Atkins was horrible!!

by Nadia Acosta
(San Antonio, Texas U.S.)

I was on the Atkins diet for 7 months and I lost 43 pounds. I followed the diet to the T and I stayed on the induction phase for 4 months.

It was grueling! I never felt full. I ate mostly non-carb foods and I only ate a few select carb fruits and vegetables.

The first three days of the diet were the worst. My body went through sugar and carb withdrawals and I had a headache for three days. After about 3 weeks, I didn’t crave carbs.

Atkins requires that your meals subsist mainly of meat, poultry and seafood. Many of the foods that the Atkins book suggests you eat are too expensive for me to afford, so my choices were more limited.

Eating at restaurants was extra difficult. Most plates contain carbs and I usually resorted to getting a hamburger without the bun.

I did try some of the Atkins products that were available, but they didn’t taste good.

I ate a variety of eggs, bacon, sausage and cheese every morning. Lunch and dinner consisted of mainly protein with a green vegetable or tomatoes.

I grew tired of eating the same foods.

I essentially traded in carbs for cholesterol filled foods. My cholesterol sky rocketed and my doctors said that it was imperative that I lowered it right away.

In addition to following the diet, I also avidly walked several miles a day.

The diet definitely worked. I shed 12 pounds in the first two weeks and I just kept losing the weight. I looked great on the outside, but I was always starving.

When I quit the diet, the pounds all came back in a matter of a few months.

If you do not deviate from the diet, you will lose weight. In order to keep the weight off, you must completely change your eating habits for good.

Nadia

Note from Dr. Dan

Nadia,

The Atkins Diet affects people differently. Some report that it has improved their cholesterol, and in some cholesterol levels dramatically worsen.

As far as I know there is no scientific study that has investigated this. It would require more rigid controls over the diet, including the amounts and types of fats used.

One person might eat steak and another person might eat eggs. The results on cholesterol level would likely be very different.

Dr. Dan