End of Atkins - Oh My!

Week 2 Begins

I am on day 9 of Induction, my last day on Atkins. Wondering Why? Well, yesterday I read an article on Yahoo! News indicating there are long term risks to sticking with Atkins. I know, I know, there have been articles for years claiming Atkins was bad for you. But none really provided enough evidence to change my way of thinking; that is until now. The article, which can be found at High-fat Atkins diet damages blood vessels: study - Yahoo! News did what no other article could do, it made me open my eyes and realize that perhaps the Atkins diet was not the healthiest of diets available. Still I do not want to reverse all the good I have done up to now, no matter how minimal. With weight loss and a healthier life style at the forefront of my priorities, I have decided to continue with my diet by moving to the South Beach Diet (SBD) which is similar, yet different. Phase One is where the similarities start and stop. The following are the noted difference between Phase One of SBD and Induction:
A) You cannot eat dark or high fat meats on the SBD
B) You are allowed nuts in SBD
C) You are allowed ½ a cup (4 oz) of skim milk
D) You are allowed to have low fat yogurt which will be a great breakfast alternative to eggs
E) You do NOT count carbs

There is only a few of the ‘Allowed Foods’ that carry limits on the amount one can consume, the remaining ‘Allowed Foods’ have no restriction, though the SBD book does recommend feeling satisfied over feeling stuffed, which is always a good rule to follow anyhow.

There are more distinct differences in Phases 2 and 3 (SBD only has three phase, while Atkins has 4).

On a side note, this week has been a bad week when it comes to both weight loss and exercising. I did not exercise much this week. In fact I only exercised Saturday (my weeks start on Thursday as that was the day my first day of exercise fell on). Now Saturday I did 50 minutes of boot camp aerobics and weight training, then walked around for 6 hours at a shopping outlet. I was suppose to exercise Sunday as well, but went house shopping with a friend. Again I walked around for hours, but each cycle was broken down in about 20 minutes of very low impact walking followed by sitting in a vehicle anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. Monday I got up early to exercise and was in the middle of my workout routine when my cable box decided to cycle itself. I didn't have time to sit around and wait for it to finish its update, so I only had a good 30 minute workout vs. my normal 50. Last night I intended to workout again, but by the time I picked up my daughter, got home and cooked dinner, and then ate, I had zero energy. Not to mention that my 'friend' came yesterday; which explains the lack of weight loss and moodiness. Today my husband is picking up the baby, so I am hoping I can get my workout in before they get home, which would be great, as I feel 10 times better when I workout.

Day 8 (Tuesday November 6, 2007)

Breakfast
Atkins Shake
Carbs: 1

Lunch
3 Eggs
Sausage
Bacon
Carbs: 1.8

Snack
39 Peanuts
Pork Rinds
Carbs: 4

Dinner
Chicken Wings
Carbs: 0

Snack
2 Low Carb Ice Cream Bar
Carbs: 6

Total Carbs: 12.8

Day 9 (Wednesday November 7, 2007)

Breakfast
1 Min Muffin
Carbs: 1.5

Lunch
3 Eggs
Sausage
Bacon
Carbs: 1.8

Dinner
Rack of Carolina BBQ Ribs
1 Cup Broccoli
Carbs: 5

Snack
Low Carb Ice Cream Bar
Carbs: 3

Total Carbs: 11.3