that are allowed on the Atkins diet. During the induction stage, it is important not to skip meals or to go without eating for more than six hours at a time.

The Atkins diet has no restrictions on eating from its list of acceptable foods. Since the Atkins diet is not a calorie restricted diet, there is freedom to eat as much fat and protein as you like, but you must keep the carbohydrate amounts in drastic limitation. You must see that you get 12 to 15 grams of carbohydrates from vegetable sources. Cheese can provide this amount all at once, but the Atkins diet does not suggest that to be a good idea.

The Atkins diet requires the users to avoid bread, fruits, grains, pasta and starchy vegetables at the induction stage. These foods can be reintroduced later. The list of prohibited foods includes the protein-rich beans because of their high carbohydrate contents. Low carbohydrate products are permissible in the diet, but this may work against your weight loss efforts.

During the induction phase, it is important not to consume even a small amount of the foods that are not included in the Atkins list of permitted foods. The small amounts will lead to temptations for bigger portions.

The quantities of the permissible foods can be tweaked to match with your appetite. It is probable that you will eat more when you are in the induction phase, but this will decrease later on. If your appetite decreases, you have to eat the necessary foods. Care must be taken that you never overstuff your stomach.

Due to the stringent following of rules that you must do during the induction phase, it is important not to consume any foods that look dubious. This includes the low carbohydrate foods which might actually contain carbohydrates in them. If a food has 0.5 grams of carbohydrates; that can be rounded off to 0 grams on the label. That means, you might be actually putting carbohydrates in your body inadvertently. Foods like gravies, salad dressings and gravies also contain some carbohydrate content in them.

Keep your body healthy through water. Drinking eight glasses of water a day helps to avoid problems later on.

Remember all these points when you are starting with the induction phase of the Atkins diet. This is sure to bring to you the weight loss success that you always dreamed of.

Darren Williger is a guitar playing, tea drinking, meditating, low carbohydrate eating, wine making sales maker who writes for MyLowCarbPages.com, and MindSatori.com.

You can never know which foods contain sugars and which do not. In fact, most of the whole grain breads that we so commonly consume contain some form of the sugar or another. The consumption of sugar is quite predominant on a national scale in America. People who do not eat blatantly sugary foods like sweets might still feel a craving for sugars when they are on the Atkins diet. Most of the foods that seem to be healthy carbohydrate foods actually have sugar present in them. That is the reason why when you go on an Atkins diet, you feel something like withdrawal symptoms for them.

Sugar is deeply related with the energy levels of the body and hence the overall wellbeing of the body through the bloodstream. That is why the cravings are felt when the sugar levels in the body go down. This is compounded by the fact that our normal diet consists of foods that are high in sugar. Concentrated sugars in the food will proportionately increase the sugar levels in the blood too. That is why organs like the pancreas get confused and might release excess insulin to combat this increased level. Too much of this happening can trigger the onset of a pre-diabetic condition in the body. The reason behind this is the excessive functioning of the pancreas due to which it can no longer function normally.

The Atkins diet can effectively stop this vicious circle. That said, it is necessary to add that the Atkins diet will not stop the cravings that you have on its own. We are so much used to sugar-rich foods that it becomes very difficult to come out of the desire for them.

Planning does help, though. The point is to strike a balance with the protein, fat and the fiber present in the diet so that the blood sugar does not fall to drastically low levels. It is also important not to starve for long periods. This can be achieved by healthy snacks. The snacks help to actually keep the blood sugar at proper levels. Snacks like boiled eggs, nuts, seeds and cheese are permitted in the Atkins diet. These help to fight the sugar craving without actually having to eat the sugar-rich foods.

Most times, when a person gets sugar cravings, it is indicative of a nutritional deficiency. A craving for chocolate might indicate a deficiency of magnesium. These can be controlled by multivitamin supplements, which are good for people on an Atkins diet. You can also supplement your diet with zinc and chromium.

Brushing teeth is a surprising way to fight off sugar cravings too. If your are on an Atkins diet and are getting the pangs for consuming some sugar-rich foods, then you can stave them off by using the Listerine breath strips or by simply brushing your teeth. These help to benumb your mouth. Another very simple method is to drink two glassfuls of water. Keeping a full stomach helps too.

The common tactic of keeping all the sugar foods out of your reach is also helpful. Do not reach out for your refrigerator when you get those sugar pangs; instead go out and take a walk. You will find that you can forget your desire for sugar when you do this. Enlist your friends’ support to help you overcoming the sugar pangs. There are also Atkins diet forums on the Internet that can support you.

Substituting what you crave for with a low carbohydrate version of it works well too. You will find yourself less desirous for that particular food by doing that. Today, there is a long list of low carbohydrate products on the store shelves that you can use – you have low carbohydrate chocolates, ice creams, candies and yogurts. You can use these to stay more faithful to the Atkins diet plan without sacrificing your sweet tooth.

People on the Atkins diet cannot avoid the cravings for sugar. But these methods can help you to stave them off and remain loyal to your diet and thus to your weight loss regimen.

Darren Williger is a guitar playing, tea drinking, meditating, low carbohydrate eating, wine making sales maker who writes for MyLowCarbPages.com, and MindSatori.com.

The health benefits of the Atkins diet are all too well-known, but at the same time the diet might prove to be expensive to most. Since the diet requires only fresh foods, including fresh meats, it might reduce more weight than just in your tummy. Here are some much-required steps to reduce costs when following the Atkins plan.

The first thing you must do is to be innovative with your meal plans. The diet books that you might be referring might contain names of some expensive ingredients. It is not exactly important to go with these expensive stuffs; the authors mention them only to make their books seem more exotic. Instead you can plan out some simple recipes that are within the ambit of the Atkins diet and don’t suffocate your wallet either. You can very well enjoy the low carbohydrate meals when still economizing on costs.

Another tip is to buy the meats in bulk. Stock up on the chicken, fish and beef. This helps you to get the foods at attractive prices. You can store them in freezer bags in small meal-sized portions if you want. It will be easy for you to take one bag out and defrost it when its time for a meal. The best part is that you can then cook these meats in several different ways and keep the cooked parts for refrigeration too. you can spice them in different ways and make your diet interesting.

Reduce the tender meats if you are following a budget Atkins diet. Tender beef and fillet mignon may burn a hole in your pocket. You can do very well with the rawer meats and cook them a little more in order to make tender enough for eating.

If meats are proving to be too costly, you can make do with eggs and tofu. These are much cheaper and provide the same amounts of protein. Nuts can be a good protein source, but they are expensive. If a particular recipe wants the opulent macadamia nuts, you can try substituting them with peanuts, walnuts and almonds that may not have the same taste, but have the same quantities of proteins.

Do not make the mistake of buying the precut salads that are present in the shops. You might have to pay as much as $2 to $3 per bag and that could become expensive. It is better to buy the different salad vegetables and chop them up to make salads at home. This will give you much more salad at the same cost and the exercise of making the salad will do you good too.

You can try the meats that are on sale. Look out for such offers in the stores. Try using the meats that are on sale instead of those that are called for in the recipe. If there’s a turkey recipe, but there’s a chicken sale in your supermarket, substitute the turkey for chicken. But make sure you do not deviate from Atkins’ permissible list of foods.

It is also advisable to buy as less of the low carbohydrate foods as possible. These are very expensive foods and they are not good for health either. They contain chemicals in them, and might also have carbohydrates despite their label, which can make your Atkins routine redundant. Use these low carbohydrate foods only when you have no other option.

Always plan your meals in advance. Effective shopping always helps to reduce costs. Do not go to the stores when hungry, because then you end up buying more. Buy for a week in advance. This makes the Atkins program much more affordable.

Darren Williger is a guitar playing, tea drinking, meditating, low carbohydrate eating, wine making sales maker who writes for MyLowCarbPages.com, and MindSatori.com.

Low carb diets are a wonderful way and means through which people can lose the needed weight. The problem however is that this would be a situation where your body is denied the needed nutrients. You should understand that carbs are a great source of energy, by cutting carbs from your diet totally, that would be a very bad idea. You might become very skinny and devoid of the needed energy to enjoy and participate in everyday activities.

One bad effect that Atkins has is that once you start having carbs back in your diet, you tend to regain all the weight that your previously lost rather quickly. Our bodies are made to stack up on essential nutrients where available so when you deprive yourself of a particular food group, you are actually starving yourself. As soon as your body comes in contact with these absent nutrients it tends to store as much as possible to combat a possible future case of deprivation.

It is quite possible for a person to be on a low carb diet and yet have healthy balance of nutrients in their bodies. Everyday diets should consist of a certain ratio of needed foods. Proteins should make up at least 20-40% of this diet while fat should usually make up between 10-30%. Carbs should make up about 45-75 % of the needed diet. As long as you remain within that range, you ensure that your body is achieving the required healthy balance.

You should be aware of the fact that different bodies tend to need different things. Certain people tend to have a naturally higher metabolism than other people so they tend to be able to afford the consumption of a higher ratio of carbs as well as fats.

Carbs supply the body with energy for the whole day. If you’re the sort who regularly burns a huge number of calories, you can afford a much higher ratio of carbs in your diet. The problem you will have is that any carbs you fail to burn up will end up turning into fat. Anyone with a slow metabolism or who isn’t very active will best limit their carbs and fat intake and seek to get most of their calorie intake from protein as well as vegetables.

Certain rules if applied will help you cope with a low carb diet. Any white foods such as white bread, plain pasta and white rice should be substituted for brown foods such as whole wheat bread, pasta as well as brown rice. Oatmeal and sweet potatoes are also an excellent source of carbs as well. You should also ensure that you are getting the needed amount of vegetables as well. When eating you should ensure that your plate is filled with at least two-thirds vegetables and one-third white meat such as chicken or turkey and fish.

In order to lose weight on a low carb diet as with any diet, you should burn more calories than what you consume. You also need to watch your calorie intake as well with a low carb diet. The difference however is that you tend to be able to eat a larger volume of food. Normal carbs tend to carry a lot of calories per food weight.

Darren Williger is a tea drinking, guitar playing, low-carb eating, wine making sales maker who writes for MyLowCarbPages.com, LossDesign.com, and BeeStronger.com.

I have been continuing to stick with my low-carb diet and have already lost a few pounds.  I’m not eager to track weight initially as my body adjusts.  I will share a secret to keeping low-carb (and it’s really easy) – it’s about transitioning your diet into your lifestyle. 

This helps support permanent change and makes your resolution stick!

The term diet itself makes us feel like we have denied ourselves something.  When you focus on your goals, you will easily incorporate healther choices into your life.  Don’t get discouraged.  This actually will work quickly.

Try documenting what you eat.  By keeping track of what (and when) you eat, you may discover patterns you didn’t realize.  If you find this idea discouraging, at least commit to a full day and try it.  Personally, I use an online service, food feed to track easily through SMS.  It makes an interesting log.  It’s not difficult to do, you may find other interesting Twitter followers and followees, and it’s fun to do.  If you have a particular successful weight loss week, or a plateau you are trying to break, your food trends may lend some insightful assistance.

Get off your ass and exercise.  Seriously.  You certainly can lose weight with this diet by just focusing on the food.  Definitely.  But – why not take advantage of moving this forward faster and adding additional health benefits as well?  OK, I will get back to this more in future posts – I know it’s hard to make a lot of changes at once as I am doing it.

I found a really tasty lower-carbohydrate ice cream at the market, enjoying some of the banana split one right now.  It’s not good for Atkins induction, or for overdoing it anytime, but it’s at least a little less guilt.

 Anyway – Good luck my fellow low carbers!  Happy weekend ahead…