Dr. Robert C. Atkins entitled his first diet book “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution” and the title proved prophetic. Writing in 1972, Dr. Atkins completely upset everything anyone ever knew about losing weight. You could eat all you want on his diet. You did not have to count calories or follow the usual penance of one egg, dry toast, and coffee for breakfast. Rich, fatty foods -- butter, cream, bacon, marbled steak, and fancy cheeses -- were not only allowed, you could have them in unlimited amounts.
Although other doctors warned of the bad effects of a diet high in fat and cholesterol and environmentalists ranted about using up farmland for Atkins meat eaters, Americans nevertheless jumped on the bandwagon. A completely new food industry sprang up around the popular diet. You could buy Atkins health bars, supplements, salad dressings, breads and other grocery items. Popular restaurants like Hardees and T.G.I.Friday’s began serving Atkins meals. Dr. Atkins kept the revolution going by writing a dozen more books and starting “The Atkins Physicians Council” to support his fans.
Part of the appeal of the Atkins approach is that Dr. Atkins backs up his diet plan with “scientific” data. He claims to have helped tens of thousands of patients and others (including himself) lose weight and keep it off. These people became healthier, lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and “cured” themselves of a myriad of illnesses such as diabetes, joint problems, migraines, food allergies, lack of concentration, and insomnia. His dieters perform scientific tests of their urine to make sure their bodies go into ketosis, a state in which a human body has to start burning fat because it has used up its supply of glycogen. Others may say that ketosis is a dangerously unhealthy state to maintain, but Dr. Atkins argues that getting the weight off is the best thing you can do for yourself and your health, and that ketosis is not only safe but also desirable. The doubters persisted. In fact, when Dr. Atkins died in 2003, rumors flew that he was very overweight and had died from heart disease caused by overindulging in fatty foods. The truth is he died of injuries from a fall. He was about 50 pounds overweight, but his family and doctors insisted that was “water bloat.”
The Atkins Diet as revised in 1999 has four phases.
INDUCTION PHASE
This phase lasts two weeks, resulting in a weight loss of up to 10 pounds a week. You limit carbohydrates to 20 grams a day, and 15 grams must come from salad greens or other low-carb vegetables. You can have all the meat, fish, shellfish, fowl, eggs, hard cheese, sour cream, sweet cream, butter and vegetable oils you want and up to 4 ounces (113 g) of soft or semi-soft cheese. Dr. Atkins suggests eggs and sausage for breakfast, protein and a small salad for lunch and dinner.
ON-GOING WEIGHT LOSS PHASE
After the first two weeks, the program becomes more individualized. You have to find your “critical carbohydrate level for losing” or the number of net grams of carbs you can eat per day and still lose weight. You gradually add two grams a day in the form of fleshier vegetables such as celery, asparagus and cauliflower. As long as you keep losing weight, you can add foods in this order: dairy, nuts, berries, alcoholic drinks, legumes, fruits, starchy vegetables and grains. Meanwhile, you keep eating all the no-carb foods you want as in Phase One.
PRE-MAINTENANCE PHASE
When you are within ten pounds of your ideal weight, you now need to find your “critical carbohydrate level for maintenance.” Again, you do this by adding and subtracting carbs as you watch your weight. As Dr. Atkins writes, “your scales will herald your mistakes.” He advises you to lose those last ten pounds as slowly as possible because that way you are most likely to keep the weight off permanently.
MAINTENANCE PHASE
You maintain your weight by staying on a low-carb diet and eating as few processed foods as possible.
See: Atkins, Robert, M.D. Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (New York: Avon Books), 1999.
Created:
1972
Categories:
Low Carb, High Protein
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Meetings:
No
Books:
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