The diet that people call the 'fry-up diet', The Atkins diet involves
limited consumption of carbohydrates to switch the body's metabolism
from metabolizing glucose as energy over to converting stored body fat
to energy a process known as ketosis. In the two week introduction, food
is very limited but you'll find yourself eating many foods the
traditional dieter would die for like meat, eggs and cheese. So if you
are a meat lover this is the diet for you. You can even cook with
butter, put mayonnaise and on your salads (limited to loose leafy and
2-3 cups per day). You cannot eat any fruit and only quarter of a cup a
certain cooked vegetables.
The diet does allow for adding fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain foods
after the two-week induction period. However, even when some
carbohydrates are introduced back into your diet you'll find yourself
being forbidden from eating foods like pasta, white bread and cakes for
life.
Then, over time, the transition from weight loss to weight maintenance
is made by gradually increasing carbohydrates so long as gradual weight
loss is maintained.
Exercise in all phases as part of a healthy lifestyle is now emphasized more than when the diet was first introduced.
Allowed Foods are as following:-
Conclusion
I adore meat, salad and other vegetables but I also love bread and
chips. I just cannot imagine living for the rest of my life without
eating another sandwich or piece of toast let alone never having another
doughnut or cake. It would be possible for me to actually enjoy this
diet for a short period whilst I lost weight but as for a life long
diet... maybe it's not for me. How about you?
Sweeteners
Any artificial, non-sugar sweetener is permitted on the Atkins food
list. If you prefer a natural sweetener, you may use Stevia-- an
intensely sweet herb that is available in most health food and grocery
stores. Basically, all natural sugars including honey are prohibited.
Now this where I would find the Atkins diet difficult; this would
excludes cakes, biscuits, chocolate.
Drinks
You can drink almost any beverage whilst on the Atkins program. However,
there are three taboos that must be adhered to and these are sugar in
any form, caffeine, and fruit juice. You cannot have milk in your tea
and coffee with weirdly, you can have cream!
Condiments and Spices
It surprised me to learn that it is important to be careful when
choosing condiments whilst on the Atkins plan. Sugar in any form is
expressly forbidden, and most people are surprised to learn how many of
their favorite condiments, dressings, and spice blends contain some form
of sugar. For this reason, most salad dressings are not permissible
unless you can find sugar and starch free options.
My take on this is you can easily make your own sauces and dressings that tasty without the use of sugar.
Dairy
Most dairy products are permitted on the Atkins Diet with the exception
of milk and yoghurts. In fact, it is recommended that you actually
choose those that are full-fat and as low in carbohydrate as possible!
Wow... that mean full fat cheeses are allowed whether hard or soft and
diet cheese, spreads not be eaten. However, happily, all cream including
cheese and butter may be eaten. Cheese: full-fat cow, goat, or sheep's
milk cheeses, as well as soy cheese, are permitted, and it doesn't even
matter if they are hard or soft cheeses. No diet cheese, cheese spread,
processed cheese food, or whey cheese is allowed. Shame, hey I thought
not.
Other permitted dairy: Heavy cream, light cream, sour cream, cream
cheese, and butter are allowed. It actually encourages you to avoid
fat-free or reduced fat options!
Vegetables
Many vegetables are allowed on the Atkins Diet. In fact, just about any
vegetable you might wish to eat is permitted, with the exception of
corn, potatoes, green peas, and other sweet or starchy vegetables. Dr.
Atkins New Diet Revolution divides allowable vegetables into two groups:
salad vegetables and other vegetables.
Fats
The beauty of this diet to me is that most fats are allowed! Yes you
read that correctly. Cold-pressed vegetable oils are preferred, and it
is important to include some source of omega-3 fatty acids, such as
linseed oil or salmon. Butter is allowed but margarine is not. Olive
oil, nut oils, seed oils, and vegetable oils are allowed. You may also
include in cooking, any fat that is part of your meat. Happy Days!
Meat, Poultry & Shellfish
Any meat including beef, lamb, pork, bacon; a juicy steak is a popular
favorite! All poultry including chicken, turkey, goose and duck. If you
fancy you can even eat pheasant, quail, ostrich or emu! All fish can be
eaten in abundance. Any unprocessed shellfish can be eaten including
crab, lobster, squid, oyster, clams, prawn and shrimps.
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