Hi am I following the atkins plan. Someone mentioned it is very similar to Bersteins one. Can anyone explain the difference. I am thinking I may change?

Hi Need2Bslym!

There are some differences between the two, but a lot of similarities as well. I generally follow Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, but I add some aspects of Atkins in as well.
Diabetes solution, in a nutshell is this:

drop to 30 grams of carb per day split as 6 for breakfast, 12 for lunch and 12 for dinner and stay there. You don't need to go below that, but you should never go above it. Carbs should come in the form of low GI veggies. Nuts are permitted, but discouraged because portion control is a problem in Dr. Bernstein's opinion. Fruit is not permitted at all. Cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt are permitted providing that you stay within your carb allotment for each meal. Snacks, if you have them, should be carb-free. Fats are not restricted, but you should avoid hydrogenated and transfats.
This is primarily for blood sugar control, although Dr. Bernstein does address weight loss in his book as well. To promote weight loss, he suggests cutting protein by 1/3 at one meal and then at a second if you don't begin to loose after the first cut.
If you're considering switching from Atkins to Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, I'd encourage you to check the book out from the library first and read it to see if this would be something that would fit you better.
Good luck!

Since I am a Type 2 diabetic, I adopted Bernstein's regimen in order to normalize blood sugars. Weight loss was not my primary focus. After about 3 days, however, I found that maintaining a low carb woe was effortless. I began to lose weight and after about 4 months or so I had dropped more than 30 lbs. I've stayed there ever since (more than 1 year now).

I think what made this work for me was the constant monitoring of blood sugar. If you keep your serum glucose between 85 and 95 mg/dl around the clock, you will simply go to your ideal weight and stay there. If your body needs glucose, it will initiate the process of ketosis and extract it from stored fat. I have a friend who needs to lose 100+ lbs. and is having a hard time getting started with Atkins. He asked me how I did it. I advised him to buy a glucometer and start monitoring his blood sugar. It's much easier to attack this problem at its source. Even if he's not diabetic he should just buy Dr. B's book and pretend that he is. That's the fastest way to get healthy.

Jim

Hate to get technical here, but that's not quite what happens. If your body needs glucose, it uses protein to make it via gluconeogenesis in the liver. This is a very natural process and occurs even in non-diabetics when the body sends the message that glucose is needed in the blood stream and no carbohydrates are available to convert. This is also why it's important to get enough dietary protein or the body will take the protein that it needs from your own muscle tissue, both for the glucose that those cells that cannot function without it need (which are very few) and for tissue repair and cell replication.
For gluconeogenesis to occur, the circulating insulin levels must be very low (as they are when low carbing or fasting for several hours).

Thank-you so much for information. Although I do not have Diabetes yet I do have hypoglycemia and Diabetes does run in my family.Which is even a stronger reason for me to become more healthy. Thanks again.

Lisa-

If the body can get glucose only from dietary carbohydrate or protein through gluconeogenesis, how do you lose weight? At some point the adipose tissue has to be converted through ketosis or it will remain as love handles.

Regards,

Jim

Jim...

Fat metabolism is another matter altogether. In my response above, I didn't say that the body can only get energy through carbohydrates or protein converted to glucose. The easiest energy source for your body is carbohydrates. If you take that away, it then uses up its glycogen reserves. When those are gone and there are still no carbs coming in to be converted to glucose, it turns to it's stored body fat and begins breaking that down into ketone bodies to be used as fuel. Most cells of the body can use ketones instead of glucose and some actually prefer ketones over glucose (such as the heart muscle). There are a few cells (specifically those without mitochondria) that can only use glucose for energy. The liver can break down protein into glucose through gluconeogenesis to supply those cells with the glucose that they need, but it is a very slow process and cannot provide enough fuel for the whole body to function, so preference is given to those cells that require glucose and all the others get the ketone bodies and the body will continue to break down fat for energy because it cannot get enough energy through gluconeogenesis. The body also does not prefer to use protein for energy. It would rather use it to build and repair cells and muscle tissue.
Does that clear things up for you?

Very nicely, Lisa, thanks.

Hi

I was just reading some posts here and read something about lowering protein amouts to lose weight. I follow the Atkins plan. I have 3 eggs in the morning half a slice of ham, for lunch I have a can of tuna with salad and 32 gr(proteinshake) for dinner I have 7 to 8 oz of chicken or pork or steak and salad, atkins atvantage bar for a snack broken in 3 over a couple of hours (work nights) ...do you think this to much protein in a day if I dropped the shake would I loose more weight my main objective.

Ps I work out everyday up to an hour on the treadmill and bike.

Thanks
Cheers

To really jump start Atkins you need to get the daily carb count below 20 grams. Some of these protein shakes have too much carbohydrate.

The thought about keeping bg in the 85-95 range and everything else will take care of itself seems to be my experience. People have asked me how I do it, and that's pretty much my reply - watch the meter. But it had never occurred to me that it would work for a non-diabetic. I thought they could produce so much insulin that the carbo-excess would be concealed. But I will suggest it to some obese friends. Who will probably be diabetic soon anyhow, come to think of it.