You've taken the first step. Be mindful that this is a journey that does not end. This is a lifestyle change. You will falter. You may even hold up for a while. If you persist you will achieve your goals. Only by quitting do you fail. Personally, I have had great luck with a modified Atkins diet. For the first 3 months - no carbs - seriously. That means no bread, rice, potatoes, corn, cauliflower etc. Cut back on your sugar intake. Also no fizzy drinks - that means beer too. Sorry. Drink lots of water. It may seem severe but after 3 months you can start introducing things back in your diet. In moderation, though. Use smaller plates - like 8 or 10" instead of 12". Dieting is a bit of a head-game. Portion control is essential as well. Eat more slowly. Chew your food twice as long. You honestly don't need all the food that we typically put on our collective plates. Shopping advice - stay away from the inner aisles in the grocery store. The outer aisles are your friends. Meat, fish, produce etc. Not canned. Not manufactured food. Restaurant advice - Lots of restaurants have "tapas" or small plates. Eat from those or off the appetizer menus. When you order an entre, there's usually enough food to feed 2 or 3 people. I read this book and used it for reference when planning meals. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439190275/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Nuff said. Best of luck.
If you get one of the recent Atkins books, that's exactly what they do. I got this one but there was a lot of measuring and I switched to a simpler keto way of eating when I discovered /r/keto.
/u/bidnow got it right on.
If you are going to get an Atkins book, get this one:
http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275
Highly recommended. Read (and watch) anything you can by those authors (Westman, Phinney, and Volek).
However, don't touch the Atkins-branded food. It's just "fake version of carb food x" when you should be preparing real food from now on. Animal fats, eggs, real cheese, fresh green veggies, coconut oil, avocados, etc.
Yeah. Sounds like you're off to a good start. Like blue mentioned, people don't get overly concerned with going over that magical 20 number so long as it's non-starch veggies. Basically anything green. I end up having to force myself to get enough carbs in a day, so something mildly carb heavy like green beans or tomatoes are fine for me.
I would recommend tracking everything you eat with myfitnesspal and reading "A New Atkins for a New You."
Doing these 2 things helped me discover that eating upwards of 30-35 net carbs a day keeps me losing same as zero carbs would, and the book has lots of veggie suggestions and other tips and tricks of the trade.
This is a YMMV topic. Some sources such as Eric Westmans New Atkins for you it is stated that sugar alcohols can be discounted like fiber from the total carb content. But! may still cause an insulin reaction or act as a laxative.
Keto is much like the Induction phase of Atkins. The new Atkins book recommends 1 or 2 cups of beef or chicken broth (not low salt) to replace salt lost on the very low carb Induction phase. This is to counter the lack of energy which can occur then. It worked for me. I still drink this from time to time. For me, the beef is more flavorful than the chicken, but YMMV.
Others will have to comment on your workouts and your meds. Along with Sgt. Schultz, "I see nothing. I know nothing."
Old atkins is not the same however Dr. Phinney, Dr. Volek and Dr. Westman actually authored New Atkins, New You. Very much Keto based.
Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner!
In the beginning, I didn’t completely understand it all yet either, and still don’t – not like a nutritional scientist would. I consider myself a newbie. I hadn’t even heard of the ketogenic diet before last summer! I understand it enough to do it, and that’s enough, so don’t feel you have to have total knowledge and understanding to succeed because you don’t.
That said, you do need to know a few things, so start by thoroughly reading the Reddit "Keto for Beginners" and "FAQ." After that, I listened to Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Steve Phinney’s lectures on YouTube (recommended by someone on this subreddit), and I read their book, too (you can get a used copy on Amazon for one dollar). I listen to Dr. Annette Bosworth on YouTube and highly recommend her book, “Any Way You Can.”
Use a keto calculator to calculate your macros. I set myself at a 20% deficit, so my macros are 1090 calories, 18g carbs, 70g protein and 82g fat. (My protein is over 60g because I lift weights). I stick to my macros every day, although I’ve gone over on fat calories, like 200-300, when I’ve eaten too many nuts (which I’ve done several times and I still lost weight).
The other thing that works for me is tracking my macros using the MyFitnessPal app. Tracking helps me face myself and think about what I’m actually consuming every day. Before keto, I didn’t want to deal with what I was doing to my body, so I tried to ignore what I was eating (self-deceiving avoidance behavior). I’m not doing that anymore. I’m holding myself accountable now and taking full responsibility for my health behaviors. For me, that means knowing exactly what nutrients I’m getting in my food, and that knowledge is power. Studying nutritional ketosis is definitely empowering!
My advice is to buy a digital kitchen scale and use it. There are inexpensive food scales on Amazon (Etekcity, Escali, Ozeri, Azeus, Koios, etc.). You’ll always know exactly how many grams of carbs you’ve consumed if you weigh your food and then record the data in the app. Although it takes time, it’s easy to do, and when you watch the pounds just fall off, you’ll quickly see it’s well worth the extra effort. Weighing my food keeps me confident and assured that I’ll reach my goal weight.
The amazing thing about being in ketosis is my cravings for sweets is gone, and I feel full and satisfied eating lots of healthy fat, something that didn't happen when I was on a low-fat diet.
Anyhow, I hope this helps, and please feel free to ask more questions, if you have any :-)
Two points for those that come along later (1) Atkins wasn't keto, his 2-week long (or longer) induction phase resmbles it and (2) he did not die of a heart attack but some plaque was found in his arteries on autopsy make of that what you will.
The New Atkins Diet is more in line with Keto/LCHF as it was written by three big names in LCHF circles, Phinney, Volek and Westman.
Atkins induction phase 1
https://www.atkins.com/how-it-works/atkins-20/phase-1/low-carb-foods
new Atkins
https://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275
The book : New Atkins New You.
http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275
I've read New Atkins and I agree it's an improvement on the original.
IIRC, the new Atkins book also recommends broth. I find the beef more palatable. Since you're doing it for the salt, etc., don't get the low sodium versions.
You can also add fat to your diet. But be careful on adding carbs.
Check out The New Atkins For the New You, in particular the phases following Induction. Induction is quite similar to keto, but in the OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) and Pre-Maintenance phases, you gradually add carbs to your diet, one selection at a time, seeing if you can handle that one (and that amount) and still loose weight. If not, back off, wait a week, and try another carb. While your weight loss may slow during OWL, it shouldn't stall.
Then in Pre-Maintenance, you gradually reach your carb limit, also knowing how much of what carbs your body can handle. So in the Maintenance (final - lifetime) phase, you have a variety of carbs to draw on for a varied diet and you know how much you can have total. Further, if you start to gain weight (again), you know what to do about it.
You may not remain in ketosis while in Pre-Maint and Maint phases. There are other advantages to being in ketosis, particularly for high intensity athletics (not that I'm anywhere near that). See The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living for more on this than I can put here.
Although not quite keto, Atkins is not entirely dissimilar. Atkins Induction is pretty much like keto.
After Induction, you're in OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) where you gradually increase the carbs, a week at a time (5g per day, level within each week). At the end of the week, another weigh-in. If you're continuing to loose weight, OK for that week. Increase your carbs by 5g and that's what you have each day the following week. If you haven't lost weight, either (a) you're eating too much carbohydrate or (b) that new carb is bad for you. Back off to the week prior to the week in which you failed to loose weight (or shudder even gained weight).
As you approach your weight goal, you transition to Pre-Maintenance. IIRC, the carb increases slow down as you asymptotically approach your weight goal. You are looking for your ACE (Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibrium), the carb level at which you are neither gaining nor loosing weight.
Finally, in Maintenance, you know how much carbs to eat each day and which ones to avoid. At this point, you are probably no longer in ketosis, although that's not a sure thing. You are still on a lower carb diet than a Sumo wrestler. (grin)
Going to maintenance in keto doesn't mean increasing carbs so much as increasing fat, since you're no longer relying on your stored fat for daily energy. During keto you still eat "salad" veggies and can gradually increase the type of veggies you eat, such as berries, nuts, and some fruits, in limited quantities. Keto doesn't have as formal a progression from the initial diet to the eventual diet, certainly not to the extent that Atkins does. OTOH, The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living by Phinney and Volek is fairly complete in its recommendations.
The New Atkins For a New You has some advice for both vegetarians and vegans. Both must balance plant proteins to get a balance of essential amino acids and ovo-lacto vegetarians will have an easier time getting sufficient protein.
My brother-in-law is a Pisca vegetarian (fish and seafood) and while fish is generally more expensive than beef and chicken, it's an excellent source of protein as well as Omega-3 fatty acids.
You might also look at Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipies in the side bar; there's also a recipe for a one minute muffin in the discussion over at Livin' La Vida Low-Carb.
It's an illustration of what I lost/gained :) New Atkins diet is basically no carbs Paleo style diet. Meat, Eggs, cream, nuts, cucumbers, salads, green peppers etc. And lot of coffee :D (it helps to burn down the fat)
http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275
http://charm.cs.uiuc.edu/users/jyelon/lowcarb.med/
Look, you can choose to be completely fucking ignorant if you want. Low carb diets are consistently the most efficient and healthy ways to lose weight.
Also, it's possible for a journalist to use research done by scientists to come to conclusions. I suggest you read it before pretending like you know something.
EDIT:
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-saturated-fat-review-article-by-dr.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akz9B-zMS-4
http://www.crossfitoakland.com/archives/2010/04/free-cfj-video-lecture-series
http://www.nutritionjrnl.com/article/PIIS0899900710002893/fulltext
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-saturated-fat-review-article-by-dr.html
I'm sure you're going to find reasons to reject all that information too, won't you?