Atkins?
 

Has anyone on here done Atkins? What was your success with it? My mom has been doing low-carb and she's lost 40 lbs in 3 months. I started it yesterday, and today I feel like absolute crap! Any opinions?!

You will feel like crap for several days.
I have been on atkins a million times. My downfall is this, I always tell myself I will only cheat tonight, will go right back on it in the morning. BUT I can never go back on, I want to eat everything I haven't been able to have before I go back on it. I gain 20 lbs back in two weeks. Like I said, I have done it a million times, I will probably do it a million more. I would like to go on it for a couple weeks to kickstart my weightloss and then switch to weightwatchers, but I never get that far. I lost 40 pounds on it after the birth of my first child. I have not been able to lose the weight from my second child (gained 60 lbs.)

By the way if you do stay on it for a long time and then cheat, you better make sure you are home because you will get sick.

I forgot to mention, I love the way I feel after about a week, where I am not hungry and actually forget to eat. That's great.

I have found ways to get around cheating, like fantastic low-carb ice cream by an Oklahoma company that tastes better than normal ice cream, and great chocolate. I just wish I would feel better. I have eaten pasta as a meal for at least 1 meal for about 10 years, and now I am so tired and gross feeling that I called in sick to work today!

Low Carb ice cream is great! And almonds and sunflowers seeds were good for me too, but like everything, you have to portion control yourself as those carbs add up fast.

I usually start off very slow, letting my self have about 30-40 carbs the first 2 days, I get myself down to like 5 carbs after a while.

I was doing Atkins for a few days when I was driving my car and passed out. I had been eating, too (i wasn't starving myself). My doc said that some people can't handle not having carbs and start to have blackouts. I guess I was one of those people.

My mom lost some weight on South Beach. IMO its not as strict and just as effective.

Wow that's horrible Kristy! I can't believe that. I really hope that doesn't happen to me. My mom and I have the exact same body I swear, so I'm willing to give it a try. If this doesn't work, I might try South Beach. I have heard it's good too.

I can't believe you get down to 5 carbs! I am eating a 4 carb salad right now for lunch (yeah I know lunch at 7...told you I felt like crap!) I'm having 20 carbs a day, which isn't bad because I can still have 1/2 ice cream and a .3 carb chocolate! I can't imagine being at 5...you must eat only meat!

I would like to lose 10 lbs before school starts in 3 weeks.

Any pointers from you all since you both did it....

And Kristy, how does South Beach work?

My hubby went on Atkins a long time ago. He did well, but its hard to stay on.. We (the whole family, except for my son) went on South beach and we all lost weight. (after 2 weeks) I like it better, because it seems like you can eat so much more. Yes the first 2 weeks are a bit hard, but after that the 3rd week is a breeze and the 4th week evern better. I also liked the book. You can follow the recipes and they are great.. No wondering well what am I going to make fro lunch, Dinner?? Its all right there..
It is however a bit expensive at first, but once you have all the items in the house its not so bad..

What kind of items and stuff do you have to have? My house has been eliminated of all carby food, and we have stuff like Splenda and soy flour instead of sugar and flour.

I agree it is expensive.

I get down to 5 carbs mostly because I can't stand to look at meat anymore so I hardly eat. I pretty much live on those carbsmart chocolate bars and boiled eggs and cheese. You will lose 10 lbs probably in 2 weeks doing 20 carbs, it's always easy the first two weeks. After that you will either continue to lose on 20 carbs or you may have to go less, atleast that is what my body did.

I plan on dieting after I come back from a trip next week....IF someone is on these low carb diets can they still drink Diet Soda ? I am so addicted to diet pepsi...

thanks ....

You can have any diet soda products. They tell you to stay away from the caffiene, but I think it's a bunch of crap. Diet soda has no carbs, so you can have it as much as you want!

my friend did it for like 5 months and lost like 40-50lbs quit it for a month and gained back 60lbs so if you are going to do it you have to stick with it no going back.

My mom is yo yo atkins dieter, every other month she is on, she is off. SHe too is addicted to Diet Pepsi. I'm talking atleast 5 times a day she goes through the drivethrough at Mcdonald's for an extra large soda. She has done this most of her life. She went on atkins once without the soda and lost weight really well but couldn't stay off the soda and now loses weight much slower, but to her it's worth it. She can't stand the withdrawal. But one thing to remember is drink lots of water, since the diet has a diuretic affect on your body. You will get dehydrated and get bladder/kidney infections and will not lose as much weight, have horrid breath and so on. The ketones you are burning need water to get out of your body.

You have to go from one diet to the next, if you get off atkins, go directly on another one of it will come back, that's why I want to do weight watchers after losing on atkins

The other thing, is those ketostix. They are like a mini weightwatcher's meeting and keep you motivated.

Good luck!
 

I was a patient of Dr. Atkins when he fell on some ice, split his head open & passed away. Bless his heart. I really liked him.

Everyone I know lost tons of weight on that diet, so I started going to him when I couldn't. Come to find out I'm part of the 2% of the population that it doesn't work for. I have thyroid issues. We were working on that when he fell-then I just gave up!

Shame too, because I don't really care for carbs so I don't miss them...

Also he was a really smart man. When you had an appointment with him he would spend a lot of time explaining things to you. I know everybody always goes on about the high fat in the diet, but with me he was all about healthy habits and low fat proteins-and I have it in his handwritting for proof!!

Feeling bad is just your body withdrawing from the carbs. Once you get over the withdrawl you'll start feeling good. Then when you start "peeing purple" as I called it, the weight will drop off. Get the Keto sticks. They really help monitor you.

I'll have to check to see if I have some of the stuff I got as a patient, and if you're interested I'll send you copies. Good luck!

Bless you for that answer - whew ! Chloeandj...That's great information too - I'm not sure WHAT I'm going to do but for now... reading what YOU guys know is good information - thanks for this thread -

Poor Brosie - I hope you feel better ...it sounds like the beginning is the hardest - Did you get the book to start with ? What made you choose Atkins ?

i'm such a picky eater..i would DIE!!!! Good Luck tho rosie!!!!

That would be so great of you thanks! I'm on the website and I've got a book that tells me what to do. I don't think I'll ever go back to eating the way that I used to. I realize that it's unhealthy and I am getting really sick from it. From what I have read, there are great ways to reincorporate carbs back into your life, and with all of the low/no carb options I don't think it will be that bad. Plus, being 90 lbs overweight is brutal!

Villette- My mom did a low carb diet ( just eliminating the sugar and starch) and she lost a ton of weight. She looks better than she has ever. I am so overweight, and my boyfriend's family is full of tiny people. I feel like they are staring at me and thinking I am gross. And I kinda think that about myself too. I want to be able to walk upstairs without getting winded, and sit in a desk at school without being self-concious. Low carb just seems to make the most sense biologically to me. Your body naturally uses carbs for energy first, so when you eat fat and carbs, the fat stays in your body and enver gets processed. If you eliminate the carbs, your body is forced to look to fat as an energy source. It takes more fat than carbs to make the amount of energy you need, which is why you can eat so many fatty foods on this and still lose weight. Your body starts burning the fat instead of storing it. I learned all of that in my 9th grade bio class, and just applied it! It's logical to me, and I thrive off of that! I got a book from Barnes and Nobles and then went to www.atkinscenter.com. I think it really helped me to know what to do!

Thanks to you all for the help and advice. I really appreciate it, especially when I feel like going to Olive Garden! ;)

I could never diet.. i just sort of watch what i eat.. i know alot of people who had success on Atkins but then once they went back to eating crbs they gained all the weight back and plus some.. be careful and good luck!!

Oops that was me not Bryan! ;)

I'd be happy to...
 

PM me to remind me to look when I get home. A lot of the stuff was specific to me, but there were some general info sheets that you might find helpful.

When it works, it really works. I could just never pee purple! lol

I was eating a lot of nuts - like cashews, etc. I don't really like nuts, but they're filling and have minimal, if any, carbs.

I'm not doing any "real" diet right now - just watching what I eat. South Beach was good. I borrowed my mom's book and tried out some of the recipes. I am a horrible cook though.

My mom does alot of dieting. She did atkins for awhile but its sooooo strict that she got tired of it. She also didnt feel quite right so she switched and has been doing the south beach diet and has lost 50 pounds. She has been on it for 3 months. With atkins she was on it for I think 3 months also and only lost 11 or 12 pounds.

I lost 50 pounds in 3 1/2 months on the Atkiens diet. I loved it at first but lost interest and slowly gained it back. I've gained 30 pounds back in a year. It really does work if don't cheat!

DO NOT DO THE ATKINS DIET, YOU WILL DAMAGE YOUR BODY!!! Trust me, I've seen nutritionists and doctors most of my life. My mom also did the atkins thing until I told her how bad it is and she started feeling the pangs. You will have no energy, and it will take it's toll on your liver. Trust me, just smart eating and excercise will do it. It just won't happen over night. Any diet that produces results that fast, is too good to be true. The minute you take yourself off of it you will probably gain all if not even more weight than before. Please please reconsider, I've seen the damage this diet can do. You body should always have a good amount of carbs for energy. Your sex drive will go down, not to mention other things. :eek:

I think that is what I'm going to do after I see some weight loss after 2-3 weeks. I think that it's kinda silly to cut out fruit, that is a healthy food. And carrots, that's kinda silly to me too. I think it's going to be all about eliminating sugar and refined flour and pasta and stuff like that, like eating the low-carb version of those "bad for you" things. I feel like I have tried every other diet and can't seem to stick to it or it doesn't work, but this I have been doing pretty good with. I did have a lot more energy today than I have had in a long time, and without caffiene :) I have been eating "balanced meals" before now, and I have gained 30 lbs! :eek:

I have heard that too Nobella. But I do have a lot more energy, not less. It's amazing to me to not have to take a 2 hour nap in the middle of the day and still be tired! But that probably comes from veggies.

What are some other suggestions of successful diets that people have been on? For those of you who gained back the weight after Atkins, did you go back to the way that you were eating before the diet, or did you stick with a reduced carb lifestyle?

Did anyone see Oprah last week when Dr. Perricone was on her show? He has a great plan! I bought his book but haven't had time to read it yet. I have done the Atkins diet along with lots of others for my entire life and I have to agree that all that I have done is become a yo-yo dieter! His idea is more geared to energy renewal and reverse aging and the foods he suggests sound a lot more appealing that any of the others I have ever seen, especially if you like seafood, which I do. I believe his website is ... nvperriconemd.com if you are interested.

Love Dr. Atkins
 

Went on Atkins in April of 2000 for my DD wedding. Lost 65 pounds in 5 months, went from size 16 to an 8. Felt absolutely wonderful, worked two full time jobs, had an enormous amount of energy. In the past five years due to health issues I have picked up 20 pounds of the original 65. I think that Atkins is marvelous. At the time I started it my cholestral (sp) was 270 and I was on high blood pressure meds. Within 4 months, cholestral was 135 and hae not had to go back on high blood pressure meds since. I swear by it. The candy bars and ice cream are great.

That's basically the diet that Dr Atkins recomended to me. Vegetables and low fat proteins. He personally wasn't into all the high fat stuff, but I think that so many people are that the attention kind of focused on that aspect of the diet. You CAN have it, but you don't HAVE to have it...

brosie, I haven't forgotten you, but FIL was hospitalized again this week and things are hectic. I'll check this weekend for info for you.

Good luck!!