Atkins diet report #1

Goal: lose 8-12 kilos

Weeks so far: 2 current result: -5 kilos

I would say I am in the "Induction" phase of the diet, which is the first phase wherein you only eat
about 20 grams of carbs per day, except I'm sure I'm eating more carbs than that in the form of nuts
and berries. The induction phase is supposed to kickstart the chemistry into fat burning mode by
simply not allowing your body to acquire energy except by burtning fat.

I began to lose weight almost from the first day, but this early weight was almost certainly mostly
water. But I sweat like a horse when I train hard, and since I continue to drink a lot of water
(8x8oz glasses per day) and I continue to sweat like a horse when I train, I'm pretty sure that by
now the 5 kilos lost is real weight.

Toward the end of the two weeks, my weight leveled off. I assume this means I have been eating too
many niuts and berries. Berries especially, because this is strawberry and raspberry season hear in
Norway, and I have never tasted better strawberries and raspberries than the ones here in Norway. I
intend to decrease the nuts and berries now to resume the weight loss.

However, I have also noticed a significant increase in strength during aerobics classes and
swimming, so the plateau effect might be caused by gaining some muscle. There certainly appears to
be some redistribution of mass going on.

I have also noticed significant improvement in mental alertness and concentration, for which I have
no explanation. I am sleeping better,

does me these days. I assume my blood sugar is more stable, since I don't fall asleep on the couch
so much now, when I am watching CSI Miami.

On the negative side there are two points, which might indicate the same problem. Some people here
have stated they have more energy on the Atkins plan. I have not noticed this. I have plenty of
energy to do my training, but the supply of that energy seems to be attenuated. I assume this is
because the energy is coming from burning fat more than from burning a large store of glycogen, but
I don't know. The two points I have noticed are:

1. No top end - By this I mean my top speed in the pool has dropped. I swim a 1500 for time Monday
thru Friday. I'm not swimming all out, but I keep track of the time and try to go faster each
week. My fastest time, which I swam just before starting the diet, was 25:58. Since being on the
diet, my time has risen to between 26:20 and 26:50. This is despite my perception while swimming
that I am going faster than before. The problem might be due to degradation of my technique,
which might be caused by a change in body position due to decreased buoyancy. I caught myself
pushing down too much yesterday. I was pushing down a lot more than before, and I realized that
my arms feel stronger. I think it is likely that I have allowed this increased strength to be
used too early in the stroke. I am experimenting with a lower stroke rate to see if I can late my
hands glide lower into the water before using this new strength. But see point 2.

2. Leg and arm weariness at start - By this I mean that when I start exercising, particularly with
my legs, for the first few minutes, they feel like there is lactic acid built up, not sore but
weary, as if I had already trained for some time and sat down to rest, and now I'm trying to get
back into it. The weariness goes away after a few minutes, but I notice that while I can do
strength moves like jumping much better, doing something that requires a lot of stamina, like the
spinners class, is more difficult.

Still, all totaled, I am still doing about two hours of training per day, including a half hour of
swimming, 12km of riding outdoors, and 1-2 hours of high pulse aerobics and/or spinners, all with no
ill-effects other than the lowered top end and start-up weariness noted above.

As for the problems with staying on the diet, there aren't any. First, prior to starting the diet, I
was a cookie and brownie junkie. I craved that kind of high sugar food. Now I have no craving for it
at all. I still would like to eat cookies and brownies, but there is no physical craving. Second,
Ionly get hungry when it is appropriate to be hungry, ie I experience actual hunger as opposed to
anxiety-induced or stress-induced hunger. This hunger can easily be satisfied with a small piece of
cheeze or a hard-boiled egg.

There are three components to the program. 1. high protein/fat, low carb diet; 2. drink much water,
and 3. at least an hour of vigorous exercise per day. I was already doing 3. I have added 1 and 2,
and so far, I am well satisfied with the results. Judging by how I look in the mirror, I think I
will only have to lose another 2 or 3 kilos, rather than another
3.

martin

--
Martin Smith email: mws@computas.com Vollsveien 9 tel. : +47 6783 1188
P.O. Box 482 mob. : +47 932 48 303 1327 Lysaker, Norway

"Martin W. Smith" <mws@computas.com> pondered, puzzeled, prognosticated (perhaps even premeditated),
and then, in a very wise voice, sed: :

<snip>

Martin, nice report. Question: are you doing this under a Dr's supervision and advice? From a
book--and if so, which one(s)? Or from some other source--and if so, which?

Thanks.

--
chris

"Nothing is real."

chris wrote:
>
> "Martin W. Smith" <mws@computas.com> pondered, puzzeled, prognosticated (perhaps even
> premeditated), and then, in a very wise voice, sed: :
>
> <snip>
>
> Martin, nice report. Question: are you doing this under a Dr's supervision and advice? From a
> book--and if so, which one(s)? Or from some other source--and if so, which?

No supervision or advice. I had been trying to lose weight by fasting, with some initial success,
but I didn't stick with it. While explaining what I was doing to a friend, she asked if I had tried
Atkins. I had heard of it but didn't give much credence to the concept of low carbs and high protein
and fat. Then I saw a report on CNN about it and the report stated that the evidence was beginning
to show that it does work. The report didn't say why it works, but I suspect it works by a
combination of killing hunger and craving while allowing tastey meals.

So I went to the local bookstore and bought two books written by the Atkins group "Atkins For Life"
and "Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter". They both explain the concept and what to do, and
it's quite simple. The first book is about half meal plans and recipes sorted according to net grams
of carbs. The second book contains lists of foods, including brand names, with the net carb weight
for each one.

I'm not actually counting the grams. I'm using the concept as a strategy rather than as a religion.
I'm in what they call the "induction phase," which is the initial phase, where your diet is supposed
to be very low in carbs, about 20 grams per day. You stay in that phase for at least two weeks, and
then you move to the "ongoing weight loss phase," which allows a bit more carbs as long as you are
still losing weight. If I actually measured the carbs I'm eating, I suspect I would be in that
second phase, but I keep trying to be in the induction phase, As long I am losing weight, it doesn't
really matter. The tricky bit will be when I reach my goal weight. Then I have to experiemtn to see
how much carbs I can actually eat without gaining weight back again.

Here is a link to their website, where the books are described:

http://atkins.com/shop/information-products.html

martin

--
Martin Smith email: mws@computas.com Vollsveien 9 tel. : +47 6783 1188
P.O. Box 482 mob. : +47 932 48 303 1327 Lysaker, Norway

> No supervision or advice. I had been trying to lose weight by fasting, with some initial success,
> but I didn't stick with it. While explaining what I was doing to a friend, she asked if I had
> tried Atkins. I had heard of it but didn't give much credence to the concept of low carbs and high
> protein and fat. Then I saw a report on CNN about it and the report stated that the evidence was
> beginning to show that it does work. The report didn't say why it works, but I suspect it works by
> a combination of killing hunger and craving while allowing tastey meals.

Martin, I just noticed that you tried a fast. I just had me wondering about while you are on
Atkins....make sure you eat enough food. If you don't you will most likely stall because your body
will go into starvation mode. There is a good newsgroup for Atkins alt.support.diet.low-carb . It is
a good group. If you don't mind, I would like to post you findings so far. The group would have
interest in someone training so hard and on Induction.

Enjoy, Curt

curt wrote:
>
> > No supervision or advice. I had been trying to lose weight by fasting, with some initial
> > success, but I didn't stick with it. While explaining what I was doing to a friend, she asked if
> > I had tried Atkins. I had heard of it but didn't give much credence to the concept of low carbs
> > and high protein and fat. Then I saw a report on CNN about it and the report stated that the
> > evidence was beginning to show that it does work. The report didn't say why it works, but I
> > suspect it works by a combination of killing hunger and craving while allowing tastey meals.
>
> Martin, I just noticed that you tried a fast. I just had me wondering about while you are on
> Atkins....make sure you eat enough food. If you don't you will most likely stall because your body
> will go into starvation mode.

Yes, I thought of that, too. I am pretty sure I am eating enough. Generally, I eat until I am not
hungry, and I eat more slowly now than I did before Atkins, mainly because the food is richer and
also usually requires more chewing.

> There is a good newsgroup for Atkins alt.support.diet.low-carb . It is a good group. If you don't
> mind, I would like to post you findings so far. The group would have interest in someone training
> so hard and on Induction.

Go ahead and post my findings there, and thanks for the warning and the heads up about the
Atkins group.

martin

--
Martin Smith email: mws@computas.com Vollsveien 9 tel. : +47 6783 1188
P.O. Box 482 mob. : +47 932 48 303 1327 Lysaker, Norway

"Martin W. Smith" <mws@computas.com> wrote in message news:<3F27BADB.D919AB16@computas.com>...
> curt wrote:
> >
> > > No supervision or advice. I had been trying to lose weight by fasting, with some initial
> > > success, but I didn't stick with it. While explaining what I was doing to a friend, she asked
> > > if I had tried Atkins. I had heard of it but didn't give much credence to the concept of low
> > > carbs and high protein and fat. Then I saw a report on CNN about it and the report stated that
> > > the evidence was beginning to show that it does work. The report didn't say why it works, but
> > > I suspect it works by a combination of killing hunger and craving while allowing tastey meals.
> >
> > Martin, I just noticed that you tried a fast. I just had me wondering about while you are on
> > Atkins....make sure you eat enough food. If you don't you will most likely stall because your
> > body will go into starvation mode.
>
> Yes, I thought of that, too. I am pretty sure I am eating enough. Generally, I eat until I am not
> hungry, and I eat more slowly now than I did before Atkins, mainly because the food is richer and
> also usually requires more chewing.
>
> > There is a good newsgroup for Atkins alt.support.diet.low-carb . It is a good group. If you
> > don't mind, I would like to post you findings so far. The group would have interest in someone
> > training so hard and on Induction.
>
> Go ahead and post my findings there, and thanks for the warning and the heads up about the
> Atkins group.
>
> martin

also note, the closer you get to your ideal weight, the slower the weight will come off. I'm down
about 27 lbs on atkins since 6/2 (approx 12 kilos). i think i have another 12 kilos to go though.

"Martin W. Smith" <mws@computas.com> wrote in message news:<3F2A4B72.6C834329@computas.com>...

> If you are repeating 400s at 5:20 weighing 253 lbs, you must be throwing up a wake big enough to
> surf. Well done!

thanks!

> Hopefully Larry can shed some light. I'm training in the pool 4-5 times per week, but only
> swimming 1500m each time.

you need to swim more maybe double the distance, you should be able to cram a good hard 3k meters
in an hour.

>
> martin