Atkins diet

Deva1026

New to this site, no friends, but I won't cry :noway:
I have been following Atkins since January. I lost about 10 lbs, and want to lose another 5-10, which seems impossible. For last 2 months my weight would not move at all, so I added Jillian Michaels to my daily routine, then I found this site... and realized that I have been eating more carbs then allowed (hidden carbs).
I was wondering if any one else here is perhaps following a low-carb way of eating. This website is great in figuring out a daily intake of fat and protein, BUT! .... it is scary to actually see the number of grams of fat consumed. Intersting enough, I still manage to stay within daily calorie intake while exceeding fat intake ( that's the way Atkins is).

ItsTerriC

I'm not doing low carb as much as I should, but I do try to watch it some days. I know it works best for me, but I find it difficult to stay within the calorie goals and low carb too. There are a lot of low carb members on here, so you should be able to find some to help with that aspect of your journey.

Geminieve24

I can tell you for me, watching my carb (along with my calories) really helps me lose weight. Atkins unfortunately, is not a healthy diet. It can help you lose weight quick, but you run the risk of putting all that weight back (and then some) once you go back to adding carbohydrates to your diet. For me, I try and stay around 60 grams a day. I drink protein shakes, I try and stay away from breads and pastas. In the morning I will half half a grapefruit and oatmeal. If I need the carbs; I whole have a piece of whole wheat toast. Also when you follow the Atkins diet, your fat intake may be high. So watch the cheese, stick to chicken and fish, and egg whites, and lean red meat. Eat your veggies too!

BobertC

I need to do better on the atkins diet too.

bethdris

I did the atkins diet a few years ago. Not only did i lose weight (and gain it back plus) My appendix burst. It really isn't a healthy lifestyle for the long haul. I've done much better on MFP and feel much better!! To each their own, but I wouldn't reccomend staying with atkins.

Deva1026

Excellent advice! Thank you ladies.
I figured out that I ate about 85 g of carbs and have not lost a single lb. So, thanks to this site I am wiser to drop the carb intake and hopefully get to my goal weight of 130 lbs. I heard that it's difficult to lose that last 10 lbs and that it takes time, and this and that... however, it has been so VERY much frustrating not to see a single inch come off, not even 1 lbs ...in 2 months!
Now I know why.

Deva1026

I did the atkins diet a few years ago. Not only did i lose weight (and gain it back plus) My appendix burst. It really isn't a healthy lifestyle for the long haul. I've done much better on MFP and feel much better!! To each their own, but I wouldn't reccomend staying with atkins.

I did all my blood work, cholesterol and what not and everything is in more then perfect. My good cholesterol exceeds the recommended number by more then double, so guess that's good.
However, if I wanted to switch from Atkins to something else, I cannot just drop it cold turkey. What would you suggest?

MakingAChoice

Been on Atkins, lost weight on it. Gained it back after I stopped it, just like every other 'diet' out there. The real way to win this battle is to learn portion control and learn WHAT you are eating. I eat real food, am never hungry and drop weight faster than I ever did on Atkins or any diet. To top it all off I can do what I do today for the rest of my life because I eat the same foods as I would at a healthy weight. Go for complex carbs, brown rice, whole grain wheat products (unless you have gluten issues), good fats (nuts and avocados), and lean protein.

You can use www.fat2fitradio.com to learn a ton about how to eat right without gimmicks like diet programs offer.

mskatec22

I started w/ MFP about 10 weeks and have been losing weight pretty steadily, about 10 lbs overall. These last two weeks my weight has varied between 3lbs+ and 3lbs-. It's soooo frustrating. Today I started the induction phase of the Atkins diet. I'll friend you so we can compare diaries. It's amazing how quickly 20 carbs add up! Meanwhile, my calorie count was super-low...
If I can stick to it, I hope to lose 5+lbs in two weeks. When I reach that goal, I'm going to gradually introduce carbs and just go back to my under1,200 calorie diet. Hopefully I don't gain it all back!

XDoodlebugger

I knew that you had "hidden" carbs in your diet if you had lost only 10lbs in the last few months. Back the last time I was on this eternal cycle of ups and downs I lost a lot of weight using Atkins and working out.

Now that I am a bit older it seems harder to do without also limiting calories at the same time. This time I'm watching carbs, especially potatoes, pasta and bread but no where near the cutting of carbs to be in Phase 1 of Atkins.

Each person is different but if you actually keep up with the logs of this site and watch the carb/calorie intake simple science says you will succeed. Good luck!

Deva1026

I started w/ MFP about 10 weeks and have been losing weight pretty steadily, about 10 lbs overall. These last two weeks my weight has varied between 3lbs+ and 3lbs-. It's soooo frustrating. Today I started the induction phase of the Atkins diet. I'll friend you so we can compare diaries. It's amazing how quickly 20 carbs add up! Meanwhile, my calorie count was super-low...
If I can stick to it, I hope to lose 5+lbs in two weeks. When I reach that goal, I'm going to gradually introduce carbs and just go back to my under1,200 calorie diet. Hopefully I don't gain it all back!

I
I don't mean to be ignorant, but what is MFP?
Two weeks is nothing comparing to over 2 months! Imagine my frustration. My friends tell me that I look great, " you don't have to lose anymore"... However, given the effort I put into it... I want to see the results. It is truly amazing how these darn carbs add up. I logged ihere that I want to lose 10 lbs, so this website figured out for me 1200 calories per day. I can do it, but it just confuses me with Atkins, because you are not supposed to care about calories, only carb grams.

Deva1026

I knew that you had "hidden" carbs in your diet if you had lost only 10lbs in the last few months. Back the last time I was on this eternal cycle of ups and downs I lost a lot of weight using Atkins and working out.

Now that I am a bit older it seems harder to do without also limiting calories at the same time. This time I'm watching carbs, especially potatoes, pasta and bread but no where near the cutting of carbs to be in Phase 1 of Atkins.

Each person is different but if you actually keep up with the logs of this site and watch the carb/calorie intake simple science says you will succeed. Good luck!

Thanks for you input. I feel like I hit a jackpot with this website. It's really an eye opener for me. And I am so excited how supportive everyone is. :happy:

lizzil0

I'm low carb too! I think a lot of people who poo-poo this way of eating are ill informed. How can one thing be bad for you- refined carbs, yet those same things with their fiber intact is somehow great for you, it still turns to sugar in your system, just slower. Why not eat actually healthy fiber from vegetables. Low carb isn't no carb.
Anyway, I'm working my way through my last 5 pounds myself. Good luck on your journey!

cmriverside

I started w/ MFP about 10 weeks and have been losing weight pretty steadily, about 10 lbs overall. These last two weeks my weight has varied between 3lbs+ and 3lbs-. It's soooo frustrating. Today I started the induction phase of the Atkins diet. I'll friend you so we can compare diaries. It's amazing how quickly 20 carbs add up! Meanwhile, my calorie count was super-low...
If I can stick to it, I hope to lose 5+lbs in two weeks. When I reach that goal, I'm going to gradually introduce carbs and just go back to my under1,200 calorie diet. Hopefully I don't gain it all back!

I
I don't mean to be ignorant, but what is MFP?
Two weeks is nothing comparing to over 2 months! Imagine my frustration. My friends tell me that I look great, " you don't have to lose anymore"... However, given the effort I put into it... I want to see the results. It is truly amazing how these darn carbs add up. I logged ihere that I want to lose 10 lbs, so this website figured out for me 1200 calories per day. I can do it, but it just confuses me with Atkins, because you are not supposed to care about calories, only carb grams.

MFP = My Fitness Pal - - Welcome! :flowerforyou:

quilter1951

Your best bet to long term weight loss is to follow a dibetics diet..witch is aheathy way of life not a diet..if you can conntact your local hospital and take a couple of classes on this the information will last you a life time...we did aprogram at our church called "First Place" that the book took us all through it....we eat 2 to 3 fruits..4 to 5 oz of protin, chesse ect 1/2 cup of beans counts as 1, 3 to 4 1/2 cups of veg, 5 to 6 breads ( but the breads include a lot of things, mostly any thing that doesn't fall into anyother eles ,for every 80 cals thats a bread) 2 to 3 milk, 3 to 4 fats these are numbers are based on 1200cal... this is the best program i've been on, and keeping the food chart here with this guide is really great...it really helps me stay between 1200 to 1500 cal when i take the time..i try for 1200......good luck

DustinReiner

I really don't know about or remember the details of the Atkins diet, I read about it ten years ago. I do remeber from what I read, it's not a likely sustainable diet. I also remember it not sounding to heatlhy.

I do my best to eat low carbs and high protein. I don't eat any complex carbs, usuall only simple ones(A ton of fruit).

You say "However, if I wanted to switch from Atkins to something else, I cannot just drop it cold turkey." Why? Sure you can, it's only suppose to be a guidline.

You just made some of your own findings in using MFP site, in your hidden carbsm and protein intake? Ypou also said that in the last two months your weight hasn't changed, even though you are still trying to lose weight.

Everyone one on this site has came accross a similar situation, and we've all had to do some expermentation with our own diets to make them work for US.

IF we didn't dieting would be cut and dry and simple, everyone would be doing it. A lot of it is expermental on what works for one person, might not wok for someone else. Thus this message board and everyone trading tips.

When we're all at our "goal" weight the battle isn't over, or we'll go back to where we were. We're going to have to learn to change our diets and how we look at food and how and what we eat.

That is all going to take expermentation and learning. You don't need a diet plan to tell you WHAT to do, just give you guidance how to do it.

You can use this site and it's tools to help you do that. I tweak my diet every few weeks. Two things I'm concerned with, eating enough protein, eating TO MANY carb's.

Exercise and nutrition for beginners.
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exbeginners/a/begnutrition.htm

A link about nutrition
http://exercise.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/lowcarb.htm

A link about dieting
http://exercise.about.com/sitesearch.htm?q=What+is+a+proper+diet?&SUName=exercise

Another link about nutrition
http://exercise.about.com/od/nutrition/Nutrition.htm


Good luck in our goals! You can get there.

bluebird321

I don't do Atkins, but I do a "paleo" type of diet. Relatively low carb, very little sugar hardly any processed food. There are a lot of different diets out there -- you can pull something from each of them to find what works best for you.

XDoodlebugger

I knew that you had "hidden" carbs in your diet if you had lost only 10lbs in the last few months. Back the last time I was on this eternal cycle of ups and downs I lost a lot of weight using Atkins and working out.

Now that I am a bit older it seems harder to do without also limiting calories at the same time. This time I'm watching carbs, especially potatoes, pasta and bread but no where near the cutting of carbs to be in Phase 1 of Atkins.

Each person is different but if you actually keep up with the logs of this site and watch the carb/calorie intake simple science says you will succeed. Good luck!

Thanks for you input. I feel like I hit a jackpot with this website. It's really an eye opener for me. And I am so excited how supportive everyone is. :happy:

Yes, I'm thrilled I came across this app for my iPhone which allows me to log in both my workouts and diet, it's a fantastic resource/tool. I've been on this latest fitness kick for about two months, in the first two weeks I lost 15 lbs, then it slowed down to 1 or 2 lbs a week. I've only had the app this past week and I lost 5 in five days, you really need to KNOW (not guess) what goes in to your body to learn how to control it!

mskatec22

If anyone who comes across this thread is staying under 20 carbs per day, can you friend me? I need some inspiration for meals. I currently have no idea what to eat for breakfast this morning!

lynnie07

Hi Happy to see you on this site... I have done Atkins a few years ago and lost 70 in 4 months. Didn't put it back until 2 years later when my son was diagnosed with autism. I never gained it all back. Now, I follow a control carb daily diet. I eat good carbs in the morning and after 1pm no more rich carbs. I do not really look at my fat intake but rather try to make a better choice of fats. I eat avocados, hummus, extra olive oils, ext... I have lots 30 lbs since march. In total prior to coming to this site I have lots almost 60lbs. This site is great to keep track of carbs, fat and protein. I make sure that my carbs stay below 100 per day and ensure that I intake enough fat and protein. I have never had more energy and I feel absolutely great. Wish you all the best in your journey! You can add me as a friend if you want.

gail0713

I started Atkins May 28th and have lost 5 pounds. This website is very good. I will be your friend on this website if you want. Just let me know.

Gail

Deva1026

:ohwell:

I started w/ MFP about 10 weeks and have been losing weight pretty steadily, about 10 lbs overall. These last two weeks my weight has varied between 3lbs+ and 3lbs-. It's soooo frustrating. Today I started the induction phase of the Atkins diet. I'll friend you so we can compare diaries. It's amazing how quickly 20 carbs add up! Meanwhile, my calorie count was super-low...
If I can stick to it, I hope to lose 5+lbs in two weeks. When I reach that goal, I'm going to gradually introduce carbs and just go back to my under1,200 calorie diet. Hopefully I don't gain it all back!

I
I don't mean to be ignorant, but what is MFP?
Two weeks is nothing comparing to over 2 months! Imagine my frustration. My friends tell me that I look great, " you don't have to lose anymore"... However, given the effort I put into it... I want to see the results. It is truly amazing how these darn carbs add up. I logged ihere that I want to lose 10 lbs, so this website figured out for me 1200 calories per day. I can do it, but it just confuses me with Atkins, because you are not supposed to care about calories, only carb grams.

MFP = My Fitness Pal - - Welcome! :flowerforyou:

DUH! Of course! I feel really dumb.

MissMed07

I am also living the low carb lifestyle and after reading the book, I too notice that people "poo poo" all over the diet too. I probably eat more vegetables and leafy greens on this diet than any other I have been on. And I drink A LOT more water. On Induction, where you reduce your carb intake to 20 NET Carbs, 12-15 of those carbs MUST be from vegetables. They have you eat half an avocado a day and encourage you to eat lean meats. They inform you that you CAN eat bacon and sausage and all the that stuff, but also stress to you that most of those are cured in sugar (among other things) so you should stay away. I have gone from 156 to 134.5 pounds using Atkins and it even helped me realize that I had gluten intolerance. I feel great when I don't eat carbs. Kudos to Dr. Atkins:happy: .

mskatec22

I am also living the low carb lifestyle and after reading the book, I too notice that people "poo poo" all over the diet too. I probably eat more vegetables and leafy greens on this diet than any other I have been on. And I drink A LOT more water. On Induction, where you reduce your carb intake to 20 NET Carbs, 12-15 of those carbs MUST be from vegetables. They have you eat half an avocado a day and encourage you to eat lean meats. They inform you that you CAN eat bacon and sausage and all the that stuff, but also stress to you that most of those are cured in sugar (among other things) so you should stay away. I have gone from 156 to 134.5 pounds using Atkins and it even helped me realize that I had gluten intolerance. I feel great when I don't eat carbs. Kudos to Dr. Atkins:happy: .

I agree! I eat wayyyy more veggies when I'm forced to limit my carb intake. I feel like I'm teaching myself how to make healthier food choices by not relying on breads or pastas to fill me up. There's definitely an important lesson to be learned b/c my body is looking and feeling better day by day. I'm wrapping up week 2 tomorrow and I've lost 6lbs. I hope to lose 2 more by midweek next week. After that it"s time to start introducing some carbs back in, not sure though what limit I should set for my carb count.
Also...I forgot all about avacados. I should pick some up. I need something else to add into my mix!