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Atkins Induction is Not Zero Carb It Now Allows Vegetables Whether you're doing Atkins 72 or Atkins 2002, Atkins Induction is going to be the strictest phase you have to pass through on your journey to health. In 1972, the introductory phase allowed for less than 10 full grams of carbohydrates per day. Just: 2 cups of loosely packed greens couple of raw vegetables to make that salad tolerable couple of eggs and a few ounces of cheese was all the carbohydrate you got.  Today, the Atkins Diet allows 20 net grams for the initial 2-week period called Induction. Compared to the average American diet, which consists of 300 to 500 carbohydrates per day, your carbohydrate intake during this first phase of the Atkins Diet is going to be extremely restrictive.  There is no getting around that. Induction serves a specific purpose, and 20 net carbs per day has been found to be a highly reliable limit that accomplishes that purpose for most people. However, the restrictiveness does scare a lot ...

Atkins Induction Breakfast: Bacon and Eggs, Salad, and Salsa I'm going to be honest here. I have never sat down and mapped out a complete ketogenic diet menu for Atkins Induction or even the Ongoing Weight Loss phase (OWL).  When it comes to planning ketogenic meals, I've always just shot from the hip.  At times, I did have to start with dinner and then travel backward from there to get a daily menu to fit into certain parameters, but that was back when I needed to lower my fat and reduce the number of calories in my low-carb meals. For Atkins Induction, that isn't necessary.  The goal of Atkins Induction isn't weight loss.  The aim you are trying to achieve is to get yourself into the state of ketosis. You don't count fat grams, and you most certainly don't count calories. You never go hungry. If you're hungry, eat until you're satisfied.  In fact, in the 2002 version of the Atkins Diet, Dr. Atkins clearly stated that you should never go more than 6 hou...

My experience with low carb dieting began in the 70s when I ran into Dr. Atkins’ original diet book at the library. At the time, it made a lot of sense. I could relate to everything he shared – and when I tested it, the plan worked better than anything I’d tried. I was 19, weighed in at a hefty 160 pounds on a 5-foot frame, and with virtually no metabolic resistance, that one golden shot earned me maintenance within only 6 weeks. I realized the other day, that’s exactly where I’m sitting again today. I’m back to where I started from in 1975. A whole lot older, hopefully wiser, but despite finding out how to deal with my health issues, I’m still at the same starting line. Yes, I managed to shed a whopping 80 pounds in 2007; and another 30 pounds last year – but that was above where I first began my low carb journey. I’ve regained a good 10 pounds of that last 30 though. So what gives? WHY is weight loss so hard to maintain? Atkins 72: What was the Original Atkins Diet Like? I can tell y...

Beef Sensitivity? I’ve wrestled with myself for the past couple of days about “where” to place this post. I didn’t want to discourage anyone from entering into, or sticking with, a typical low carb diet. Atkins and The Protein Power Lifeplan both work equally well for most individuals, though they do differ in application. Honesty finally won. But since the relevancy of this topic falls across several of my blogs, I’ve decided to focus here on how my current problem relates to general low carb diets. Recently, I decided that since my weight had reached the upper limits for a maintenance phase, I would enter into Atkins Induction to carve off the body fat I’d gained – knowing that the first week’s weight loss would be mostly glycogen and water. That held true; I weighed in at 158 pounds last Friday, down almost 5-1/2 pounds for the first week. But I didn’t expect what happened next. I have one more day to go to keep my Atkins Induction commitment, but…I’m seriously reconsidering that de...

Phase 1 of the Atkins Diet requires you to severely limit your carbohydrate intake to 20 net carbs per day, most of which must come from non-starchy vegetables and greens. However, there isn't anything magical about that 20 net carb number. Twenty is just the number that Dr. Atkins picked, because in his professional experience, that level of carbohydrate restriction enables most people to go into the state of ketosis within a few days. For many dieters, 20 net carbs per day works extremely well. Salmon and Green Bean Salad (Photo: Kevin Dooley , CC BY 2.0 ) At that level, glycogen (the storage form of carbohydrates) is depleted within two to five days. Low glycogen forces the body to begin to use mostly fats for fuel instead of mostly glucose. With glucose in short supply, the need for insulin goes down. When insulin levels drop, your hunger and cravings evaporate. When there is less insulin circulating in the bloodstream between meals, it makes it easier to eat less than you were...

Do you have nightshade sensitivity or allergy? How about an autoimmune disease? Arthritis? Fibromyalgia? If so, you might not be able to eat certain vegetables, fruits, and spices without suffering pain, inflammation, and other health complaints. You can even stall in your low-carb diet because inflammation can interfere with weight loss. I didn't realize that nightshades were so common among low-carb recipes and menus until I actually looked at which vegetables and spices are nightshades, and then at what most people eat on a low-carb diet. When I did that, I was literally shocked! Low-carb recipes and menus are chock full of nightshades. For that reason, even if you are not allergic to nightshades, you might want to pay attention to just how many you're eating and cut back on them a little bit -- especially if you're having problems losing weight. BASIC NIGHTSHADE PRIMER This is going to be a basic nightshade primer, which I'm hoping a lot of people will find helpful,...