I sent off last week for some samples of the new Atkins diet plan bars and a quick start guide for the new Atkins plan and received them only THREE days later- pretty good response time in my book! (note: as of when I wrote this post, weekend before, the link was still up to request the samples-so hurry and check it out here!)I received a mini Pocket Carb Counter and a Quick Start Guide Booklet, as well as 3 bars to sample.
If you’re not familiar with the Atkins plan, it is basically a low sugar, low carb plan. basically their premise is that Dietary fat doesn’t cause weight gain, it’s the consumation of excess carbs and sugar combined with inactivity that does. When you eat too many carbs your body burns some of them for energy, and stores the rest as fat. When you eat fewer carbs and avoid white-flour, sugar and other refined carbs, your body burns those stored carbs, causing you to loose weight.
There are 4 phases with it:
- Phase 1: Induction – 2 week jump-start period. You consume only 20g of net carbs a day (carbs minus fiber). You get 406 ox of protein per meal, natural fats like olive oil and avocado, 12-15g of net carbs in leafy greens/non-starchy vegetables, 304 oz of cheese daily,1-2 Atkins bars/shakes per day, diet beverages with non-caloric sweeteners and even sugar free gelatin. You loose weight as you are cutting out processed/refined foods!
- Phase 2: Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) – carbs get increased to 25g a day, increasing 5g at a time, as long as weight loss continues, you get to add nuts and seeds, more dairy products and some beans. At this point you should be able to ascertain what your personal carbohydrate threshold for loosing weight is. When you suddenly stop loosing weight, after gaining carbs daily, you’ve found your threshold!
- Phase 3: Pre-Maintenance – almost to your goal weight, you now increase your cab intake by 10g not 5g, you get to add some starchy vegetables, and you find what your ultimate carb intake should be to stay at a healthy weight.
- Phase 4: Lifetime Maintenance- you keep up where you were at the end of pre-maintenance to keep from gaining weight back.
I received 3 samples:
- Chocolate Oatmeal Fiber Bar- Daybreak (all phases) bar-6g of protein, 1g of sugar, 7g carbs, 130 cal and 5g of fat- YUMMIEST of the 3 I think.
- Chocolate Caramel Mouse Bar-Endulge bar (phases 2-4 only)
- Almond Sweet n Crunchy Bar-Advantage Bar (all phases)
I have to admit I have tried Atkins bars before and their similarity to cardboard was pretty close to how I’d describe them. They are VASTLY improved I am happy to say! They are filling and satisfy any sweet craving you might be having!I don’t know whether they would really make a meal replacement bar, without having some sort of mid-morning snack (based on 6-7 hours between meals) but as a on the go substitute now and then, I could definitely live with them!
The Atkins plan has many online tools to help you follow their plan. Check them out here.
This plan isn’t for everyone. But if you work some of their ideas into a healthy eating plan (i.e. fiber rich bars and shakes that are low calorie/low sugar) like the Mayo one, you could find yourself loosing weight pretty quickly!
Disclosure: I received a free sample from Atkins, the same that anyone visiting their website could have obtained. My views on their plan are just that, my personal views and not based on any study. your views may be different. Welcome to being human!
