Making the Atkins Diet Work for You

Several years ago, I decided to go on the Atkins diet because I was a bit overweight. Now, this is the first time that I have done any dieting. I was able to drop 10 pounds on the first week so I could not understand why so many people are always saying that losing weight is difficult. Of course, I found it a bit challenging on the first two weeks because I was not used to eating low carbohydrate foods exclusively.

Fortunately, I found that it was an easy diet to follow once I got past that two week mark. The Atkins diet suggests that a dieter eat foods that are rich in protein. This was an easy part because I have always been a big meat eater. However, giving up the potatoes and bread that I usually eat along with my meat was more difficult for me. I decided that I need to find alternative foods that were allowed on the diet to cure my craving for those foods.

To solve my problem, I purchased an Atkins diet book which not only outlines the diet but also has recipes. I found it amazing how you can eat a lot of food on the Atkins diet and still lose weight. The main challenge with this diet is getting some variety into your meals. The dinner meal was very easy to prepare when I first started the diet. I would usually have some type of protein, fish, pork, chicken or beef and a large leafy salad with blue cheese dressing for my dinner. This meal was not very different than what I ate before it was just minus the potato and bread.

However, the lack of variety started to bore me after a few weeks. I was still motivated to continue the diet because I was losing weight but I was getting tired of eating the same meal every night. Fortunately, I discovered some of the recipes in the back of the Atkins diet book. Mashed cauliflower became my favorite recipe because it has the same texture as mashed potatoes. The Atkins diet book also had a recipe for a salad that has all the same ingredients as potato salad, minus the potatoes. I just substituted cooked cauliflower for the potato. It tastes wonderful although I was a bit skeptical at first.

I have added carbohydrates back into my diet over the years. I gained some of the weight back at first, but I have now found the right balance. I was able to take off excess pounds with the Atkins diet, even though long a term diet with very low carbohydrates did not fit my life style.

Obesity Drives US Surgical Procedure Volumes Higher
Millennium Research Group (MRG) has conducted a detailed analysis of surgical procedures in its US Surgical Procedure Volumes 2007 report. The report finds that over 11 million Americans are considered morbidly obese, and by 2011, over 13 million will be- driving the volume of surgical procedures in the US throughout the next five years. [click link for full article]

Philips 598: The Phone For Weight-Conscious Women
Philips are releasing a cell phone targeted towards women. What's intriguing about the phone is the feature set. The features include both a Body Mass Index calculator and a Basal Metabolic Rate feature. Apparently women need to be able to calculate their BMI anywhere anytime....

As Obesity In Children Increases, The Incidence Of Fatty Liver Disease Rises
Indiana University School of Medicine researchers are taking a closer look at a disease whose incidence is rising as obesity in children increases. Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis, more popularly known as Fatty Liver Disease, occurs in approximately 15% of obese children. Fatty Liver Disease, in which fat accumulates in the liver, while not life threatening in children, can lead to cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, sometimes requiring transplantation by adulthood. [click link for full article]

Obesity Surgery Can Lead To Memory Loss, Other Problems
Weight loss surgery, such as gastric bypass surgery, can lead to a vitamin deficiency that can cause memory loss and confusion, inability to coordinate movement, and other problems, according to a study published in the March 13, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The syndrome, called Wernicke encephalopathy, affects the brain and nervous system when the body doesn't get enough vitamin B1, or thiamine. [click link for full article]

Do You Pursue an Hourglass Figure?
Forgive the double entendre. When it comes to the hourglass figure - many women pursue it, and it seems that men pursue women with it. Psychologists at the University of Texas (obviously with way too much time on their hands) have reviewed hundreds of years worth of literature and concluded: Men lust after slender-waisted women. Apparently it all comes down...

High BMI Associated With Lower Likelihood Of Being Discharged Home After Hospitalization For Stroke
Individuals with a higher body mass index (BMI) tend are less likely to be discharged directly home after hospitalization for an ischemic stroke, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. An ischemic stroke occurs when the flow of blood to a part of the brain is blocked or reduced and sufficient amounts of oxygen cannot be delivered to brain tissue. [click link for full article]

Obese Patients Run Higher Risk Of Post-Operative Complications
Obese patients have a significantly higher risk of complications following surgery, including heart attack, wound infection, nerve injury and urinary tract infection, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Health System. [click link for full article]

Research In Childhood Obesity In Children Highlights Physical Activity Levels
A British study, involving 5,500 children and published in the latest issue of PLoS Medicine, used accurate methods to measure the 'fat mass' of the children and the amount of physical activity they were taking. The researchers, based at the University of Bristol, concluded that low levels of activity, particularly moderate and vigorous activity, play an important role in the development of obesity. [click link for full article]