Atkins Fat Fast – Breaking A Low Carb Weight Loss Stall

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Includes 17 Fat Fast Recipes

01/28/13 Recipes updated and modernized by Dana Carpender, now formatted for easy printing.


Fat Fast Cookbook by Dana Carpender Published by CarbSmart Press

Fat Fast Cookbook by Dana Carpender

Introducing CarbSmart’s Fat Fast Cookbook:

  • Are you having trouble losing weight, even on the Atkins Induction phase?
  • Have you lost weight successfully on low carb, but hit a plateau or started to regain weight even though you’re still following your low carb diet?
  • Are you looking for a way to add more healthy fat to your low carb diet?
  • Are you interested in jump-starting your weight loss the low carb way?

Learn more about CarbSmart’s Fat Fast Cookbook.

Life In The Low Carb Lane

A Fat Fast (also called the Atkins Fat Fast), as outlined by Dr. Atkins in Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, is a tool that low carbers who are metabolically resistant can use to get themselves quickly into ketosis. Ketosis means that our bodies are using stored fat for energy. The fat fast is also used by many low carbers (myself among them) to break a weight loss plateau or as a means of forcing themselves to get back on track when they have gone off-plan. I’ve included 17 quick fat fast recipes near the end of this article.

Simply put, an Atkins Fat Fast consists of a 3 or 5-day cycle in which you consume just 1,000 calories a day. 90% of those calories should come from fat. (a Fat Fast should not be extended beyond 5 days because it is deficient in protein.)

Dr. Atkins states that eating 4 or 5 mini-meals is better for getting our bodies into ketosis than eating one large meal while doing a Fat Fast. During a Fat Fast you may consume either four 250-calorie mini-meals or five 200-calorie mini-meals. Consuming these small meals frequently throughout the day actually works better than complete fasting.

Dr. Atkins mentions cream cheese and macadamia nuts as the “perfect” Fat Fast foods. Ten ounces of cream cheese would be an entire day’s food allotment; divide the cream cheese into five 2-ounce servings. You could also opt for 5 ounces of macadamia nuts split into five 1-ounce servings and consumed throughout the day.

That’s not a lot of food. I find that when I do a Fat Fast I think about food constantly. I don’t obsess about food because I get hungry (surprisingly, I do not get hungry), but simply because I can’t have any – at least not any that I really want. A Fat Fast makes regular strict low carbing look absolutely luxurious.

I’m going to be completely honest here: I hate, loathe, and detest doing a Fat Fast. I get very grumpy because I get frustrated. My family says that I don’t, but that just makes me think that they don’t notice the difference because maybe, just maybe, I’m a pretty grumpy person all the time. It’s either that or the kids are ignoring me in the same way they do when I tell them to clean their rooms or do their homework. Or perhaps they simply value their lives and know when to keep their mouths shut. The survival instinct is very strong in my brood.

(***Note: “But I was doing the Fat Fast!” is not a legitimate legal defense for mayhem or murder. I know this is true. I’ve checked.)

OK, I know what you want to ask me: “If a Fat Fast is so incredibly awful to get through, why do you do it, you stupid woman?!?” (Well, you might not say the “stupid woman” part because you are ever so polite, but I know you’re thinking it.)

Why? Because it works for me. If I am not in ketosis when I start a Fat Fast, I am when it’s over. If I am having cravings to beat the band and hanging on by the skin of my teeth, when the Fat Fast is over the cravings are G – O – N – E and I’m perfectly happy to go back to munching on chicken legs and salads. If I’ve hit a plateau and stopped losing weight, my weight loss is jump started.

I’ve done a Fat Fast a half a dozen times in the last three years, and each time I have lost between 5 and 8 pounds during the three-day cycle. After I go back to eating normal low carb, I gain 2 to 4 of those pounds back, but have always ended up with a net loss for the 3-day period of between 2 to 4 pounds. (Your experience may be different from mine. The only way to find out for sure is to try it.)

Of course, a lot of people don’t even consider doing a Fat Fast to get into ketosis or to break a stall because they can’t stand the idea of subsisting on plain cream cheese and/or macadamia nuts for 3 days. I don’t know about you, but I would be more likely to be able to cut off my big toe with a dull paring knife than I would be able to gag down 10 ounces of plain cream cheese. My throat closes up at the very thought. And I don’t particularly like macadamia nuts, either.

Well, I don’t have to choke down plain cream cheese or eat macadamia nuts, thank goodness. You don’t, either. Dr. Atkins lists several alternatives in his chapter on a Fat Fast, and although caviar and avocados don’t appeal to me, you may very well like them.

I have also developed a list of alternative food choices for a Fat Fast, which I’ve listed below. Some of them don’t quite come up to the “90% of the calories from fat” parameter, but they come close enough and have worked for me.

Fat Fast Ideas And Recipes (Atkins Fat Fast Menu)

There is one further plus to a Fast Fast which I haven’t mentioned. There is very little food preparation involved. None of the ideas or recipes listed below will take you more than 5 minutes to prepare.

Fat Fast Coffee with Heavy Cream
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Serving size: 1 cup
  • Calories: 210
  • Fat: 22g (92.4% calories from fat)
  • Saturated fat: 0g
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 3g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 0g
  • Protein: 1g

I use this to jump start my day and prevent abuse of those near and sometimes dear to me. In the summer I make it the night before and put it in the refrigerator, then pour it over ice. You could also pour it into popsicle molds and freeze it for Coffee Fat Fasticles. Yum!
Ingredients
  • Coffee with Cream
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup coffee

Instructions
  1. Brew a cup of your favorite premium coffee
  2. Add heavy cream

 

4 Strips of Bacon
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Serving size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 146
  • Fat: 12g (78.2% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: trace
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 0g
  • Protein: 8g

You know it, you love it, why not just eat some bacon?
Ingredients
  • 4 slices cooked bacon

Instructions
  1. Make your bacon your favorite way – you don’t need to drain the fat.

 

Fat Fast Peanut Butter Cream Cheese
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Calories: 243
  • Fat: 23g (83.2% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 5g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 1g
  • Protein: 6g

If you like this one, make up several servings at one time and stick them into the refrigerator in custard cups for individual servings. That way you only have one cleanup.
Ingredients
  • 1 ounce cream cheese
  • 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 10 drops liquid sucralose — or sugar-free sweetener of choice to taste
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.

 

Fat Fast Cream Cheese Stuffed Celery
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Serving size: 1 celery rib
  • Calories: 204
  • Fat: 20g (85.5% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 3g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 1g
  • Protein: 5g

2 ounces of cream cheese stuffed in one large celery stalk. Make extra and keep covered in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
  • 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 large rib celery

Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.

 

Fat Fast Pork Rinds and Sour Cream
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Calories: 199 Calories
  • Fat: 16g (74.0% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 2g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 0g
  • Protein: 10g

½ ounce pork rinds with 2 ounces of sour cream.
Ingredients
  • ½ ounce pork rinds
  • 2 ounces sour cream

Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.

 

Pork Rinds With Sour Cream Dip
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Serving size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 223
  • Fat: 18g (72.7% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 3g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 0g
  • Protein: 13g

This is not my recipe – Judi (Island Girl) forwarded it to me.
Ingredients
  • ½ ounce pork rinds
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Instructions
  1. Blend parmesan into sour cream and use as dip for pork rinds.

 

Fat Fast Peanut Butter Stuffed Celery
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Calories: 191
  • Fat: 15g (69.4% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 8g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Protein: 7g

Make multiple servings and keep covered in a refrigerator. 2 tablespoons of sugar free peanut butter on an approximately 7½-inch stalk of celery.
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
  • 1 large rib celery

Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.

 

Fat Fast Flavored Whipped Cream
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Serving size: 1 Serving
  • Calories: 205
  • Fat: 22g (94.5% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 2g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 0g
  • Protein: 1g

Ingredients
  • ¼ cup heavy cream — whipped
  • sugar-free sweetener — to taste
  • vanilla — or other extract, to taste

Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.

 

Fat Fast Sour Cream Cukes
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Calories: 129
  • Fat: 12g (81.1% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 4g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: trace
  • Protein: 2g

Make multiple servings and keep covered in a refrigerator.
Ingredients
  • 2 ounces sour cream
  • ½ cup sliced cucumber

Instructions
  1. Slice cucumbers
  2. Add cream cheese

 

Fat Fast Tuna Salad
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Serving size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 234
  • Fat: 25g (90.4% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: trace
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: trace
  • Protein: 6g

Tuna or chicken salad with triple the usually amount of mayonnaise. I cook the bejeebers out of a whole chicken in the crockpot until the meat is literally falling off the bones, then shred the meat and save it for chicken salad or for soups. I strain the broth carefully (watch for small bones!) and freeze it. I will usually reuse the broth to cook more than one chicken, which results in a superb, flavorful extra-strength broth which is great to sip on if you’re sick.
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons canned tuna in oil — or minced chicken or canned chicken
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon celery — minced

Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.

 

Fat Fast Egg Yolk Dip
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Calories: 217
  • Fat: 22g (88.7% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 1g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 0g
  • Protein: 6g

Think of this as the filling for deviled eggs. Eat plain, or stuffed into celery or spread on a few rounds of cucumber.
Ingredients
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  • salt and pepper — to taste

Instructions
  1. Boil eggs, let cool, crack shells and separate yokes from egg whites.
  2. Mix yokes with mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.

 

Fat Fast Peanut Butter Pudding
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Serving size: 1 Serving
  • Calories: 92
  • Fat: 8g (81.7% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 2g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: trace
  • Protein: 2g

This thickens up magnificently, and can either be eaten “as is” or partially frozen, but don’t let it get rock hard unless you just want to suck on it. If you life this one, make up several servings at one time and stick them into the refrigerator in custard cups for individual servings. That way you only have one cleanup.
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons of sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon sugar free peanut butter
  • Splenda (to taste)

Instructions
  1. Combine all the ingredients.

 

Fat Fast Float
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Serving size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 205
  • Fat: 22g (94.5% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 2g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 0g
  • Protein: 1g

¼ cup heavy or whipping cream in a can of diet soda (any flavor)
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 12 fluid ounces diet soda — chilled

Instructions
  1. Ad ¼ cup heavy or whipping cream to a can of diet soda (any flavor).

 

Fat Fast Gelatin-Flavored Whipped Cream
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Serving size: 1 Serving
  • Calories: 246
  • Fat: 22g (87.8% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 2g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 0g
  • Protein: 5g

The purpose of this recipe is not to prepare the gelatin in the traditional way, the purpose is to flavor the Whipped Cream with the Gelatin mix.
Ingredients
  • ½ 4-serving package sugar-free gelatin
  • ½ cup sugar-free whipped cream (whipped before measuring)

Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.

Fat Fast Chocolate Whip
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 1
  • Serving size: 1 Serving
  • Calories: 209
  • Fat: 22g (92.3% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 3g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: 1g
  • Protein: 2g

If you life this one, make up several servings at one time and stick them into the refrigerator in custard cups for individual servings. That way you only have one cleanup.
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup heavy cream — whipped
  • 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • liquid sucralose — a few drops, to taste

Instructions
  1. Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.

 

Fat Fast Gelatin Whip
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 5
  • Serving size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 207
  • Fat: 21g (88.7% calories from fat)
  • Trans fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 2g
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Fiber: trace
  • Protein: 4g

This makes 5 servings, or all the you need for one day of the Fat Fast. Of course, you wouldn’t have to eat all 5 servings in one day. You could alternate them with other food choices.
Ingredients
  • 1 4-serving package sugar-free gelatin
  • ½ cup boiling water
  • 4 ice cubes
  • 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • 4 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions
  1. Dissolve the gelatin completely in the boiling water, then add the ice cubes to cool it down and to thicken it.
  2. When the ice cubes are melted, pour the gelatin mixture in the blender and add the cutup cream cheese. Whirl it around until the ingredients are completely blended. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl.
  3. Whip the four ounces of cream, then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.
  4. Divide the mixture into 5 equal portions, cover each with plastic wrap, and put them in the refrigerator to chill.

  1. Fat Fast Cream Cheese Jell-O Chunks(Someone sent me this idea, too, but I’ve misplaced their name).

    • 10 ounces cream cheese, cut into 20 equal squares (Not softened!)
    • 1 small packet sugar free Jell-O, any flavor

    Pour the dry gelatin powder into a small bowl or onto a salad plate. Set aside.

    Roll the 20 cream cheese squares into balls. Roll each ball in the dry gelatin mixture. Place the coated balls on a plate, cover them with plastic wrap, and put them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat them

    Each Fat Fast serving is 4 balls.

    Do you have any favorite Fat Fast tips, tricks or recipes? Please let us know below or email comments@CarbSmart.com.

    CarbSmart.com has set up partnerships with some of the best online stores to help you stay on your low carb lifestyle. The stores below are our most trusted partners and we know they will do a great job for you.

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    Further Reading:

    Atkins Fat Fast Really Is As Awesome As I Thought by Dana Carpender

    Can You Do The HCG Diet and Atkins Fat Fast At The Same Time? by Dana Carpender

    Update: Slow Burn Workout Goes Well On My Fat Fast by Dana Carpender

    Fat Fast Cookbook by Dana Carpender Published by CarbSmart Press

    Fat Fast Cookbook by Dana Carpender

    Introducing CarbSmart’s Fat Fast Cookbook:

    • Are you having trouble losing weight, even on the Atkins Induction phase?
    • Have you lost weight successfully on low carb, but hit a plateau or started to regain weight even though you’re still following your low carb diet?
    • Are you looking for a way to add more healthy fat to your low carb diet?
    • Are you interested in jump-starting your weight loss the low carb way?

    Learn more about CarbSmart’s Fat Fast Cookbook.

    Back to Life in the Low Carb Lane by Di Bauer – CarbSmart Magazine’s editor offers her view of low carbing and helpful tips to make low carbing easier and more productive.

    Back to CarbSmart Magazine – the online resources for hundreds of articles supporting the low carb dieter, diabetics and people reducing their sugar intake.



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Comments

  1. ARGO says:

    like the recipes.. good job..

  2. Zoe says:

    I have been on Atkins for 5 days now and haven’t lost 1 lb or anything yet!!! please help. This is what I normally eat
    Eggs and meat or meat and cheese
    2 cups of salad and 1 chicken leg
    meat and veg
    coffee no vream or sugar lots of water and gren tea
    I also exercise 3 times a day

    • Zoe says:

      I meant 3x’s a week :)

    • When you say “1 chicken leg” are you meaning a drumstick or a leg-and-thigh quarter?

      And are you adding butter, oil, etc to your food? Because a low carb diet should not be a high protein diet, it should be a high fat/moderate protein diet. I have done far better since I started limiting my protein to about 80-90 grams per day and getting 75-85% of my calories from fat. Jimmy Moore has written about this, too.

  3. Kim says:

    Dana, got your Fat Fast book and also downloaded and read Carbsmart magazine, LOVE THEM BOTH!!! Day 2 of my fat fast and so far so good. I thought I read somewhere that after 5 days on the fast you do 2 days of ?? Something and then resume low carb diet. What was the 2 days??

    • Jackie Eberstein, who was Dr. Atkins’ right hand for thirty years, says that when people have a lot of weight to lose and are badly metabolically resistant, she puts them on a rotation of five days fat-fasting, 2 days of Atkins Induction. They continue the 5/2 rotation until they’ve lost all they need to lose, or can’t handle it any more, whichever comes first.

      I think the longest I’ve fat fasted without a break was 8 or 9 days. The longest I know of in a clinical trial was 10.

  4. Kristen says:

    I like the concept but I think I’d be really tired of cream cheese/peanut butter after a day or two.

Trackbacks

  1. [...] fasts” that have proven to be very effective in terms of weight loss! (Dr. Atkins based his “fat fast” on the research [...]

  2. [...] of days.  Then serious ketosis kicked in, and I’m far less hungry than you might imagine.  Di Bauer said she hates fat fasting, but I’m really not finding it that onerous, and certainly I find it easy considering the weight [...]

  3. [...] see my question above, what is a fat fast? Unless you wrote it already, but I didn't see it! http://www.carbsmart.com/fatfast.html R1: January. 49 days, 21 lbs. Regained. R2: May. 28 days, 15 lbs. Stabilized R3: ___ [...]

  4. [...] The Fat Fast (The Atkins Fat Fast) [...]

  5. [...] Jimmy Moore of Livin’ La Vida Lowcarb on how the classic fat fast works, and here is an another interesting description. Both of them agree it works but seem to not enjoy the foods you need to stick to, although I [...]

  6. [...] Hey here is a link to 17 more recipes, for anyone interested in trying some … it is one of the ebook's co-authors, too! Atkins Fat Fast: Break A Low Carb Weight Loss Stall & Starting Ketosis [...]

  7. [...] income.  I decided, now that I have a little time, to try a high fat diet again.  Specifically, a fat fast.  I’ve always thought it was kinda dumb to call it a “fast” when you’re [...]

  8. [...] Today is my third and final day of the fat fast I have been doing. You might wonder, what IS a fat fast? It is essentially a way to reset your metabolism and get it moving. I’m dealing with a lot of hormonal issues making it very hard to lose weight, and I’m hoping this might help get things moving! If you would like more details about the fat fast or where to get the cookbook featured above, click… [...]

  9. [...] Resources: Atkins Fat Fast – Breaking A Low Carb Weight Loss Stall, Fat Fast For A Few Days To Induce Weight Loss   [...]

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