Atkins Induction Rules

The Induction phase of the Atkins diet is one of the most important stepping-stones to successful weight loss. In addition to the list of acceptable foods, there are a few rules that are important to follow during this period of the diet.

During Induction, you need to eat three regular-sized meals per day or four to five smaller meals. If you find yourself jittery and hungry between meals, try breaking down your meals into smaller portions and eat more frequently. In order to stave off carbohydrate cravings, you’ll need to constantly keep your body running on the proteins and vegetables on the plan. Never skip meals and never go more than six waking hours without eating.

You can eat freely from the list of acceptable foods. Do not restrict your fats and proteins. Eat as much of them as you like. Remember, the Atkins diet is not a calorie-restricted diet. The only thing you need to worry about is your level of carbohydrate grams. Make sure to count your carbohydrate grams when you eat vegetables, cheese and beverages with Splenda. At least 12-15 grams of your allowed carbohydrates should be from your vegetable list. While it may be tempting to eat them all in cheese, vegetables are important to your digestive system (especially while on this diet).

Avoid all fruit, bread, pasta, grains and starchy vegetables (like cauliflower or squash) during this initial period. These foods will be slowly introduced throughout the course of the pre-maintenance phase. Although beans are high in protein, they also include carbohydrates and should be avoided during this phase. If you feel that you must have some grain products, you should limit yourself to high fiber low-carbohydrate products. However, this may slow down your weight loss process.

Anything that isn’t on the acceptable food list is forbidden during the Induction phase. Don’t be tempted to just have “one bite.” Your one bite may turn into two, and then before you know it you’ll end up ruining your diet.

Remember to adjust the quantity of acceptable foods to suit your appetite. At the beginning of the Induction phase, you may find yourself eating much, much more than you will toward the end of the phase. As your body breaks its addiction to sugar and carbohydrates, you will be less hungry throughout the day. When this starts to happen, make sure to eat only what you need. Eat until you are satisfied and not overly stuffed.

Always read the labels of packaged products, even if they claim they are “carb free.” You may find that some products have hidden carbohydrates. The law allows manufacturers to round off to zero if a product has fewer than .5 grams of carbohydrates. Look at the list of ingredients for manufactured products to determine if there are hidden carbs. You’ll also need to watch out for hidden carbohydrates when you eat out. There are small carbohydrate amounts in gravies, sauces and salad dressings. The best bet is to eat your meat without sauce and eat your salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing.

Remember to drink 8 eight-ounce glasses of water, in addition to anything else you might drink. This will keep your body hydrated and help you avoid constipation. You’ll also be able to flush out the by-products created by fat burning.

Keep all of these guidelines in mind when you start the induction phase and you’ll be setting yourself up for long-term success with the Atkins diet.

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Low Carb List Part 3: Other Foods

In part 3 of our low carb list we will look at the carb count of other foods. Here we have the higher carb foods plus miscellaneous items that may or may not be low in carbohydrates.

Fruit

There are no sweet fruits with a net carb count under 5g per 100g. Raspberries, strawberries and blackberries are lowest (around 5.5g net carbs per 100g). Melons, including watermelon, have around 8g.

Most other fresh fruits are in the 10g - 20g net carb range, with bananas the highest. Dried fruits are much higher.

Grains

Unfortunately, there are no grains that make it onto the low carb list. Wheat, corn, rice, millet, barley, oats, rye, buckwheat (kasha) and quinoa are all high carb. They have around 60g - 80g net carb per 100g dry uncooked weight, or 20g - 30g net carb per 100g cooked. That is around 50g carbohydrate for a cup of cooked rice.

Anything made from grains will also be high in carbohydrates. This includes bread, pasta, couscous, popcorn, rice cakes, etc.

Alcohol

Whiskey, vodka, rum and gin are distilled spirits, which are virtually zero carbohydrate (until you add mixers).

Wine has around 3.7g carbohydrate per 5 fl oz serving (2.5g per 100 ml).

Regular beer has about 10g carbohydrate per 10 fl oz serving (3.6g per 100 ml). Light beer has around half of that.

Herbs And Spices

Most herbs are made from green vegetables so they can be included on your low carb list. Spices are often made from ground seeds and can be higher. Usually you would not use them in large enough quantities to cause a problem but check labels and count the carbs in your daily total.

Packaged And Processed Foods

When buying packaged and processed foods, always check the label for the nutritional information. In the USA and Canada, carbohydrates shown on labeling include fiber. Fiber is not digestible, so this can be subtracted from the carbohydrates to arrive at the net carbs of the food.

In most other countries including the UK, other EU nations and Australia, carbohydrates shown on labeling are already net of fiber so you should not subtract anything.

If you are not sure how this is done in your country, look on a food label to see whether the fiber is right under the carbohydrates and indented (you should subtract it) or somewhere else on the label, not associated with the carbohydrates (you should not subtract it).

There's another thing about American food labeling. In the USA, food labels are allowed to show 0g carbohydrate for anything under 0.5g, so for example eggs can be labeled 0g carbohydrate although they are not zero carb. These small amounts can add up. Online nutrition sites such as Fitday will have a more accurate count. However, this is not an issue in most other countries, including Canada, where food labels are accurate to the nearest 0.1g.

All of this information may seem complicated if you are new to low carb dieting. Most of us are so used to thinking about calories, it is hard to just forget about calories and start thinking carbs instead. However, you will probably be surprised how fast you come to have a feeling for which foods are likely to be low carb. To speed up this process, it is important to count your carbs accurately at first and make your own low carb list of your favorite foods.

Looking For A Healthy Low Carb Diet?

The search for a healthy low carb diet is not as difficult as many people think. Certain low carb diet plans (especially Atkins) have had a bad press in recent decades, but a lot of the criticism is based on people's prejudice and myth rather than on fact.

Myths About Dr Atkins And Fats

For example, many people believe that Dr Robert Atkins died of a heart attack caused by eating too much saturated fat. This is not true. Dr Atkins died at the age of 72 from head injuries sustained in a fall on the sidewalk outside his clinic. He had suffered heart problems previously, but there is no evidence that these were diet related.

People are also fond of pointing out that Dr Atkins' weight at death was 258 lb. This would make him overweight, even obese, at his 6 ft height. However, his medical records show that on admission to hospital after his fall, he weighed only 195 lb. He was in a coma for around 10 days before he died and his body suffered a lot of fluid retention in that time.

It is true that the Atkins diet does allow high quantities of saturated fat. Dr Atkins' theory, explained in detail in his books, is that fat is not dangerous so long as we are not also consuming high quantities of carbohydrates. It is the combination of fats with sugar and refined grain products, like the ingredients of a donut, that cause clogged arteries, heart disease, and many other serious diseases. Therefore, the contention is that Atkins is a healthy low carb diet.

Many people following the Atkins diet find that their cholesterol levels actually drop after 4-6 months on the diet. However, if the amount of saturated fat is a concern for you, then you could try South Beach. This is also a low carb diet but it has limits on the amount of saturated fat.

Myths About Protein

Another common belief is that low carb diets are high protein diets. Diets that are very high in protein can be dangerous for the kidneys. Low carb diets are not recommended for people with pre-existing kidney diseases, who will need special diets following medical advice. However, low carb does not necessarily mean extremely high protein.

There are four sources of calories in food: protein, carbohydrate, alcohol and fat. Most low carb diets are not especially high in protein. They often recommend about 30% of calories coming from protein, with a little from carbohydrates and the majority coming from fat.

When you start on a low carb diet it is a good idea to track your food intake. This helps you to keep a watch on your carbs and also make sure that you are not getting too much protein. It should be between 15% and 30% of your calorie intake, or around 0.35 to 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight, which is around 60g to 120g of protein per day for a person weighing 170 lb. There are around 20 grams of protein in a 4 oz steak, and around 6g in one egg.

Myths About Vegetables

Many people believe that you don't eat vegetables on a low carb diet. This is completely untrue. All of the low carb diets require you to eat a certain amount of vegetables. Many are low in carbohydrates and they contain important nutrients such as vitamins and minerals that are essential to our health.

The amount of vegetables is usually limited only by the carbs that they contain. So you can eat a lot of something like celery (2.4g net carbs per 100g serving) but less of broccoli (4g net carbs per 100g serving).

Many people find that the amount of vegetables eaten in a low carb diet plan is actually more than they are used to. So as long as you choose a well established low carb diet and follow the guidance carefully, you should have no trouble maintaining a healthy low carb diet.