The New Atkins Made Easy (10 page)

Both plans indicate the number of grams of Net Carbs from foundation vegetables, making it easy to ensure that you're getting enough of these nutritious and filling carbohydrate foods. Neither plan includes beverages; add grams of Net Carbs in cream, lighteners, or sweeteners in beverages to your daily tally.

If you're creating your own meal plans, be sure to spread your carb intake out across the day to keep your blood sugar on an even keel. Aim for roughly 3–5 grams of Net Carbs at breakfast, 5–7 at lunch, and the same at dinner. Snacks can range from 1 to 3 grams.

If you work outside the home, you're likely to eat out at least once a day. So give some thought to how you're going to find low-carb meals and snacks on those occasions. Think about what your typical day looks like now.

• Which meals do you eat at home?

• Which do you bring to work with you?

• Which do you order out?

• How often do you eat out?

• Do you take coffee breaks or keep snack foods in your desk or locker?

• Do you often find yourself in airports and on planes, driving in areas devoid of good food choices, or just sitting in traffic?

Then think about what you actually eat at those times. If you typically grab a bagel on the way to work, eat lunch—usually a sandwich—out, and often order pizza for dinner on weeknights, just stocking your kitchen with Atkins-friendly foods won't address all your needs.

• Keep some Atkins frozen meals in the freezer at work and use the shakes and bars for a convenient, on-the-go breakfast or snack.

• Check out possibilities online, where most eateries post their menus, or with your Atkins mobile app, using the Dining Out feature.

• Find a diner or deli where you can pick up scrambled eggs or another suitable breakfast.

• Check out the nearest salad bar for good lunch choices.

• Come up with takeout places or restaurants that deliver for dinner.

With your away-from-home meal sources identified and the right items in your pantry, you'll be good to go. (For more on eating outside the home, see Chapter 10, “Dine Out with Ease.”)

A few small changes in your routine can help you avoid some unpleasant (and absolutely unnecessary) symptoms that could occur in the first couple of weeks as your body converts to a fat-burning machine. That's when some people experience fatigue, weakness, constipation, headaches, or leg cramps. Or light-headedness can occur when rising too quickly from a seated position, stepping out of a hot shower or hot tub, or simply engaging in household chores on a hot summer day. Some people complain that they feel “brain fog.” Others refer to it as “Atkins flu.”

These symptoms have nothing to do with eating fewer carbs or more protein and fat. Instead, they are the result of a deficit of sodium (salt). Eating the low-carb way is naturally diuretic. That's why you quickly lose those water pounds that can make you look bloated and puffy. Along with water, sodium and other minerals called electrolytes are flushed from your body. Just as an athlete needs to rehydrate
and replace lost electrolytes when perspiring profusely, it's essential that you drink plenty of liquids and consume adequate salt to replace the water and sodium you're losing.

One of the reasons I emphasize eating a minimum amount of foundation vegetables each day is that they're full of both water and minerals, including sodium. They are also rich in fiber, which helps avoid constipation. But they may not contain enough sodium for you, especially if you've been eating a lot of salty snack foods until now or are fairly active. To ensure that you escape the above symptoms (or, at the very least, moderate them), I strongly suggest that you add a little extra sodium to your diet. (See “Sensitive to Salt?”, below, if you have high blood pressure.) There are three ways you can do this. Each day, in addition to salting your food as you always have, add one of the following:

• An additional
¹
/
₂
teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons regular (not low-sodium) tamari (soy sauce)

• 2 cups regular (not low-sodium) beef, chicken, or vegetable broth—you can used the canned kind or a bouillon cube in boiling water

Q.
Do I have to start Atkins in Phase 1?

A.
No. You can start in any of the first three phases. If you have just a few pounds to lose, up to about 15, you can probably start in Phase 2 (Balancing) at 25 to 30 grams of Net Carbs a day. If you are heavier, you can also start here, but it could take considerably longer to lose weight without the kick start that you get in Phase 1. You can also begin in Phase 3 (Fine-Tuning) at, say, 45 grams of Net Carbs a day if you have very little weight to lose or are willing to shed it very slowly.

Q.
Do I have to count carbs if I follow the meal plans exactly?

A.
No. However, it's unlikely that you'll follow them to the letter day in and day out unless you eat every meal at home, so it's a good idea to use the Atkins Carb Counter. Also, if you aren't precise about serving size, you may be consuming more carbs than the meal plan indicates. In any case, it's important to know how to count carbs (actually, grams of Net Carbs) as you start to add back more foods. Counting provides a double check that improves your likelihood of success from the start.

Q.
Must I have two snacks a day?

A.
Not necessarily. If you're having four or five small meals a day, you may not feel the need for snacks, but be very careful not to go more than four to six hours between meals. Instead, have a hot drink, perhaps a cup of broth.

Q.
What is water weight loss?

A.
The first few pounds you lose on any weight-loss program are primarily water, and Atkins has a particularly diuretic effect. That's why it's essential to drink plenty of water and other fluids, eat your foundation veggies, and take a multivitamin-mineral supplement to replace the electrolytes you'll be flushing out of your body along with the excess fluid. After the first few days you'll be losing primarily body fat.

Q.
Can I eat as much protein and fat as I wish?

A.
No. Eating excessive protein will make you sluggish and interfere with weight loss. Overeat fat and you'll burn it and not body fat for energy. Follow the guidelines on pages 57 and 58.

Q.
Why do I have to drink so much water?

A.
Most people are borderline dehydrated all the time. Drinking enough fluid helps flush toxins from your body, combats constipation and bad breath, lubricates your joints, and is important to your overall health. Staying hydrated also assists with weight loss. Remember,
some of your water requirement can be satisfied with coffee, tea, or other clear beverages, including broth.

Q.
Most bacon is sugar or maple cured. Does that mean I can't eat bacon?

A.
Bacon is fine in moderation. Any residual sugar from the curing process in bacon, ham, or other pork products is burned off when you cook it.

Q.
Why do the carb counts for some vegetables differ depending upon whether they're raw or cooked?

A.
Cooking compacts vegetables such as spinach or cabbage significantly. Carb counts reflect the cooked amount. Chopping or grating a vegetable also compacts it more than slicing does, and that impacts the carb count as well.

Q.
Can I have dessert in Phase 1?

A.
Yes, as long as you get your quota of foundation vegetables and don't exceed your Net Carb daily limit. A dessert should contain no more than 3 grams of Net Carbs per serving. An Atkins Endulge bar or one of our dessert recipes is a good choice.

After seven days in Phase 1 (Kick-Start), weigh and measure yourself. If you've lost several pounds and inches, you've almost certainly lost fat in addition to the initial fluid loss. If you've lost only inches or more inches than pounds, don't worry. Inches often show up first and the pounds are sure to follow. Keep doing what you're doing!

What if you lost just a pound or two? That's still nothing to sneeze at. Check your measurements too. You may have made more progress there. And try to see the glass as half full. After all, you weigh less
than you did a week ago. Also think about how your clothes are fitting. If you're disappointed with your rate of loss, ask yourself whether your expectations were reasonable. While some people can lose up to 15 pounds in two weeks, weight-loss patterns differ significantly from one person to another. And even if you could banish a pound a day when you were in your twenties, it's unlikely you can do so in your forties. On the other hand, the heavier you are, the more quickly you'll lose weight. Men usually lose faster than women, as do physically active people. Hormonal issues can make weight loss difficult.

If you're sure that you were doing everything by the book your first week on Atkins, take this dietary reality test:

1. 
Are you counting grams of Net Carbs?
If you're just estimating or you're not taking serving size into consideration, there's a good chance you're overdoing the carbs and haven't kick-started your fat-burning engine. Use your Atkins Carb Counter and track in your journal everything you eat.

2. 
Are you skipping meals or going too long without eating?
If so, you may get ravenous and overeat. Be sure to eat a meal or snack every three or four hours.

3. 
Did you consume less than 18 or more than 22 grams of Net Carbs each day?
Having too few or too many carbs can interfere with jump-starting fat burning. See #1.

4. 
Are you drinking eight glasses of acceptable liquids?
If not, increase your intake, using such tricks as setting the alarm on your cell phone or filling a quart container with water twice a day. Being dehydrated can slow fat burning and produce other unpleasant side effects.

5. 
Did you eat a minimum of 12–15 grams of Net Carbs from foundation vegetables each day?
This is not negotiable for the reasons stated earlier. If you haven't been doing this, get with the program and you'll see the pounds start to melt away.

6. 
Are you eating more than the recommended amount of protein?
Unless you're a very tall man, if you're eating more than 6 ounces of protein at a single meal, you're overdoing it. Review and follow the guidelines provided earlier in this chapter and weight loss should speed up.

7. 
Are you holding back on fat?
Again, eating natural fats is essential to turn your body fat into your primary fuel source. Lose your fear of fat and lose your fat!

8. 
Did you have more than three packets of sweetener a day
? Some people are more sensitive than others to sugar substitutes. Even the small amount of carbs in these products can interfere with weight loss in Phase 1. Cut down to half a packet for each serving, or omit them altogether for a week or two.

9. 
Did you check the ingredients list of any packaged foods or condiments you ate?
If not, you may have unwittingly consumed some hidden sugars. Develop an eagle eye for reading labels!

10. 
Are you taking any medications that could interfere with weight loss?
If so, review Chapter 2 and discuss with your physician.

If this checklist unearthed some misunderstandings about how to follow the program that are impeding your progress, simply make the recommended changes as you enter Week 2. If you haven't already done so, I can't overstate how important it is to keep a daily journal of what you eat. Doing so will allow you to quickly spot the problems cited above. Even small changes, such as using fewer packets of sweetener, can have a significant impact.

Now meet Mike D., who lost more than half his start weight and has kept it off for a decade. Then learn more about Phase 1 (Kick-Start) in
Chapter 4
. For starters, we'll look at ways to add variety to meals (especially breakfast), coordinate Atkins meals with family meals, and deal with some of the day-to-day challenges of getting meals on the table and in your tummy.