Niche Marketing

High carb bread is forbidden on the Atkins' Diet - but not the low carb bread.
But that is all rapidly changing - what with many bakeries now supplying grocery and health food stores with low carbohydrate bread. The average slice of grocery store bread has 15-20 grams of carbohydrates per slice. The low-carb breads now being offered with soy flour are boasting only 1 actual carbohydrate gram per slice (3 grams minus the 2 grams of fiber). The average loaf of low-carb bread sells for approximately $5.00. How does it taste? If you like heavier, grainy bread flavors, you will adapt well to the taste of low carbohydrate breads made with soy flour. If you are a Wonder Bread fan, you will find soy bread unpalatable.

Several of the fast food chains are now advertising low carb menu items. Even restaurants are now beginning to cater to low carb fares. From beers to fahitas, acknowledging a low carb diet is beginning to take hold. After the death of Dr Atkins in April 2003, a renewed interest in his diet plan seemingly began to unfold.

Even pizza makers are having to consider altering their menus.

Medical Data

Some in the medical community had hoped for Dr. Atkins' publicized autopsy results.
After 40 years of living the diet that Dr. Atkins promoted, wouldn't it be interesting to see how well his arteries fared? There is little long term data available nor published studies of the long term effects of the Atkins' diet. Surely the good doctor would have wanted to prove to the naysayers, that his body would be a precious testimony to the life long positive effects of his diet theory. It would be interesting to know whether or not his arteries were clogged with all the fat that he'd been eating for the past 40 years on his own diet!

Don't Mix and Match Diet Plans

Most dieters tend to hop around from diet to diet.
Dr. Atkins warned of the negative effects of "cheating" while on the diet. A person who follows the diet accurately (and previously lost weight) but eventually departs from the diet, by including unregulated amounts of high carb foods, generally continued to eat the high fat foods which were acceptable in the Atkins' Diet. Either choose a 40-30-30 type of diet - or Atkins' high fat diet with low carbobydrates. Mixing and matching Dr. Atkins' high fat diet with large amounts of carbohydrates, spells disaster for your health and weight loss regiment.

Carbs, Blood Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners

Can I ever eat fruit again!?
Of course! Protein helps stabilize blood sugar. So when you do eat fruit, it's a good idea to have it with a piece of cheese or some nuts.

Carbohydrates and Sweeteners.
Heightened blood sugar leads to insulin over production. Although fiber is a form of carbohydrate, it does not impact your blood sugar and also minimizes the effect of other carbohydrates by slowing down their absorption into the blood. That is why with the Atkins' Diet, you can subtract fiber grams from the total carb grams for the net carb figure.

Currently, the best sweetener to use is Splenda®. The other two sweeteners, Equal® and Sweet n Low® can cause your blood sugar to spike. Remember, just because Diet Coke has no carbs, doesn't make it 100% acceptable in a low-carb diet.

Wake Up, Food Manufacturers!
It's interesting to note that very few food manufacturing companies offer dietary products made with Splenda®. Equal has long enjoyed contracts from food manufacturers' use of their product in dietary foods. But that is about to change. As carb-conscious dieters come to realize the blood sugar spikes that Equal® and Sweet n Low® can cause, a demand for Splenda® - sweetened dietary food products will emerge.

Here are a just a few products now using Splenda®, instead of the previously touted Equal® sweetener:

__ Diet RC® Cola, Diet Rite® Cola
__ Breyer's Low Carb Ice Cream
__ LeCarb Ice Cream
__ Log Cabin® Sugar Free Low Calorie Syrup
__ Ocean Spray® Lightstyle® fruit drinks
__ Musselman's® "No Sugar Added" Apple Sauce
__ Lucky Leaf® Lite pie fillings

In 2004, many more food manufacturers will be offering Splenda®, as the low-carb craze continues.

Adkins' Diet - Quick References

The Rules of the Induction Phase

Induction Quiz

20 carb max daily - Induction
Net carbs (carb total minus fiber)

Lipolysis and Ketosis (via Ketone Sticks)

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Extra Info Articles:
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Induction menus

Acceptable foods you can eat

Nibbling/Snacks

What you can expect week 1

What you can expect week 2

Moving on after 2 week induction - or staying on Induction