How much carbohydrate?

I'm starting on Atkins again on 27/12/10.  I've read a lot of high protein diets which don't have a 2 week induction phase on 20 grms of carbo like Atkins.  Any ideas or advice?

79 pounds lost since vsg on 22/02/10, now 225 pounds.

You might try going through the Atkins website for better information, but in general I have been told that the induction caloric ratios should be:

5-10% carb calories (at first only from vegetables)
60-70% fat
25-30% protein

And to get yourself into fat-burning mode, you get 20 grams of NET carb grams.

The net grams are calculated thusly:
(Total Grams of Carbohydrate) - (Grams of Soluble and Insoluble Fiber) = Net Carbs

The "Net Carbs" are the carbohydrates that your body utilizes for energy.


Does this help?

how many carbs really is to a certain extent governed by what you want to happen, is it for weight loss?  better health?  maintenance?  the answer will change the level of carbs.   There is no biochemical reason to go down to 20 g CHO for weight loss.   What you want to do, and this is a little body specific is to go down to a level that induced mild ketosis.  Depending on you individuality it is around the 50 g CHO total or less.  The more times you induce ketosis, the more difficult it is to get back in there.  I can induce ketosis in about 2 days.  Some take 2 days some take 4 days etc.   You can easily test if your body is primarily using fat stores for energy by testing with keto sticks, morning and night.  congrats on your great weight loss

It is very individualized. Atkins is definitely what WhackaDoodle said. High fat, moderate protein, very low carb.

Have you read the new Atkins book? I checked it out from the library not too long ago and it seems much more mainstream now. I think the 20 grams is the same in induction, but I can't remember.

I have also seen people do just as well around 50 grams a day...but that is people without WLS. So I'm not sure if it would be any different.

Hi, can you give me the title and I'll buy it from Amazon.  Thanks.

I know you're in the UK -- So you must be up either very early, or very late! (But I can never remember which way the time goes -- so whichever it is, Happy Tuesday!)

The newest Atkins book, supported by the latest research, is

New Atkins for a New You

That's a link from the US amazon site, I understand that yours is different, but at least this will connect you to his book!

Many thanks for that, I'll order it today.  In the UK we're three hours ahead of EST, so six (?) hours ahead of PST.  When Concorde was flying you could have an early breakfast in London then a late breakfast in NY.

I'm sure you probably already ordered, but I'd also recommend this book in the future:

Gary Taubes: Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It

(I used the UK link; I hope it worked!)

He is pro-low-carb also, but gives a great history about what's wrong with how approach weight loss, why some people get fat and others don't, etc. It's less a diet book than a real history. His initial book (US: Good Calories, Bad Calories, UK: Diet Delusion) was very, very in-depth. This one is much more to-the-point and easier to understand.

Thanks.  Yes, I've already ordered the Atkins book.  This one I'll probably order through my local library - if we still have one after all the cuts!  Lol.