Low Carbers Only

ArynnOctavia · May 2012

I've done Atkins a few times, and did lose quite a bit of weight on it each time, but it is hard to stick to, and often as soon as you go off of it, weight piles back on.

What I'm doing this time is low carb too, but not as strict as Atkins, and represents a way of eating that I can do forever without feeling restricted (unlike with Atkins). I do not limit fruits or veggies (even the starchy ones), but I HEAVILY limit processed foods such as breads, pastas, grains, and empty sugars. I have never heard of the caveman diet either, but from what people are saying about it, that sounds what like I'm doing.

The thing about any diet is you have to eat in a way you'd be willing to eat forever, or the weight will always come back when you go back to eating "normal." Now, I eat in a way that I'll be happy to eat for the rest of my life.

LReneeWalker · May 2012

Thanks to everyone for your input! Hubby and I are headed for a major shopping spree today. Going to stock up on our low carb food and snacks. We are going to do this together, each at our own pace. I need it for my health and we both need it for weight loss! We dont plan for this to be a diet that we will go off of when we lose weight, rather a lifestyle change for the family.

Lotte34 · May 2012

Ive been low crbing for about 10 days, im 14 lb dwn

capnwo85 · May 2012

<----300g carbs daily, still drops weight.

gungho66 · May 2012

EAT RIGHT AND EXERCISE DRINK PLENTY OF WATER AND REST, ITS ALL ABOUT MAKING GOOD CHOICES, COMMON SENSE AND MODERATION

jonnysgirl1701 · May 2012

I'm on the Keto diet and its been amazing. In 2009-2010 I lost 150 pounds not eating bread but I also wasn't eating much of anything...so I was somewhat unhealthy I got pregnant and gained and gained and gained...now I am trying again but this time...I eat enough fat and protein to keep me healthy. I plan on switching over to paleo type diet once I am at goal weight but never going back to carbs. I consider them poison.

2Bgoddess · May 2012

my diet is lowER carb...I keep it as close to 70g per day as I can. also low glycemic, low sodium, higher protein...wanna see?

my profile pic is of course my after, but this was me before:

ugh i give up...can't get the pic to show.

delilah47 · May 2012

I went on the Atkins diet about 10 years ago. The weight dropped off rapidly until I happened to start a medication which prevents you from going into ketosis. Anyway, I was on the meds for a few months, then started Atkins again. Within a week, I started having serious heart rhythm problems where my heart would go THUMP.. then it would be a full 10 seconds before it would start beating again. Then it would be very rapid. I went to the emergency room 3 times with that same problem. Each time I asked if it could be related to the Atkins diet and was told by the doctor that he didn't think so, but was not sure. The diagnosis was PAT, a type of tachycardia. Since going on the diet was the only time I had those problems, I quit trying with Atkins. Since then I have done some research and found some info on irregular heart rhythms while on a very low carb diet and I did find some similar cases, but not a lot. Here is a link where I posted asking others for more info after reading a few posts from people who had similar experiences. It is from an Atkins blog site.. mostly success stories you could also explore.

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/health-chat/82268-how-your-heartbeat-cardiac-arrhythmia.html

Chood5 · May 2012

Here's a fail story. I did Atkins back in 2003 to lose weight for my wedding. I lost about 50 pounds and I felt great. After the wedding I went back to eating like I used to and not only gained it all back but added a ton more on top of it. In fact, I ended up weighing 73 pounds heavier than my starting weight (so gained 123 pounds). I gained back the 58 lbs within about a year and half. And then it just kept coming.

I didn't exercise though when I was losing and I was in complete denial when the weight started to return.

If you felt great and lost the weight you wanted to lose, why did you start eating the way that made you 50lbs over weight in the first place? I don't think the diet failed... I think that is a personal failure.........

menudavaca · May 2012

i have had low carb success -- been doing it since Nov 1 and have lost 77 pounds in six months

WOW , very impressive job

sammniamii · May 2012

I do a modified Atkins. My "good" cholesterol is too low (other one is fine) but I don't want to go too strict. I'll feel like its a punishment and quit. But my 2-3 weeks so far has been very helpful. I've lost 14 pounds, I'm eating better,my engery level is better and my horrible stomach issues (lactose intolerance) has almost 100% disappeared -- i'm eating cheese!!! I keep my carbs between 50-100. It makes me pay more attention to what I do choose to eat plus allows me to keep enough stuff that makes me feel better (small amounts of chocolate, fruit, ect as long as I hold true to the 100 or less). My hubby is following even less of one - he eats what i do, but is allowed breads (whole grain), cereals & oatmeal, and other healthy grains because his chol isn't good. I've dropped almost all added sugars, breads, oatmeal, rice and for now the beans, although I will still eat small amount of these.

Narisong · May 2012

I was doing low carb and lost close to 50 lbs, the problem was not in losing it but instead in keeping it off. Once I started eating normally I gained all that back and more. I've now being using MFP for almost 300 days and lost 8 pants sizes eating all the "normal" food. I do believe in low carb and that you can lose on it, but if you are doing low carb you have to know it's for life, because if you think you can do low carb and then go right back to eating normal food once you lose the weight I think most people will be very disappointed.

delilah47 · May 2012

Thanks to everyone for your input! Hubby and I are headed for a major shopping spree today. Going to stock up on our low carb food and snacks. We are going to do this together, each at our own pace. I need it for my health and we both need it for weight loss! We dont plan for this to be a diet that we will go off of when we lose weight, rather a lifestyle change for the family.

Hopefully, you have read the book and follow the instructions. It's tempting not to. Good luck to you and your husband!

Edit: Also, be darned sure you use the keto stix, because if there's something you don't understand about carbs, you can easily pack on some pounds before you know what hit you.

LReneeWalker · May 2012

We just went shopping. Bought lots of meat, cheeses, veggies. He got some fruit, I wont be eating fruit. I am so curious to see how my blood sugars do! I am not concerned with ketosis. I will be watching calories at least until I get the hang of it all. Hubby just had blood work done yesterday. I will have blood work done Thursday so we can compare the results in a few months time. Both of us get blood work done every 3-6 months for health issues.

As far as feeling deprived, that doesnt apply to me. The things I would feel deprived of I shouldn't eat anyway. For one, those things raise by blood sugar. Secondly, I cant control myself when I eat those things anyway. Here we go.....

Mmmary212 · May 2012

It works, but it doesn't stay off if you don't stick to it. He should get his cholesterol checked first, because it can cause cholesterol to raise. As long as his cholesterol is fine, then he should go for it. His energy level is going to be really low for the first couple of weeks (if he is strict about Atkins).

if he is thinking about doing a modified, low carb diet, he should look into the Cave Man Diet or other low carb options that do allow for fruit and nuts and whole grains. this will keep his energy up and probably help him stay on longer.

Most people arent disciplined enough to commit to Atkins long term.

My aunt lost like 80lbs on Atkins but put it all back on when she started eating carbs again. It just depends on his discipline level.

Not true. Cholesterol levels raise because of inflammation in the body which is caused by eat the wrong foods....foods like breads, sugars, oatmeal, seed oils, etc. "Atkins diet" and other low carb diets actually LOWER cholesterol. Please don't spread false information.

Mmmary212 · May 2012

One of the other things you have to watch when you do low carb is fiber intake! I find that when I cut out whole grain breads, etc. I have trouble meeting my daily fiber intake from just veggies. This is why I am only doing LC for 3 months to kick start my plan, and then I will slowly incorporate complex carbs back in to the picture. For now, breakfast is 2 hard boiled eggs & plain nonfat greek yougurt with a tsp of honey. (I also still drink my nonfat lattes from Starbucks!). For lunch and dinner I do a lean protein and a veggie. No potatoes, rice, etc. I do also try to eat 1 piece of fruit per day (love mangos, pears, but no bananas!) and usually I will have a 100 calorie pack of almonds. I am trying to keep my caloies around 1300/day to start, then will slowly increase that as I increase my activity levels. I am working out 4 X week: 2 of those with personal trainer doing 1 hr weight / circuit training and the other 2 where I do an hour of cardio on the elliptical. I just started back on this recently, and have lost 4 pounds, with 80 to go!!!

There's no such thing as a daily required amount of fiber. It's a myth. I eat practically 0 grams of fiber a day. I'm moving things along better than ever. The only reason fiber has been a big thing is because of this "eat your hearthealthywholegrains" which makes your body DEPENDENT on fiber to keep things moving. If you don't the junk, then your body has this natural way of moving things along, like we've been doing for thousand and thousands of years.

Mmmary212 · May 2012

Here's a fail story. I did Atkins back in 2003 to lose weight for my wedding. I lost about 50 pounds and I felt great. After the wedding I went back to eating like I used to and not only gained it all back but added a ton more on top of it. In fact, I ended up weighing 73 pounds heavier than my starting weight (so gained 123 pounds). I gained back the 58 lbs within about a year and half. And then it just kept coming.

I didn't exercise though when I was losing and I was in complete denial when the weight started to return.

If you felt great and lost the weight you wanted to lose, why did you start eating the way that made you 50lbs over weight in the first place? I don't think the diet failed... I think that is a personal failure.........

::::applause:::

Mmmary212 · May 2012

This is what gets me

"Low carb works great, I lost 100lbs but when I went back to eating regularly, I gained 150lbs back! It does not work!"

Maybe going back to eating "regularly" consists of foods you should never eat EVER...obviously it caused you to gain weight in the first place and in the second place. Just something to think about.

-Mary, Paleo for 1 1/2 years and loving it. So delicious.

LReneeWalker · May 2012

I was reading all the phases on Atkins. Nowhere does it say to go back and eat the way you use to (you know the way that made you fat in the first place). You slowly add back carbs with each phase to find what works for you.

Fiber... seems to me that you can get all the fiber you need from veggies.

delilah47 · May 2012

We just went shopping. Bought lots of meat, cheeses, veggies. He got some fruit, I wont be eating fruit. I am so curious to see how my blood sugars do! I am not concerned with ketosis. I will be watching calories at least until I get the hang of it all. Hubby just had blood work done yesterday. I will have blood work done Thursday so we can compare the results in a few months time. Both of us get blood work done every 3-6 months for health issues.

As far as feeling deprived, that doesnt apply to me. The things I would feel deprived of I shouldn't eat anyway. For one, those things raise by blood sugar. Secondly, I cant control myself when I eat those things anyway. Here we go.....

You sound really gung-ho. You should realize the way the Atkins diet works is by going into ketosis, so your body can burn it's own fat, especially during induction. The ONLY way to determine if you are in ketosis is by peeing on the keto stix to see what color they are. If you are NOT in ketosis, you will gain weight from eating all the high fat foods and too many carbs. And, it doesn't matter what kind of carbs you eat, in this diet they are ALL carbs to be limited whether from fruit, starch, sugar, whatever. One piece of fruit or piece of candy can take you out of ketosis. I just don't want to see you crash into disappointment. You can lose a ton of weight pretty fast if done right, but if done incorrectly, you can also gain a ton.

The reason I'm so concerned is that about 15 years before I successfully lost weight using Atkins, I went on an earlier version of his diet and misunderstood some things about carbs. My husband and I both gained 10 pounds in a very short period of time.

Again, good luck!

Edit: I'm sorry if I sound like I am trying to discourage you. I'm not. And.. maybe I'm being a little extreme. Everyone should try to see what works for them. If I weren't afraid of having heart rhythm problems again, I would be right on Atkins beside you.

Low Carbers Only

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