Atkinsville: Sung to the tune of Green Acres

Atkinsville

You ever get one of those songs stuck in your head that you just can’t let go of? Well, I had a little time to kill at work and decide to write a song to the tune of Green Acres, now I can’t get it out of this wee little brain of mine.

 

Atkinsville is the place to be
eating food that is good for me
butts spreading out so far and wide
keep your muffins, just give me my
chicken thighs.

New York strip is the Atkins way
burger and fries are here to stay.
I just adore pasta fagioli
dah-ling I love you but give me my
carbo food.

Low carbs
I’ll starve
Fresh Greens
You’re mean.

You are my wife
Good-bye dirty rice

Atkinsville we are there…

As always, comments are welcome and encouraged.

Terry (whyguy)

Living The Atkins Style

In the style of Gilligan’s Island

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a weight-loss trip
That started on the Atkins forum,
A board with many tips.

Atkins was a mighty fillin plan,
Good suppers that’s for sure.
The dieters signed up one day
For a weight loss assured
A weight loss assured.

The craving started getting tough,
The Atkins plan was lost,
Thanks to the food choices on this plan
The dieters showed who’s boss
The dieters showed who’s boss.

The tips they found on the Atkins forum
gave them all a smile.

Meet Grami Cin
And Georgie too
Here’s Jennifer and Fit 4life
A movie star
The moderator and
Adriane

Livin–the Atkins Style.

So this is the tale of the waste-a-ways, they’re here for a long, long time.
They’ll have to make the best of things,
Up through owl they climb.

The first-rate friends are chipper too,
They’ll do their very best,
To make you all as comfortable,
On the forum I like best.

No toast! No grains! No Demon Carbs!
Not a one thing sugary,
Slowing down the Glucose,
You’ll lose fat you’ll see.

So join us here this week my friends,
You’re sure to get a smile,
As you watch the weight melt off…
Livin—the Atkins Style.

As always, comments are welcome and encourage.

Terry (whyguy)

Doritos: King of Demons

On day fourteen of the low-carb Atkins diet I’ve been on, the following odd-but-true story happened.

I had just returned from a twelve-hour workday and was exhausted.  But it was my turn to make dinner for the family, so bed would have to wait.  I didn’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen so I made a simple choice:  soup, sandwiches, and Doritos for them, and ribs and veggies for me.

I reached in the cabinet still stuffed with high octane demon carbs, (pasta, Velveeta and shells, rice, brownie mix, pop-tarts), which are all a low-carb dieters worst nightmare, and I pulled out a bag of Doritos for my kids.  Now, I don’t know if I was hallucinating,  extremely tired, or if my cravings were getting the best of me, but I swear to you that the chips spoke to me as I slowly opened the bag.

“ONNNNEEE !”  The bag bellowed in a crumpled demonic tone.

“Son of a…”  I slammed the bag shut and jumped back.  I must be going mad I thought.   But I had to know, so I opened the bag again.

“One!”

That’s it, I’m freakin nuts I thought, as the guttural cry continued its chant.

“ONE-ONE-ONE-ONE”…

This king of demon carbs was drawing me in.  My hands trembled as I tried to hold back.  My mouth began to water, and I knew I was doomed.  The Siren song was strong.  This beast of the chip world released an intoxicating bouquet of tangy-zest-and-cheese that lured me even closer.  My cravings were too much, the scent to strong—I was losing the battle.

“Onnnneeee!”

I jumped on the counter screaming, “back—back demon!” as I held my two fingers together in the sign of a cross as I had seen them do in so many cheesy Vampire movies. My wife and kids came running, and as they turned the corner into the kitchen, they stared at me with the blank look of confusion that can only be seen when a family finds dad being stupid.

“What’s wrong?” they asked in unison.

My voice quivered as I pointed to the bag, “Dor–it–ossss.”

“Huh-what-huh”, they said in a state of confusion.

“Dorrr-dorr—it-ossss…Doritosssss—they’re calling to me—CAN’T REE-SISTT,”  I bellowed as I tried to make them understand.

My kids knew dad was being stupid again—they  rolled their eyes and walked away. However,  my wife knows me well and decided to play along,   “What do you need babe” she asked.

My pulse quickened, “talk me down babe, talk me down.”

She told me everything was gonna be all right, and held up her palm toward me  as she backed slowly toward the bag . She grabbed the King of Demon carbs, fought with him, and flung the bag  back in the cabinet.

“My Hero,” I said as I jumped down into her arms and kissed her.

“You know you really are silly,”  my wife said as we looked into each others eyes and began to laugh.

“Yep, that I am.”

I learned two things from this: First, having someone to support you in times of weakness is a great benefit.  Second, cravings don’t stand a chance against silly.

Terry (whyguy)

Atkins: The Short Version

I am not going to reinvent the wheel by telling you all about the Atkins diet, but I will give you the short version.  Atkins is a lifestyle plan that will help you shed pounds, become healthier, and help you reach your weight loss goals in an easy to learn easy to follow eating plan.  I have been on this plan since January 2, 2009 and in two and one half months I have dropped 35 lbs, lost several inches off every area of my body, and went from a size 42 pants to a  size 38.  I also went from wearing X-large shirts to large shirts.  In addition, my energy is up, and my blood pressure is under control without medications.

But more importantly, I get to eat great food, and am never hungry.

Atkins is a low carbohydrate diet based on the principle of burning fat for fuel as you limit your intake of bad carbs, and increase your intake of good carbs, protein, and fat.  By limiting carb in-take the body goes in a state of ketosis, which is the optimal state for low-carb dieters to be in, when in ketosis your appetite becomes suppressed, and your craving for starches and sugars  are drastically reduced.

I no longer have cravings for any of the foods that made me fat in the first place.  ie, pizza rolls, fast food, chocolate, ice cream, Doritos, etc…

Atkins is flexible, but  it’s  not a one size fits all program.  You will learn what works for you and what doesn’t as you move through the four phases of Atkins…

The four phases:

Phase 1: Induction

This first phase of Atkins is meant to eliminate or drastically reduce your food cravings, and put your body into Ketosis where you will start burning fat for fuel.  This phase will last a minimum of two weeks, but some people choose to stay on this phase longer.  This is the hardest phase of Atkins, but it will jump start your success. This is what you will do on Induction:

• Limit carbohydrate consumption to 20 grams of net carbs.  (Carbs minus fiber equals net carb).
• Satisfy your appetite with foods that combine lean protein and fat, such as fish, poultry, eggs, lamb, pork and beef. While eating limited amounts of hard cheeses .
• You will get eat 12-15 grams of net carbs from veggies.
• Drink at least eight glasses of water daily.
• Take multivitamin/mineral and fish-oil nutritional supplements.
• It is also recommended that you exercise .  ( I don’t do much of this, but don’t tell anybody)

After at least two weeks, you will move on to OWL.  This is the phase I am currently on.  This  is the phase that you will lose most of your weight and learn the most about your food, and how your body reacts to certain food.  Feel free to experiment on this phase of Atkins.  You will stay on this phase until you are within 10 lbs of your goal weight.

Phase 2: Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL)

The first week you’ll increase your daily carb intake from 20 to 25 grams.  The following week you’ll move to 30 grams of Net Carbs per day, and so on.  You will increase your carb intake until your weight loss  slows to one to two pounds per week.  This is purely an individual choice.

During OWL, you’ll find out how many grams of  net carbs you can eat and still lose weight.  You’ll also discover your own Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing (CCLL).

During OWL, you begin to add a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods back into your diet-such as more non-starchy veggies (e.g., asparagus and broccoli); berries, including raspberries and strawberries; nuts and seeds, such as hazelnuts and almonds; and soft cheeses (e.g., cottage cheese

Phase 3: Pre-Maintenance

When you’re within 10 pounds of your target weight, it’s time to move to Pre-Maintenance.  You’ll stay on Phase 3 until you hit your target weight and maintain that weight for one month.

Each week during Pre-Maintenance, you’ll add 10 grams of Net Carbs back into your diet until you’ve reached your goal weight.  Once you’ve reached your goal weight and have maintained it for at least one month, you will have found your ACE, or Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibrium. This will be the place that you neither gain nor lose weight.

Phase 4: Lifetime Maintenance

Once you’ve maintained your goal weight for one month, you will move on to Lifetime Maintenance.  In this phase, your average Net Carbs will range from 40 to 120 per day.  This number will depend on how your body reacts to food.

I’ve met people on the Atkins forum who eat 120 net carbs a day.  That’s a whole lot of food. I don’t know how they do it. But you gotta love a diet that let’s you eat like a pig.

Now that  you’re  ready to begin, if you want more information I suggest getting Dr. Atkins book Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, 2002 edition or newer, also referred to as DANDR.  Also, check out the Atkins website at http://www.atkins.com/Program.aspx.  This is where I have found most of this information and it is a great place to learn and get support.  I also suggest you join the forum and seek support from those who are going through the same thing you will be.

I use the forum for support, to gain invaluable insights from those who are sharing my experiences, as well as from those who have been doing Atkins successfully for many years.  There are great people on this forum who are more than willing to help you, answer your questions,  and cheer you on.  I am honored to call them my friends.

When you stop by make  sure you tell them Whyguy sent you and that I said hello .  http://community.atkins.com/index.jsp

While my blog will mostly deal with my writing, I will devote a portion of this site to Atkins.  I am not affiliated with the Atkins Company, but I believe in it so much that I am willing to endorse it and give it my support.  As with any diet program, you should consult your physician.

If you have any question for me about Atkins feel free to leave a comment and I will share my experiences with you.

Yeah, I know, I said I would give you the short version, but as you get to know me, you will discover that brevity is not my strong suit.  So sue me.  LOL

Terry Elkins (whyguy)

P.S.  I will be adding tips and strategies that you can use for to help your increase your success on Atkins.  I am currently working on gathering 100 tips to help you succeed on Atkins. Also, I will be posting Atkins succes stories in a section called Snap Shots.  If you would like to be a part of this contact me on this blog page or at telkins7@comcast.net.

I will be posting this soon so make sure you subscribe to my blog and book mark this page.

 

I almost forgot, are you ready to change your life? Come on, what do you have to lose besides those extra pounds.

Do you smell like Butt? Ketosis: The Dark Side of Low Carb dieting.

What is Ketosis? In simplest terms, ketosis is the state you are in when your body is burning fat for energy. People on low carbohydrates diets want to be in ketosis;  when they’re in Ketosis they know the diet is working. The problem is, being in Ketosis has one serious consequence. Stinky Breath…and I mean S-T-I-N-K-Y. The following is my top ten lists for knowing when you are in ketosis: