The Atkins diet? Puh-lease! Everybody who's anybody knows a body needs carbohydrates to function. Did no one pay attention in biology class? It's all about energy. Athletes in high-energy sports stuff their faces with carbs before big contests. I say that all of us need energy to climb the sheer cliff of life – to overcome the mountain that is living. Have a bagel, it won't kill you!
Now that I'm 30, I've noticed how that magic number has slowed my metabolism a bit (just like everyone said it would, thanks!). I continue to exercise, jogging, biking, abdominal excercises, sad attempts at push-ups, etc., to curb the softening of my mid-section somewhat. Back in my 20s I didn't have to try. I was on the Reporter's Diet and actually lost weight. Moreover, I was a single newspaper reporter, so all my time and eating habits were my own.
Here's what I would eat:
Breakfast:
Eggs, bacon, cereal, toast, pancakes or my favorite – waffles. It's a wonder I didn't turn into a waffle back then. I got a waffle iron as a Christmas gift one year, and it barely cooled off.
Lunch
I didn't eat a whole lot of fast food. Rather, I'd just have a sandwich or something. One of my news jobs was as a night copy editor (4 p.m.-midnight), so I was always home for lunch. PB & J, turkey sandwich, ham sandwich, the occasional greasey burger on the fly. It was all good.
Dinner
I put that Hamburger Helper-hand's children through college. Pasta and meat does a great meal make, lemme tell ya. I'd eat that, sometimes with salad or vegetables (including the yummy-yet-not-redeeming corn). Sometimes I'd grab a bite with co-workers or venture out to one of my favorite restaurants. About that time the frozen rising-crust pizzas first became popular, and I found them delicious.
Scattered among the meals was fruit. I love fruit. My passion for it grew when I worked as a grocery-store produce clerk in college. I could eat my weight in berries and melon for free; in fact, it was part of my job so I could tell customers what something tasted like. Even though I have to shell out dough for it now, I still love me some apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries. Can't wait until the summer season.
Remember, I said I was single and my time was my own. The key to weight loss on a carb-heavy diet is to expel the energy consumed. I could have given Lance Armstrong a run for his money back then. Even after nights of drinking al-kee-hawl with my friends, I'd wake up mid-morning, have a little breakfast, chill out a while and then hop on my bike. For hours. I've always lived places where I could do that, and it's something I wouldn't trade.
I was quite the skinny man-boy. What has changed? Now I'm sort-of-skinny dude, blasted metabolism! I'm married with a 1-year-old son, so my time is no longer my own. Really, that time thing changed when I started seriously dating the Petite Filet, because she was not satisfied with peanut-butter sandwiches. I don't blame her for that at all, it was just part of a growing relationship. We would cook at one or the other's houses quite a bit, but an Itailian restaurant in town also saw us darken its door many times. The end result, I usually spend an hour about five times a week doing some exercise, usually outdoors no matter the temperature.
My diet is a bit different now as well, although there are days some weeks where I am eating piece-meal or based on portability. Last night, before a city council meeting, I had a leftover grilled hamburger and a yogurt. And I had to eat the yogurt with a fork because I couldn't find a decent spoon in the office. If I'm eating a sandwich or something for lunch during the work week, I usually eat it at my desk. Then, I take an hour outside the office to (most often) take a walk, weather permitting, or run an errand or just look at stuff. Such is the life of a smalltown newspaper editor.
For anyone struggling with weight issues, I don't want to make light of that. It's tough, I know. I've been toying with the same 5-10 pounds for a few years. The Petite Filet has done an excellent job of getting mostly back in to shape, but has the same problems I do. But let's get real, here: to lose weight, you've got to eat less (and better) and exercise more. In most cases, barring a serious medical problem for which your doctor may have some medicine to help, that plan is going to work. Put down the Twinkie®, lace up those running shoes!
In our skinny-minded culture, the reality is most of us are carrying a bit more weight than we'd like. It's completely a health issue for me, because frankly I already look pretty hot just as I am (and I'm humble to boot). Whenever I've focused on health rather than the weight, I've done well. And that's what I'm focusing on this spring. That, and family fun. We've got a kid-bike-seat for the Cutlet, and a bike rack for the family truckster. We'll be hitting the trails soon.
Anybody have a spoon I can borrow?
Oh, man, sometimes I really do wish I could bike. Lucky you.
Very true- even if you could lose weight with diet only, you'd be a skinny, toneless guy! Blech- I'd rather see a guy with some definition and love handles than a totally skinny, pipe-cleaner man!
Nowadays, I see the heart before I see the physique. Love is not necessarily blind, but certainly more focused on what is important. That being said, I want Kman and I to live and love as long as we can! So, every bite of yogurt and salad equates to a little more romance! Try that for a diet incentive!
I was just thinking about writing a post about the recent Atkins/health craze. It's getting ridiculous. Now, McDonald's is phasing out its "super size" stuff. What's happening to this world???
don't your butt bones hurt?? biking so much. i always get the aching butt bones. the muscles are fine...but the bones tell me to stop. does that go away ever???
I was Atkins before Atkins was cool. Sounds like a hit country song. I did get on the Atkins diet in Fall 2001 before anyone even knew what it was. I bought the video and got the book. I lost 15 pounds pretty quickly without exercise and stayed pretty religious for 5 weeks. I was 20 punds lighter than I am today. Then I made the mistake of going to eat with the family at Taco Bell. Like a junkie I told myself a taco and a burrito couldn't hurt. But that led to more carbs and foods not approved by Atkins. Pretty soon I was back to my fast food habit. Today I am treadmilling it again and feel healthy but I'm not watching the weight.
My friend and his brother are total converts and with Atkins have been maintaing for over a year. I started at 192 and touched 179 on it and felt great. I couldn't hang and I am back to where I started. So now I've stepped up and am on my turbo workouts. The fun just doen't stop.
T--as usual, I know what you mean...
I have a problem with any diet that is restrictive of fruits and veggies because they have BIG, BAD Carbs...
I know Atkins works for some, but what kind of a lifestyle is required to keep it? What's the %-age of people who gain it back?
But anyway -- I only know what works for me -- I don't eat much meat -- don't care for red meat much. Eat a buttload of soy -- no dairy, and a ton of veggies, fruits and some fish.
I basically steer clear of bread, potatoes and pasta in the house -- although I'll eat them in a restaurant or when I'm out...
NO Fast food... ever... I don't eat in the car, ever...
(Easier when you're not cooking for a family)
Sounds like a food nazi, eh? Nah... I have to eat this way to allow wine and some chocolate and cookies. ;)
I run, bike and rollerblade in order to enjoy sweets... Seems to work so far... And hey, if you think metabolism slows at 30, just wait, my friend!
[Oh, and lest you think I'm some waif, I'm not... I've done the Oprah closet -- have been from size 4 to 14, then back to a 6]
I understand the issues with being over 30 and trying to fit into the same sized clothes you wore in college. :-)
A couple of years ago I got down to a size 2, and I looked awful. My diet was terrible, and I wasn't exercising. (I had no butt. Seriously. It vanished.) Now I'm back up to around a size 4-6 (still small, but I've got a backside again.) I don't diet - I just eat the things that I know are good for me. I also don't deprive myself if I really want a brownie. I do Pilates every-other-day, walk, do work with weights (important for us ladies over 30 - don't want to get osteoporosis!), garden, etc.
Call me crazy, but I like feeling good. One of the nice dividends is looking good, but that's not the main reason I take care of myself now.
Anything not done in moderation is dangerous.
Americans tend to take in enough carbs to give them the energy to run a marathon, but do they? No.
That combination is kind of the problem. We really eat more carbs than are necessary. My husband cut his carbs, not entirely but he tried to up his ratios, 2 parts protein to 1 part carbs.
He lost a lot of weight. He started training for a marathon and has upped his carb intake again and the key? He *uses* the carbs he takes in.
Me, I'm still in the denial phase where yoga is all I need to do to be able to eat and drink what I want.
Nice.
Yeah, everyone seems to think that Atkins cuts carbs out entirely- which it dosen't. It cuts them back to 20 grams a day for the first phase, for fast weight loss, then adds them back 5 and 10 at a time until the person starts to gain. I'm not really watching them anymore, but I"d guess I get from 60-90 a day, from vegetables and fruit, rather than processed flour and convenience foods. I have fruit all the time, too, just different kinds than I used to, because some contain more sugar than others, and that messes with your blood sugar levels, like a diabetic. It's what causes you to feel overly tired and run down at the end of the day, like so many people do. That's why people say they feel more energetic on Atkins. I also work out about 6 times a week, between my class, my instructor's class and the Yoga class I take to kill the time between them! I figure if I can handle all that with 60-90 carbs, then what average person needs 300?
Food, mmmmmmmm
he he
abs x
i am on a new diet, its called having your fiancee break it off with you for no reason and getting terribly depressed. ive lost over 10lbs in one week. pretty good... oh yeah.
I think that's a great way to look at it - trying to get healthy rather than just skinny!