YOUR ATKINS EXPIERENCE

I lost a good 20 pounds on Atkins in the past. I found it was easy...except for when it wasn't, like when I wanted a burger, a sandwich, a piece of pizza. It was fun experimenting with low carb dough's and stuff like that to make alternates to the stuff I liked, but in the end it was unsustainable for me. I find that intermittent fasting works better for me as far as daily energy goes, and being able to get away with eating 90% good whole foods, without sacrificing results.

One thing I will say that does help is to stay away from artificial sweeteners. I felt that always made me crave carbs, even though I hadn't had any. Even now on IF I drink my coffee black, and tea is unsweetened.

I normally do a lifestyle that is basically Atkins induction phase permanently. Pregnant now so having to take a break. But I love it! It gets easier most of the time. For me though I definitely agree with ryox82 about the artificial sweeteners. I can't eat them but I have researched them a lot and found that for a lot of people, including my husband at times, they trigger carb cravings. My favorite trick is to change my cravings. I will pick one high fat thing that I love (bacon for me) and when ever I crave the carbs, I eat that snack instead. After about 2 weeks I start to crave the bacon rather than the carbs. Usually high fat products help more than anything else with cravings. If you give in, the cravings will only get worse.

It is difficult but I know based on the way I feel when I am able to stay with this lifestyle, I don't ever want to go back.

I do a bit of a combination. I count calories, but I also keep my net cabs below 80. It has worked for me. Been doing that since May, 2013. I probably could have lost the same amount of weight just counting calories, but I don't have the acid reflux when I keep my carb intake low. For me that is worth it.

Spent about a year doing Atkins/VLC. Ended up with crazy cravings, poor endurance, and significant loss of lean mass.

And at the end of it, also discovered that it's easy to gain weight eating that way. Imagine that, calories really do matter...

Never again.

I am doing an Atkins-based approach, as well.

My senior year of high school (10 years ago...) I did my senior project on the Atkins diet as it was a huge fad then. During induction, I lost 15 lbs. I had headaches, cramps from constipation, and was horribly irritable. After induction, I didn't really get headaches or have any of those bad feelings. Everything kind of evened out. I attributed it to the fact that I had A LOT of sugar to get out of my system.

I did Atkins for a total of 3 months (when my project was due), and by the time I wrote my final paper I had lost 40 lbs.

I kept it off for about 3 months until...COLLEGE! Binge drinking, sorority parties, eating out constantly. Yeah, it was bad. No wonder I gained the weight back!

I had my daughter in March and have lost almost 50 lbs using the low calorie approach, but I've kind of stalled out now so I decided to try low carb again. Since starting, I've lost 4 lbs.

Feel free to add me if you wish!

I did the Atkins diet as my New Year's resolution last year & lost a TON of weight by that summer. 70 pounds to be exact. I used to rave about it to my co-workers, family, and friends. They jumped on the bandwagon too when they saw my results. Once I stopped the diet, it took a good couple months before I started packing on the pounds again & it just went out of control from there. I would never recommend doing this diet, especially a second time, unless you plan on sticking with it your entire life.

I think it's great for a short term cure, but for me, I could never live without bread or pizza every once in a while. That was the problem with Atkin's. Once you ate something you shouldn't, your body starts all over again. Headaches from sugar withdrawals were the worst & every time I cheated, which was RARELY, I would immediately get a headache when returning to the diet.

I found the diet to be VERY limited. I no longer enjoy bacon like I once did. The thought of hamburgers without buns makes me a little nauseous now.

At the time I was on my diet, I didn't have temptations and barriers that might set me back. I was living at home, working and going to school full time, so I rarely had time for social situations, like dining out. I quit my job to finish up the rest of my degree & now live with my boyfriend, so I can't afford buying meats all the time anymore. Atkin's was a huge expense for me, so you have to consider this. This was actually the reason I quit the diet the 2nd time around.

In the end, I feel I lost the majority of my weight simply because I was reducing my calorie intake from never being hungry. So, if I can eat foods I want in moderation and stay within my calorie limits, it's a win-win for me.

Lost weight
Missed carbs
Ate carbs
Re-gained weight

I lost 130lbs doing atkins and I would recommend the diet to anyone! The reason for that is because after about the third week of induction (yes I did induction the entire time), you really don't get hungry at all. I'm serious when I say that I could eat at 9am and not be hungry when dinner rolls around at about six. Again you really wont get hungry with a low carb diet. I wasn't constantly thinking of my next meal, what I could or couldn't eat, no nothing. In the past food would consume my every thought, but now, all of that is gone. In truth, I like to describe a low card diet as a freedom from food.

What helped me keep on the diet was to not have any cheat days at all, and a ton of diet soda! hahaha! And yeah I know that some people can't have diet soda on the diet. Everyone is different. But for me it helped greatly!

I Lost 15 lbs. My friend lost 60! (shes been on it longer--like 5 years) We dont eat any bread. We have pasta/cake on occasion. Just eat a cheeseburger with all the fixin's. Just eliminate the bun and use a knife and fork! Culvers is delicious. Its not that hard because of the bacon, sausage, cheese and steak you can have. Screw the bread! Com'on you can do it. Just remember to drink water. And most importantly...STAY IN YOUR PHASE! Be careful when looking up recipes. Make sure they are for your Proper phase. If you are in Phase 1 PLEASE be sure you aren’t eating from Phase 4. Thats a big no no!