How To Stay On Track On The Atkins Diet?
As with any diet plan, sticking to the Atkins plan can be difficult at times. Here are some essential tips to sticking to the plan, some of which apply to any diet and some which are specific to the Atkins diet.
First off, prepare to be on the diet in advance. Clear the items out of your pantry and refrigerator that don’t fit in to the low-carb diet’s plan. Give your pasta, white flour and other high-carb foods away, or throw them in the trash. If they aren’t in the house, you won’t be tempted to eat them, even in small quantities.
After you get rid of all your “bad” foods, makes sure you go re-stock your home with the foods that are on the plan. Not only will you not be tempted to eat foods that aren’t on the plan, but having all the approved foods available will make it that much easier to plan and prepare meals that will be part of your diet.
The key to sticking to any diet is enjoying the foods you eat, and having all the materials around to prepare tasty foods that are Atkins friendly will be invaluable.
Next, keep snacks handy. If you are going to be away from home during the day, either at work or somewhere else, prepare snacks in advance to take with you. Fresh vegetables, cut and put in plastic bags are good snacks.
Cheese and a few hard-boiled eggs also make good snacks that are not only approved on the diet but are easy to take with. There are also a variety of low-carb snack bars available that fit easily in a pocket, purse or briefcase. Some of those bars are sold under the Atkins brand(Atkins Advantage bars), but there are others that are also acceptable on the plan.
One often overlooked tip is to make sure you use vitamin supplements. Even a mild deficiency of some vitamins can make you feel tired, a feeling some people attribute to the diet as a whole. Those people often quit the diet to avoid feeling tired when taking a single vitamin pill each day would prevent feeling so tired.
Diet with a family member or a friend. Having the support of someone close to you makes any diet easier. If that person is someone living with you (such as a spouse) it becomes even easier to stick to the plan.
If that person doesn’t need to lose weight, they can still help by eating from the maintenance phase while you are in either the induction or the weight-loss phases.
Lastly, if you dine out, make sure you ask to have meals altered so they are Atkins friendly. Ask to have bread and potatoes substituted with vegetables, or at the very least simply left off of your plate. Don’t be embarrassed to ask to have items changed or substituted. Not having the temptation right in front of you will make it that much easier not to eat the foods you are supposed to be avoiding.
