Has anyone tried Atkins diet plan??

mytime6630
mytime6630 Posts: 4,252 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been struggling to lose weight. My husband also wants to lose 20 lbs, and he wants us both to start Atkins diet. I am concerned because I love fruit, and I know a lot of fruit you cannot eat. But from my understanding, its just for the first 2 weeks?

Has anyone tried Atkins, and if so, what kinds of food do you eat, and have you had success.

If both my husband and I could drop 20 lbs, I would be only 10 lbs from my goal weight, so hoping this could kick start me to keep going.

any suggestions?

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Why not just eat at a deficit?
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    joan6630 wrote: »
    I have been struggling to lose weight. My husband also wants to lose 20 lbs, and he wants us both to start Atkins diet. I am concerned because I love fruit, and I know a lot of fruit you cannot eat. But from my understanding, its just for the first 2 weeks?

    Has anyone tried Atkins, and if so, what kinds of food do you eat, and have you had success.

    If both my husband and I could drop 20 lbs, I would be only 10 lbs from my goal weight, so hoping this could kick start me to keep going.

    any suggestions?

    From what I have seen in people doing this, it is not a diet you follow for a few weeks, it is a lifestyle. If you see it as a tool to use a few weeks, I doubt it is for you. And if you dislike the idea, why shoudl you follow it? Why can't your husband try it and you try something different?
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I do agree that it is a lifestyle change and not just a weight loss tool. If you use low carb eating to lose weight, there is a good chance that when you switch back to your old eating habits, you could regain the weight. That being said, I really like eating low carb and how my body feels now. I've basically been doing phase 1 of Atkins for about 2 months and I've lost 20lbs (putting me at a normal BMI), normalized my blood glucose, and improved my health in ways obvious to me and my loved ones.

    Try it if interested. If it doesn't work, you can always drop it. Just be aware that the first two weeks of very low carb often do not feel great. There is often more fatigue and sometimes headaches if your sodium, magnesium and potassium are not increased (eating higher carbs tend to cause one to retain K, Mg, and Na, as well as water).

    Try the Low Carber Daily group for more info and support - there sometimes is not much support for low carb diets on the main boards. Good luck!
  • 24karit1
    24karit1 Posts: 1 Member
    I have been doing Atkins for a few years. It's most definitely a life style not a short term thing. The first 2 weeks are the "induction phase". It's a 2 week program you do to kick start the program. It's where you're going to lose your water weight plus some. Pretty restrictive but easy to follow. (I couldn't give up my coffee and creamer but did everything else!)
    After that there are two more phases, each phase re-introduces certain foods back into your diet. Berries are allowed and now that I've been doing it for a while, I do eat fruits when I want to. They're healthy!
    I lost 40 pounds in about 10 months and have kept it off. I do allow myself to have things like potatoes or pizza on occasion - I just limit it those items and balance out the rest of my day when I splurge. It's worked really well for me but like all life style changes you have to be mentally ready to make the change! Good luck
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    nawlinsnawlins wrote: »
    counting calories here works. just give it a month. you'll see. no need for atkins.

    Very true - weight loss always boils down to CICO.

    Atkins diet is just another way of doing a low carb diet... I haven't really looked into it, so I'm not sure whether it says to count calories or w/e... but just remember, CI<CO.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    No fruit (sugar) in the first two weeks. You can introduce low sugar berries etc later in Atkins as you move through the stages. Atkins.com lays it all out or read the book.

    I used it to lose over 40 lbs in 6 months. Meat, fish, eggs, cheese, vegetables.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    I don't have high opinions on any 'diet' that restricts from eating certain food groups. A calorie deficit is sufficient enough. I'm sure the atkins has it's benefits and I HAVE seen people lose a lot of weight on this - but really just HOW sustainable is this kind of plan? Not very IMO! :)
  • xKoalaBearx
    xKoalaBearx Posts: 181 Member
    Honestly, any weight loss, even the Atkins Diet, works because of a calorie deficit. (And vice versa, fails because of no calorie deficit.)

    I've tried all kinds of crazy diets, but in the end it's all about CICO. I no longer limit what kinds of foods I can eat. I know now that I can eat my entire daily maintenance calories in ice cream (not that I'd want to) and still not gain weight.

    Eat your fruits, just eat at a deficit! Enjoy!

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