Has Anyone been successful on the Atkins Diet?

Showme2Fly

1st time I was introduced to Atkins I lost 60 pounds, gained it all back

2nd time lost 30 lbs, gained it back

This is now my 3rd time on Atkins, starting weight was 230lbs, current weight is 221.6. Has anyone been successful at all on this diet and has actually kept the weight off?

Also, I just had hot choclate today about 6oz . Which I’m not suppose to have at all because I’m still on my induction faze 1. Was with my dad watching the light show and they were handing it outside . Do you think this will spike my glucose and slow down my weight loss since I cheated 😢😢😢. What should I do.

Chef_Barbell

No. I don't do well with eliminating whole food groups. I like moderation and a calorie deficit.

SouthernMamaUnderConsruction

Yes I lost 50 lbs. I did gain it back after hurting my shoulder twice. I'm back on it and have lost 12 lbs🙂

SouthernMamaUnderConsruction

How much hot chocolate did you drink?

Showme2Fly

Actually I’m going to say about a 12oz cup of Hot chocolate. So you know how you are suppose to stay at 20 carbs a day for two weeks . It’s my 7th day and I definitely went over 20carbs .

jenilla1

I know several people who lost successfully on Atkins. The problem is, none of them were able to sustain the loss long term. My uncle kept it off the longest - about a year - but then he succumbed to the carbs. It seems to be great for loss, but I think the key is that this way of eating has to be something you're willing to continue long-term if you want to keep your results. Because as soon as you stop, it seems to go right back on again. I'm sure there are tons of people who do well on it long term. I just don't happen to know any.

I'm personally not interested in short term diets, or doing anything restrictive, complicated, or un-fun, so I just stick with my long-term calorie goals instead. Plus, I couldn't handle the idea of going to all the work to lose the weight and then gaining it all back. That would be too frustrating to bear! Eating a varied diet within my calorie goals has worked out well for me for over 7 years of successful maintenance.

But everyone has their own ways of going about it. Do what works best for you. Good luck!

MikePTY

Atkins was very popular for a time, but it went out of style for precisely the reason you stated. People lost weight, but had trouble keeping it off. Diets that require you to cut out large amounts of available foods tend to be difficult to maintain long term.

Many people now are doing "Keto" , which shares a lot of similarity with Atkins. I imagine most will run into the same issues as well.

yukfoo

I did Atkins many years ago. Every time you slip up you simply go back to day 1 and start again. Like others here. I lost 60 pounds and gained back 70. Tried again over the years but got very frustrated when I got to day 13 of 15. Slipped up and had to start at square one. What astonished me was how quickly the weight came back..my family asked if I was sick. Never got past phase 1 again after that. Good luck. It wasn't sustainable for me but there are others here that have said how easy it is and have been maintaining for years.

amy19355

Showme2Fly wrote: »

1st time I was introduced to Atkins I lost 60 pounds, gained it all back

2nd time lost 30 lbs, gained it back

This is now my 3rd time on Atkins, starting weight was 230lbs, current weight is 221.6. Has anyone been successful at all on this diet and has actually kept the weight off?

Also, I just had hot choclate today about 6oz . Which I’m not suppose to have at all because I’m still on my induction faze 1. Was with my dad watching the light show and they were handing it outside . Do you think this will spike my glucose and slow down my weight loss since I cheated 😢😢😢. What should I do.

If I am going to try something that didn’t “stick” for the third time around, my first step is to try and figure out what will be different about the third attempt that makes its success more likely.

There are a lot of success stories on MFP from people who have reduced their calorie intake to lose weight. These same people have adjusted their calorie intake as needed to maintain, gain or lose weight as life changes take place.

The best diet is the one you stick with. It is not reasonable to expect otherwise.

BrettWithPKU

I'm not on it because it would cause too much conflict with my family, but . . .
To someone contemplating Atkins, I'm guessing you want more structure than simply calorie counting, and in that case I'd suggest you also look into Paleo.

(Note that I'm not saying 'do Paleo'--I have no right to tell you what to do, but you should absolutely know the options available to you.)

smolmaus

amy19355 wrote: »

If I am going to try something that didn’t “stick” for the third time around, my first step is to try and figure out what will be different about the third attempt that makes its success more likely.

There are a lot of success stories on MFP from people who have reduced their calorie intake to lose weight. These same people have adjusted their calorie intake as needed to maintain, gain or lose weight as life changes take place.

The best diet is the one you stick with. It is not reasonable to expect otherwise.

Agreed! You've tried it twice OP, and while it might have "worked" to lose weight it certainly doesn't work for you long term, so what's the point? You could just get stuck in this same cycle forever.

What has you gaining the weight back afterwards is going back to your "old" eating habits after the diet is over. The trick to keeping weight off is to build new longterm habits to replace the old ones forever. You need to find a way of eating that has you creating a calorie deficit and that fits into your regular lifestyle. You'll find a lot of people here recommending boring old calorie counting, including me, as this is a website for calorie counting. It's flexible, information-based and can fit into any eating pattern, including low carb or paleo or vegan or carnivore or whatever if you do want more structure, but there's no real reason to make it any more complicated than just eating what you normally eat and making calorie cutbacks where you can.