20 Carbs or less!!! Does it Work????

fitby26
fitby26 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

Today is day 1 for me on the Atkins Diet. I am trying to stay below 20 carbs a day. Has this worked for anyone? And when did you start seeing results?

Replies

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Hi,

    Today is day 1 for me on the Atkins Diet. I am trying to stay below 20 carbs a day. Has this worked for anyone? And when did you start seeing results?

    It works the same as every other diet, through a caloric deficit. Nothing special about staying under 20g of cho a day
  • rebeccap13
    rebeccap13 Posts: 754 Member
    Rather than go on a highly restrictive diet, I suggest calculating how much protein you need and also fat, then filling in the rest with carbs. Also, learn about TDEE and how to create a reasonable deficit to lose weight. Stay within those macros and eat at a deficit and you will lose.

    I had a tendency to binge on carb & cal dense foods so I minimized them in my diet for a while, rarely lower than 50g, but now I eat them in moderation. Don't need to torture yourself with 20g carbs per day to lose weight. Dieting can be enjoyable; starvation, lack of food variety, and nearly eliminating certain macros is not necessary.
  • jjketracy
    jjketracy Posts: 3 Member
    Yes, it works. I began Atkins on April 28th of 2012. Todays weigh in showed a total loss of 88 lbs since the start. MFP has been invaluable. I'm eating fruits and veggies now, gradually added carbs as the weight fell off. I've tried alot of diets, but the low carb seems to be the best for me. I'm a 55 year old female, perimenopause. Traditionally, a group that finds it hard to lose. I say give it a try!
    :smile:
  • bms34b
    bms34b Posts: 401 Member
    Yes, it will work, but look forward to having a super low energy level throughout the day. I'm talking feeling physically ill and so tired you can't stay awake past seven PM.

    Personally, I am a full time student who also works a full time job, so I scale how much carbs/calories I need to eat depending on the day and how active I am. I can't do low carb while I'm in charge of 30 kids all day. That will go... poorly.
  • ashleydmassey
    ashleydmassey Posts: 106 Member
    I did Atkins a few years ago. Be very careful! Check with your doctor. That's my first advice. Atkins is a bit on the extreme side. I had a doctor actually advise a "low carb" diet for me so that's the one I went with. It went fine at first. I lost a LOT of weight! And very fast! So, it "sounds" good, right?! Oh, and I didn't exercise. The weight melted off. Then I wound up in the emergency room with what a doctor defined as a "massive kidney infection". I have only 1 kidney. I was told to get off that diet and I should have never been on it to begin with. It's very hard on your kidneys and can be equally hard on your liver. It works for people without side effects, but you have to just be aware and be careful.

    Also, if anything happens and you decide that's not the lifestyle you can live with, and you do decide to stop the diet, the weight will likely come back on. It comes back on rapidly and in high doses. The diet doesn't consider counting calories at all, so you are still loading your body with a lot of energy, and unless you burn it off, it's not beneficial to you.

    My bottom line advice, from my own experience, would be to first talk with a physician. Have your labs/blood work tested to see where your health is, to be sure you can safely conform to that particular lifestyle change. Different bodies/health needs different nutrients sometimes. You may require something more low-sodium. Or you may just need to adjust calories in/calories out without specifically taking away any nutrients or food groups. It's best to develop a healthier lifestyle that you can sustain long-term.
  • anaju61
    anaju61 Posts: 34 Member
    I agree with Ashely. I have a co-worker that did Atkins and lost over 100 lbs. but once he stopped he gained all the weight back plus more.
  • rebeccap13
    rebeccap13 Posts: 754 Member
    Cals in vs cals out... Carbs aren't the devil, folks.

    That guy probably gained all the weight back because he stopped eating within his TDEE.
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    I found it works in the short term. I tried Medi-weight loss (800 cal/day and no more that 25g of carbs - yikes!) It worked short term, but the supplements, shots, Dr. appts. tiredness, cravings, and crankiness just wasn't worth it. I did it with 2 co-workers: 1 gained all the weight back, plus some. One is still kind of doing it and kind of losing weight, I switched over to healthy and clean eating with exercise and that works best. I still try to keep my carbs low (~100/day). It is slower but it is much more realistic, HEALTHY, and sustainable. Fad diets don't work long term. Sorry.
  • stacylperry
    stacylperry Posts: 66 Member
    :sick: the atkins diet works !! it really does !! I lost 65 pounds in 3 months !! and I didn't exercise at all !! But I got really sick:sick:
    I got really tired, and run down.:yawn: but I lost weight... I was buying clothes so fast because of my weight dropped so drastically.
    But I got really sick!! I had to take a week off of work, and had to stop the diet. Then once I started eating 'normal' again the weight started creeping back on. In three months the weight was back on and more :noway: The diet works, but be careful... :wink:
  • a_crotty
    a_crotty Posts: 225 Member
    Today is my Day 1 with Atkins induction. 20-25 or less is possible and yes it can work, it's all individual statistics so who knows what will work for you or the next person. Women have a terrible time with craving carbs so that in and of itself tells me that this is a good thing for women as carbs = sugar which in ME = fat belly.

    Take your vitamins, drink your water and do what you can to regulate mood swings by excercising.
  • fitby26
    fitby26 Posts: 14 Member
    Ok thanks everyone.
  • fitby26
    fitby26 Posts: 14 Member
    I did Atkins a few years ago. Be very careful! Check with your doctor. That's my first advice. Atkins is a bit on the extreme side. I had a doctor actually advise a "low carb" diet for me so that's the one I went with. It went fine at first. I lost a LOT of weight! And very fast! So, it "sounds" good, right?! Oh, and I didn't exercise. The weight melted off. Then I wound up in the emergency room with what a doctor defined as a "massive kidney infection". I have only 1 kidney. I was told to get off that diet and I should have never been on it to begin with. It's very hard on your kidneys and can be equally hard on your liver. It works for people without side effects, but you have to just be aware and be careful.

    Also, if anything happens and you decide that's not the lifestyle you can live with, and you do decide to stop the diet, the weight will likely come back on. It comes back on rapidly and in high doses. The diet doesn't consider counting calories at all, so you are still loading your body with a lot of energy, and unless you burn it off, it's not beneficial to you.

    My bottom line advice, from my own experience, would be to first talk with a physician. Have your labs/blood work tested to see where your health is, to be sure you can safely conform to that particular lifestyle change. Different bodies/health needs different nutrients sometimes. You may require something more low-sodium. Or you may just need to adjust calories in/calories out without specifically taking away any nutrients or food groups. It's best to develop a healthier lifestyle that you can sustain long-term.

    Sorry to hear about health problems that resulted from low carb diet. I will take your advice and seek my Doctors advice. Wish you all the best
  • fitby26
    fitby26 Posts: 14 Member
    :sick: the atkins diet works !! it really does !! I lost 65 pounds in 3 months !! and I didn't exercise at all !! But I got really sick:sick:
    I got really tired, and run down.:yawn: but I lost weight... I was buying clothes so fast because of my weight dropped so drastically.
    But I got really sick!! I had to take a week off of work, and had to stop the diet. Then once I started eating 'normal' again the weight started creeping back on. In three months the weight was back on and more :noway: The diet works, but be careful... :wink:

    Thank you for the advice. and sorry to hear that the Atkins made you sick.
  • Bakkasan
    Bakkasan Posts: 1,027 Member
    I agree with Ashely. I have a co-worker that did Atkins and lost over 100 lbs. but once he stopped he gained all the weight back plus more.

    Sooooo he overate after coming off his diet. Kinda common. Not an atkins problem, a problem with not learning how to eat properly when you come off any diet.

    Atkins works for some, not others. It works for me. For every study claiming it is bad, there is one saying it's good. Some people thrive on it, some feel like crap. When I do very low carb after a few weeks I lose all cravings then start forgetting to eat enough, lose too much weight too fast and make myself sick. I can totally vouch for that effect...
  • fitby26
    fitby26 Posts: 14 Member
    Yes, it works. I began Atkins on April 28th of 2012. Todays weigh in showed a total loss of 88 lbs since the start. MFP has been invaluable. I'm eating fruits and veggies now, gradually added carbs as the weight fell off. I've tried alot of diets, but the low carb seems to be the best for me. I'm a 55 year old female, perimenopause. Traditionally, a group that finds it hard to lose. I say give it a try!
    :smile:

    Did you have a low energy level? Or any other health risk as a result?
  • neelia
    neelia Posts: 750 Member
    I did Atkins a few years ago and lost around 40 lbs total in less than 3 months. The weight literally FELL off. I was down an entire dress size in under 2 weeks.

    However, it made me VERY sick. I was always tired, very irritable, and carried a constant headache. The feeling never went away as long as I did Atkins.

    As soon as I came off Atkins and started to eat "regular" food, the weight piled back on plus more.

    The best success I have had was last year before I got pregnant, I dropped close to 30 lbs in 3 months by eating between 1200-1800 calories a day and exercising (walking or riding my bike for about 45-1 hour 3-4 times a week or by attending a Zumba class at my local YMCA). I kept it off until I started fertility meds and got pregnant. I felt 100% better doing this rather than Atkins.

    No matter what you decide to do, you will have support. Good luck!

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