of
my favorite examples include shrimp, mushrooms, caffeine-free diet Dr. Pepper and Anne
Murray’s music, all of which I can enjoy on my Atkins diet!
This is day 22 of my diet adventure and I have just this past week
completed the "14-day induction diet" that kick-starts the entire weight-loss
approach. I stayed on it for an additional seven days. Let me explain.
The Atkins diet is designed to force your body into a state of fat
meltdown. By focusing on the role that insulin plays in regulating the blood-sugar levels
in our bodies, Atkins observed that many overweight people are in a continued state of
hyperinsulinism, meaning that their bodies become very adept at releasing insulin to
assist in the conversion of excess carbohydrates to fat. This means that there is always
too much insulin circulating through the body. Too much insulin causes the body to want to
store fat. That’s why, Atkins reasons, low-fat diets that do not limit carbohydrates
are doomed to fail.
Fat meltdown
The fat meltdown is created when the body goes into ketosis. Atkins
calls the initial two weeks of the diet, the "induction diet." It is designed to
induce this ketosis effect in the body. This portion of the diet is extremely low in
carbohydrates, which quickly helps regulate insulin production and decreases circulating
insulin. As a direct result, the body immediately stores less fat and significantly
reduces food cravings. With the absence of carbohydrates entering the body, the next step
is for the body to then begin using its stored fat for energy.
So, here I am last Saturday … sitting down to a shrimp cocktail
appetizer (sans cocktail sauce), a juicy grilled T-bone steak, Portabella mushrooms in a
savory garlic-herb butter sauce and crisp yellow wax beans. In the background are smooth,
gentle sounds from my "The Best of Anne Murray" CD and I’m thinking,
"This is a diet?"
Vitamin supplements
Because the diet eliminates some foods from the diet, it is important
to supplement with vitamins. I take multiple vitamins that provide all the suggested
levels well in excess of the daily minimums as established by the Food and Drug
Administration. I also add potassium and some herbal supplements for minerals that I might
otherwise be missing.
Equally important is exercise. No matter how good a diet is, or how
well you stick to a weight-loss diet, unless you also exercise, the results are likely
going to be less than you hope or expect.
Of all the advice from readers so far, the importance and need for
exercise seems to be one of the most common themes expressed. All the e-mails, notes,
phone calls and passing conversations have been supportive and helpful.
Story on Web site
One of my e-mails came from a registered nurse in Lebanon, Ohio, who
had read the first article in this series on our Web site at AccessWestOhio.com.
This made our Online Services manager, Mark Kaufman, very happy (he
always likes to hear about the growing number of people that read our publication,
especially in the electronic form). It should also please Mike Becker because now he can
also fine Mark a quarter when he puts his own in the pot at Wednesday’s Kiwanis
meeting for having his name appear in The Sidney Daily News.
It turns out that this diet, in addition to resulting in my weight
loss, could also aid hundreds of children through our Kiwanis IDD program. These
"fines" go directly to this program.
While my salt intake is limited, the salt supply in many Third World
nations is being supplemented with iodine to aid in the curtailment of birth defects and
other diseases as a result of the IDD initiative.
Next week I’ll share my exercise routine. I’ve committed to
it with the same enthusiasm as with my diet. I will also give you my first report
regarding weight loss (it’s good news!). |
