Part 23 (1/2)
JUST TO BE CLEAR.
We've packed a lot of information into the plans. Here's how to read them: - Recipes that appear in this book are in boldface. See the recipe index on page 203 for page numbers.- Meals and snacks show the carb content of each item and a subtotal.- When a meal or snack includes an incremental food for the higher level of Net Carbs, it appears in bold italics.- When a meal or snack includes an incremental food the higher level of carb content in the subtotal follows the lower level and is in parentheses.- The day's total appears at the bottom of each day. In the case of two-tiered plans, the higher level of carb intake appears in parentheses.- Foundation vegetables are also listed in the day's tally.
Finally, a daily variance at any carb level is natural and fine as long as you don't consistently overshoot your carb tolerance level, as you'll see in the daily totals.
INDEX OF MEAL PLANS.
Phase 1, Induction 20 grams of Net Carbs 24647 Phase 2, ongoing Weight Loss 25 and 30 grams of Net Carbs 24849 35 and 40 grams of Net Carbs 25051 45 and 50 grams of Net Carbs 25253 Phase 3, Pre-Maintenance, and Phase 4, Lifetime Maintenance 55 and 65 grams of Net Carbs 25455 75 and 85 grams of Net Carbs 25657 95 grams of Net Carbs 25859 VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN MEAL PLANS.
Phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss Vegetarian at 30 and 35 grams of Net Carbs 26061 Vegetarian at 40 and 45 grams of Net Carbs 26263 Vegetarian at 50 and 55 grams of Net Carbs 26465 Vegan at 50 grams of Net Carbs 27273 Phase 3, Pre-Maintenance, and Phase 4, Lifetime Maintenance Vegetarian at 60 and 70 grams of Net Carbs 26667 Vegetarian at 80 and 90 grams of Net Carbs 26869 Vegetarian at 100 grams of Net Carbs 27071
Phase 1, Induction
Phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss, at 25 and 30 Grams of Ongoing Weight Loss, at 25 and 30 Grams of Net Carbs (30-gram additions in bold italics) Net Carbs (30-gram additions in bold italics)
Phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss, at 35 and 40 Grams of Net Carbs (40-gram additions in bold italics)
Phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss, at 45 and 50 Grams of Net Carbs (50-gram additions in bold italics)
* /Recipes/showRecipe884/Atkins-Cuisine-waffles.aspx.
Phase 3, Pre-Maintenance, and Phase 4, Lifetime Maintenance, at 55 and 65 Grams of Net Carbs (65-gram additions in bold italics)
*/Recipes/showRecipe884/Atkins-Cuisine-waffles.asp, **/Recipes/showRecipe883/Atkins-Cuisine-Pancakes.aspx.
Phases 3, Pre-Maintenance, and 4, Lifetime Maintenance, at 75 and 85 Grams of Net Carbs (85-gram additions in bold italics)
* /Recipes/showRecipe884/Atkins-Cuisine-waffles.aspx, **/Recipes/showRecipe883/Atkins-Cuisine-Pancakes.aspx.
Phases 3, Pre-Maintenance, and 4, Lifetime Maintenance, at 95 Grams of Net Carbs
* /Recipes/showRecipe884/Atkins-Cuisine-waffles.aspx, **/Products/productdetail.aspx?productID=36, ***/Recipes/showRecipe883/Atkins-Cuisine-Pancakes.aspx.
Phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss, Vegetarian, at 30 and 35 Grams of Net Carbs (35-gram additions in bold italics)
Phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss, Vegetarian, at 40 and 45 Grams of Net Carbs (45-gram additions in bold italics)
Phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss, Vegetarian, at 50 and 55 Grams of Net Carbs (55-gram additions in bold italics)
Phase 3, Pre-Maintenance, and Phase 4, Lifetime Maintenance, Vegetarian, at 60 and 70 Grams of Net Carbs (70-gram additions in bold italics)
* /Recipes/showRecipe883/Atkins-Cuisine-Pancakes.aspx, **/Recipes/showRecipe884/Atkins-Cuisine-waffles.aspx Phase 3, Pre-Maintenance, and Phase 4, Lifetime Maintenance, Vegetarian, at 80 and 90 Grams of Net Carbs (90-gram additions in bold italics)
* /Recipes/showRecipe883/Atkins-Cuisine-Pancakes.aspx, **/Recipes/showRecipe884/Atkins-Cuisine-waffles.aspx Phase 3, Pre-Maintenance and Phase 4, Lifetime Maintenance, Vegetarian, at 100 Grams of Net Carbs
*/Recipes/showRecipe883/Atkins-Cuisine-Pancakes.aspx, **/Recipes/showRecipe884/Atkins-Cuisine-waffles.aspx Phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss, Vegan, at 50 Grams of Net Carbs
Part IV
A DIET FOR LIFE: The Science of Good Health
Chapter 13 METABOLIC SYNDROME AND CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH.
The words healthy healthy and and low fat low fat seem inextricably linked, but the rationale for a low-fat diet is based on two overly simplistic ideas that we now understand to be incorrect. seem inextricably linked, but the rationale for a low-fat diet is based on two overly simplistic ideas that we now understand to be incorrect.
In this and the following chapter, we'll highlight how carbohydrate-restricted approaches can address cardiovascular disease (and metabolic syndrome) and diabetes and look at the impressive body of research in both these areas. (You may want to share these chapters with your health care professional.) One in four deaths in the United States stems from heart disease, making it the leading cause of death for both women and men. Heart disease develops over decades, and a poor diet can aggravate and accelerate its progression. Whether you have a strong family history of heart disease or you're blessed with cardioprotective genes, you can improve your quality of life by adopting a healthy diet that targets some of the known modifiable risk factors.
Although the majority of the medical establishment has focused on LDL cholesterol, an increased understanding of the progression of heart disease has directed attention and appreciation toward other risk factors. For example did you know that LDL cholesterol is actually a family of particles of various sizes and that the smallest particles are the most dangerous ones? The Atkins Diet eradicates small LDL particles like a strategic missile defense system. You'll soon understand the significance of this fact for both cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.
Before we go any further, two brief definitions are in order. In simple terms, metabolic syndrome is a collection of markers that amplifies your risk for heart disease, including high blood triglyceride level, low HDL cholesterol level, and elevated glucose and insulin levels. Likewise, in simple terms, inflammation is a catchall word that encompa.s.ses the processes by which your body protects you from unfamiliar and potentially damaging substances. As part of your body's natural defense system, a certain amount of inflammation is healthy, especially when it responds to infection, irritation, or injury. But once the battle has been fought, inflammation should return to normal levels. Unchecked inflammation, which can be detected during the early phases of heart disease by elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), is now understood to be one of the best predictors of future heart problems. Levels of triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, glucose, and insulin are also important markers that provide a complete picture of your overall risk status. We'll explore both conditions in detail below.
This chapter will explore the ascendancy of scientific studies supporting the effectiveness of diets low in carbohydrate as a way to achieve cardiovascular heath. This is true even though you'll be eating plenty of fat. If you've read the rest of this book, we can a.s.sume that you've put aside any fear of fat. In case you still have any lingering anxiety, however, the following pages will convince you otherwise. First, however, let's consider the rationale for a low-fat diet and issue a report card.
ARE LOW-FAT DIETS A MAJOR SUCCESS OR A SERIOUS DISTRACTION?.
Most of you know that for the last few decades, the government agencies concerned with health care have beamed forth a strong and unwavering message: reduce your total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake to achieve a healthy weight and decrease heart disease. The message has been so unrelenting that the terms ”healthy” and ”low fat” seem inextricably linked, but the rationale for a low-fat diet is based on two overly simplistic ideas that we now understand to be incorrect.
First, fat contains 9 Calories per gram, more than twice the 4 Calories per gram of both protein and carbohydrate. Since fat is more calorically dense, reducing intake of it should be the easiest way to promote weight loss, while still allowing you to eat a greater total volume of food and thus feel satisfied. This logic is expressed in the axiom ”You are what you eat.” In other words, if you eat fat, you must get fat. The corollary is that if you eat less fat, then you'll easily lose body fat. Many Americans have embraced this seemingly intuitive strategy hook, line, and sinker, only to find themselves drowning in disappointment.
As a nation, our consumption of total fat and saturated fat has remained relatively steady and even trended slightly downward over the last two decades. So why are we experiencing frightening twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes? And why has metabolic syndrome become a significant health threat to tens of millions of Americans? Not because we failed to pay attention to dietary recommendations focused on lowering fat. Rather, we replaced fat calories with an abundance of carbohydrate calories, without understanding that many people have a metabolism that cannot process the additional carbohydrate. Basically, the low-fat approach has backfired.
A second reason for the major emphasis on reducing dietary fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol is based on the belief that consumption of fatty foods will lead to increased blood cholesterol levels, which, in turn, will increase the incidence of heart disease. This belief system, often called the ”diet-heart hypothesis,” has shaped nutrition policy in this country for the last forty years. Despite decades of research and billions of taxpayer dollars earmarked to prove this hypothesis, there's little evidence to support its basic premise.
The largest and most expensive study on the role of fat in the diet was the Women's Health Initiative, a randomized, controlled trial in which almost 50,000 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 were tracked for an average of eight years. Researchers a.s.signed partic.i.p.ants either to a low-fat diet that reduced total fat intake and increased the intake of vegetables, fruits, and grains, or to a control group who could eat whatever they wanted. Multiple research papers reported on the results of this colossal experiment, which can be summarized as nothing short of a major public health disappointment. A low-fat eating pattern revealed no significant effect on weight loss or the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, or cancer.1 You can see why the low-fat dietary approach to weight control gets a failing grade. You can see why the low-fat dietary approach to weight control gets a failing grade.
METABOLIC SYNDROME.