New policies re: veggies and fiber?

[Finelly]

A friend of mine in NYC just emailed me that she read an article (which I cannot find, otherwise I'd post it in here) that says that Atkins nutritionists are:

1. Veering away from the 2-3 cups of veggies rule in induction and saying you can have as much as you want as long as you are 20 grams or less.

2. Saying that you should be getting 24 grams of fiber each day.

So I just looked at my Fit Day. Do you know how many veggies I'd have to eat, plus flax, to get to 24 grams of fiber? A TON

Any of the mods have any info on this? I know it's not in the book. I know that Atkins wrote the book and the Atkins nutritionalists are not Dr. Atkins. But I'm interested in your thoughts.

[Piasabird]

Well, I don't know about what the mods will say, but I say phooey! :tounge

I'm going to stick with the book that was written by Dr. Atkins himself. I'll swallow psyllium capsules for my fiber.

[FightingTheFight]

I agree, I don't trust anything that is coming out of that place. Plus that advice they are giving sounds just like the plan that Curves and some other "popular" low carb plans do...I think they are trying to adapt to keep their head above water.

[BreakfastSurreal]

they could be just swaying to the masses to appease more people..I'm sure if you stay under 20g carbs you will still lose weight, but that isn't really the plan as Dr. Atkin's laid it out...

[matawguro]

I didn't find anything on Atkins.com about any revisions.

In the past, there have ben a number of articles published in well-known and respected publications about Atkins Nutritionals making revisions to the Atkins Nutritional Approach, all of which have been denied by Atkins Nutritionals. Among which are:

1. that AN advises that people eat less fat and red meat.

2. that AN is replacing the net carbs system with the Glycemic Index.

[Iapetus999]

I say stick with DANDR '02 PLUS the stickies on this web site.

I also want people to understand that even Dr. Atkins admitted his plan wasn't perfect. Someday there will be a better plan.




NOT!!! :icondance

[not2late]

Re: New policies re: veggies and fiber?

A friend of mine in NYC just emailed me that she read an article (which I cannot find, otherwise I'd post it in here) that says that Atkins nutritionists are:

1. Veering away from the 2-3 cups of veggies rule in induction and saying you can have as much as you want as long as you are 20 grams or less.

2. Saying that you should be getting 24 grams of fiber each day.

So I just looked at my Fit Day. Do you know how many veggies I'd have to eat, plus flax, to get to 24 grams of fiber? A TON

Any of the mods have any info on this? I know it's not in the book. I know that Atkins wrote the book and the Atkins nutritionalists are not Dr. Atkins. But I'm interested in your thoughts.

I haven't read about these new changes, but it won't surprize me at all.

On the one hand, the "eat as much veg as you can but stay under 20 net carbs daily" advice makes sense, if the only vegetables on the Induction Acceptable Foods list were the lettuces and spinach.. Fortunately, there are more veggie choices and depending on how you plan your menu, it's easy to get nearly 20 grams of fiber daily, simply by eating the higher fiber veggies on the list. This is why I think they screwed up big time when they put tomatoes on the "salad" list in ATkins Essentials. Tomatoes have a higher glycemic index (because it's really a fruit) and a higher carb level. Moreover it's one of the veggies that Dr. Atkins said you might have to drop from your Induction diet due to its glycemic index.

So, this new rule is most likely directed towards the lettuce eaters (or towards the people who think the only veggie allowed on Atkins is lettuce). While it might be good for their carb level, it doesn't teach them much about portion control if they are conditioned to believe that a "serving" of veggies is a salad the size of Mt. Everest.

But anyhow, veggies are important to your overall health. I truly believe if you eat the 3 cups (and not limit yourself to 3 cups of iceberg lettuce) and continue eating a minimium of 3 cups for the rest of your life (along with the 5 to 10 net carbs from your OWL or Pre-Maintainence Rung 1), you'll be healthier overall.

[Finelly]

Ok, sticking to the Book, how much fiber am I supposed to be consuming daily?

[not2late]

Ok, sticking to the Book, how much fiber am I supposed to be consuming daily?

If I'm not mistaken the USDA guidelines are 25 grams daily.

[allierw26]

Ok, sticking to the Book, how much fiber am I supposed to be consuming daily?

I was wondering this too. My romaine lettuce only has about 2g fiber per cup. I understand that it's not all about lettuce, but you're still limited to 3 cups of veggies a day. Are there any on the list that will give you 25g of fiber total? I think with my fiber pills, I probably get about 10g-15g a day.

[Finelly]

Ok, then, what are some of the higher fiber veggies? (lent my book to a neighbor, so I can't consult it, sorry!)

[2big4mysize]

the acceptable veggies are posted with the rules of induction in the FAQ and induction forum stickies ifyou don't have your book handly

jicma is a high fiber vegie as is broccoli. most cooked greens like spinach and turnips are higher then lettuse about double for the same size serving.
During induction Dr Atkins strongly suggests you take fiber supplements as he talks about in your DANDR in the topic on fiber. Once you hit OWL you should have no trouble hiting the higher fiber levles with the more induction veggies, nuts seeds, berries, and beans of the first 6 rungs.

Flax meal is a wonderful way for inductees to get their fiber with about .78 net carbs for 2T and over 3 grams of fiber.

[Finelly]

Yesterday I had 5 tablespoons of flax, a cup of turnips, 2 cups of spinach, and didn't get close to 25 grams of fiber according to Fitday.....

[not2late]

Ok, then, what are some of the higher fiber veggies? (lent my book to a neighbor, so I can't consult it, sorry!)

Here's the link to the USDA Nutrient Database website

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

You can look up almost any food here and find it's fiber content.

[not2late]

Yesterday I had 5 tablespoons of flax, a cup of turnips, 2 cups of spinach, and didn't get close to 25 grams of fiber according to Fitday.....

1 cup cubed turnips has about 2 grams of fiber per USDA.
1 cup of jicama has 5.9.
1 medium artichoke has 5.9
1 cup chopped broccoli has 2.3
1 cup chopped kale has 1.3 grams

So you can see a wide variance in the fiber content of different veggies.