Today we will review a little-know section of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution…the Atkins Fat Fast.
The basic principle of the Atkins diet is that a state of ketosis will help you burn your fat stores as energy. In fact, the Keto diet grew from the basics of Atkins Phase One: Induction.
But what Keto does not have, because there is no one definitive book or guide, is Atkins Fat Fast, which was created for the metabolically resistant.
Hello and welcome to Fearlessly Holistic.
My name is Irma and I want to share my journey to improved health by eating whole foods, moving my body and eliminating stress as much as possible.
It is my hope to inspire you to make daily changes.
Why? Because eating fresh, seasonal food and getting some sunshine is the best way to increase longevity. But you do not want just a long life. You want a quality long life.
I like to focus on simple concepts and moving forward one step at a time for sustained progress. If that sounds good to you, then be sure to get your PDF copy of my FAT FAST FOOD LIST printable by signing up below and get started eating more quality fats.
**My blog posts are my opinion and the results of things that I have tried that either worked for me or didn’t. My opinions are for informational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Medical advice should always be obtained from a qualified medical professional for any health conditions or symptoms associated with them**
Atkins Diet
What I will be focusing on here today is a specific part of Dr. Atkins 2002 low carbohydrate diet book called Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (aka DANDR).
DANDR is an updated version of a book that was written in 1992 that was on the best-seller list for 5 years.
Dr. Atkins was a pioneer.
He brought the low-carb diet to the forefront at a time when the internet was becoming more and more available to people everywhere. Low-carb diet forums popped up like mushrooms overnight.
Dr. Atkins had tried and tested the low-carb diet on his cardiac patients, with awesome results.
And why not? The basics of the diet are what morphed into the Keto diet we know today: meat in moderation, good quality fats, clean and fresh veggies.
AKA the way that humans ate for thousands of years.
The Basic’s of the Atkins Diet
The Atkins diet is low in carbohydrates compared to the standard American diet. This is good and will create a state of ketosis in your body where you burn only fat, and not muscle.
The primary source of your energy for your body will be fat in the form of ketones. Your liver will convert fat into ketones and it cannot be converted back. It will be excreted naturally.
Ketones are actual a normally and efficient source of fuel for the human body.
They are created in the liver from the fatty acids that result from the breakdown of body fat. These only appear when there is an absence of glucose and sugar.
In the Atkins diet, you reduce the amount of glucose and sugar that is in the bloodstream. As a result, your body produces ketones for fuel. When your body is creating ketones it is called ketosis.
There is a common misconception that following a ketogenic diet like Atkins is dangerous.
The truth is that being in ketosis is a completely naturally state. The human body creates ketones to use as fuel in the absence of glucose, so this is a true function of the human body.
Since your brain and cells are primarily made up from fat, it stands to reason that your body requires a certain amount of fat to not only feed the brain but to generate new cell production.
A big difference between the standard American diet (SAD) and Atkins is the quality of the fats you eat.
The SAD advocates for lab-created “vegetable” oils that are made from GMO crops that are sprayed heavily and grown in depleted soil. The process of converting something like corn or rapeseed (from which canola oil derives) requires solvents.
Industrial seed oils are used in most packaged/processed foods and are used exclusively for deep frying at fast foods places.
Read more here at Paleo Leap. Or from Chris Kesser. Or from Dr. Mark Hyman.
Ewwwwww.
Atkins diet requires you to eat fats from whole foods.
Dr. Atkins diet encourages eating and cooking with:
- Animal fats contained within meat or around the meat (only if the meat is grass fed or pastured)
- Avocado’s (the fruit) as well as avocado oil
- Avocado oil mayonnaise or other clean mayo (homemade is best)
- Butter and/or ghee
- Coconut oil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Cold-pressed nut oils.
Atkins Phase 1: Induction = Keto Diet
The Induction phase of the Atkins diet is pretty much the same as the Keto diet. Atkins Induction is eating 20 or less grams of carbohydrate foods per day.
You are encouraged to eat mostly vegetables for your carbs – 2 cups of salad and 1 cup of other veg daily.
In addition to the list of acceptable foods, there are a few rules that are important to follow during this period of the diet.
- You can eat freely from the list of acceptable foods.
- Do not restrict your fats and proteins. Eat as much of them as you like.
- Remember, the Atkins diet is not a calorie-restricted diet.
The only thing you need to worry about is your level of carbohydrate grams.
- At least 12-15 grams of your allowed carbohydrates should be from your vegetable list.
While it may be tempting to eat them all in cheese, vegetables are important to your digestive system (especially while on this diet).
- Make sure to count your carbohydrate grams when you eat vegetables, cheese and beverages with artificial sweeteners.
Avoid all fruit, bread, pasta, grains and starchy vegetables
These are: potatoes, winter squash, peas and corn. Also no legumes (kidney beans, black beans etc.)
- Always read the labels of packaged products, even if they claim they are “carb free.”
You may find that some products have hidden carbohydrates.
The law allows manufacturers to round off to zero if a product has fewer than .5 grams of carbohydrates.
- Look at the list of ingredients for manufactured products to determine if there are hidden carbs.
You’ll also need to watch out for hidden carbohydrates when you eat out.
There are small carbohydrate amounts in gravies, sauces and salad dressings.
- The best bet is to eat your meat without sauce and eat your salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing.
- Remember to drink 8 eight-ounce glasses of water, in addition to anything else you might drink.
This will keep your body hydrated and help you avoid constipation. You’ll also be able to flush out the by-products created by fat burning.
Atkins/Keto Weight Loss Stall
Stalls on Atkins use the same solutions as a Keto weight loss stall, so here are some tips for that.
A weight loss stall happens from time to time on low carbohydrate diets.
Step one is to determine if it is actually a stall/plateau or not.
A plateau means that you have gone an extended period of time without losing weight or inches. It’s important to take your measurements before you start your weight loss plan, in addition to your weight.
On some weeks it may not seem like you are losing any at all on the scale. But a quick look at your measurements will prove otherwise. This is especially true on a low-carb way of eating.
On the Atkins diet you are replacing fat with muscle, which is denser and heavier.
You might actually gain a little weight because you are building muscle to replace your fat. The result will be an increase on the scale, but a decrease in your inches. Your body will be smaller and leaner, but you may weigh the same.
Before you start your program, measure your chest, waist, hips, upper arms, thighs and calves.
You never know where you may be losing inches, so it’s important to have these comprehensive measurements to refer to. It is normal to go through periods where you body is readjusting.
Remember that you are reforming the composition of your body and this process will take some time. Check your measurements once a week, just like your weight, and you can track your overall progress.
There may be periods of 3 to 4 weeks where you have a stall in weight loss, but a loss in inches.
Or vice versa. Using both methods to track your fat loss is the best assurance for an accurate measure of your progress.
These stall periods are not a reason to quit or to give up. They are natural parts of the weight loss process.
Stalls may occur more frequently if you are 5 to 10 pounds away from being at your goal weight.
By following a low-carb, moderate-protein way of eating you have created a lot more muscle in your body. Your muscle-to-fat ratio is higher than ever before, so your body might be resisting losing anymore fat.
It may be time to rethink your goal weight.
Perhaps your body is trying to tell you something and its time to start maintaining your weight loss rather than trying to lose more.
There are some other possible causes of stalls and plateaus on the road to weight loss.
If you’ve gone four weeks with no change in weight or measurements and you are nowhere near your goal weight, you can try a few different methods to get yourself out of the rut.
- First, make sure your carbohydrate level is in check.
If you are eating too many carbohydrate grams per day, your weight loss will stall.
Look for hidden carbohydrates in packaged foods, dressings and sauces to make sure they aren’t the culprits in your plateau.
- Check your daily water intake.
When you are dehydrated, your body will retain water and that can mimic a plateau.
Water will also help flush ketones from your system and make more room for new fat burning ketones.
- Undereating can also be a cause for weight loss plateaus.
Make sure not to let yourself go hungry and eat smaller, more frequent meals.
Remember, you are on a carbohydrate-restricted diet, not a calorie-restricted diet.
- Make sure to have some protein with every meal and snack.
Never go more than 5 hours without eating something (except overnight of course).
- Also, eat freely from the acceptable foods.
Don’t try to count calories or restrict your calorie intake.
- Increasing your exercise level can help get you through a plateau as well.
As your muscles get used to working out at a certain level, you’ll have to increase the duration or the intensity in order to keep challenging your body. Add a new exercise into the mix, or try increasing weight in resistance training.
Trying one of these methods will most likely get your weight loss back on track. If not, I have a short-term potential solution for you…fat fast.
The Atkins Fat Fast
There was a mysterious section in Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution called the “fat fast”. Fat fast is a way for people who are metabolically resistant to hopefully move the scale, especially if they were stalled for months, which can be a huge bummer if you had steady weight loss up to that point.
Dr. Atkins wanted a way to help the folks who fit this category, so he created the Fat Fast.
Fat fast is part of the chapter on Metabolic Resistance: Causes and Solutions
Some people just have the kind of health issues where they stall for long periods, even on low carb diet, and this section of the book addresses potential solutions. Some of these issues are:
- Candida (yeast overgrowth in the body)
- Insulin is out of whack
- Prescription drugs
- Hormones
- Anti-depressants
- Anti-arthritis medications
- Diuretics and Beta-Blockers/high blood pressure medications
- Thyroid problems
One solution is the fat fast. Dr. Atkins listed several foods that you could eat in an effort to move the scale. Foods like:
- One ounce of macadamia nuts or macadamia nut butter
- One ounce of tuna or chicken salad with two teaspoons of mayonnaise served in one-quarter of an avocado
- Two deviled eggs made with two teaspoons of mayonnaise
Each of the fat fast foods is approximately 200 calories of mostly fat, and you can eat five of the choices per day for a total of 1000 calories. You should only do the fat fast for a maximum of four to five days.
Dr. Atkins did add a disclaimer that eating this way is actually dangerous if you are not metabolically resistant. Please pay attention to this disclaimer!
This was a very popular section of Dr. Atkins book
- People were intrigued by a section of the book where you do not need to eat vegetables.
- Fat fast foods are simple to prepare.
- The foods get you into ketosis and can keep you there.
Fat is very satiating and the meals would be simple to prepare, but not everyone can eat these foods.
This section also morphed into one of my favorite stall-busters which you can read about, the Keto Egg Fast.
The first time I tried this, I lost 8 pounds in six days.
You will gain back half of that when you return to eating veggies, so be aware! However, if you eat carnivore for 5 days a week, and keto for 2, you end up losing weight more than gaining.
Fat fast became egg fast which became the beef and butter fast on YouTube.
Basically, people were giving themselves permission to eat a carnivore diet.
The carnivore diet is perhaps the easiest elimination diet ever. You would do this if you have so many food allergies that you doing regular low-carb is next to impossible.
Atkins Fat Fast had a bunch of dairy foods on the list, so if you cannot tolerate dairy, feel free to do the egg fast to break a stall.
Or you can do carnivore. People like Mikahaila Peterson and Dr. Shawn Baker have been doing carnivore for years.
What is the benefit of Fat Fast?
Actually, there are a few benefits.
- High fat foods are satiating, so you stay full longer.
- Fat is good for your brain, so you have less brain fog and more clarity.
- Fat foods stabilize blood sugar, so you do not get sugar cravings. Yup, that is what eating fat does for you.
- Easy meal planning. Mix some tuna with clean mayonnaise then eat it. Easy.
- Eating only one or two foods at a time makes it easy to figure out which foods your body does not tolerate well.
- Shopping is super easy and much cheaper. Get a small deep freezer and take advantage of sales on meat.
- You stop thinking about food. You “eat to live, not live to eat”.
- Over time, your body will naturally start Intermittent Fasting, so you will get those benefits as well.
Conclusion
Eating clean food is a major part of holistic living, and Atkins diet and Keto are part of that…if you are eating clean Keto, that is. I mean there is no point in trading one type of poor health for another.
Eat the best food that you can afford to give your body the building blocks it needs for optimal health, longevity, and looking good for as long as possible 😉
Holistic approaches never just address symptoms of specific health problems, but instead aim to return or keep the patient in a state of balanced health between mind, body, and spirit. Grab your FAT FAST FOOD LIST by signing up below.
Holism targets overall wellness, and when we are well, we only get better with age.
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Until next time, here’s to our health!
-Irma