Brenda Nolen

I have a basic FAQ written, that may help answer some questions. If I do not address your specific concern, please email me. I will answer you as quickly as I can and post any questions/answers on the FAQ page.

I’m sure there is a lot of confusion out there since, to my surprise, EVERYONE is jumping on the NET carbohydrate bandwagon. Also, I’ve heard (I don’t go to their website) that Atkins has introduced a “new and improved” version of this way of eating, by starting you out with 40 grams of net carbohydrates per day. Let’s do a little math with the cookie I discussed two paragraphs down. So, if you are now allowed (during your first week) to eat 40 grams of net carbohydrates per day, that’s roughly 7 of those cookies (7 grams of net carb) FOR A TOTAL OF 119 TOTAL CARBOHYDRATES IN ONE DAY! I would ask “What are they thinking?” but I already know the answer to that. Money.

Atkins Nutritionals’ sales started dropping, so they needed to change things up a bit so people don’t feel so deprived. I get it. To me, this is a reflection of our society. Someone doesn’t like giving up everything they are used to eating? O.k. Go ahead and eat it. Does it make you feel fat to see you are wearing a size 16 pant? O.k. We’ll just change it so you think you are wearing a size 14 (they really did do this … these size 14 pants I’m so proud to be in would have been considered a size 16 years ago). We need to take responsibility for what we have done to our bodies! So, without further ado, for the first week of 1972 Atkins, you are virtually dropping down to zero carbohydrates. Salads are included for a bit of fiber and to add variety and you take vitamins to compensate for any lack you will experience. To support this statement, here it is in the words of Dr. Atkins himself:

Not Sixty Grams of Carbohydrates On The Diet But Zero Grams. Here’s how the diet is significantly different. During the first week on this diet, you cut your intake of carbohydrates down to what is biologically zero.
This creates a unique chemical situation in the body, the one favorable to the fastest possible burning of your body’s stored fat. Ketones are excreted, and hunger disappears.
You see, the first fuel your body burns for energy comes from the carbohydrates you eat and drink. If any carbohydrate is available, your body burns this rather than stored fat–and maintains its old metabolic pathways. But carbohydrates, as such, are not stored in the body beyond forty-eight hours.
So when no carbohydrate is taken in, your body must draw upon the major reserve source of fuel–the stored fat.
It is forced to take a different metabolic pathway. In this process your body converts from being a carbohydrate-burning engine into being a fat-burning engine.
This is the diet revolution: the new chemical situation in which ketones are being thrown off–and so are those unwanted pounds, all without hunger. — “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution” (1972), page 13

The Diet Revolution Rules (from “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution” (1972), page 138)

1. Don’t count calories!
2. Eat as much of the allowed foods (listed below) as you need to avoid hunger.
3. Don’t eat when you are not hungry.
4. Don’t feel you must finish everything on your plate just because it’s there.
5. Drink as much water or calorie-free beverages as thirst requires. Don’t restrict fluids … but it is not necessary to force them either.
6. Frequent small meals are preferable.
7. If weakness results from rapid weight loss, you may need salt.
8. Every day take a high-strength multi-vitamin pill.
9. Read the labels on “low-calorie” drinks, syrups, desserts. Only those with no carbohydrate content are allowed.

The premise is simple.  The first thing you need to do is “shock” your body into burning your stored fat instead of carbohydrates consumed.  Then, slowly (5 grams of carbs per week) add carbohydrates back into your diet until you reach the point where you are not losing weight any longer, not gaining weight and not craving the carbohydrates we used to eat.  That’s it! In the original 1972 book, he called these levels.
So, how do you know hen your body is burning your stored fat instead of carbohydrates?  In both the 1972 and 1992 books, Dr. Atkins recommends using KetoStix (even Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding” suggested using KetoStix to control ketosis).  For some reason, this has changed.  In my conspiracy-laden mind, I think it’s because the powers that be KNOW the new guidelines are not low enough in carbohydrates to bring on full-blown ketosis.  Then again, that is my conspiracy-laden mind! Also, Dr. Atkins originally counted carbohydrates as carbohydrates … period.  There were no net carbohydrates listed anywhere in his 1972 book.  I agree with this.  The perfect example was some sugar-free cookies I saw, made with Splenda.  Total carbohydrate count: 17 (net carbs were 7)! No one can tell me that would not affect your blood sugar!
My goal is to bring Atkins back to the basics.  To bring back what worked for 30 years.  To share with all of you how to adjust, deal with, and maintain your sanity while lowering your carbohydrate intake lower than you ever imagined. Not only will I be sharing my personal Atkins journey, I will be sharing recipes that can be eaten during level 1, the most restrictive level within Atkins.
Below is the list of foods, listed in the 1972 edition of “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution”, for those on level 1:
Allowed Foods
Meat
Steaks, Corned Beef, Lamb Chops, Tongue, Hamburgers, Bacon, Any Kind of meat in any quantity ~ except meat with fillers such as sausage, hot dogs, meatballs, most packaged “cold cuts.” *Brenda’s note: watch ham and bacon. Many today have added sugar (so carbs).*
Fowl
Duckling, Turkey, Chicken, Anything with wings ~ No Stuffing
Fish
All Fish, including canned salmon, tuna; any kind of seafood, including oil-packed and smoked, except oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, and pickled fish *Brenda’s note: Watch smoked fish, also. One brand of smoked canned herring has sugar, another does not.
Eggs
Boiled, fried, scrambled, poached, omelet ~ any style and with no limitations
Condiments
Salt, pepper, mustard, horseradish, vinegar, vanilla, and other extracts; artificial sweeteners; any dry powdered spice that contains no sugar.
Drinks
Water, mineral water, club soda, beef or chicken broth, bouillon; sugar-free soda (make sure the label reads no carbohydrates … Zevia brand soda has carbohydrates); coffee, tea, decaffeinated coffee * Special note on caffeine: Because most heavy people have some hypoglycemia, coffee, which contains caffeine, should be limited to six servings a day (cups). If you know you have low blood sugar, better limit it to three.
Butter, Mayonnaise, Fats
Butter, oils, lard, mayonnaise, coconut oil (make sure there are no carbohydrates.  Some mayonnaise/mayonnaise blends contain a sweetener) Dr. Atkins also listed margarine and shortening.  I will only list shortening if you know what it really is made of. While I am not the healthiest eater on earth, I refuse to ingest margarine, canola oil, or “vegetable oil.”
Juice
Juice of one lemon or lime.
Cheese
Four ounces a day of any hard, aged cheese. No cream cheese or cheese spreads.
Heavy Cream
Four teaspoons a day. Cream has less carbohydrates than milk (especially non-fat milk) – so don’t use milk.
Desserts
Sugar-Free Jello (with whipped cream sweetened with an artificial sweetener)
Salads
Two small green salads a day (each less than one cupful, loosely packed) made only of leafy greens, celery, or cucumbers and radishes.  Dressings with vinegar, oil, salt, dry spices, herbs, grated cheese, or anchovies. Or else a sour pickle in place of a salad.

Salad Material:

Celery, Chicory, Chinese Cabbage, Chives, Cucumber, Endive, Escarole, Fennel, Lettuce, Olives (Green or Black), Green Onions (or Scallions), Pickles (Sour or Dill), Parsley, Green Bell Peppers, Radishes,  and Watercress.

 Salad Garnishes (examples):

Crumbled Crisp Bacon, Crumbled Pork Rinds (Plain or Hot and Spicy.  NOT Barbecue, which contains carbohydrates), Grated Cheese, Minced Hard-Boiled Egg

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Prohibited Foods List

As many times as I’ve read this book, I completely forgot there is a list of  prohibited foods.

• Bananas
• Beans (except Green or Wax)
• Bread
• Cake
• Candy
• Cashews
• Cereal
• Chewing Gum
• Cookies
• Corn
• Cornstarch
• Crackers
• Dates
• Figs
• Flour
• Fruit, Dried
• Honey
• Ice Cream
• Jam
• Catsup
• Macaroni
• Milk
• Pancakes
• Peas
• Pickles, Sweet
• Potatoes, White
• Potatoes, Sweet
• Raisins
• Relish, Sweet
• Rice
• Spaghetti
• Sugar
• Syrup
• Yams
• Yogurt, Sweetened

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Here is a 7-day menu from “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution” (1972), page 163.  I can’t guarantee I have all the recipes listed in this menu (will link to those as I add them) but this should give you an idea of something to eat.  Just remember: eat as much of the Allowed Foods above as you want (unless there is a restriction noted).  Your appetite WILL lessen over time (once your body gets accustomed to the lower carbohydrate amounts). Keep in mind that this menu (and the recipes listed) was written in 1972 and is a suggestion only. It is included just to give you an idea of what to eat. Please, get the book and read it. There are examples from Dr. Atkins’ patients that shows how varied their eating habits were (and he allowed it). Some patients ate all day and some only ate a meal or two. He never prohibited his patients from adjusting how they ate as long as they were eating on plan.
Day 1
Breakfast
Scrambled Eggs with Spicy Ham (watch out for added sugars in ham)
Diet Revolution Roll and butter
Bouillon, coffee, or tea
Lunch
Cold cuts sandwich on Diet Revolution Roll with mayonnaise or mustard
1 cup of salad (loosely packed), oil and vinegar or a dressing from the recipe list
Raspberry gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Dinner
Chicken soup with Matzoh Balls
Your favorite cut of steak
Caesar Salad with Caesar Salad Dressing
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Snack
Baken-ets (pork rinds)
Stuffed Celery (basically celery with cream cheese)
Diet soda
Day 2
Breakfast
Eggs Benedict (poached egg) with Hollandaise Sauce on Diet Revolution Buttered Roll, cut in half
Bouillon, coffee, or tea
Lunch
Chicken Salad with mayonnaise and celery
Deviled Eggs Curry
1 cup of tossed green salad, oil and vinegar or a dressing from the recipe list
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Dinner
Beef broth with Noodles
Assorted seafood grilled with Lemon Butter Sauce
1 cup of lightly tossed salad, including green pepper, radishes, and celery
Roquefort Dressing #2
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Snack
Mixed cold cuts with mustard
Diet Revolution Roll
Diet soda
Day 3
Breakfast
Cheese omelet with bacon
Diet Revolution Roll with butter
Bouillon, coffee, or tea
Lunch
Deviled Ham stuffed into Ham and Cheese Rolls (cheese rolls are slices of cheese and ham rolled up together)
1 cup Romaine lettuce with Caesar Salad Dressing
Diet Revolution Roll and butter
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Coffee, tea, or diet soda
Dinner
Stuffed celery with Gorgonzola
London Broil in natural gravy or Diet Revolution Roll
Endive and parsley salad, with oil and vinegar dressing or a dressing from the recipe list
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee or tea
Snack
Baken-ets (pork rinds) with tuna salad
Diet soda
Day 4
Breakfast
Austrian Souffle served with breakfast sausage
Diet Revolution Roll and butter
Bouillon, coffee, or tea
Lunch
Bacon Cheeseburger on Diet Revolution Roll
Green salad with oil and vinegar or a dressing from the recipe list
Gelatin (any sugar free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Dinner
Egg Drop Soup (boil chicken broth and slowly drizzle a beaten egg into the broth)
Scampi
Caesar Salad with Caesar Salad Dressing
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Snack
Ham and Cheese Rolls stuffed with deviled chicken
Baken-ets (pork rinds)
Diet soda
Day 5
Breakfast
Soft-boiled eggs with bacon crumbled in them
Diet Revolution Roll
Bouillon, coffee, or tea
Lunch
Stuffed Lettuce (salad rolled up with tuna or egg salad) with hard-cooked eggs
Sliced green peppers, radishes, cucumber, and celery (about 1 cup, loosely packed)
Roquefort Dressing #2
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Dinner
Antipasto (salami, green pepper, anchovies, prosciutto with oil, vinegar, and herbs)
Veal breaded in Diet Revolution Roll bread crumbs and fried
Lemon Butter sauce
Tossed green salad with Roquefort Dressing #2
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Snack
Bacon and Cheese Balls (cheese and mayonnaise mixed together, shaped into balls, then rolled in chopped up cooked bacon)
Diet soda
Day 6
Breakfast
Delicatessen omelet with mustard
Diet Revolution Roll with butter
Bouillon, coffee, or tea
Lunch
Salmon salad on roll with melted cheese on top
Green pepper rings
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Dinner
Chicken Dijon
Hears of lettuce salad with Roquefort Dressing #2
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Snack
Hard cheese and Baken-ets (pork rinds)
Diet soda
Day 7
Breakfast
Poached eggs with Canadian bacon
Diet Revolution Roll with butter
Bouillon, coffee, or tea
Lunch
Hamburger Fondue (basically meatballs rolled in butter and baked on a cookie sheet)
1 cup Romaine lettuce with Caesar Salad Dressing
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Dinner
Shrimp Cocktail with Roquefort Dressing #2
Boiled lobster with melted butter sauce
Mixed vegetable salad with dressing from the recipe list
Gelatin (any sugar-free gelatin)
Diet soda, coffee, or tea
Snack
Chicken Broth with noodles
Green pepper stuffed with your favorite fish salad