Atkins Diet Guide

Even though lab tests show thyroid as normal, you may have thyroid problems. I’d suggest you do the Barnes basal temperature test. My lab test always come up "normal" even though I had severe hypothyroid symptoms.

I’ve been doing Atkins for 6 years. I lost 50# quickly & then was stuck for years, when I started thyroid treatment with Armour, I started losing 30# year without trying. I had given up on losing weight & my carb levels were low enough to keep me from gaining weight but I couldn’t imagine losing weight on such high levels, but I did.

I highly recommend Atkins for the health benefits alone, losing weight is just a nice side bonus. It’s the only way I know to keep my appetite under control. I am disabled & can barely move. I don’t mind not losing weight, I just couldn’t deal with gaining weight.

The Barnes basal temperature test is a simple, do-it-yourself test that you can do at home. It is accurate and requires nothing more than an oral thermometer. Here’s what you do:

At bedtime shake down a mercury thermometer to 94 degrees Fahrenheit and place it on the nightstand, within easy reach. Do not use a digital thermometer for taking your temperature because they are not as accurate. When you wake up in the morning, make sure you stay in bed quietly and take the thermometer and place it securely under your armpit. (The most accurate way of checking the body’s metabolic rate is with the axillary (meaning under the arm) temperature.) Hold it in place for 10 minutes and then write down what the thermometer reads. During the 10 minutes you’re waiting, take your pulse for one full minute and record what this result is also.

Do this exact procedure each morning for several weeks. Make sure you do not get up to go to the bathroom or anything else. It must be done before you have any activity. You must be in bed for a minimum of two hours before reading your temperature and the reading will not be accurate if you move around or get up. Do not use an electric blanket or other electrical devices in your bed. Do not sleep on a waterbed to perform this test. A waterbed will elevate your temperature artificially.

It has also been found that a woman’s body temperature varies with the different phases of her menstrual cycle. The second and third days of her menstrual cycle are when the most accurate/reliable temperature can be found. Therefore, it is recommended that you make note on your records with red pen on the days you were menstruating and make sure you perform your test during this week.

If your basal temperature consistently runs below 97.8 or your pulse runs below 65, you may have hypothyroidism. Take your results to a competent health care provider who is knowledgeable with the Barnes basal technique and discuss your findings and treatment options with them. Once again, this won’t be your typical general practitioner. You’ll need to look for a doctor of environmental medicine, a doctor of orthomolecular medicine or a naturopathic doctor at the American Holistic Medical Association, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, American Holistic Health Association or http://www.orthomolecular.org.

Hypothyroidism treatment with a natural thyroid preparation, available only from your physician, rather than a synthetic drug is the best treatment for most people with hypothyroidism

Have you tried counting calories? The food content of all those diets does not matter if you are still consuming too many calories. First just count them every day for a week. If you are not losing 1-2 lbs a week then decrease your daily intake by 500 calories. If you gained weight, decrease your daily intake by 1000 calories. Do a consistent daily calorie count for a whole week and see if you lose weight. If you are still not losing weight, then decrease your intake by another 250 calories per day – keeping intake steady for a whole week – until you see change. There is an equation that if the caloric input is less than the output, you will lose weight. There is no way around this equation, it is a fact of physics. You lost 50 lbs once and know it is possible. You CAN do it.

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