Atkins for Life Here

Marll

I find the hate for the Atkins approach generally misguided, and not a single person that has big issues with it has ever even read his book, at least not 99% of the people I have met personally or talked to. Most only know what the media has told them. I also think that people with a few nutrition classes under their belts can be critical, but mostly because they are taught the old school stuff that's been around forever and yet American society in particular is fatter than ever...doesn't seem to be working to me.

Another group that is annoying is the "It didn't work for me" or "I GAINED weight on it!". These again are people that didn't read the book and just got the media message of "Eat tons of meat and cheese and loose weight!". Never mind that Atkins encourages the consumption of GOOD carbs, and plenty of veggies. People focus on Induction as the entire thing, when there are several well planned phases that get you to make better choices for you, and add carbs back in, some people that become more active to the tune of perhaps 100g or more a day, that doesn't seem like a huge carb defecit to me.

Furthermore when people say "When you go off of it you'll gain it all back" is a stupid argument. Sure if you go away from the principals of staying away from foods that make you gain weight and binging and gorging yourself on processed crap you're going to gain weight. I imagine that if you went off of a low fat diet and started eating tons of fried chicken, or went off of a calorie controlled diet and starting eating 4000+ calories a day of processed crap you'd gain weight too.

I'm personally back on the diet bandwagon because I was an idiot. I started reaching for horrible junk food, which produced cravings for more of it. I also have an issue with portion control, so the issue was compounded. If I'd just made better choices in what I ate I'd have maintained the weight loss longer than 2.5 years. Atkins is not a diet, it's a lifestyle change, and one that I really think I want to get back to. Never felt or ate better in my life to be completely honest.

TripleJ3

My goal is to continue on my journey into maintenance phase and then find my critical carb limit. I know I can never go back to "normal" eating. My normal is eating low carb. If I eat high carb junk I binge and gain. I am a carb addict. I know it. I am the only one who really matters on this journey. Support me or get out of my way. Nuff said.

Whats *normal*?

What ever way of eating thats healthy and working for you, is normal. Everyones normal is different. You're never going to have everyone on board with what you are doing. Lots of people have never looked into Atkins so they just hear the phase one part.
Personally I view it as something I would try before a beach vacation, but for me he list of veggies I'd have to limit/eliminate isn't for me. Acorn squash and brussel sprouts are staples to me!

I fear I'd just gain it all back since theres no medical reason for me to be on that plan. Just keep doing whats working for you, and as in RL ignore the negative people!

Marll

The reason people are probably negative to you on here is because atkins is not safe.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/wheres-the-beef-wheres-the-health-benefit

Written by a registered dietician, they have more nutrition training than most doctors.

Also, most people lose weight by going to atkins because they cut out the cookies and donuts and the junk food. You can get the same results just by cutting that stuff out, and eating healthy, and safely.

Read that article and it sounds like they haven't even studied the diet they are bashing. Several of the statements about low carb fly directly in the face of what Atkins talks about...again it's NOT ALL MEAT AND CHEESE!

All these doctors that rail against the diet are morons to be blunt, I asked a few doctors in my time about their dislike of the diet and they admitted THEY hadn't even read the book, or liturature, but surely it couldn't be good....2 of those were dieticians. Also, surely doctors can admit that not everyone is the same, with the same issues and chemistry and eating low fat is not good for everyone. Been there and done that with each type of diet and low fat has to be the most miserable to be on, easiest to slip out of and easiest to gain back from in my opinion. Plus the food all tastes like crap and is loaded with sugar in a poor attempt to make it more palletable.

Take that for what you will, but I generally detest doctors now after years of misdiagnosis, unwillingness to listen and the complete disregard for anything that the patient has to say (about things other than, but also including weight loss).

LorinaLynn

As I said on a friend's status earlier today, "You can't please everyone... so you gotta please yourself."

If it's working for you, that's fantastic! Tune out the nay-sayers. I do a lot of things that some would poo-poo. I love pizza and eat it about once a week. I'm not going to give up diet soda. I'm going to have a candy bar from time to time. I'm going to enjoy alcohol once in a while. But most of all, I'm going to do what's right for me, and not give a rat's bummy if someone doesn't agree.

anna_b1

In my mind, there isn't any room for negativity or hositility on a site that is supposed to breed support.

I was successful losing weight using Atkins and I did read Dr. Atkins' books (including the "Atkins Diet: New Diet Revolution"). His approach does work and, as I said, I lost almost 40 pds, but this wasn't a way of eating I could commit to for longer than 19 months. It got to a point where if I ate one more cheeseburger pie or cauliflower crust pizza, I would get sick. However, as the OP mentions, I belonged to another forum where people live this way and continue to be successful.

Bottom line is just because it didn't work for me doesn't put me in a position to judge someone else's choices particularly if that someone is being monitored by his/her doctor who is of course more cognizant of this person's health than we are.

Good luck OP.

LaJauna

Whats *normal*?

What ever way of eating thats healthy and working for you, is normal. Everyones normal is different. You're never going to have everyone on board with what you are doing. Lots of people have never looked into Atkins so they just hear the phase one part.
Personally I view it as something I would try before a beach vacation, but for me he list of veggies I'd have to limit/eliminate isn't for me. Acorn squash and brussel sprouts are staples to me!
[/quote]

I eat both of those veggies. I can't think of one veggie or fruit that is completely off limits at some point of eating low carb.

hellospf50

this is day 2 for me on this website I have a confession I have a addiction I "my body" loves carbs, I want and need them when i put a fry in my mouth i'm thinking should i make more?? I am unable to have one or two portions of bread, rice, pasta, ..........

I have turned to the new Atkins life style I am learning how to eat, what to eat, and yes when to eat!! I have done many other diets and gained more back.

with atkins you realy lose your cravings for sweets, chips, high carb foods with atkins I do not lay in bed thinking what and when will i eat, my tummy is not hungry, I'm full my doctor has given me a go-a-head.

it my family that is having a problem they think that if i have just one or cut back and I could lose my weight, But if I have one chip well I'm going to have one more, than well just a few... .... . . . . . . . . . . . ..... then the bag will be gone I'm not good with just having one dip of ice cream.

I need to stay away from carbs I like them to much!!! luckly for me going low carb has taken my cravings away. I still have a long way to go!!!! that is why I have joined this site, I can track in carb intake and I hope I will have friend that are doing the same thing "atkins" that will help me and maybe help them with a kind word of two

hellospf50

what ever you need to do to lose weight keep it up, it's your body, your life!!!

5grn9

If it works for you thats all that matters, I just wanted to add that the Atkins Diet was THE ONLY diet that made my mother's cholesterol levels go down to NORMAL!! No one believed her "There's no way you could be on the Atkin's diet and lower your cholesterol" well hers did go down!! She went off the diet, gained most of her weight back and her cholesterol went through the roof. It is the only diet that she lost weight on as well (especially her mid section) so needless to say she is back on the Atkins

2bfitforever

You have to make the best choice for you based on what you can live with. I have read the Atkins book but never done it. I did South Beach many years ago and found that once I fell off the wagon, I was done for. Anyway, the thing I love about Atkins is that it talks you through the process of adding carbs back into your diet one at a time to see what your threshold is. Once you hit a level -- whether it is 50 g or 150 g -- that you start to gain weight, you need to back off alittle until you are either back to maintaining or losing again. THAT is the key to the diet. It really is not about the induction phase except to rid your body of the carbs so you can find your right level of carbs. People need to think of it like treating food allergies. When you have an allergic reaction to food, you eliminate the possible sources and then add each food one at time back to see what set you off. Once you find you, you know what to avoid. One person can each fruit with no problem but cannot have pasta. Another can have fruit and pasta but no bread. And so on and so on.

hellospf50

yes in time, you do add carb back slowly till you fine tune you "diet"

CarmenElisa

I was put on a low carb diet by my Endocrinologist. He told me I was borderline diabetic at 190lbs. As much as I exercised I could not lose weight. It was Atkins who first wrote about the low carb diet. My doctor told me it was best to eat fish and chicken for protein and plenty of green vegetables. In order to stay at a healthy weight it must be maintained as long as you live. There are articles that you can find on the internet about the effects of eating carbs on our cardiovascular system. It is theorized that carbs are the cause of the plaque that clogs our arteries. Most of the carbs that we find in the market are highly processed foods, that are bleached, have preservatives, pesticides, etc. I think that a lot of marketing goes into trying to get us to eat junk food!

wriglucy

The reason people are probably negative to you on here is because atkins is not safe.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/wheres-the-beef-wheres-the-health-benefit

Written by a registered dietician, they have more nutrition training than most doctors.

Also, most people lose weight by going to atkins because they cut out the cookies and donuts and the junk food. You can get the same results just by cutting that stuff out, and eating healthy, and safely.

I never said that article was specifically about Atkins. It's about the dangers of too much protein, as it says right at the top.
Read that article and it sounds like they haven't even studied the diet they are bashing. Several of the statements about low carb fly directly in the face of what Atkins talks about...again it's NOT ALL MEAT AND CHEESE!

All these doctors that rail against the diet are morons to be blunt, I asked a few doctors in my time about their dislike of the diet and they admitted THEY hadn't even read the book, or liturature, but surely it couldn't be good....2 of those were dieticians. Also, surely doctors can admit that not everyone is the same, with the same issues and chemistry and eating low fat is not good for everyone. Been there and done that with each type of diet and low fat has to be the most miserable to be on, easiest to slip out of and easiest to gain back from in my opinion. Plus the food all tastes like crap and is loaded with sugar in a poor attempt to make it more palletable.

Take that for what you will, but I generally detest doctors now after years of misdiagnosis, unwillingness to listen and the complete disregard for anything that the patient has to say (about things other than, but also including weight loss).

shaunshaikh

First of all, I count 3 more examples of people who have done the Atkins diet successfully and all of whom gained their weight back when they went off of it.

Furthermore when people say "When you go off of it you'll gain it all back" is a stupid argument. Sure if you go away from the principals of staying away from foods that make you gain weight and binging and gorging yourself on processed crap you're going to gain weight. I imagine that if you went off of a low fat diet and started eating tons of fried chicken, or went off of a calorie controlled diet and starting eating 4000+ calories a day of processed crap you'd gain weight too.

The problem with the Atkins diet is that you can eat the right amount of calories and still gain weight if you reintroduce carbs. Your body will quickly store the carbs as fat. That's probably why people who started doing the Atkins diet don't think they can eat Carbs -- because they've put themselves in a position where they can't. A binge doesn't have to be 4000 calories for a person on Atkins.

I'm personally back on the diet bandwagon because I was an idiot. I started reaching for horrible junk food, which produced cravings for more of it. I also have an issue with portion control, so the issue was compounded. If I'd just made better choices in what I ate I'd have maintained the weight loss longer than 2.5 years. Atkins is not a diet, it's a lifestyle change, and one that I really think I want to get back to. Never felt or ate better in my life to be completely honest.

So the lesson here is don't eat junk food and control portions. I agree.

Maybe the Atkins diet is just a fancy way of telling people to cut out junk food and snacks. But you don't have to be on the Atkins diet to do that.

wriglucy

Whoa...mine didn't post, just the quote part. Bu that article is about the dangers of a high protein diet. I never said it was specifically for Atkins.

I posted it because there are dangers to too much protein, and I think anyone, on any diet, should be aware of them

th1nkth1nmama

I have found that I cannot eat one bite of certain high carb foods: any food with wheat, rice, potato, sugars of any kind. I have learned to substitute other low carb versions that satisfy me. I cannot go back to eating those foods if I want to maintain my good health and slimmer body. It is called self-control for a higher cause...health and fitness. If an alcoholic can abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages, then I am able to abstain from my addictive trigger foods. It is doable.

this is so true! my husband is an alcoholic and has been sober for 4 yrs now and he tells me all the time that If he can do that I can do it. it's hard when you have grown up with it and your around such tempting food all the time. I buy healthy things now for my kids and husband but just because I can't eat something doesn't mean that I can't buy it for them... But it's a commitment I have to make to myself, to live a healthier life for myself and my kids... I keep telling myself this all the time... why does it have to be so freaken hard!

daddyratty

First of all, good for you.

Second of all, Atkins has to be one of the most misunderstood programs out there. I had phenomenal success about 7 years ago when I did this. The reason it didn't work for me is because I failed to keep my self control with the foods I was supposed to eat. I can still remember the Snickers bar that opened the floodgates after losing 35 pounds in about 6 weeks. I had gained it all back within 6 months.

But when I was on it, people would say the most ridiculous things about Atkins. I would politely ask them when they last read the book, and usually they said "oh, I've never read it."

One manager at a healthclub even told me that Dr. Atkins died from a heart attack (not true; he slipped on ice and suffered trauma from the resulting head injury). I just realized that people are misguided in their advice about MANY things, including things about which they THINK they know but really don't.

The people that think it's all meat, cheese, and eggs obviously haven't read his material. I had some of the tastiest salads ever while on Atkins.

Also, IT'S NOT NO-CARB! It's just LOW-carb. I think where I was at, I was limited to 20g of carbs a day. That's certainly a lot lower than my current MFP level (282g), but there was a purpose. There were other dietary goals to be met within that framework.

So, all in all, great for you. Glad you've found something that works for you. Just about every diet/lifestyle program like this has a percentage of the population (2%-5% usually) for whom it will REALLY work. It sounds like you've found your match.

Hope you stick around.

lodro

That's probably why people who started doing the Atkins diet don't think they can eat Carbs -- because they've put themselves in a position where they can't.

Maybe something else is going on here: sometimes I think that Atkins works best for people who already are insulin resistant, on their way to diabetes. That is almost a congenital thing. For instance, people with a very low birth weight nearly all run this risk. For them, even a very moderate amount of carbohydrate puts them back on the path of insulin resistance. I their case it's not about the calories, but very much about the macro nutrients. "Normal" people hardly ever take that into account when critiquing a choice of diet.

shaunshaikh

. I had phenomenal success about 7 years ago when I did this. The reason it didn't work for me is because I failed to keep my self control with the foods I was supposed to eat.

another person who lost weight with atkins fails to maintain. Maybe the reason people consistently fall off the wagon when they are on these diets is because of the nature of the diet.

TripleJ3

I just meant in phase one it listed those veggies as a few of the ones to avoid in those two weeks.

Yes I realize you add them back but thats my point as to why it wouldn't work for me. I'd just go back to eating them.

I'm glad it works for you, I just know for me it wouldn't work long term.