Beauty Uncensored: The Atkins Diet

Atkins. 

The very word sends shivers down the spine of men and women everywhere. We’ve all heard about the controversial diet, and some of you might have even tried it. Friends told me it was rigid and difficult to follow, so I thought I’d steer clear of it, but after two weeks of dieting by simply counting calories, I’d hit a weight loss plateau. And since my husband was back on Atkins and had lost 15 pounds on it the first time around, I decided to bite the bullet and join him in hopes of giving my metabolism a little push.

The Atkins Diet is a strange combination of luxury and privation. For the two-week induction period, I had to give up sugar, caffeine, fruit, alcohol, and all but 20 carbs a day. On the other hand, I could eat all the meat, seafood, eggs, butter, and olive oil I wanted, as well as a limited amount of vegetables, Splenda, cream, and cheese each day. It sounded difficult, but I figured I could handle 14 days of it without too much of a problem.

The first day got hard somewhere around late afternoon. Despite the bunless cheeseburgers and eggs I was downing like they were going out of style, I was still hungry. Really hungry. Also, the caffeine thing was not going well. I caved and had a cup of black coffee.

By day two, I was miserable. Dr. Atkins claimed my constant hunger pangs, fatigue, and overall jitteriness were a result of my body’s withdrawal from sugar, carbs, and caffeine. All I knew was that I didn’t want to see anyone or do anything. I felt so horrible that I couldn’t even bring myself to smile back at people I ran into at the grocery or my daughter’s school. Beyond that, I had only lost a pound, and I hadn’t gone to the bathroom since the diet began. I began to wonder how long the misery was going to last, and whether I could hold out. Atkins promised that once the withdrawal wore off, I’d experience an energy surge and would no longer feel hungry, but I was beginning to wonder. I went to bed in misery …

And when I got up on the morning of Day Four, I discovered I’D LOST FOUR POUNDS!

Yes! Just like that! Four pounds! Not only that, I felt GREAT! I had made it through the withdrawal and just as Dr. Atkins promised, I found I wasn’t hungry anymore and had plenty of energy. And since I was never hungry, it was remarkably easy to turn down french fries and party food, even when the food was held under my nose. 

Over the course of the next 14 days, I lost nine pounds. I’ve been off of Atkins now for two weeks, I’ve eaten whatever I wanted within reason (including my usual amount of carbs) and have only gained a pound-and-a-half back from my lowest weight on the diet, which seems more than reasonable to me, particularly since Thanksgiving was involved.

I’m planning now to do Atkins for two weeks every six months or so, not just for the weight loss, but also because it felt really amazing to completely eliminate sugar and carbs from my system (I have to admit, I had a cup of black coffee every day, as well as alcoholic drinks since we went to several parties, although my “Atkins drink” was vodka with diet tonic, which had no carbs). My husband and I thought it would be a fun new tradition to do it each year right before Thanksgiving. What a way to go into the holiday season, guilt-free! 

Honestly, though, I don’t think I could stick with it longer than two weeks, simply because it was so incredibly strict. It was impossible to go out to eat because sugars are hidden in everything, from marinades to salad dressings, and even a small amount of sugar makes your weight loss stall. I also found that while Hubs could cheat, eat a few carbs more than he was supposed to, and still lose weight, as a woman, I absolutely couldn’t. Everything made my weight loss stall, from Splenda to a tablespoon of cream in my coffee, to an ounce more of cheese than I was supposed to have had. My weight loss only occurred on the days that I stuck strictly to meat, seafood, eggs, and a tiny bit of cheese. And after a few days of that menu, it got a little blah.

The upside was that I could go to McDonald's, order a double cheeseburger, eat it without the bun, and still lose weight. Hubs and I feasted each night on delicious dishes like filet mignon, crab legs with drawn butter, sautéed shrimp, and lobster tails. Generally, I didn’t even feel like I was dieting, which was wonderful.

At first, I had considered staying on Atkins a few days past the 14-day mark. But by the time I reached day 14, it had been six days since I’d gone to the bathroom, and I was feeling a little … swollen. Dr. Atkins recommended drinking psyllium husks mixed with water twice a day to help with constipation, but the drink has the consistency of phlegm, as my husband put it, and I nearly vomited every time I drank it. On day 14, I ended up taking Ex Lax, and as my stomach began cramping, I realized I had hit rock bottom. I had served my Atkins time, I had lost nine pounds, and it was time to call it quits.

Overall, I’d recommend Atkins as a quick and fairly easy way to lose six to 13 pounds in two weeks. I also exercised 45 minutes a day, four times a week, which I’m sure contributed to my weight loss. Atkins is especially great if you can get your significant other on board, because it helped a lot to have two people involved in planning and cooking special Atkins meals. 

I was warned several times that I’d gain the weight right back, but that hasn’t been the case at all so far, and when I think of people I know who’ve done Atkins, the ones who gained the weight back did so over a long period of time and seemed to devote quite a bit of effort to eating in order to do it. I don’t think you need to do Atkins “for life” to keep the weight off; I think you just need to always eat in moderation.

I plan to maintain my new weight throughout the Christmas season, and then Hubs and I are going to try the South Beach diet in January and see if we can lose a few more pounds. Stay tuned!