Atkins - Does it work? How much did you lose on Induction?

TDEE - 20% = You can still eat carbs! wooohooo!

My in-laws did Atkins. First of all, have you read the book? To do it right you're supposed to take tons of vitamins and supplements. I don't personally know anyone who's kept the weight off with it, but I'm sure there are people out there.

Don't do it! Yes the weight melts off. But it comes back!. Atkins is something that you have to commit to. Low carbing for life (and I just couldn't do it love bread too much). It works for some people. It didn't work for me. Low carbing really messed with my mind - but that was just my experience.

Honestly, if you want to do Zone for maintenance I would just start doing that now. It's really tricky to transition off of low carb without gaining weight, and since you have relatively little to lose to begin with, it might be demoralizing to immediately put back on some weight as you re-fill your glycogen stores.

as others have said, unless you're going to do it for the rest of your life then i would find another method. my mother had great success and keeps the weight off as long as she stays away from carbs. it's important to note as well that she still ate at a deficit and exercised in addition to the lifestyle change.

My DJ/Close friend was obsessed with this diet, he lost big and then when he came off it would eventually put it back on. He then switched over to calorie counting after my boss lost big on it, he has since lost 2 stone and says he hasn't felt so great in his life and refuses to ever go back to Atkins diet and I mean he was obsessed with this diet.

ANY DIET works if followed. Staying on it after goal is the challenge. Personally I've never done one (with the exception for competitions) that kept me restricted from foods I like to eat. And that's why I've basically been the same size for 30 years now.

^^ this. Any "diet" works but they don't last very long.

This is true. You have to have the mind-set of making it a life-style change. Of COURSE if I go back to eating the way I ate before (which is why I put on the weight to begin with), I will put the weight back on. When I quit doing Weight Watchers, I gained my lost weight back.

I did it years ago and lost 30 pounds but quickly gained it back ( and more )

I had a friend that did Atkins..her breath smelt rank and anything she lost..she put right back on.

I did atkins for 2 months last year June. I lost 2 stone is two months and after the induction felt great......BUT i started eating properly and i have put on 3 stone! So i am heavier now than i was before. It is a really boring diet and does drain you out of your energy for about a week. The food is very repetitive and there is a lots of fat involved which is not good for you. I would not recommend that diet to anyone, but it is your own choice. If you have anymore questions, ask.

1) For weight loss and a "Short-term fix" it works. But you will still need to find a healthier Lifestyle/Diet to keep it off and maintain a healthy living. If you have issues with Cholesterol, it will help...but again, it's short-term.

2) some good reading here on the concerns to make this your lifestyle - "The American Dietetic Association also has concerns about the Atkins diet. Gail Frank, PhD, former spokeswoman for the organization and professor of nutrition at California State University in Long Beach, says, "The body needs a minimum of carbohydrates for efficient and healthy functioning -- about 150 grams daily." Below that, normal metabolic activity is disrupted.

"The brain needs glucose to function efficiently, and it takes a long time to break down fat and protein to get to the brain," says Frank. Carbohydrates, especially in the form of vegetables, grains, and fruits, are more efficiently converted to glucose. And this more efficient use of glucose has developed over a long period of time, according to Frank. "Fruits and berries are much more indicative of early man's eating pattern than eating only protein, and we haven't changed all that much physiologically."


Also, note that Atkins, himself, died of Cardiac Arrest.

So let me ask you....are you in it for the short-haul, or for life and long health? If its the short-haul, just go get Lipo

I did atkins for 2 months last year June. I lost 2 stone is two months and after the induction felt great......BUT i started eating properly and i have put on 3 stone! So i am heavier now than i was before. It is a really boring diet and does drain you out of your energy for about a week. The food is very repetitive and there is a lots of fat involved which is not good for you. I would not recommend that diet to anyone, but it is your own choice. If you have anymore questions, ask.

You don't gain 3 stone eating properly, sorry but this isn't Atkins' fault, it's yours.

Also, note that Atkins, himself, died of Cardiac Arrest.

Pretty sure he fell on ice and died of related injuries. I see this all the time. Turns out people just regurgitate rumours they hear as fact. Not that cool.

Yeah yeah, be that way...LOL He did suffer one, though.

Also, note that Atkins, himself, died of Cardiac Arrest.

Pretty sure he fell on ice and died of related injuries. I see this all the time. Turns out people just regurgitate rumours they hear as fact. Not that cool.

Yeah yeah, be that way...LOL He did suffer one, though.

He suffered a what? a cardiac arrest? cardiac arrest is the cessasion of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract. Everybody who dies suffers cardiac arrest LOL Sometimes if can be CAUSED by a heart attack (which is not the same thing) but in this case I think that seems to be what you are trying to imply. Every single person who died, EVER... suffers cardiac arrest.

I follow a low carb approach (not any in particular, just low carb so my sugar cravings stay away as well as my blood sugar stays consistent as I'm insulin resistant) I ALSO count calories, because no matter what you eat you can not lose weight if you're eating too much of it. I believe this gives me an edge because I do learn portion control and I also learn which carbs affect me more negatively (sweet potatoe is much better than wonderbread :P)

I lost a fair bit the first couple of weeks, 7lbs but the rest seems to come off about 1lbs/week. I eat about 1800 on days I"m not active to about 2000 on days which I am. Seems to work just fine for me and I am learning a lot about myself in the process. I don't expect to gain anything back even when I add in more carbs because I will still be eating aroung 1800 calories/day. The bottom line is no matter what you choose, too many calories is going to undermine your efforts so evne though Atkins says not to count calories I would count them based on your TDEE -20,15,10% whatever.

Yep--I would second this. I also have blood sugar issues so cutting back on carbs was essential for me (in addition to increasing my activity, which I have). I lost a lot more weight at first but then it settled in to about 1 pound a week and the last three or four months, it has been about 1/2 pound per week. I never feel deprived. But I prefer to call what I do as "lower carb" eating--I do not recommend ketotic diets. The reason why Atkins works is that you get so sick of eating meat, eggs, fish, etc. after a while that you cut way back in your eating. It is impossible to overeat on protein for days at a time (at least it was for me). But I don't think it is a healthy diet to stay on long-term. On lower carb eating, I usually stay between 70 to 100 grams of carbohydrate per day--I let it drift up toward 120 on my heavier exercise days. I get good appetite control at that level (I'm never hungry) and I consistently lose. I'm never tempted to binge because I don't eat sugary foods, which I feel contribute to binge eating for people with leptin-resistance, which I undoubtedly have. I don't eat any food with added sugar (now I find that on the rare occasion when I do have a bite of something like cake that it is WAAAAY too sweet). And I also took myself off of gluten because I felt it was contributing to my severe reflux and other digestive problems. The good news is that my reflux and digestive complaints have gone away and even my arthritis has improved on gluten-free eating. I generally have no problem staying within my allotted calories. Sometimes I have the opposite problem, pushing myself to eat a bit more when I don't really feel like it. (I generally try to "net" around 1,200 as if I don't, I might start losing too quickly and then feel totally dragged out).

I always eat at least one serving of fruit per day and lots of vegetables (and I eat mashed potatoes too--a personal favorite that would be a no-no on Atkins, I think). I don't miss the sweets and the bread but that's just me. Other people find that part hard to stick with. When I get to maintenance (it will probably take me at least another year because I actually want to lose very slowly) I will stay under 150 grams of carbs per day. I should be able to maintain at that level of carbs but if my weight starts to creep up, I will cut the carbs back down to 120-130. Good luck!