Motivate Me!!! New to the Board!!!

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Has anyone had any success on the Atkin's Diet???

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  • gjbridges
    gjbridges Posts: 8 Member
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    best way is to motivate yourself. you wont succeed unless YOU want it bad enough.... no one else can put you in that mindset. I can push you in the right direction though. Watch this video: http://youtu.be/lsSC2vx7zFQ its all about the narrarator's message.

    after that, forget about the atkins diet. all you need to do is count your calories, and eat less, move more... figure out you're maintenance calories by going here: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm , eat anywhere from 250-500 cals less than your maintenance calories. you can pretty much eat what you want as long as you stay within your calorie budget. just remember that the "bad" stuff you eat will have more calories so you cant eat as much and may not be enough to keep you full.

    as far as exercising, just start off with walking for 30 min/day and make an attempt at going just a LITTLE farther each day. after you get used to doing that for a few weeks/months find a gym where you can do strength training. you wont get huge unless you eat more than your mainentance. so lifting will be fine and will help put muscle in the space that your fat now occupies which will help with loose skin issues/jigglyness.

    most important thing of all is just be consistent and if you fall down, just get back up.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    To be perfectly honest, I'm not a huge fan of these types of diets. My first diet, about 12 years ago or so was Adkins; it does work in the short run but almost everyone I've known, including myself just piles the pounds back on in the end. If you're anything like me, no carbs will also make you feel absolutely miserable and sluggish.

    My biggest issue with diets like this is that they do not teach you to eat right and they don't help you to make good, long term, healthy eating decisions. This is ultimately why they fail in the long run. You're also depriving your body of necessary nutrition. To boot, you could run into issues with high cholesterol, etc...this is what ultimately happend to my dad when we were doing this diet at the same time...I now also have high LDL issues, not attributable directly to Atkins diet, but for years now I've had it in my brain that I can eat as much meat as I want (regardless of whether it's lean or not) without issue...and boy was I wrong.

    If you choose to go a route like this, I'm a bigger fan of the South Beach Diet. At least with SB, they ultimately get you on track to eating healthy and making better decisions.

    For me, I'm currently not on a "diet"...I'm eating in a very balanced way...plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and lean protein. I log everything to my diary and keep track of my calorie count. I track a number of other things as well, but my primary focus is saturated fats and sodium due to high blood pressure and off the charts LDL. It is working for me better than anything else I've ever done and I don't feel deprived at all. I've also re-introduced myself to exercise; I was quite the athlete in my youth and am a former Marine...I forgot how much I loved exercise until I got back into it; it's all I can do to keep myself from going overboard and hurting myself at this point.

    Good luck to you in whatever decision you make.
  • dawnyll
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    Thanks for this very useful and helpful advice I REALLY needed that!!!!!! :happy:
  • Rum_Runner
    Rum_Runner Posts: 617 Member
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    You have to want it!! Once you commit yourself your friends can be there to support you, cheer you on and inspire you to push beyond your comfort level - but until you are really truly ready - all the friends in teh world can not help you.

    As for Atkins - it can work - I've seen it work. The issue is; when people come off no/low carb they go back to their old habits the next day. The body reacts by storing all the carbs because it was deprived of them for so long. Your body needs carbs - its the fuel to keep you going

    I'd rather suggest lowering your carb intake, but not a Low Carb/zero carb diet!! Keep your carbs around 150 or less.

    Good luck!
  • caitlyn30
    caitlyn30 Posts: 207 Member
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    No, not atkins. I'm on the eat what I want, but less of it diet! trying to avoid fast food, watching my calories/sodium and sugars. drinking 8 glasses of water a day. and going for walks at nighttime. 50 lbs lost.
  • mmk137
    mmk137 Posts: 833 Member
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    it's about the quality of calories, because a calorie is not just a calorie.

    I love the smarter science of slim, the podcast is fantastic.

    but at the end of the day you have to want it.

    good luck either way.
  • gjbridges
    gjbridges Posts: 8 Member
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    it's about the quality of calories, because a calorie is not just a calorie.

    I love the smarter science of slim, the podcast is fantastic.

    but at the end of the day you have to want it.

    good luck either way.


    so... if you eat 500 cals of boneless skinless chicken breast vs. 500 cal burger from mcdonalds, the burger is going to make you fatter/gain weight? i know for athletes that yes, it DOES matter, but for regular people that are trying to lose weight that a calorie is in FACT just a calorie. ive lost 53 pounds by eating what i want. just less of it and staying within my calorie budget. im not saying to go out and eat nothing but mcdonalds for example, but just being smart with the AMOUNT of calories you are taking in at the first steps of your journey will go a LONG way for your success overall.
  • maqsmj
    maqsmj Posts: 697
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    go for IIFYM it is way easier and better to lose weight, i tried keto, low carb , atkins and whatever u wanna call and IIFYM worked best and basicly it is flexible dieting