The New Atkins

Yesterday, cruising the book store for my annual New Year's crop of motivational books to back up my resolutions and goals, I was surprised to stumble on The New Atkins for a New You.  I knew that "Atkins" was a company that would have survived the accidental death of its eponymous founder. I also knew that each diet program has to come out with regular new versions at regular intervals. So of course they have a new book. Since I'm confirmed low carb in philosophy if not always practice, I decided to pick it up.

I'm about halfway through it, and very pleasantly surprised. I'm going to commit to trying to follow its guidelines closely, for at least the next two weeks. This is fairly unusual for me - I haven't followed any diet "rules" per se since early in the Big Loss in 1998 when I was doing the Carbohydrate Addict's Diet. So this will be new for me - paying attention to food lists, having to count carbs, buying and planning different foods than my normal routine.  This is all good - I've read about how periodic changes in Weight Watcher's plans keep their adherents energized and focused - it just makes you have to stop, think, and plan - which is a large part of the overall set of changes required to actually lose weight.

So what is so appealing about this? Let me start with what was unappealing in the "old" Atkins - its pugnacity in the face of fierce opposition.  Dr. Atkins was an iconoclast who apparently reveled in the role. He personified the diet - it had his name - and was personally demonized as irresponsible. He came out swinging, and seemed to enjoy focusing his diet advice on the stuff that drove his critics wild. And his justification was largely based on his experience - his advice worked if you actually followed it.

But aside from the fact he loved steering his diet advice to "steak with bearnaise sauce - perfect dish for losing weight and lowering your cholesterol!", I think he really was not very much into food. One of the advantages of Atkins is that your cravings do go down, you are satiated, and just eat less.  Not strictly from boredom, but from satiation. But that doesn't mean one doesn't wish for real food. I don't think Atkins had ever experienced brussel sprouts less than twenty-four hours from the farm, for example. These are the things that make food interesting, not just satiating.

So this new Atkins plan is absolutely terrific in this regard. It builds not just on all the science that has been done (which I've read and accepted a long time ago and will write about another time) but also on current food trends for fresh and local.  Their advice has a lot in common with Michael Pollen - shop the outer walls of the supermarkets - produce and meat - skip the inside where all the prepared foods with sugar and starch lie.  From the first day, there is a requirement to eat large portions of the low-carb leafy vegetables- a minimum of 15 grams. They suggest raw, but allow for cooked versions. The list of allowed versus prohibited vegies for these first two weeks is very logical - all the leafy lettuces and cabbages and spinach - as well as lower carb snap beans and summer squashes. But the higher carb winter squashes, and whole beans, are off limits.  Their general plan is, two weeks on this restricted diet of meat and vegies, then gradually add in berries and nuts and beans and other vegies and other fruits. Whole grains come in at the end, and refined grains and white potatoes are forever considered special treats for special occasions, along with other sweets.

These first two weeks of focusing on adding green vegetables up to 15 grams of carbs is actually going to be the most challenging part of the diet for me, and why I want to actually follow the food lists carefully, plan menus and and then shop for them and fix some food in advance. Atkins have adopted practices from several other diet books I've read, and one of the most significant is the concept of net carbs.  Basically, since fiber isn't digested, it is not part of your carb count - so net carbs are total carb grams minus fiber grams.  Atkins recommends two salads a day as the easiest way to make sure the carbs are coming that way.

I've looked over some of my food logs (back in November when I last logged fairly often) and it's going to be a real challenge to stick to 20 grams net carbs a day.  I'm also going to have to spend time creating my own recipes to log from, because I've used a lot of approximations in the logging software, focusing on total calories rather than the composition. So for example, there was a "lamb stew" already in the database, and it seemed to have about the right number of calories - but its carb count is much higher than my recipe would yield.

So I've got my work cut out for me in this remaining holiday weekend. I know the workweek will be incredibly hectic. I'm going to be drowning at work starting early Monday morning. So I've got be ready with food for breakfasts and lunches all prepared and ready to go. Dinners need to be planned in advance, and I need to skip the recent staples of spaghetti and lasagna. Back to stir fried chicken, tacos (salad), and salmon. It's all good, but I just have to plan.

Since cottage cheese is off the list for the next few weeks, I'll make egg casserole today - eggs, cheese, and spinach baked and cut into squares.  I'll make cabbage soup flavored with some lamb neckbones I picked up, and have that in containers for lunch. Then I'll cook meat for dinner, and take leftover portions to add to salad bar at work. I've got one lunch out of the office this coming week - I already know I can pick up a classic chicken caesar salad at the closest quick place, and I now know to tell them to hold the croutons and no bread on the side.

This new Atkins emphasizes exercise, but suggests not adding a lot of new exercise in the first two weeks. That works for me. I'll continue to go to the gym and walk when I can, but making my minimums will be enough for now. If I really do the eating right, it will take more prep time than I've been doing.

Time to begin my day, and my year. Excelsior!