Atkins Snacks
 

There are so many low carb foods out there, but there are many that taste like refried dead rat droppings. What is worse is that most of it taste bad and is expensive! I keep experimenting because last time I was on Atkins a long time ago, I got desperate for other tastes, and that led me to quit. This time I have been on Atkins for a month, and still going strong.


I am going to list the foods I have tried so that others might avoid my mistakes as well as benefit from my good finds.

Atkins Crunchers 'potato chip' style chips - good if a bit expensive. Avoid the nachos flavor as it tastes like feet and smells like a locker room. stick to original flavor. Sour cream and onions as well as barbequeue are okay, but not as good as original

Keto low carb macaroni - cost me seven dollars for a box the size of a normal kraft mac and cheese. I could not eat more than a forkfull, I can't even describe the taste as my reflexes made me spit it out, kinda like how you flinch away from a hot object. My dogs seemed to like it, but regular dog food is much cheaper. Not for human consumption.

Keto 'milk' powder - (claims to taste just like milk!) - okay, it did kinda taste like 1% milk. quite watery, and doesn't seem to dissolve completely so there is some white powerdy stuff floating at the top of the glass. Not a good combination with Keto frosted flakes - the artificial flavors of both seem to combine, so I would rather go without than have this strange tasting 'cereal' concoction.

Keto frosted flakes - taste sweet (a little too sweet for my taste) and a bit cardboard like. Probably would be good in real milk, but see note above when using low carb 'milk'.

Carbolite (Carborite) chocolate bars - taste great! almost as good as a real chocolate bar with real sugar. Uses sugar alcohols (which are neither sugar nor alcohol). I eat it sparingly as it seems to affect my blood sugar.

I have found a local brand of low carb bread that is excellent. I don't have its name right now, but if asked I will go hunt it down. It seems to affect my dieting a bit more than the number of carbs it claims to have would imply (the way those low carb choc bars do), so I eat it sparingly.

Please if anyone has tried the atkins advantage ice cream, or any other stuff, let me know!

The Atkins Endulge bars (Chocolate and Chocolate Crunch) are actually tolerable. They don't taste entirely like REAL chocolate, but are an admirable substitute. Also, they have the advantage of being made with Splenda instead of Nutrasweet, so are not as chemically evil. (I checked the splenda.com website and was unable to confirm something I "heard" about the product ... is that the stuff that's the left-handed isomer of sugar?)

I haven't tried the Atkins Ice Cream, but a diabetic friend tells me that another friend told her that the Butter Pecan is pretty tasty.

Isn't the Atkins diet essentially "meat and veggies", with an exception added to "veggies" to nix potatoes and rice and so forth?

What's wrong with carrots and fruit?

Too many sugars.

(South Beach just allowed carrots back in on phase II and III)

atkins in 15 words

eat meat, green veggies, tomatoes, eggs. don't eat sugar, flour, starchy veggies, rice. Limit carbs!


I should publish that.

5 word addendum

later add nuts, cheese, berries.

I do eat a few baby carrots every now and then, just for the nutrients and change of pace. They have to be eaten sparingly as they have carbs, though nowhere near as many carbs as potatos and rice. As for fruit, berries such as blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are good in very limited quantities. Most other fruits just have to many natural sugars (fructose).

i eat an atkins advantage bar for breakfast almost every morning....the mocha crunch is the best. slight after taste, but a sugar free menthol cough drop usually fixes that. when i get a sweet tooth, i pop one of those cough drops.

other snacks:

nuts

beef stick and cheese w/mustard

pumpkin seeds ( david )

michelob ultra ( 2.6g/bottle)

Not sure, but I found some no-so-positive sites about it:

The Potential Dangers of Sucralose

Splenda is Not A Healthy Sweetner

Sucralose Toxicity Information Center

The first two sites are by the same author.

*trying to ween herself from those sweetners, but it's hard to do when just about everything contains it!*

This sort of thing is why I tend to eat in the Sugarbusters(tm) style. Their basic method is to stay away from white starches and most sugars -- down to and including regular sweet corn -- unless they be taken with a generous measure of fiber. Stuff like Master's Winter Wheat whole grain bread (it's flourless, too) rather than Wonder Bread, to use a really obvious example. It's all about using fiber to slow the absorption of the carbs -- along with having the carbohydrate in bigger lumps, so it takes its time being broken down into glucose, and thus cuts your pancreas' insulin production a break -- which it turns out makes a nice remedy for Type 2 diabetes and for overweight. It's also a simple dietary method to implement, requiring nothing in the way of sole-source special foodstuffs.

About the sole commercial doings in the Sugarbusters method is that they sell you books, rather than kits full of Gosh-Wow Dieter Chow.

Give it a look. I'll bet you'll pick up some helpful tips. They have a cookbook, too, speaking of tips.

does amount matter to you?
 

I work in a chocolate factory that makes some of the atkins stuff. I a 6,500 pound batch of chocloate there is only a few ounces of sucralose. It's mostly made of fiber, maltitol and or lactitol.

Wow! Working in a chocolate factory?? How cool is that! Is it really like that I Love Lucy episode?

God, I think I would rather be huge than force myself to choke down all the hyper-processed "health" food listed in this thread.

Is it the societal norm to want to shoot heroin rather than eat a bagel?

My exboyfriend was on Atkins. I used to make him oily soy pancakes with peanut butter- he loved them.
You're probably better off eating real food. Corned beef with mustard, mayo and lettuce is yummy.
You can also roll up deli meat with cheese in romaine lettuce.
Homemade aioli sauce: 2 T mayo, 1 T horseradish 1/2T crushed garlic

Burgers with extra cheese and bacon sandwiched between romaine is nirvana.
ground lamb and feta cheese meatballs....

with the choice of ANY meat and cheese, mayo, lettuce, other low carb veggies, I can't understand why anyone would even want to eat all that overprocessed crap.

Or just exercise everyday and you can eat all the bread you want.

:smack:

I've come to the conclusion, after lots of research, that a low fat, low calorie diet (and exercise, of course) will kick any low carb diet's ass any day. And you'll be healthier in the long run. But hey, I'm not a doctor. I just play one on TV.

If you really want to loose weight, get Crohn's disease like me! I dropped 26 lbs in less than a month! Though, I wasn't eating much more than Jell-O and plain rice... and when I ate that it just fell right back out of me. :turd: So... yeah.

By the way, do you guys know where Jell-O, or more specifically gelatin, comes from? :vomit: But I still eat it. :yum:

Food gets a hell of a lot worse than that, pal.

Find out how mushrooms are made.

But I still eat em. Why? Because they taste friggin good!

chainsaw is right about the low calorie low fat thing...I am a huge fan of the "caveman diet". Basically, you eat stuff that our bodies actually evolved to eat. Just cut out the processed food, simple sugar and white flours, grains. Sugarbusters is also great.
I've done tons of research on nutrition and diet. I used to work with a girl who always felt like crap. I told her to just eat meat and vegetables, (sweet potatoes and squash okay, just no grain) for one week. She was RAVING about how great she felt, how much energy she had...Ufortunately most people can't make themselves stick to any diet...

No offense to anybody, but I've constantly found that when people say "I've done a ton of research" they actual mean

"I've found a ton of websites that support what I already thought"

What? There are people still in this world that still subscribe to this fad? I was sure everyone had moved on to the next faulty slim-down craze of Palm-Beach-Juice or whatever it is. Anyways, I've got a way to lose weight that doesn't involve eating chemically generated snacks that taste like soot and poo.

Step 1: Eat less.
Step 2: Exercise.

Contrary to what you were told as a child through the wonders of television marketing, it is not essential to eat a bowl of sugary cereal, two glasses of juice, a glass of milk, four slices of toast, a grapefruit half, a plate of sausage, and a banana "as part of this nutricious breakfast". We live in a world were most of us go to "work" and sit for eight hours, not raise barns and drive cattle to the pasture before eleven in the morning. Its not a bad thing to put as much energy into your mouth as you plan to expend during the day.

And yeah, if it sounds like I harbor a bit of animosity towards Atkins, its because I know a woman that insisted on dieting in this method before and during part of her pregnancy. The result is a child that is going to have a very difficult time growing up. The human body was not intended to survive on what is prescribed by that diet, child-in-progress or not.

...So what's wrong with the kid? Inquiring minds want to know.

Marine Corps diet ,
1) push away ( from the table ) , only eat what you need , not what you want . " Show some disapline you HOG !!!!! "
2 ) push ups ( your fat ass that is !! ) " A Marine Corp Push up is a 4 count exersize !! Starting positions ,,,,,, MOVE !!!!!! "

I'm afraid, as with the coffee/Starbucks thread, this situation calls for some Foamy.

Beware, he can be harsh.

Fatkins!

:lol: That made my day.

...So what's wrong with the kid? Inquiring minds want to know.

The kid is old enough to be doing the walkin' and talkin' bit, but he hasn't shown much interest in either. Still fairly young, he's already going into some form of rehab.

Actually, that is not the case here. I've been studying nutrition and all these stupid fad diets, excercise physiology, etc. for 7 years, and 99% of my research was done without a computer, because I didn't have one. I read real books, as well as taking college courses. And I don't just read books that have opinions I agree with, I've read them all so that I could come to my own informed decisions.

I agree, and I don't take offense to your statement, but since I've been sick, I've been forced to "research" (talk to doctors, read books, etc) for my own well being. I have a mild case of Crohn's disease and it REALLY limits what I can eat when I have a flare. Jell-O and rice will only get you so far. I realized very quickly that doctors need to be used as a tool. They're only human. They don't know everything and they can only do so much. I had to take responsibility for my own health. Maybe I should move this over into the “health” section.

Stacey, this is the wrong thread for my comment, but I can't help myself: Why not study nutrition and become a nutritionist for a hospital? That pays pretty durn good. :)

Diets suck
 

Low fat, low calorie diet = hungry all the time. And in my case, with a constant headache as well. I don't like being heavy but constant hunger and a headache ain't worth a few pounds. If it weren't for this "winter" thing and my hatred for the gym I could exercise enough to do something about it.

Anyway, I would think an Atkins snack would be a filet mignon :-)

You're not hungry all the time if you put in the number of calories correctly matched to your bodyweight and level of exercise.

And lots of foods leave you feeling full or empty regardless of their caloric weight...junk food has the lowest "fullness" effect on the body.

Let's face it though, if you take up jogging, you can plough through a pile of pasta and the carbs are greedily put to good use by your body, which needs them to fuel the exercise. Liberal olive oil, and fresh ingredients (not frigging TV dinners) will make you full. Plus, half the time feeling hungry is due to a lack of fluids, not food. Drink a cup of tea or juice.

The main things that people need to cut down on, are heavily processed fats, and high-fructose corn syrup.

The processed fats are difficult for the body to use, and thus end up as bodyfat. High-fructose corn syrup is used by the soft-drink industry in place of sugar, and it's basically a low level poison, it's horrible for your body.

I know plenty of Greeks and Italians who power through more fat and carbs than you could count, but they exercise and they don't eat processed chemical "food".


Take your atkins diet and combine it with moderate exercise; your body will suffer enormously. The body NEEDS carbohydrates.

Russotto, I lost 70 pounds on Atkins and never felt better in my life. I always felt sooooooo tired after eating carb-heavy. I eat "good" carbs now--no refind flour, sugar, no processed foods; just whole grains occasionally. I couldn't stand being hungry either and that is why Atkin's worked for me but it is something you need to take supplements for (as you don't get all needed nutrients) and you can't stay on Induction (no more than 20grams carbs/day) forever. After I lost the weight, I felt so good not even the foods that I most craved would get me to change...and on Atkins my cravings really diminshed anyway. I try to think of sugar as a drug and avoid it. For me, sugar leads to more sugar...just like all addictive behavior.

That's what I was in college for, but then I started at my current job and I was WAY too stressed out trying to work and go to school at the same time, so I dropped out. I'm not so into it anymore, but I still have all this info in my head, so I use it when appropriate, but I don't really feel like trying to counsel anyone on their diet for a living.

It drives me crazy that someone will come to me for help, I'll try really hard to give them good advice, do research for them, take a lot of effort and time to get them on the right track, and then one week later they're eating twinkies and washing them down with soda. I don't want any part of trying to control anyone's eating habits. It's way too frustrating and pretty much impossible. If someone really wanted to make a change, it's SO easy to get the information, they just need to motivate themselves to use it, and I'm not God, I can't do that for them.

one week later they're eating twinkies and washing them down with soda

:yum: Would that be Coke or RC? (Pepsi, as we all know, goes with Swiss Cake Rolls)

RC. Coke is Lil' Debbies Oatmeal Cream Sandwiches...innit? er Maybe I got it backwards.

As a cynic with a great deal of bias and a resounding lack of knowledge or perspective, it's my opinion that Atkins works for people mostly because it's just a chore to stick with. If your meals are based around foods that require prep (aside from the 'green veggies' and 'tomatos' part of the list, and even those are typically not consumed in the 'buy, then eat directly' fashion), you eat less frequently. It takes a good chunk of time to get Atkins-qualified food (meats) from the 'fridge to your face. Most people are too lazy to plan their snacks that far ahead.

So it worked decently for a while (I've heard strong positive and negative reports from both sides.) And then capitalism kicked in, and you can buy low-carb crap everywhere. You can snack a lot, and you're just left with the benefits of simple sugars and blah blah ketosis without really changing your caloric intake at all.

So my "diet", which is has been resoundingly successful (I don't own a scale or know how much I weigh) for me:

Only water and tea after 8pm. Eat relatively responsibly before then (when I'm hungry, not when I'm just in the mood to chew on something, and cook it all myself: pasta, sandwiches, tortilla-based food, eggs, stirfries.) Avoid buying icecream or cooking meals which end up being put into the 'fridge, because they're too snackable. If I'm up early enough, eat breakfast ('gets the metabolism going'). Exercise. Drink lots of tea, water, and orange juice. Allow for enough variation that I don't resent the diet, because the most important part is sticking with it for somewhere between a few months and the rest of my life.

Really, that's the core of it all -- happiness and less calories. Anything else is fluff or psychological manipulation to make one side or the other easier.

What makes you feel full is complex carbohydrates and fat. What makes your hunger satisfied is fat. And I don't know about you (specific), but _I_ feel hungry all the time when I'm eating only enough calories to maintain my weight, unless I'm somewhat overweight or I'm doing consistent hard exercise. And no, drinking a lot of water doesn't help.

As for HFCS, it's a bogus bogeyman. It's very similar to sucrose; it mainly consists of the two components of sucrose, in similar ratios. I prefer the taste and mouthfeel of cane sugar, but that doesn't make HFCS a poison.

"Processing" doesn't necessarily make food any worse; in the US, processed food tends to have a lot of sugar and salt added, which probably isn't good, but it's not "processing".

Atkins, I think, mainly works precisely because fat makes you full and satisfied; Atkins dieters tend to take in fewer calories than before they started their diet.

Damnit, jaguar, read post #23 in this thread.

And my main issue is that HFCS contains five percent more fructose than regular sugar, and fructose causes severe developmental and cardiovascular problems in high quantities.

It also has a marked effect on insulin, which (the jury is still out) could directly relate to an overall increase in obesity.

Anyway, if you need sources, search for Dr. Meira Field of the USDA.



russotto, I'm not going to convince you to stop, it's obviously your choice. But from what I've seen, a diet so high in protein and low in carbs turns your liver into that of an alcoholic.

But, if it works, go nuts.

But from what I've seen, a diet so high in protein and low in carbs turns your liver into that of an alcoholic.

Without all the fun, too. That sucks.

Exactly; I'm not preaching against liver cirrhosis, just do it RIGHT, damnit.

*clinks scotch glass*

Ah shit...

LOL, yeah, there are a few places in the plant that are just like that I Love Lucy epicode.
:D

"Because we work--real--hard--at the chocolate factory! We start at eight and we don't get lunch 'til three! We work the whole week through... To make a buck or two... So we can send--it--home--to our fam-i-lies!"

atkins is a foolish diet, and makes my line of work a pain in the ass.. well atleast from a presentation angle.. I mean who the hell orders a reuben with out the rye bread?!?!?! WHY GOD WHY!!!!

anyway to sum up my feelings on the atkins diet here is Foamy the squirrel (pre-hot topic days)
http://scarysquirrel.home.comcast.net/fatkins1.html

Twenty-three, thirty-eight, forty-six... hike!

Is it two or three pages of thread that people stop reading prior to posting?

lolz yo kitsune you need to check this out:

<a href="http://www.illwillpress.com/fatkins.html">http://www.illwillpress.com/fatkins.html</a>
http://www.illwillpress.com/fatkins.html
http://www.illwillpress.com/fatkins.html

Have you guys seen this yet?

http://www.illwillpress.com/fatkins.html