Atkins-in’ it Up

I’m not a stranger to extreme diets. Overall my diet has always been very healthy (thanks mom), I eat reasonable portions, but I’m fat. And I don’t like being fat. So, keeping in mind my health issues, I try different diets that look like they might work. So far, no luck.

But, I have a new secret weapon – my doctor, who is awesome, and very knowledgeable about my health issues and all of its complexities. She suggested either doing Atkins, or doing a super-low calorie diet (like, 600-800 a day) that she would closely supervise. I chose Atkins. And by Atkins, I mean doing it for real, not just eating meat all day every day.

Essentially it’s a very low carb diet where you can only eat certain vegetables, your dairy is limited to certain cheeses, sour cream, and cream, and meat. Lots of meat. I thought I’d be all about that, but not so much. Especially when you’re not allowed to eat relish because it has sugar in it. <sigh>

As much as the thought of eating more meat makes me want to gag – I can’t deny the results. A pound a day for the first 7 days, and after 15 days I’ve lost 10 pounds. Not bad! The most impressive part has been the physical changes. After I got over the hangover period (3-5 days) I started to feel pretty good. I have more energy at a resting state. The best part? I can see results in the mirror – I lost a belly roll, my face is slimmer, the wings under my arms are shrinking, and overall my body is visibly slimming down. It’s fantastic!

Even though I’m having dreams about eating freshly baked Costco rolls and salivate when I smell “forbidden” foods, the results are worth it.

I was concerned that it would be an expensive diet to maintain since meat and veg are so pricy compared to flour and rice, but my appetite has gone down significantly. I assume that’s because I’m getting more bang for my buck – as in I’m sated by the higher fat diet. So our finances are safe, and perhaps weight loss isn’t out of my reach.