Started Induction Yesterday--2 questions?

[frisco13@mac.com]

Hey!

I am on day 2 and so far I have been good to the diet. I am starting to lose my appetite! But should I eat even though I have no appetite? If I don't eat won't it slow down my metabolism?

Second question: Is it necessary to have all the fat that Atkins recommends? Say my diet is not high in fat, but not low-fat either is that okay, or is the high fat necessary?

Thanks for any advice!

[schellie]

Its best to eat meals as you normally would if you were hungry. It is a good idea to eat the foods as Dr. Atkins reccomended. If not, you would not be doing Atkins. You can use www.fitday.com to track what you are eating. Remember Net carbs while using it. (total-fiber=net) Should be getting 65% fat, 5% carb, 30% protein I believe. Best thing to do is follow the book and do as it reccomends. You can always check the Atkins website and they have important stuff on there, so you can reference if needed. Hope this helps.

[not2late]

Originally Posted by frisco13@mac.com

Hey!

I am on day 2 and so far I have been good to the diet. I am starting to lose my appetite! But should I eat even though I have no appetite? If I don't eat won't it slow down my metabolism?

Second question: Is it necessary to have all the fat that Atkins recommends? Say my diet is not high in fat, but not low-fat either is that okay, or is the high fat necessary?

Thanks for any advice!

Go no more than 6 waking hours without eating is one of the rules. If your calories consistently drop below your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), your body will think it's being starved and will slow its metabolism in order to conserve energy to stay alive. BMR is the metabolic level your body needs to minimally survive.

Fat is necessary on Atkins. Why? Because there are 3 food sources of energy: fats, carbohydrates and proteins. (Actually there are 4 but alcohol is not on the Induction phase menu). During Atkins, proteins make up about 30% of your daily caloric intake. As you limit your carbs, the only thing that can increase is your fat content. If you don't eat higher fat, you will be eating higher protein. The danger with eating higher protein is that normally more than 50% of the protein you eat is converted to sugar, so eating a higher amount of protein means you're body is going to make more sugar, and excessive sugar is stored as fat.

[Moochiecat]

Here's a link to help you understand the fat/protein/carb ratios and it'll give you some tips on how to use Fitday
(Fitday!)http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5235

I need to ask you if you've read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, version 2002 (DANDR for short)?
It explains the science behind the whole plan, and on Atkins, you need to eat fat to lose fat. It's not like you have to sit there dipping your deep fried bacon in butter or anything..lol...but you don't have to shy away from things like bacon, or butter on your veggies or heavy cream in your coffee.

[JoSkids]

I know dr atkins says not to go more than 6 hours between "meals" and I am usually hungry so I usually don't, but I have a little issue with this since I also feel as though we shouldn't eat unless we are hungry. If you are eating when you aren't hungry, you are just perpetuating a habit that may be part of the cause of getting fat in the first place. I work hard at portion control even now. So with that being said, I also take "eating" as anything, no matter how small an amount. If you aren't feeling hungry and you want to abide by Atkins rule, then eat a couple of bites of cheese or something really small.

There is controversy over "starvation mode". I won't get into it, but some people don't think you can go into starvation mode till you have depeleted your fat stores.