Atkins vs. low carb vs low calorie

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lori8431
lori8431 Posts: 68
in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost 11 lbs in 3 mos..seems like a slow weight loss..3lbs of this was doing Atkins induction for twelve days..which I hated. I rarely eat bread if so ezekiel..dont do sugar..only good carbs on occasions and alcohol maybe twice month. I always watch calories and workout three times week. Help. Not sure what else I could do to step up the game.

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  • mursey
    mursey Posts: 191 Member
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    I love Atkins but so many people here hate it. I have tried low fat but it doesn't work as well as any of the low carb diets for me. I guess if you don't like low carb, you could step it up by learning how to lift weights. That changed my entire life.

    Other things that helped me:

    No more long torturous runs, I learned that shorter intervals are better. (shorter runs up stairs in a park, for example)
    Weight training- you really have to if you care about changing your body shape and metabolism in the long run.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    As long as you make sure your carbs are coming from fruits, vegetables and whole grains you don't need to do a low carb diet. Your body needs carbs for energy and your brain needs them in order to function properly.

    Without being able to see your food diary I don't know what exactly you're eating, or how many calories you're consuming. I will say that it's possible that you are either eating too much or not enough. I know that if I consume fewer than 1400 calories I stop losing weight immediately.
  • Iceprincessk25
    Iceprincessk25 Posts: 1,888 Member
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    I'm like you. My body responds better to low carb eating habits. I'm doing South Beach right now. I've lost like 5 pounds in the first 9 days. I'm keeping my carbs between 50-100 grams a day which the primal blueprint says is effortless weightloss.....obviously it is. It took me like 8 weeks to lose 6 pounds last week doing low fat/caloriesin/burned.
  • jimswife1
    jimswife1 Posts: 42 Member
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    As a diabetic I eat fairly low carb and I really enjoyed Atkins when I was doing it whole heartedly. Then I had my lab work done and my cholesterol is up, whereas it had been completely normal before, so I knew it was the Atkins lifestyle in addition to that, a bit of a change in my kidney function, so I put the brakes on Atkins. I would have defended Atkins til the end, but I saw it for myself. I still eat low carb, but not in the Atkins style. I'm a registered nurse, so I know the changes were related to Atkins. I keep on top of my numbers because my father was a dialysis patient and I'm not trying to go there. So, if you are going to do Atkins, you should really have baseline bloodwork done, cholesterol and BMP.

    Best of luck to you.
  • GiGGiTy3434
    GiGGiTy3434 Posts: 24 Member
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    I have done almost all of the fad diets out there. I think Atkins is the worst of them.. I am doing the Glycemic index diet right now(www.gidiet.com) and I love it. I have lost 70lbs starting on jan 1st, 2011. It hasn't been easy, but with some hard work and supportive help from my wife, I am doing it. She has lost 60lbs starting at same time.
    Do some research on this diet and I think it is the easiest to live with diet out there.
  • lori8431
    lori8431 Posts: 68
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    Thanks a lot for this info, really helps me see in a new light.
  • lori8431
    lori8431 Posts: 68
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    I do like low carb just not the strictness of Atkins. Thanks for the info, it really helps. I am really pushing to try and up my workouts to strength training 2xweek and cardio 2xweek an hour each.
  • LowCarbAmanda
    LowCarbAmanda Posts: 129
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    I love Atkins. I had high cholesterol, and high triglycerides before Atkins. Now, they're perfect. I've also lost 63 lbs in 8 months. It will be the way I eat for the rest of my life.

    I had done a relatively low carb diet once before. I ate Ezekial bread, etc. but stayed around 120 grams of carbs. I lost like 8 lbs, and then nothing.

    I'm sorry to hear about the other woman with kidney issues, but that must have been from an underlying condition. You can actually research that low carb diets have been shown to reverse kidney damage in diabetics. They are perfectly safe, so long as you are only having moderate protein, and high fat (not trans). High protein does the damage. Atkins isn't high protein if followed correctly.

    Best of luck! :)
  • jimswife1
    jimswife1 Posts: 42 Member
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    No underlying condition, Atkins. It is hard for the kidneys to process all of the protein. I have normal kidney function but I noticed a decrease in my GFR, glomerular filtration rate. There really is no way to reverse kidney damage except for a transplant. If Atkins works for you that is great, but it should be researched thoroughly and labs should be done.
  • LowCarbAmanda
    LowCarbAmanda Posts: 129
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    http://www.mountsinai.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/diabetic-kidney-failure-may-be-reversed-with-low-carbohydrate-diet
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
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    I love Atkins but so many people here hate it. I have tried low fat but it doesn't work as well as any of the low carb diets for me. I guess if you don't like low carb, you could step it up by learning how to lift weights. That changed my entire life.

    Other things that helped me:

    No more long torturous runs, I learned that shorter intervals are better. (shorter runs up stairs in a park, for example)
    Weight training- you really have to if you care about changing your body shape and metabolism in the long run.

    I'm the same. In fact, when I "stepped up" to distance running, I started feeling fatigued, upped my carbs, put on weight, and felt even more fatigued. My body simply responds better to a low carb diet mainly because I'm not ravenously hungry between meals thanks to the higher fat and protein content of my typical meal.

    I've recently started back with strength training and I'm honestly not sure why I ever stopped. It's a MUCH better workout, IMO.

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