No matter how firmly you believe in the Atkins lifestyle—and no matter the strength of your resolve—the fact is that you live in a society that revolves around food, and unhealthy food to boot. At virtually every celebration, you’ll find cake and ice cream. At every dinner party or restaurant, bread made with white flour and sugar-laden desserts beckon. Every office meeting is an occasion to bring in a platter of bagels, Danish, or cookies. And let’s not even talk about the selections you find in every vending machine, convenience store, food court, and fast-food chain.
If you are someone who has already experienced the positive results of doing Atkins—whether for health reasons or to lose weight—you’re already ahead of the game. You’ve convinced yourself that Atkins works in the short run. You understand the link between carbohydrate foods with a high glycémie content and your blood sugar levels. (If you are new to Atkins and either want to lose a small amount of weight or address a health problem, after reading chapter 3 you should have an intellectual understanding of this phenomenon. It may take longer until you actually experience it.) Now you need to work on developing tools that will help you hold on to your commitment permanently. If you get lazy and gradually chip away at the success you’ve achieved, renewed weight gain—with all the health implications and emotional baggage associated with it—is almost inevitable. In this chapter, we’ll address the day-to-day challenges that life throws in your path and share ideas for how to deal with them. In the next chapter, we’ll look at normal life changes—as well as some situations beyond your control—and how to cope with them.
The trick to maintaining your self-control is to keep your eye firmly on the prize. That prize is the energized, healthy, permanently slim you—and that comes from sticking to your program. You will always have to be mindful about your eating habits, not sometimes, not most of the time, but consistently. Unfortunately, as the old saw goes, when it comes to doing what you know is good for you, all too often you are your own worst enemy. So first of all, let’s look at some familiar demons.
Long-term success doing Atkins, or any weight-control program for that matter, depends upon confronting your personal temptations and figuring out how to stand up to them. Think of yourself as a general planning a military campaign. In this case, the enemy is food that you know you shouldn’t eat but that still exerts a powerful hold over you. Despite your commitment to your eating plan and to good nutrition, you’re only human. Like most people, you probably have a weakness for at least one item that occasionally results in “naughty” behavior. A smart general knows his own strengths and weaknesses and respects his enemy. Learn to change what you can: your response to food; and accept that there are other things you cannot change: the power that food has over you. Temptation will not disappear. Even if you resist those M&M’s today, there will be another sugary food beckoning tomorrow.
During the Induction phase of Atkins, the physiological “gift” of lipolysis/ketosis suppresses hunger. If you’ve done Induction, you’ll probably remember the feeling of freedom, of no longer being a slave to your appetite that’s a wonderful side effect of burning body fat for energy. But Induction is just a stepping stone, and when the slimmer and more energetic you graduates from that phase and you begin eating progressively more carbohydrates, you have to give up that ever-present appetite suppressant as your body burns both fat and carbs for energy.
Fortunately, even in Lifetime Maintenance, you have a “secret” weapon, which will assist you in staying in control of your hunger. The way to keep such cravings under control is to stay at or below your ACE (Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibrium). This level of carb consumption allows you to burn both carbs and fat for energy, meaning that you are less likely to experience the ups and downs of blood sugar fluctuations that can cause carb cravings. But in addition to this physiological mechanism, you need to add mental fortitude. People who are permanently slim are not any less tempted by food; they simply deal with temptation differently. And once you have made up your mind that you simply will not eat certain things—ever—there is a remarkable sense of relief and pride in your resolve that signals closure.
But quite possibly you will still need to strengthen your relationship with your old familiar friend called self-control. That means developing strategies for dealing with the occasional hunger pangs or cravings that can be brought on by stress, going too long between meals, going above your ACE, or simply eating a high-glycemic food that you haven’t had in a while. Here are a few ways to handle those situations:
Space out your carbs throughout the day. If you have a big carb blowout at lunch, you may feel the effects of the resulting blood sugar spike: that is, a dip in energy later in the day that leaves you lusting after something sweet. So, instead of a regular sandwich, opt for an open-face one. Make sure your salad has a good-size protein component and a tasty oil-based dressing. Eat some protein and/or fat with every meal or snack to slow down the release of glucose into your bloodstream.
Eat regularly. Don’t go more than four to six waking hours without a meal or a snack. When you’re ravenous, you’re more apt to lose control of yourself. Although our culture revolves around what we call three square meals a day, many people prefer to eat more, smaller meals. This way of eating is actually healthy because it helps keep your blood sugar on an even keel. It is essential that you not skip a meal, which could make you overly hungry when the next meal rolls around.
Snack. The best way to keep a craving from becoming a monster binge is to give in to it—with a low carb snack. Snacking also keeps your metabolism working most efficiently, burning calories for energy instead of going into starvation mode, when it slows down and hordes energy. Whether you call it a mini-meal or a snack, feel free to enjoy a mid-morning or afternoon treat.
Sip. Drinking water helps fill you up. We sometimes confuse hunger for thirst—especially as we get older. Many people find that they eat less when they have a glass of water before a meal. A cup of broth has the same effect. As always, drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day.
One of the misconceptions about Atkins is that it means never eating bread, pasta, or other higher carbohydrate foods again. Once you’re doing Atkins for life, this simply isn’t true. For people who feel that a meal isn’t a meal unless it includes bread, pasta, or rice, there are many low carb alternatives. And as detailed in chapter 3, many people can eat whole grains and products made from them—but always in moderation.
For example, if bread has been your undoing in the past, learn about the different kinds. You’ll soon understand why you want to avoid bread made with white flour. One option is carb-reduced bread made with alternative ingredients such as resistant starch (meaning it is resistant to being broken down by enzymes in your digestive tract and impacting your blood sugar). Do note that some products are labeled low carb, others high protein. These terms are not synonymous, so check carb counts and subtract the fiber content to get the grams of Net Carbs, the only ones you need count when you do Atkins. When you review the menu plans that start on page 161, you’ll see that low carb bread regularly turns up in the lower ACE plans and 100-percent whole-grain bread on the higher ACE plans.
In addition to learning which are the better breads, other techniques may help you enjoy bread without overdoing it.
Have the bread be your only high-glycemic food that day.
Allow yourself only one piece of bread a day.
Slice bread extra thin.
Eat only the crust.
Eat only low carb bread.
When you’re in Lifetime Maintenance, choosing the right breads (and crackers) can mean the difference between a serving a day or one every two to three days. (Your ACE is obviously a factor as well.) All breads are most definitely not created equal. How do you find bread that’s relatively low in Net Carbs? Or a cracker that’s low carb and free of partially hydrogenated oils? You’re not likely to find healthy choices in the bread (or cracker) aisle of your supermarket. Instead, bakeries (including those in supermarkets) may offer specialty breads like seeded corn rye or seven-grain sourdough; and natural foods stores or sections of grocery stores may stock loaves made with spelt or soy, or sprouted (sometimes called live) grains. Your objective is to find bread with a high unrefined whole-grain, and high fiber content. All these add up to fewer grams of Net Carbs and a lower AGR (Atkins Glycemic Ranking). Low carb breads are also available. Here’s how to proceed:
CHECK OUT THE INGREDIENTS. Compare the ingredient lists on a standard loaf from the bread aisle and on specialty bread. Most bread contains a small amount of sugar, some of which occurs naturally in grains, but many also have added sweeteners such as fruit juice, barley malt, honey, or molasses. Sometimes only a teaspoon or so per loaf is added to proof the yeast, but larger amounts are often used to yield a deeper color or crisper crust. Avoid products with added sugars. Some specialty products have no added sweeteners. Others, like cinnamon-raisin, are high in sweeteners—and may contain partially hydrogenated oils, too. Bottom line: Read labels—carefully.
COMPARE THE SERVING SIZE ON THE NUTRITION FACTS PANEL. Bread typically supplies 13 to 17 grams of carbs per ounce. White bread might have less than 1 gram of fiber per serving; 100-percent whole-grain breads often have at least 3, which means fewer Net Carbs. Also pay attention to the weight of each serving. Most Nutrition Facts information is listed by the slice, which is generally about 1 ounce (or 28 grams), but can vary between 24 and 38 grams—a difference of ½ ounce, or half a slice! Unsliced bread provides information based on weight; often a 2-ounce serving is standard.
DEFINING THE TERMS. You may see some of these terms on bread labels. Here’s what they mean.
Organic: The grains were produced without either pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
Seeded: Whole seeds or grains (usually rye, but corn and wheat are common) are added.
Stone-ground: Generally, the flour is crushed between rotating stone disks, rather than high-speed rollers that generate high temperatures, meaning more nutrients are preserved.
Unrefined: Flour that is minimally processed and thus still has most (if not all) of the nutrients found in the germ as well as the fiber.
HOW ABOUT CRACKERS? Most crackers are made with vegetable shortening, whose prime ingredient’s partially hydrogenated vegetable oil—aka trans fats. In addition, these crackers contain mostly enriched white flour, even the rye or whole grain varieties, and added sweeteners. The result: high carbs, low fiber, and killer fats. Look for crackers made without hydrogenated oils in natural foods stores or the health food sections of supermarkets. The packages may say “No Hydrogenated Oils” or “No Trans Fats” on the front. If you’re looking for crunch, flat breads are another alternative. Their high fiber content keeps their Net Carbs under 10 grams per serving and some can be as low as 4. If you don’t see them near the crackers, look in the bread aisle.
Here are some more tips on understanding bread and cracker labels, which generally apply to rolls and bagels as well:
Whether your favorite foods are mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, tortilla chips, pizza, or ice cream, once you’re doing Atkins for life, you don’t necessarily need to abandon them forever. There are several possible battle plans:
Have the food rarely and that day go easy on other foods in the #3 (Eat Rarely) categories
Have only a small portion
Think of the big picture
Cut back after a small indulgence
Jef Gray, a thirty-seven-year-old information technology executive, employs a variation on the first tactic by keeping a close eye on his carb intake during the week so that on weekends he can eat popcorn or ice cream with his kids. “Fortunately, I don’t crave the bread and sugary things like I did before so I still stay close to the plan even in my weekend ‘free zone,’” says Gray, who has been able to continue to control his weight for a year with this strategy.
Aerobics instructor Adrienne Chavers, who lost 36 pounds doing Atkins, is a proponent of the second battle plan. She can satisfy her taste buds with small portions of favorite foods. She is famous among her friends and family for her corn-bread dressing. “I eat one small serving,” she says. “And I might have two spoonfuls of cherry cheesecake for dessert. It is just enough!”
Fearing that he would die as his father had at an early age, thirty-five-year-old James Winterscheid lost a whopping 122 pounds in 1998. His three children were prime motivators for him. Speaking of how the family went out for ice cream to celebrate his older son’s birthday, James says, “No, I didn’t indulge, and I didn’t feel deprived. I felt alive!”
Other people, such as Bob Keown, are able to indulge themselves in something, cut back on carbs for a few subsequent days, and stay on track. Bob has been on Lifetime Maintenance since January 2000. “I’m confident that the weight is off for good,” he says. “I monitor my carbohydrate intake a little less rigorously, but I’m still aware of what I’m eating. If I’ve done something to push my carb limit, I’ll back off for a week.”
The important thing is to create a decisive and workable plan so that you, and not that appealing food, are controlling the situation. That way you remain in charge of your hunger and cravings—and of your weight and health. With a strategy tucked neatly under your belt, you don’t have to go through the internal song and dance each time you are confronted with temptation. You will have learned to get into your battle mode. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself having to make a decision every time you are confronted with these favorite foods. Human nature is such that when confronted by such a delicious demon, you will give in to it more often than not.
Confronting Comfort Foods
If you’re craving pasta, check out pasta made from soy flour, which has only about 5 grams Net Carbs in a half-cup of cooked pasta, compared to about 19 grams for a comparable serving of the regular semolina) type. There are also plenty of lower carb substitutes for other popular foods. High-protein or whole-grain (rolled or steel-cut oats are a good bet) hot or cold breakfast cereals, for instance, are a much better choice than the sugary stuff most people gulp down in the morning. A mix of wild and brown rice makes a great lower carb, more nutritious replacement for white rice. No one has invented a substitute for baked potatoes, but now that you are maintaining your weight you can probably eat a small baked potato now and then, especially if you add a pat of butter or dollop of sour cream to slow down the absorption of glucose into your bloodstream.
Understand this: Willpower alone won’t cut it, as anyone who has ever been unable to stick with any diet will attest. But willpower in concert with suppression of certain physiological demands can work. No amount of willpower will overcome the body’s need to raise low blood sugar when it gets too low: the result of eating excessive carbs, leading to high blood glucose, which in turn leads to overproduction of insulin to transport the glucose to cells. To reiterate the point: As long as you are not under the influence of fluctuating blood sugar and resultant hunger, you should be much more able to call the shots. And that is where willpower comes in.
Not all of us are as lucky as Jef, Adrienne, James, and Bob, however. Other people simply find it easier to avoid certain foods altogether. A food writer and recipe developer, Karen Rysavy had reached a weight of 271 and had sky-high cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglycérides before she turned to Atkins on the eve of her thirty-fifth birthday. Three years later and 61 pounds lighter and now on Lifetime Maintenance, she says, “No sugar or white flour has passed my lips in all this time. I don’t want to mess up this wonderful feeling of wellness.”
Jan Baumer, who follows Atkins to keep her cholesterol under control—she did lose 19 pounds and now is a trim 123 pounds—encounters temptation at her office every day. “Someone is always bringing in home-baked treats to share. I have a hard time saying no to something like homemade cranberry nut bread. Instead, I bring Atkins bars to work.”
For those of us who need to limit our favorite foods to only very special occasions, substitution is the way to go. By having stand-ins always available, you can fall back on them when food you know you shouldn’t eat beckons. See if any of these fit the bill:
The Breakfast Dilemma
Many people who find doing Atkins easy most of the day continue to regard breakfast as a challenge. Some people simply are not going to cook in the morning, not when they have to get children—or themselves—out the door ASAR Others just aren’t hungry for anything substantial first thing in the morning. Still others bemoan the boredom of eating eggs. We’ll address each one of these dilemmas individually, but it is important to remember that by the time you’re doing Atkins for life there should be a considerable variety in the breakfast foods available to you, as you will see in our meal plans starting on page 161. Here are some ways to tackle the most important meal of the day:
Dilemma: I just can’t face eggs every morning.
Solution: There are many other high-protein choices. Consider these for starters:
A breakfast smoothie made with fruit and tofu or unsweetened soy milk
Old-fashioned oatmeal (not the instant kind) served with nuts, heavy cream, or butter and sugar-free pancake syrup. Or add protein powder, organic peanut butter, or olive oil
Cold cereals made from whole, unrefined grains without sugar and served with unsweetened soy milk or whole milk
Nuts, seeds, and unsweetened coconut flakes sprinkled over whole-milk yogurt, cottage cheese, or ricotta. Or, whole-milk yogurt and fruit
Sliced turkey or smoked salmon wrapped around cream cheese
Other smoked fish
Last night’s leftovers
Dilemma: I’m just not hungry first thing in the morning
Solution: Spread it out. Have a low carb snack such as some cheese and fruit along with a cup of tea or decaf early in the morning. Then a couple of hours later have another small breakfast, such as reduced-carb toast or flatbread topped with butter or cream cheese and preserves without added sugar. Do not go for more than two hours after arising without eating.
Dilemma: I just plain miss my old sweet comfort foods like Rice Krispies and cinnamon buns for breakfast.
Solution: From muffins to breakfast cereals, there are numerous products manufactured specifically for people who are following controlled carb regimens.
Dilemma: I don’t have time to make and/or eat breakfast before leaving the house.
Solution: Either use the low carb products mentioned above or make breakfast foods over the weekend, freeze them, and then pull out of the freezer when you get up. Pancakes and muffins are two breakfast favorites that freeze well. Pop in the microwave for a few minutes before serving. Or make breakfast the night before. Hard-boiled eggs, slices of cheese, cut-up fruit, nuts, and seeds can all be prepared ahead and placed in plastic bags so you can take them to work with you. You can also make a batch of natural oatmeal that will last in the fridge for a week—just add water and microwave each morning.
If you love dining out, adopt a few easy strategies to block temptations before they appear. First, if you live in an area with lots of restaurant choices, head for cuisines with more low carb options than others. For example, Chinese, Japanese, or Thai restaurants can be good choices so long as you skip the rice and noodles or have only small portions of either. You do need to watch for sugar or cornstarch in the sauces. Typical Mexican restaurants, on the other hand, will be more challenging since tortillas, rice, and beans are cornerstones of most dishes. Similarly, Italian restaurants often load your table with bread, pasta, and sugary marinara sauce unless you ask them not to. Whatever cuisine you choose, however, will have something for you as long as you stay focused. See What to Order for help in making choices in several popular cuisines.
For some people, the challenge of eating in restaurants is not pushing away the bread basket as much as it is telling their dining companions or waiter about their food preferences. If you’re uncomfortable calling attention to yourself by asking about ingredients (“Is that made with sugar?” “Is the fish breaded?”), we have two suggestions. First, when you can, call the restaurant ahead of time and ask which entrées are appropriate for someone who cannot have any sugar, flour, or starch. Second, remember how important this is to you. Controlling carb consumption is not a fad or a political statement—it’s for your health. For tips on talking to intimidating or skeptical dining partners, see How to Turn Friends and Relatives into Allies (page 123).
It may take a little reconditioning to eat the low carb way at your favorite restaurants. Here are some good substitutions and tips for seven popular cuisines.
As you’re being seated, tell the maître d’ or server that you’d like a dish of olives rather than a bread basket.
Do as the Italians do: Start your meal with a bowl of soup (choose clear broth or stracciatella—a sort of Italian egg-drop soup. Note that some versions contain pasta or beans).
Many Chinese sauces are prepared with sugar or cornstarch; stick to dishes that are stir-fried, steamed, or broiled.
Instead of white rice, ask for a small serving of brown rice.
Ask the waiter to skip the standard bowl of tortilla chips that comes with meals. Instead, order guacamole and ask for jicama or cucumber slices for dipping.
A real margarita made from tequila, lime juice, and triple sec will be lower in carbs than the kind made from a sugary mix.
Avoid bean thread, a thin noodle that appears in many dishes.
Anything listed on the menu as pad will almost certainly be a stir-fried.
If you order curry, you’re better off with one that doesn’t contain potatoes.
It is okay to order the butter-and-cream dishes, but simpler dishes, such as fish Provençal with tomatoes and herbs or steak au poivre are smarter choices.
Beware of pommes frites’, aka french fries. Heaps of them often accompany steak dishes, and they are practically irresistible.
Ask to have a glass of delicious Middle Eastern mint tea with your meal. It will help fill you up and aid digestion.
If you order the thickened labnee yogurt flavored with mint or hummus (chickpea dip) as an appetizer, ask for raw vegetables to dip with instead of pita bread.
Call it nan, chapati, poori, or paratha, it’s bread. India boasts a variety of breads. Ask for some spiced cooked vegetables or a cooked cheese dish such as shahi paneer (see chart) instead.
Inquire about all the elements in a specific dish. Because Indian food combines so many different ingredients, menus often do not list them all. Remember that vindaloo usually includes potatoes.
Stick to kebabs, tandoori dishes, and curries, which are pretty straightforward and basically derive their flavor from herbs and spices.
Follow these golden rules and you’ll become adept at restaurant dining without paying the price in pounds!
Don’t skip a meal before eating out (you should never do this anyway but the temptations in a restaurant could compound the problem) or arrive starving. If you do, you might have trouble resisting the bread or some high carb appetizer. Instead, snack on a hard-boiled egg or a few slices of cheese before you go out. If all else fails, ask for some olives, crudités, or steamed veggies to nibble on before your main course arrives.
Drink a couple of glasses of water before your meal to help fill you up. Feel free to enjoy a glass of dry wine with your meal, occasionally.
Many restaurants feature their menus on-line. Try to visit their Web sites to review the offerings and map out your dining plan ahead of time.
Ask to have your dishes served without the extras of rice, beans, potatoes, or pasta. Most restaurants will accommodate requests for another portion of vegetables in lieu of such high carb foods.
Ask for sauces on the side so you can decide whether and how much to consume.
Soup is a great appetite squelcher. Miso soup, many cream soups, and clear broth with meat or vegetables are all satisfying and delicious ways to get your appetite under control before the main dish.
Decide before dinner whether or not you will order dessert. If not, fill up on everything else so that you are pleasantly full by the end of the meal and able to resist temptation, particularly if your dining companions are indulging. If you plan to order dessert, make a point of skipping the bread, rice, or pasta. Even so, your best dessert choice is always berries with whipped cream or melon. Or make a low carb dessert and plan on having it when you get home.
Don’t feel you have to finish something just because it is put in front of you. Restaurant servings are notoriously large. Instead, ask for a “doggie bag” and enjoy the rest for lunch the next day.
Don’t give in to the “I deserve it” mode. What you deserve is to be healthy while still enjoying the foods you already love, not succumbing to unhealthy indulgences.
Don’t torture yourself if you accidentally consume something that’s been batter-dipped or breaded. Remember that it’s only one meal.
Now that you are doing Atkins for life, dinner parties should be reasonably easy to handle. By the time you are in this phase, there is no need to tell your hosts that you cannot eat certain foods. If the meal is served buffet-style, just load up on protein dishes and vegetables. Select small portions of starches if you can handle them. When you do not have much choice about what is served, you can certainly politely ask for a small serving of rice or potatoes or even none at all. Nor is it a faux pas to pass on dessert. Regardless of whether they are following a low carb or a low-fat regimen, many people do not eat dessert. The real issue when eating at the home of friends or family is whether you can keep your eye on the prize and not use the occasion as an excuse to claim that you are not in control of the situation.
When you are the host or hostess, you’re in the catbird seat. Whether or not you serve foods that you are not going to eat is up to you. If you are completely in control and love to feed others, you may want to make some special high carb dishes and pass on them yourself or have just a small bite. But if making those dishes for guests is really just an excuse for you to indulge, you might be wise to confine your menu to dishes you can comfortably eat. The recipes in Part 2 are full of choices that people watching their carbs, and those who wouldn’t know a carb if they fell over it, can both enjoy.
Even if you like to eat out a lot, it’s easier to maintain your eating plan when you’re close to home. Your own kitchen, local grocery stores, and restaurants have already been subjected to your carb-o-meter, so you know how to navigate them skillfully. But once you leave your home territory—be it by plane, train, or automobile—you’ll find “foreign” landscapes teeming with deep-fried carbs and sugar in every color, shape, and form. Whether you travel for business or simply make the occasional trip to visit the relatives, you’ll have to confront the fast and convenient carb-laden foods offered all along our culture’s transportation pathways. Let us help you form a plan of attack to carry with you when you go.
Truck stops, diners, and rest areas bring to mind burgers, colas, french fries—and vending machines filled with chips and candy that reside somewhat incongruously with travel-size toothbrushes and sewing kits. You can also often find entire emporia of fast food just off the highway, selling frozen yogurt, hot pretzels, pizza, pasta, and, of course, burgers, french fries, and onion rings.
Take the roadside food court one step further and you’ve got the airport’s supersize food court. In addition to the concessions you find in rest areas are others that might sell Asian noodle concoctions, foot-long subs, and popcorn in a dozen flavors—and colors—to say nothing of those seemingly ubiquitous fragrant cinnamon buns dripping with sugary frosting. And then there’s the food you get on the airplane. It’s bound to be a disappoint. ment on all fronts and especially in terms of carb counts. But when you’re strapped into a seat at thirty thousand feet, it can be hard to resist even the most tasteless offerings.
Navigating the Fast-Food Jungle
When you’re stuck without provisions and you have no other choice but to skip a meal and go hungry (don’t do this, ever!), there are ways to eat at junk food joints without letting your nutritional house collapse. Some tips:
Avoid the nitrates. When possible, limit your intake of hot dogs, bologna, salami, and other meat products that are preserved with nitrates, or keep exposure to the bare minimum.
Burger, burger. Sandwiches are always a good bet as long as you toss the white-flour bun and avoid sugary sauces such as barbecue or sweet-and-sour (mayo and mustard are okay).
Avoid low fat. Anything advertised as low fat usually translates to high carb. Pass it by.
Search for salad. Almost every fast-food place, from the big chains to the little one-man carts, carries salads, often with grilled chicken on top.
Deconstruct. If you end up with breaded chicken, just use your fork and knife to separate the chicken from the empty carbs.
The obvious solution is to plan ahead and pack your own food. People who get into the habit of doing this find that it can make traveling much easier in many ways. Avoiding all that junk food means that you don’t have to wait in lines, you don’t have to pay exorbitant prices for terrible food, you don’t retain excess water from eating over-salted foods, and you don’t get indigestion to boot. Bring food along in a mini-cooler pack that straps onto your back or a carry-on bag. Try individually wrapped string cheese and rolled-up deli meats or chunks of chicken or beef. Snap-top cans of tuna, salmon, sardines, or chicken are good picks, too. Depending on the food, you might pack a container of toothpicks instead of a fork. Other good ideas for your mini-cooler: berries, nuts, seeds, a small apple, celery sticks (and a small container of cream cheese for dipping), and a plastic cup of salad, hard-boiled eggs, and olives. Carry a few low carb protein bars in your bag or jacket pocket for emergencies.
If you asked someone to name the most common eating danger zones they’d probably cite restaurants, movie theaters, and parties. But probably the number-one danger zone is the workplace. People who work in offices are often saddled with an insidious combination of negative influences: being sedentary and stressed in an environment full of high carb, easy-to-grab food.
The nature of office work is to sit perfectly still in front of a computer, a desk, and a phone. The better worker you are, the more time you spend sitting still. When you do get up, however, you’re often looking for a quick stress reliever or energy boost (which is why so many office workers drink coffee all day long)—something nearby to nibble on. Even if you’re just on your way to the copy machine or the rest room, you may find yourself walking by a candy dish, a platter of brownies brought in for someone’s birthday, or doughnuts or bagels from a morning meeting. And that’s before you get to the vending machine full of candy and salty chips. How can you possibly stick to your controlled carb program and still survive at work? The answer is the same as it is with other challenges: a little ingenuity and some advance planning.
Between the vending machine and the coffee cart—and whatever goodies your coworkers have brought in that day—a smorgasbord of carbs confronts you. Don’t even consider them! Also, skip the high-octane coffee: Excessive caffeine intake has been known to lower blood sugar in some individuals, which in turn can stimulate hunger. Decaffeinated coffee, tea and herbal tea are all better bets.
To avoid being tempted at break time, eat a good, low carb breakfast before you go to work. A breakfast with sufficient protein and fat not only sets you up for a positive and productive day, it keeps you from an energy dip that leaves you ravenous by mid-morning. (See The Breakfast Dilemma on page 109). Also make sure you have your own low carb snacks handy so that you have an alternative if and when you need a snack.
To meet the growing variety of dietary restrictions among employees, most cafeterias offer a good selection of healthy food these days. Skip the fried foods, sandwiches, and desserts. Instead, scrutinize the hot entrées, the salad bar, and the grill section for Atkins-friendly choices. Ask to substitute extra veggies for high carb sides. Or bring your own meals. If a refrigerator is not available, pack your homemade lunch in an insulated bag or mini-cooler. Tuna, chicken, or egg salads can be combined with a container of salad greens. Baked chicken legs, slices of roast beef, cheese, and steamed shrimp are also highly portable.
Carbs consumed when working overtime may be the hardest of all to avoid, especially if you weren’t able to plan ahead by packing dinner or an extra snack. As your workday stretches into evening, your stress level may rise—bringing with it a desire for something sweet or salty and crunchy. Create an emergency stash of low carb snacks such as nuts and protein bars to keep in a desk drawer so you can dip into that instead of heading to the nearest vending machine. When your coworkers are sending out for dinnertime food, go ahead and join them, making the best choice you can from the available menu. (If it’s the ubiquitous pizza, use a fork and eat the toppings but leave the crust. Or order a cheese sandwich and ditch the white roll.)
Fortunately, if the desire for something sweet or starchy does strike, you can almost always satisfy it with a low carbohydrate alternative—such as a handful of nuts or low carb chocolate bar. In fact, you can even have a stack of low carb pancakes with sugar-free syrup! Today’s range of low carb products is truly impressive and growing better all the time. Look for such délectables as muffins, brownies, bread, snack chips, even ice cream and cheesecake. It all boils down to one essential fact. The only way you will maintain a way of eating—and by extension, your weight—is if the food you can eat is enjoyable and the quantities ample enough to keep you from being hungry. On Atkins you will experience both.
Low carb alternatives to high carb products can make managing your weight while still enjoying a variety of foods considerably easier. Just remember that like any tasty food, they can be abused and you need to avoid mindless munching. You may be able to have a larger serving, or at least a guilt-free one, but eating one low carb brownie with 5 grams of carbs is one thing and eating four of them is an entirely different matter!
If you are under a lot of pressure at work, you may be eating the wrong kinds of food and going too long between meals, thereby triggering blood sugar swings that lead to cravings for high carbohydrate foods. You may feel the only treat you can give yourself is food. This may take the form of binges or simply carb creep, meaning that little by little your carb intake edges up until you are well over your ACE. Our association of food with love can also come into play when a relationship has gone sour. “If he/she no longer loves me, I must be unlovable and do not deserve to be slim and attractive,” you may be thinking on a subconscious level. If a loved one has died, you may feel the desire to replace the affection that person gave you with comfort food. On the other hand, we also use food to celebrate good fortune or mark life’s milestones, so food becomes a reward. As a child you may have been given a lollipop when you went to the pediatrician, and good behavior may have resulted in a trip to the ice cream parlor. As a result, food has become an integral part of a reward system.
Just as you may have to force yourself to exercise, you will sometimes have to simply give yourself a firm “No!” For many of us, it’s easier to ban a food than eat it sparingly. For example, you’ve probably heard people say no to potato chips, claiming, “If I have one, I’ll eat the whole bag.”
To keep your reserve of self-control strong and available whenever you need it, it must be rooted in the idea of keeping your eye on the prize. What is that prize, again? Staying slim, feeling good, living a longer and healthier life—that’s all. If you start slipping and go back to your old way of eating and behaving, this is the prize you’re giving up. Is any food worth that? We think not.
It’s one thing when you’re alone in a grocery store or at home, making decisions for yourself about what to cook and eat. It becomes easy and pleasurable to control your carb intake. But it can be a very different thing when you’re shopping, eating, or entertaining with friends or family members who, at best, don’t understand your lifestyle or, at worst, disagree with it and harangue you about it. Either way, you can bring them around.
Denise Lopez, who lost 139 pounds on Atkins, comes from a family whose traditions make it challenging to control her carbs. Her story is typical of people of many cultures in which food plays a multilayered role.
“Everything in my family and in our Hispanic culture revolves around food,” says Denise. “Celebrations, accomplishments, awards, sad occasions, even death is surrounded by food! When we were kids, if we did well on our report cards—food! If we received an award at school—food! When Aunt Fela died—food! And Christmastime where I live—in the Rio Grande Valley at the southernmost tip of Texas—means tamales [pork filling wrapped in a thin corn dough], menudo [a soup filled with hominy, which is made from dried corn], buñuelos [fried flour tortillas covered with a sugar-and-cinnamon mixture], and hot chocolate made with milk, real chocolate squares, and cinnamon sticks.”
The first few holidays after Denise and Luis, her husband, started doing Atkins were tough. “Thanksgiving dinner that first year was different, to say the least. My mother-in-law is a terrific cook so to pass up dressing and potatoes and all that is an insult to her. Then came Christmas and more carb-laden food. Not being able to eat a single thing that was offered was a problem. But we managed—and as soon as the pounds started melting off, our family became more accepting. Now, five years later, it’s easy.” In fact, now that the Lopezes are both maintaining their weight, when they feel like having some Mexican food, they do so. They’ve also educated their friends and family about Atkins so that now, when they go out to other people’s houses, there’s always a green salad and sugar-free drinks available. Luis and Denise also make a point of eating a protein snack before they leave their own house so that they’re not so hungry that they’re tempted to eat pretzels and other high carb snack foods at a party.
Denise’s story is an example of one reason some people resist Atkins. Many of the traditional foods people eat at holidays and other occasions are high carb foods. (Back when most of these traditions began, humans lived very differently than they do today—and our food supply looked entirely different, too.) When one family member chooses to stop eating dishes that are steeped in family history and tradition, it can feel like a personal affront, especially to the person who did all the cooking. But just as Denise’s story represents a very common problem, it also illustrates the most common and effective solution. When her family members saw that Denise’s new lifestyle resulted in a slimmer, healthier, and happier person, they did an about-face and became her greatest supporters.
Oftentimes, it’s not family traditions that cause resistance among friends and relatives but misinformation. However, the shaky theories and half-truths run as deep and are as strong as the many ancient cultural traditions. This has to do with the extremely widespread belief that a healthy diet is one that is extremely low in saturated fat. When friends and family ask you how you can possibly eat so much meat and fat, the best thing you can do is be well informed and hope that they are willing to listen. Often, the best thing you can do is tell them how great you feel on Atkins, share your improved cholesterol and blood pressure numbers with them, and then spin around to show off your svelte body.
What Friends and Family Say—and What They Really Mean
When you tell people that you’re doing Atkins, chances are good that someone is going to try to talk you out of it. How can you turn these saboteurs into supporters? Here’s a guide to reading the real meaning behind friends’ and family members’ words and how to reply to them.
What they say: You look fine. Why are you still doing Atkins?
What they mean: You aren’t the same overweight person I once knew. Shaking things up like that makes me uncomfortable.
What you reply: Now that I have lost weight and feel and look better, I know how I need to continue eating to maintain these positive changes. I’d love your support.
What they say: Nobody can stick with the Atkins approach—it’s too restrictive.
What they mean: You’ve regained weight after following other diets. Why should I think that you’ll continue to stick with Atkins?
What you reply: My own experience and everything I’ve learned from looking into the way Atkins works convinces me it is easier to stick to long-term than low-fat, low-calorie approaches.
What they say: Doing Atkins is bad for your health: It ruins your kidneys, it weakens your bones, and it raises your cholesterol and so on.
What they mean: What I’ve heard in the media must be the truth, no matter what you say.
What you reply: I’ve researched Atkins and read a lot about it, and there’s just no evidence for what you say. To prove it, why don’t you check out the Why Atkins Works section of the Web site (www.atkins.com).
What they say: You’ll gain it all back.
What they mean: I don’t believe that you can maintain your weight loss on a program that’s so easy to do.
What you reply: You don’t have to say anything—your improved health and appearance will speak for you.
You should now be armed with the information you need and the mindset that will assist you in keeping on the straight and narrow—pun intended—as you pursue the Atkins lifestyle. In the next chapter, which concludes Part 1 of this book, we will look at some of the challenges that life can toss in your way over the years and how you can deal with them without straying from your commitment to doing Atkins for life.
NOw that you are slim and healthy, why would you want to be anything else? But what our conscious minds believe and what goes on in our subconscious are not always the same. To see whether you might be undermining your chances of permanent weight control, respond to each question with a “yes” or “no.”
Do you attach too much value to food, using it as a reward when you’ve done well or a salve when you’re suffering?
Do you ever tell yourself that you’re over the hill and staying slim and attractive is a losing battle, so why bother?
Does the thought of suddenly having a more sexually appealing body make you just a little bit afraid?
Do you ever feel guilty because you’ve “left behind” a dear friend or relative who stilt struggles with a weight problem?
Is there one situation, party, or event in which you always succumb to your old (unproductive) eating habits?
Do you expect other, unrelated problems to go away once you’re at your goal weight?
Do you have trouble getting others to respect your way of eating?
To some degree, do you measure your own worth by how thin you are?
Do you feel that you don’t really deserve to have all the things you have wanted?
If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may have some hidden psychological issues that could sandbag your weight-maintenance efforts. To address these issues, you may find it helpful to get these thoughts and feelings out of hiding. Write them down in a journal and talk about them with someone you trust, whether a friend or a therapist. Why do you think you feel this way? What are some things you can do or change to overcome these barriers? Acknowledging such emotions is the first step to overcoming them.
When low-fat didn’t help, Brendan Adams solved his health problems-and slimmed down-by following Atkins.
My ordeal began one summer morning four years ago when I wound up in the emergency room. I had gained 30 pounds in just four months and was retaining a lot of water. My blood pressure was 206/170, my hands and arms were numb, and I was having difficulty breathing. Fortunately, a wise emergency-room doctor didn’t believe that a 34-year-old was having a heart attack; she realized something else was causing the problem.
After reviewing my symptoms in depth, she concluded that I suffered from hypothyroidism, or a sluggish thyroid. On her advice, I began seeing an internist for treatment. Although the thyroid condition stabilized over a six-month period, I could not seem to lose weight. My cholesterol skyrocketed, and my liver and kidney functions also registered abnormal. To treat these problems, my physician started me on a regimen of up to seventeen medications a day. He also put me on a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet that shunned red meat and eggs. Most of my meals consisted of lettuce minus dressing and a variety of other vegetables.
Although I was supposedly doing everything right, my health was not improving. In addition, my blood sugar was unstable, I was experiencing severe headaches, and I had put on another 20 pounds. After months of tests, my internist advised me that I should probably get used to being overweight and taking a lot of medications. This was certainly not what I wanted to hear and, quite frankly, not how I wanted to live my life.
Two years after my trip to the emergency room, in October 1999,1 saw a television report on Atkins. I was skeptical; however, I was willing to try anything to get my health back. I purchased a copy of Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution and, after reading it from cover to cover, chose to change my eating habits. Within just a few short days of starting Induction, my energy level increased and I was enjoying foods that not only tasted good but also filled me up.
After two and a half weeks, I had lost nearly 15 pounds. This was great, but I had a blood test because I was concerned about my cholesterol and triglycéride levels. My total cholesterol levels had decreased from 520 to 200, my LDL went from 225 to 125, and my triglycérides dropped from 740 to 193. Moreover, my blood-sugar level registered normal. My internist called to give me the good news and asked if I was doing anything differently. When I explained that I was doing Atkins, he said that he would not continue to be my physician if I stayed on the program, so I terminated my relationship with him.
My new doctor was skeptical, but he was open to hearing more about Atkins, and suggested, based on my previous results, that for the time being I stay on the program. He did, however, recommend that I have blood tests done every six weeks. My next results showed that my total cholesterol had decreased to 173, my LDL to 110, and my triglycérides to 119. After about eight weeks on Atkins, I had lost 40 pounds. Six weeks later my test results were even better. Cycling through the four phases of Atkins, I found that I felt better when I chose to maintain my intake at approximately 50 Net Carb grams per day.
ACE: 50
Age: 38
Height: 5 feet 8 ½ inches
Weight before: 206 pounds
Weight after: 146 pounds
Weight loss: 60 pounds
LDL before: 225
LDL after: 86
Triglycerides before: 740
Triglycerides after: 60
Total cholesterol before: 520
Total cholesterol after: 147
Because I was feeling so good, I decided to take up running. I hadn’t been much of a runner before, but I wanted to choose a form of exercise that I could do on my own. Imagine my surprise when I could run three or four miles without knee and back pain, unlike my experience in the recent past. My business partner, who is a serious runner, encouraged me to join him in a marathon to benefit the Leukemia Society of America. Had anyone suggested I run a marathon a year earlier, I would have laughed. In those days I couldn’t even have run a mile! Not only did I complete the marathon, I finished 1,573 out of the 22,000 runners who completed the course. Interestingly, I did not “carb up” like most runners tell you to do.
Today, I weigh 146 pounds and my blood work continues to be excellent. I only take one medication to control my thyroid, and my headaches are practically gone. People who “diet” are usually not successful long-term, following Atkins requires a complete lifestyle change. I made a decision to have a different life. It’s now been more than three years since I started the program, and I like myself a lot more today than I used to. Both my energy level and my outlook are much improved, not just because I’m thinner but because I’m healthier. And now I love keeping up with eighteen-year-olds—in fact, I can run them into the ground!
