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Atkins Diet Tips

The Atkins Diet is a radical change of eating habits for most people. One of the main reasons people have trouble staying with a new weight loss plan is the difficulty with adjusting to the changes often necessary. With the following Atkins Diet tips, new dieters should find it easier to go the distance and stick with it until they have achieved their goal weight.

Atkins Food Suggestions

DO

• Do eat enough food. While calories and portion sizes do count, it is important to eat enough that you feel satisfied.
• Do try new foods and new methods of preparation.
• Do make sure to get enough water -- water aids in the digestive process.
• Do eat all of your vegetables. Atkins is not a "no-carb" diet; it's a low-carb diet. Vegetables have carbohydrates, but they also have vital nutrients and fiber that is needed for proper health and digestion.
• Do eat low-carb fruits for dessert. Use your carb-counter to select the appropriate fruits and portion sizes.
• Do read labels to screen foods for hidden sugars. Some meat products contain sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, both of which can sabotage dieting efforts.

DON'T

• Don't eat too much cheese. One or two ounces total per day is the maximum amount of cheese to eat on the Atkins diet. For some people, excessive cheese can cause constipation.
• Don't eat too many foods containing artificial sweeteners. Sweeteners may contribute to food cravings.
• Don't overdo legal desserts. Use the majority of your daily carb ration for your vegetables, not for sweet treats.
• Don't eat to repletion. "Satisfied" does not mean "stuffed."
• Don't drink too many diet sodas. Besides the artificial sweeteners in them, diet sodas often replace much-needed water in the diet.

Atkins Diet Lifestyle Tips

DO

• Exercise! While low-carb dieting may help your body burn fat, it cannot completely replace the need for regular exercise.
• Get adequate sleep. Recent studies have shown that people who do not get at least seven hours of sleep each night will have a harder time losing weight than those who get seven or eight hours of sleep.
• Reduce stress in your life as much as possible. Stress can make it harder to lose weight.

DON'T

• Don't let naysayers discourage you. There are many detractors from the Atkins Diet, but if you have determined that it is the most effective weight-loss plan for you, then you should resist the efforts of others to sabotage your confidence.
• Don't feel guilty about refusing foods that you cannot eat.
• Don't rely solely on your scale to determine your success. The fit of your clothes and your physical energy are far more reliable guides.
• Don't panic if you hit a plateau. These are normal milestones in any weight loss program, and you must wait patiently for your body to adjust; sometimes it may take as long as six to eight weeks to lose weight after an initial weight loss. If you continue to follow the plan, you will eventually start to lose weight again.

General Atkins Diet Tips

• Know the plan before you start. The first two weeks are very stringent, but you don't stay there forever. Too many people start the diet thinking the first two weeks are typical of the whole Atkins experience. They aren't.
• Clear your home as much as possible of all "forbidden foods." There's no point having to fight temptation any more than you have to.
• Keep a legal snack with you at all times, so that you can fight any temptations by eating something legal.

• If you have muscle cramps and brain fog during Atkins diet, remember that potassium is an important mineral that gets flushed out of the body quickly. Put down the banana (NO fruit during induction) and take 90 mg of potassium supplement. It will start to work within an hour.
• Eat enough calories. Try to get 8-10 calories per pound of current body weight every day. Some Atkins diet follower even recommend as many as 12 calories per pound. If you consume too few calories, your body will go into "starvation mode" and weight loss will slow or stop.
• No low-carb shakes or bars during Induction, they stall or stop weight loss in most.
• If you must have no-carb chocolate, heed the warning on the label. Excess consumption is the whole bar. Eat ONE small piece at a sitting until you know how isomalt affects you. Be aware that no-carb candy slows weight loss in most and stops weight loss in some.
• Some people do better on NutraSweet (Aspartame) than on Splenda. If Splenda gives you headaches during Atkins diet, try NutraSweet.
• Remember that Atkins diet is all about learning how different foods affect you so that you can decide which foods to remove from your diet and which you may enjoy regularly.
• Drink enough water. At least 68 ounces per day. Some recommend 100 ounces per day, and Atkins diet enthusiasts like to say "Drink half as many ounces of water each day as you weigh in pounds." Drinking your water aids in lipolysis and in eliminating ketones. Yes, you do literally urinate you fat away!
• Use ketostix regularly, at the same time, every day. Any color on the stick means you are in ketosis. Darker does not mean better, it means you need to drink more water.
• Caffeine slows or stalls weight loss in some, but not all people. If it doesn’t affect your weight loss, have your coffee in the morning.
• Remember that those who have followed the Atkins WOE will have far better muscle and bone density than those who haven’t. You may end up weighing 20 lbs more than the next size 8, but you’ll be just as small! Size is what matters!
• Plan for special occasions. Reserve your carbs for a few days to a week before an event where you know you’ll want to eat special foods.
• Get rid of your "fat" clothes. When your jeans are getting tight and you don't have any in a larger size, you'll be forced to deal with your weight gain.
• Never let your weight vary more than five pounds. Cut back the carbs, or better yet, go back on induction until you lose those extra pounds.
• Weigh and measure yourself at least once a week during Atkins diet. Take your measurements before you start and every week thereafter. It’s likely that you’ll see the tape measure keep moving down even when the scale doesn’t. As long as you’re shrinking, it doesn’t matter!
• Eat the level of carbs that make you feel your best. You may be able to eat 90 grams a day, but if you feel better at 75 grams, you’re more likely to stick with it.
• Never go above your CCLM in any given week.
• Eat only natural, unprocessed, nutrient-dense carbohydrates - no sugar, remember this is the most important guideline in Atkins diet plan!
• Exercise regularly.
• Continue to take nutritional supplements, modifying your regimen to meet your needs. .
• Try one new Atkin diet recipe each week.
• Never let yourself get more than five pounds above your goal weight.
• If you fall off the wagon, don’t give up. Forgive yourself and get right back with your Atkins diet plan.

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