Explore Real Simple

Women should consume a minimum of 2, calories daily; men, 2, to 3, calories daily.


  • Shot At and Missed: A Cody J. Bryan Mystery.
  • Passenger on Earth: A discourse about realities Political, Financial and Environmental Challenges.
  • Covilles Book of Fear.

Here's the first of a many pieces of good news you're going to get as you learn more about the Atkins Diet: You don't need to count calories at this point. You will naturally take in fewer calories because your appetite will be under control with sufficient amounts of protein and fat.

When you give your body too many carbohydrates to metabolize, it burns them for energy. But if you carefully control your carb intake, your body burns fat instead. And that, in a nutshell, is the secret—if there is one—of the Atkins Diet.

Top Navigation

As you read further, you'll see why that's true and how to determine what your net carb intake should be. The Atkins Diet works by restricting carbohydrates, which come from grains, legumes and other plant sources. But most carbohydrates contain fiber, which is not completely digested by the body. Since fiber has a neglible effect on blood sugar, these substances don't count as carbs on Atkins.

So Net Carbs represent the total grams of carbohydrates minus grams of fiber. Net Carbs are the only carbs that you count when you do Atkins.

The 10 Rules of Weight Loss That Lasts | Shape Magazine

As good as Induction is for quick, dramatic weight loss, it's important for you to understand that it's only the first Phase. Staying in Phase 1 for too long can become boring. Also, it can lead to a crash-diet mentality where you might assume it's okay to go back to eating anything, because you can always go back and lose the weight all over again by repeating Induction.

You can start with Phase 2 if you don't have a lot of weight to lose, don't mind losing weight at a slower pace, or you find Phase 1 too restrictive. During OWL you'll find out how many grams of carbs you can eat and still lose weight. This is called your personal carb balance. When you go into OWL you can start adding back nutrient-dense foods like more non-starchy veggies e. Phase 2 lasts until you're within 5 to 10 pounds of your weight goal. Open up a can of kidney beans or chickpeas and add them to soup, chili, or pasta.

Search form

You'll be one of the less than 3 percent of Americans who get the recommended daily dose of vitamin E. When it comes to fats, there's perhaps no other area of nutrition in which researchers have learned so much and confused so many consumers in the process. What you need to know is this: Fat has more calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein, so if you're trying to maintain or lose weight, limit the amount of fat you eat. That said, not all fats affect the body equally. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are the "good" fats; they're found in nut and vegetable oils and oily fish, such as salmon, trout, and herring.

They don't raise blood cholesterol levels and may even reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems. According to the American Heart Association, eating seafood with omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon and sardines, twice a week may reduce the risk of certain forms of heart disease. Saturated and trans fats, also known as the "bad" fats, are found in dairy and beef products and palm and coconut oils. The more of them you eat, the higher your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Trans fats are also found in French fries and many commercially baked products, such as cookies and crackers, but are becoming less common.

The Atkins Diet: Getting Started, Staying Focused

Food and Drug Administration mandated that companies list trans fats on food labels, some restaurants, like Wendy's and Red Lobster, reduced their use, and many manufacturers have reformulated products to get rid of trans fats altogether. Be aware, however, that many of those products now contain saturated fats instead. Even as you try to eat foods that are loaded with nutrients, pay attention to the overall amount you consume.

Brian Wansink, a professor of marketing and nutritional science at Cornell University, explains that people have three measures of satiety: Restaurants bring challenges, because portions are huge and tend to be high in fat and sodium.


  • The Money Gods.
  • A lheure de la métropolisation: Quels contours juridiques? (Grale) (French Edition).
  • The Atkins Diet: Getting Started, Staying Focused | Atkins.
  • Ilya Prigogine - La théorie de la dynamique des systèmes loin de léquilibre: Contribution au rôle de lélaboration de stratégies dans lévolution organisationnelle ... (Les Grands Auteurs) (French Edition)?
  • Heres That Rainy Day;
  • You are here?

You'll eat a healthier portion size and also save money. Eat, don't drink, your calories. Beverages don't fill you up in the same way that foods do: Studies have shown that people eat the same amount whether or not they wash down their food with a calorie drink. And most beverages don't contribute many nutrients.

Essentials of Healthy Eating: A Guide

In fact, all you really need is water, says Barry Popkin, head of the division of nutrition epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill. Limit packaged foods and read labels. Many nutritionists recommend shopping the perimeter of a supermarket, where fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are usually sold, and avoiding highly processed foods, which tend to be found in boxes in the center aisles.

But you may find it hard to resist the core of the store, with its convenient treats and processed foods. Just be aware that three-quarters of the sodium and most of the trans fats and added sugar Americans ingest come from packaged foods. Instead, cast a critical eye over the nutrition-facts box.

PERSONAL HYGIENE

Look first at calories, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium. Saturated fat and sodium are presented in grams and milligrams, respectively, and as a percentage of the recommended limit of what we should eat in a day; calories and trans fats are listed simply as amounts.


  1. Queen of the Stars (The Royals of Adriel Book 1)!
  2. What is a healthy diet?.
  3. 7 Principles of Healthy Eating - Real Simple.
  4. If the numbers seem high, check out a few competing products to see if you can do better.