Which is why I never tried Atkins again.  I figured it was the plan that was faulty.  “Yeah,” I thought, “I did lose weight, but look how fast I put it back on.” 

 

In January of this year, I started counting calories.  I was psyched, “I can do this!” I said.  “I can eat this way for the rest of my life!”  I logged every morsel that went into my mouth and stuck to my calorie limit religiously – and in five months, I lost only ten pounds.  I got discouraged and went off the diet and gained five back.  Consequently, for six months, I’d only netted a five pound loss.

 

So - counting calories came easily to me but I didn’t lose much weight.  The bigger point, though, is that I didn’t gain weight either!  It was then that I realized that I could use the carb-counting to lose, but then switch back to calorie-counting to maintain.

 

So in July I started my new eating plan.  In the past five months I have lost over 45 lbs.  Okay, it didn’t come off as fast as it did back when I was 16 – but still, it’s fast enough to keep me encouraged – and moving forward.  I can do this.

 

 

The Atkins Concept

 

It’s not just a matter of keeping carb intake low, there’s a science that goes with it.  For a person like me who always has to know WHY (don’t just tell me to do something, ya gotta tell me why or I ain’t doin’ it!), this plan is satisfyingly methodical and logical.  If Atkins works, then why does it work?  I’m so happy to report that I can now answer that question!  It’s strange that, though I’ve been an expert “eater” all my life, there was much I didn’t know about the physiology of eating!  Since adopting my plan, I’ve learned a lot about how our bodies metabolize food, facts I didn’t know before.

 

First, I learned about where our bodies get their energy every day.  The human body’s “default setting” is to draw energy first from incoming carbohydrates.  This explains why, if an athlete needs an energy boost, they down carbs on purpose. 

 

I learned that if there are no (or few) incoming carbohydrates to draw from, after a day or so, the brain will secrete enzymes that tell the body to first draw energy from fat instead. It’s like a switch being flipped, changing the default setting.  This enzyme-driven physical reaction, this change in default, it doesn’t just happen to some of us. This is true for every single human being on the planet.  If a human deletes incoming carbs, their body will automatically switch to burning fat first for energy.  Can this be proven?  Yes it can.

 

This state is called ketosis.  When the body is in ketosis and it burns fat, by-products of that process (called ketones) show up in urine.  There are urinalysis strips available for purchase by anyone who wants them, these strips will turn pink or purple if ketones are detected.  (They are available in a 100-strip package for $6.95 at www.netrition.com.)

 

While in ketosis, the body burns fat – both incoming and existing – at a higher rate than when not in ketosis.  Even the person with the slowest metabolism becomes a fat-burning machine! 

 

The body will stay in that new default setting until a certain number of daily carbs are re-introduced.  The level of incoming carbs that will switch it back – it’s different for everyone.  This physiology is a huge factor in wanting to stick to my diet because I don’t want to go off plan and bump my body out of ketosis!  Getting it there (into ketosis) is harder than keeping it there, without a doubt.  The process of initially getting your body into a state of ketosis is called “Induction.”

 

Induction

 

The Atkins plan calls for a two-week induction phase.  I decided for myself that I would stay on it even longer than that, because I thought it would result in continued quick weight-loss.  Interestingly, I hit a plateau after the first two weeks on induction and didn’t lose another ounce until I finally went off of induction.  So go figure. 

 

The rules for induction are pretty simple. 

 

1)     Eat only from the “acceptable foods” list:  http://www.atkins.com/Program/FourPhases/WhatIsInduction/AcceptableFoodsList.aspx

 

2)     Eat no more than 20g net carbohydrates per day (Net equals total carb grams minus fiber grams).

 

3)     Of those 20g net carbs, 12-15g should be from the veggies and salad choices on the acceptable food list.

 

4)     Exercise.  Dr. Atkins said, “Exercise is not negotiable.”  If a person’s body is in ketosis, they are primed for burning fat – but only if the body is required to burn it!  If the person doesn’t get up and do something, then that lovely fat-burning state is basically wasted.

 

For my induction phase, I followed the plan pretty closely.  I probably didn’t eat enough of the acceptable veggies, but I progressed nevertheless.  I got the ketone strips and confirmed that yes, I was definitely in ketosis.

 

During the first week of induction, it’s pretty typical to lose a bunch of poundage very quickly.  It was very encouraging and heartening for me to suddenly lose 10 lbs. without even trying, but no matter how much fun it was, it was not actually fat loss. 

 

We know that adult humans are composed of 55-65 percent water.  Part of that water is stored in fat cells.  The process of initiating ketosis causes another physiological response in the human body:  all of the body’s fat cells drain some of their water.

 

This sudden drop is then typically followed by a plateau or even a gain.  Actual fat loss is happening during that plateau, but two other things are also happening:  1) the fat cells are rejuvenating their water stores and 2) muscle mass is increasing because of the introduction of exercise.  Muscle weighs more than fat, so any muscle gain may “cancel out” some fat loss.  It’s good though because the more muscle a person has, the higher their metabolism will be (which is why, typically, men lose weight faster and easier than women do, because men naturally have more muscle mass).

 

Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL)

 

Once the induction period is complete and the body is safely in ketosis, then the next phase can begin.  During this phase, carbs are slowly reintroduced back into the diet.  So, for the first week after induction, the daily carb intake limit might be 25g net carbs per day.  Then the next week, 30g net carbs per day, and so on.  The Atkins plan says to keep adding carbs until you find your own personal threshold (when it flips the switch back to carb-burning).

 

I didn’t do it that way, but then, that’s just me. 

 

I cranked it up to 25g net carbs per day and kept it there for several weeks.  Then I moved to 30g net carbs and kept it there for several more weeks.  Now I keep the limit at 50g unless I don’t exercise at all, in which case I drop back down to 30g.  If I should happen to go over and kick my body out of ketosis, I just drop it down to 20g for a week (or even just a few days).

 

The Atkins plan says you don’t have to count calories, just carbs.  This is good because it means you can have delicious rich choices which are high in calories but low in carbs (like alfredo sauce, mmmm, and cheese, and nuts).

 

But I didn’t do it that way, either.

 

In August 2008, I started limiting my calories as well as my carbs, and so I started tracking everything.  I’m a bit compulsive about it actually, but hey, it works for me.  I use the free program on www.fitday.com to track all my food and have programmed some of my home-made favorites into it to make the daily input easier. 

I was allowing myself 1600 calories per day unless I didn’t exercise at all, in which case I dropped down to 1400.  Now, though, I’m trying a different approach, using higher calorie amounts which I got from this zig zag calculator .  Each day I’m allowed somewhere between 1928 and 2314 calories. 

 

And that’s it.  I count carbs and calories.  I eat whatever foods I want, but keep it within whatever limits I’m currently enforcing upon myself.  Since I can eat a lot more quantity when I eat low-carb and low-calorie foods, I tend to stick to choices which are low-carb and low-calorie.  I try to eat a salad with every major meal (it helps to keep my calorie count down and makes me feel full).