Low Carbers Only

sammniamii

I do a modified Atkins. My "good" cholesterol is too low (other one is fine) but I don't want to go too strict. I'll feel like its a punishment and quit. But my 2-3 weeks so far has been very helpful. I've lost 14 pounds, I'm eating better,my engery level is better and my horrible stomach issues (lactose intolerance) has almost 100% disappeared -- i'm eating cheese!!! I keep my carbs between 50-100. It makes me pay more attention to what I do choose to eat plus allows me to keep enough stuff that makes me feel better (small amounts of chocolate, fruit, ect as long as I hold true to the 100 or less). My hubby is following even less of one - he eats what i do, but is allowed breads (whole grain), cereals & oatmeal, and other healthy grains because his chol isn't good. I've dropped almost all added sugars, breads, oatmeal, rice and for now the beans, although I will still eat small amount of these.

Narisong

I was doing low carb and lost close to 50 lbs, the problem was not in losing it but instead in keeping it off. Once I started eating normally I gained all that back and more. I've now being using MFP for almost 300 days and lost 8 pants sizes eating all the "normal" food. I do believe in low carb and that you can lose on it, but if you are doing low carb you have to know it's for life, because if you think you can do low carb and then go right back to eating normal food once you lose the weight I think most people will be very disappointed.

delilah47

Thanks to everyone for your input! Hubby and I are headed for a major shopping spree today. Going to stock up on our low carb food and snacks. We are going to do this together, each at our own pace. I need it for my health and we both need it for weight loss! We dont plan for this to be a diet that we will go off of when we lose weight, rather a lifestyle change for the family.

Hopefully, you have read the book and follow the instructions. It's tempting not to. Good luck to you and your husband!
Edit: Also, be darned sure you use the keto stix, because if there's something you don't understand about carbs, you can easily pack on some pounds before you know what hit you.

LReneeWalker

We just went shopping. Bought lots of meat, cheeses, veggies. He got some fruit, I wont be eating fruit. I am so curious to see how my blood sugars do! I am not concerned with ketosis. I will be watching calories at least until I get the hang of it all. Hubby just had blood work done yesterday. I will have blood work done Thursday so we can compare the results in a few months time. Both of us get blood work done every 3-6 months for health issues.

As far as feeling deprived, that doesnt apply to me. The things I would feel deprived of I shouldn't eat anyway. For one, those things raise by blood sugar. Secondly, I cant control myself when I eat those things anyway. Here we go.....

Mmmary212

It works, but it doesn't stay off if you don't stick to it. He should get his cholesterol checked first, because it can cause cholesterol to raise. As long as his cholesterol is fine, then he should go for it. His energy level is going to be really low for the first couple of weeks (if he is strict about Atkins).

if he is thinking about doing a modified, low carb diet, he should look into the Cave Man Diet or other low carb options that do allow for fruit and nuts and whole grains. this will keep his energy up and probably help him stay on longer.

Most people arent disciplined enough to commit to Atkins long term.

My aunt lost like 80lbs on Atkins but put it all back on when she started eating carbs again. It just depends on his discipline level.

Not true. Cholesterol levels raise because of inflammation in the body which is caused by eat the wrong foods....foods like breads, sugars, oatmeal, seed oils, etc. "Atkins diet" and other low carb diets actually LOWER cholesterol. Please don't spread false information.

Mmmary212

One of the other things you have to watch when you do low carb is fiber intake! I find that when I cut out whole grain breads, etc. I have trouble meeting my daily fiber intake from just veggies. This is why I am only doing LC for 3 months to kick start my plan, and then I will slowly incorporate complex carbs back in to the picture. For now, breakfast is 2 hard boiled eggs & plain nonfat greek yougurt with a tsp of honey. (I also still drink my nonfat lattes from Starbucks!). For lunch and dinner I do a lean protein and a veggie. No potatoes, rice, etc. I do also try to eat 1 piece of fruit per day (love mangos, pears, but no bananas!) and usually I will have a 100 calorie pack of almonds. I am trying to keep my caloies around 1300/day to start, then will slowly increase that as I increase my activity levels. I am working out 4 X week: 2 of those with personal trainer doing 1 hr weight / circuit training and the other 2 where I do an hour of cardio on the elliptical. I just started back on this recently, and have lost 4 pounds, with 80 to go!!!

There's no such thing as a daily required amount of fiber. It's a myth. I eat practically 0 grams of fiber a day. I'm moving things along better than ever. The only reason fiber has been a big thing is because of this "eat your hearthealthywholegrains" which makes your body DEPENDENT on fiber to keep things moving. If you don't the junk, then your body has this natural way of moving things along, like we've been doing for thousand and thousands of years.

Mmmary212

Here's a fail story. I did Atkins back in 2003 to lose weight for my wedding. I lost about 50 pounds and I felt great. After the wedding I went back to eating like I used to and not only gained it all back but added a ton more on top of it. In fact, I ended up weighing 73 pounds heavier than my starting weight (so gained 123 pounds). I gained back the 58 lbs within about a year and half. And then it just kept coming.

I didn't exercise though when I was losing and I was in complete denial when the weight started to return.

If you felt great and lost the weight you wanted to lose, why did you start eating the way that made you 50lbs over weight in the first place? I don't think the diet failed... I think that is a personal failure.........

::::applause:::

Mmmary212

This is what gets me

"Low carb works great, I lost 100lbs but when I went back to eating regularly, I gained 150lbs back! It does not work!"

Maybe going back to eating "regularly" consists of foods you should never eat EVER...obviously it caused you to gain weight in the first place and in the second place. Just something to think about.

-Mary, Paleo for 1 1/2 years and loving it. So delicious.

LReneeWalker

I was reading all the phases on Atkins. Nowhere does it say to go back and eat the way you use to (you know the way that made you fat in the first place). You slowly add back carbs with each phase to find what works for you.

Fiber... seems to me that you can get all the fiber you need from veggies.

delilah47

We just went shopping. Bought lots of meat, cheeses, veggies. He got some fruit, I wont be eating fruit. I am so curious to see how my blood sugars do! I am not concerned with ketosis. I will be watching calories at least until I get the hang of it all. Hubby just had blood work done yesterday. I will have blood work done Thursday so we can compare the results in a few months time. Both of us get blood work done every 3-6 months for health issues.

As far as feeling deprived, that doesnt apply to me. The things I would feel deprived of I shouldn't eat anyway. For one, those things raise by blood sugar. Secondly, I cant control myself when I eat those things anyway. Here we go.....

You sound really gung-ho. You should realize the way the Atkins diet works is by going into ketosis, so your body can burn it's own fat, especially during induction. The ONLY way to determine if you are in ketosis is by peeing on the keto stix to see what color they are. If you are NOT in ketosis, you will gain weight from eating all the high fat foods and too many carbs. And, it doesn't matter what kind of carbs you eat, in this diet they are ALL carbs to be limited whether from fruit, starch, sugar, whatever. One piece of fruit or piece of candy can take you out of ketosis. I just don't want to see you crash into disappointment. You can lose a ton of weight pretty fast if done right, but if done incorrectly, you can also gain a ton.

The reason I'm so concerned is that about 15 years before I successfully lost weight using Atkins, I went on an earlier version of his diet and misunderstood some things about carbs. My husband and I both gained 10 pounds in a very short period of time.

Again, good luck!

Edit: I'm sorry if I sound like I am trying to discourage you. I'm not. And.. maybe I'm being a little extreme. Everyone should try to see what works for them. If I weren't afraid of having heart rhythm problems again, I would be right on Atkins beside you.

delilah47

After a few weeks, I could have killed for bread. No cravings for sweets, but longed for a nice crusty dinner roll or fresh-out-of-the-oven bread of any kind. Yum.

LReneeWalker

I know all about Atkins. I know all about 17 day diet. I have also been studying other low carb plans this week. I also know that on ANY "diet", if you dont follow it you wont lose weight. So if I have one piece of candy or fruit or whatever then I know I am sabotaging myself. My hubby is also aware. But I also know alot about diabetes, heart disease, and all those nasty things that go along with the two. And I know low carb is the BEST way to treat both. So we are doing this for our health. I am thinking of asking the doctor for a print out of my blood test results so I can prove to those who dont believe this. Stay tuned....

ajelove

My boss lost 15 lbs of vanity weight in 2 months doing atkins and weight training. My father lost 60 lbs doing the original south beach diet and martial arts twice a week

Edit: I also ate carbs only on sunday for 3 months and lost a ridiculous amount. Wouldn't recommend that, though.

LReneeWalker

Hubby couldnt hack it... but I lost 5.8 lbs on Atkins!

mom2lakenjj

Bump to read later

wftiger

I don't "Atkins" level low carb it but I get pretty close. I am at 75 net carbs per day all of which come from fruit and veggies (except for an occasional sneak of dark choco or a corn tortilla) . I have lost 90+ in less than 7 months (hoping to break 100 by the 7 month mark). I could not come up with one bad thing if I tried. I feel great, have tons of energy (more than likely because I am almost 100 lbs lighter) and it really isn't a hardship. Yes, I still want a cupcake some days but I suck it up and deal. I am in a better place and not going back.

I highly recommend it. Stay with lean proteins and eat a bunch of low carb veggies to keep healthy and take multivitamins.

** I also just had my blood work redone and my HDL is higher (probably from the exercise) and my LDL is unchanged. So those naysayers that say it will cause your lipids to go up are incorrect. BTW - You want a high HDL in case you didn't know that. :-)

Cuna77

Bump

LReneeWalker

My blood sugars are doing awsome on this diet! I love the Atkins way. Oh, and I dont have to pee on any sticks... those arent even accurate. There are other ways to tell. My doc highly recommends this way of life for diabetics. So, for all the naysayers who I asked NOT to comment.... yall are wrong!

TeresaJill

You're probably getting the message already, but Atkins is really hard to stick with. I remember once sitting on my kitchen floor crying in frustration because I didn't want meat & dairy and didn't have any other choices. The awesome thing about low carb dieting is that the quick and consistent weight loss can be really motivating.

I'm a fan of the Lean for Life book which is also used at the Lindora clinics. This a low carb ketogenic diet that allows you to eat certain fruit and veggies and still lose weight. Every few weeks you alter your diet to add the carbs back in slowly then go go back to the low carb plan. One thing that sets this book apart from most others is that it deals with the issues in your mind. There are daily readings and exercises to help you understand how you got here and how to think differently. It's a good motivator.

Personally, I can only do low carb for a few weeks at a time. I'd recommend starting out low carb and committing to stick with it for 6 weeks then deciding to stay with low carb or move over to the more standard weight loss plan here on myfitness pal.

To conquer that tough transition period into a ketogenic state, I'd recommend doing as much exercise as possible until you cross over. It makes the period of cravings and lethargy much shorter.

Good Luck!

Prahasaurus

I highly, highly recommend a low carb diet. Not necessarily Atkins per se, but low carb. Just study up and pick and choose what makes sense for you or your husband. My guess is that by eliminating (or dramatically reducing) just a handful of food/drinks (no more processed foods, no more soft drinks or sugary beverages, no bread, no pasta, no white rice, no beer), you will get fantastic results.

I've lost 40 pounds and I feel fantastic. Huge energy boost. And I don't go hungry.

You'll need to exercise a bit, too. Nothing strenuous. Start with more walks.

Good luck.

Dauntlessness

I know someone at my gym who went on a lower carb diet (not a no carb diet) and lost over 120lbs. She basically cut her carbs in half and tried not to eat them at night. Lower carbs, a balanced diet and exercise is what worked for her. She is tiny now, like a size 4-6 when she was a size 22 before. Just amazing.

You would figure I would use my own advice but I have also had great results with eating low carb dinners. I think I just slipped into old habits and never returned to doing it. I think I might have try that again.
I am not a big fan of the "all or nothing" attitude of adkins though. I just don't think that cutting out any food group is healthy. I do however think cutting them down to reasonable portions is a great idea.

SeasideOasis

Lower Carb - Ok. :ohwell:
Atkins Diet - Not a Fan!! :explode:

While I did not do the diet, my mother did. While you don't want to hear the 'bads' you can't really look at just one side when you are talking VERY SERIOUSLY about the health implementations. My mother did Adkins, sure she lost weight, but when she want to a more normal/sustainable diet, she gained it all back and then some.

If you chose to definitely do this diet with your Hubby, make sure you schedule frequent doctors visits to get things like your cholesterol (among other things) checked out. My mother had problems with that, as also problems with her heart due to the higher fat amounts that you take in during this diet.

It is in my personal opinion that people do not consult doctors as much as they should when making a drastic change in their diets. No matter the diet, we are dealing with the well being of our bodies and there aren't any 'do overs' if we really screw something up.

Lipodestroyer

I have tried every diet on the planet it seems like. I have done HMR, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, among others. I have found through personal trial and error that the low-carb lifestyle works for me. The weight loss you see in my signature is for two weeks worth as of this posting. I have a lot more energy, my hunger is down, and I feel great. I'm going to go to the doctor in a couple of weeks to have my blood drawn but I've been a lucky fat guy as far as not suffering from high cholesterol or diabetes, not even close. Don't listen to these folks that say once you come off you'll gain it all back. The people that do that go from atkins induction level carbs to eating regularly again and fail to go through the transitions. Some of my friends are examples of that. They hit their target and go back to what they were doing and balloon right back up. Keep in mind I am not staying below 20g/day. I set my sights at <40g/day and have noticed tremendous progress. My bane is sweet baked goods so I have a friend of mine who has a custom cake business baking me custom deserts with no more than 6g/serving of carbs. As a sidenote the Cheesecake Factory sells a cheesecake with 6g/slice if you don't feel like making any yourself or if you don't know a bakery wizard of your own. Good luck to you and press forward!

LReneeWalker

I have tried every diet on the planet it seems like. I have done HMR, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, among others. I have found through personal trial and error that the low-carb lifestyle works for me. The weight loss you see in my signature is for two weeks worth as of this posting. I have a lot more energy, my hunger is down, and I feel great. I'm going to go to the doctor in a couple of weeks to have my blood drawn but I've been a lucky fat guy as far as not suffering from high cholesterol or diabetes, not even close. Don't listen to these folks that say once you come off you'll gain it all back. The people that do that go from atkins induction level carbs to eating regularly again and fail to go through the transitions. Some of my friends are examples of that. They hit their target and go back to what they were doing and balloon right back up. Keep in mind I am not staying below 20g/day. I set my sights at <40g/day and have noticed tremendous progress. My bane is sweet baked goods so I have a friend of mine who has a custom cake business baking me custom deserts with no more than 6g/serving of carbs. As a sidenote the Cheesecake Factory sells a cheesecake with 6g/slice if you don't feel like making any yourself or if you don't know a bakery wizard of your own. Good luck to you and press forward!

Thanks! I am sure if I do "go off it" I will gain it back. But that is with any diet. I dont plan to go off it. I plan to do each phase and learn how to eat for ME!

Runninginafatsuit

No offense to most of you who are against Atkins, but did any of you read the book? It seems that a lot of people think it's a "no carb" diet, when that's not at all what it is. Please read the book and get educated before condemning something you know nothing about.

FYI, if your friend or whoever, just ate meat and cheese while doing Atkins then they were not doing Atkins, they created their own diet. This is why Atkins has a bad rap because people claim they are doing it but are NOT.

TXgirlMandy

In college, I lost 40 lbs on the South Beach Diet. I kept it off for 5 years until I had my first child. I don't know if I would consider it a low-carb diet. The first few weeks are basically no carb and then you reintroduce whole grains, fruits, etc in moderation. I really, truly feel like the SBD taught me how to eat healthy for the first time in my life. Using the basic knowledge I learned from SBD, I was able to keep the weight off without actually counting calories, carbs, proteins, etc. I had 2 children in 2 years and I am looking to lose 20 lbs now that we are done having kids. I am so grateful that I did do the SBD before. I know I have a lot less weight to lose now because of it and I feel more confident that I can do it and keep it off because of my success with the SBD.

ETA: I am 5'1" and on SBD I went from almost 140 to around 100 in less than a year.

terraskye

Bumped to read later as I have to low carb for health now

supamommax3

not sure if anyone has mentioned this but have you looked into The Insulin Resistance Diet - it is balancing carbs and protein and making sensible carb choices . I am not doing it as a fad diet but am using it to change my eating for life , it is really easy to understand and work with

abigailmariecs

It works, but it doesn't stay off if you don't stick to it. He should get his cholesterol checked first, because it can cause cholesterol to raise. As long as his cholesterol is fine, then he should go for it. His energy level is going to be really low for the first couple of weeks (if he is strict about Atkins).

My mother and I both did this diet. We both lost a ton of weight. She has managed to keep it all off but only by sticking to it and tracking everything so she knows what she has taken in carb wise. I was not so lucky...I fell off the wagon so to speak about a year after I had started it and never really got back to it. This time around I am focusing less on low carb and more on overall diet to help build my awareness of nutrition so I can stay on track.

I would have to second the zero energy part. the first day was a breeze and I did not understand why people were warning me about being weak. By day two I knew exactly what they were taking about. For this reason if he is working I would suggest he start it on a Friday because day two and three were the worst days by day four while I still felt very weak I noticed that it was starting to level off a little.

bluebird321

I've been averaging about 70 or under in regards to carbs for about 15 months and it has worked out well for me.