Please share your experience with Atkins

[Liz]

I'm considering trying the Atkins diet. I've tried losing weight before and always gain it back. Not saying it wouldn't happen again even with Atkins, but it seems so different than anything I've tried (WW & Richard Simmons program). Would appreciate any input either negative or positive.

Do you absolutely HAVE to give up diet soda??? I'm hooked on that! Hate to drink water!

Is it easy to follow as far as learning what you can & can't eat?

Thanks!

 

[wovenwonder]

I didn't last more than a couple weeks! It was really hard giving up so many foods. It just didn't seem right that I couldn't have certain fruits and veggies but I COULD have unlimited bacon?? I just didn't feel healthy eating that way.

 

[Tamie]

I did the Atkins diet about 2 years ago. It works good and fast (for those who are impatient) but you really do have to maintain that eating lifestyle after the weight comes off since it will go on quickly if you don't. It did for me.

Once you get the hang of it, it is a very easy diet to do. I know that there was alot of negative thoughts about the diet in the media about how unhealthy it is with all the high fat foods and little veggies but IMO: If you are keep in mind that even though you can eat a pound of bacon at one sitting that is not very health and if you are dieting you do care about your health. So if you still try and eat good for you foods such as chicken and turkey, the steak and bacon type of food is balanced out. If that make sense.

It is hard for the first couple of days with the no carbs and having the desire to have a piece of toast or potatoes etc., but after you get used to it, you will not crave them anymore.

After you lose the weight, if you stay within your recommended carb allowance either by week or day you can have some of the carbs that you like, like the potato. But again, if you start back to eating all the carbs you did before the diet you will gain it all back in quick time.

Dr. Atkins does suggest that you cut out the soda, but I think that is from the standpoint of not a natural beverage. That it has chemicals and such things in it. He seems to want to go back to the "Little House of the Prairie" days that the main meal was meat and little veggies, sugar and potatoe type stuff. As long as it is diet and there are no carbs or you count the carbs it should not hurt. He also tells you to cut the caffiene, but who can do that. He says that you should cut all that stuff since it is addicting like a drug.

I felt great doing the diet and all in all I even think that I even ate better. No fast foods unless salads or sandwiches without the bun etc. I had eggs and bacon or salami (fried) for breakfast, lunch I had a salad or veggies and meat and for dinner the same. Otherwise I probably would have had mac n cheese or other stuff such as that for lunch and cereal or whatever I could find for breakfast.

If you try it let me know how you are doing. I am going to try Weight Watchers and if that does not work then I will be going back on the Atkins Diet.

Good Luck and best wishes.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

If I recall correctly, with a high protein diet you have to be careful to be sure to drink a lot of water or there could be kidney damage...?? You might want to check that out.

Good luck!

 

[Pixie Power!]

I love the atkins diet as i dont like many veggies, so it works for me. Im starting mine again on the 28th Jan, why so far in advance? Well i eat a lot of carbs so over the next two weeks im cutting down and then im off on Atkins full steam ahead!

Regards to the soda question, as i also dont drink tea or coffee (even caffine free) i live on soda and water. Like MaryAnnDVC said you WILL have to keep drinking water as it helps flush your system but i also had diet caffine free coke. If you drink too much of it it does slow the weightloss down so i had one can per day as a treat, maybe two of a weekend.

Hope this helps, PM me if you want.

Emma

 

[Blondie]

I've tried this diet, but I just can't make it past the third day.

It makes me me feel so sick! I have no energy, almost flu like symptoms!

Doctors at work that I have spoken to told me it's a nutritional nightmare of a diet.

Those words of advice were good enough for me to stay away from it.

I've heard lots of success stories though. Some people have no problems with this diet. I hope you are one of them. Good luck!

 

[PKK]

I tried it about 2 1/2 years ago. I had really good success with it, and I thought it was fairly easy to stay on after the first 2 weeks. First 2 weeks while you are in reduction were tough - if like me you are a real carb addict! Plus I kicked the caffeine at the same time! I lost about 25 lbs in 4 months. I did find that after the first 2 weeks, I had to stay at the high end of recommended carb levels to lose. If I was too restrictive I didn't lose much. Apparently everyone's body reacts differently. Also, PLEASE drink your water - when I didn't I felt bad.

Then, I quit my job of 14 years, started own business, etc, etc. I really feel off the wagon and became a junk food junkie again and gained all the weight back. Then I developed diabetes and gained more!

I'm now on the diabetic diet, modified to eliminate some of the carbs. So kind of a cross between Diabetic and Atkins - roll your own version! So far this is working well for me.

 

[holycow]

Did you happen to watch the Dateline on Friday night? It was all about weight and diets..etc..
They decided to do their own study of Atkins and even met and talked with the man very interesting...the man they followed lost 50 LBS and his Chol..etc were all in good shape they were VERY surprised....I am considering doing something like that....good luck to you...
PS...my DH and I have tried to stop drinking the soda....that is such a big thing for us...
especially for him(the diet drinks ...I like the real stuff! LOL)....good luck to you!!!!!!!

Holycow
Lisa

 

[believe]

At my last doctor visit...my doctor actually recommended this diet. Not to lose weight, but for health reasons. I am glucose intolerant and have high cholesterol, all heritary. He did say that if I did the diet I would have to eat low fat meat...not bacon and ham. I have not tried it because I am a big carb person. If my cholesterol is high the next time...then I will just say refer me to a dietician...because there is no way I can give up all my carbs.

 

[FergieTCat]

I highly recommend the diet that was in Woman's Day (it's on their website -- www.womansday.com). It is high protein/low carbohydrates with an emphasis on low glycemic foods. They break down each food category (protein, dairy, starches, vegetables, fruit, fat) into low, medium and high glycemic; suggesting of course that you stick to the low glycemic foods. You are allowed about 4-5 servings of carbohydrates. I think it's better than Atkins, because I know I would not be able to never eat another slice of bread again. I've read that the downfall of cutting out carbohydrates completely is that once you start eating them again, the weight comes on very quickly.

While I was struggling with Weight Watchers, I've lost 10 pounds in the past month on this one.

 

[Mrs. Potato Head]

I am not doing the Atkins diet, but I just started the Curves diet. It is similar. For the first two weeks I will eat only 20 grams of carbs. Then I will move to 40-60 grams of carbs. at the end of six weeks, I will be in Phase III which is back to 'normal' eating, within moderation. If my weight tends to go back up, you go back to phase I for a week. The idea is to reset you insulan and metabolism to normal levels. I hope this works. I am only on day 2. It is hard, as I am a carb. addict! On this diet you CAN have coffee and diet soda. It is a good thing! I can not imagine not being able to have it!

Yes, it is true that you MUST drink at least 64 oz. of water a day. This is critical, as you must flush out your kidneys!

 

[CarolAnnC]

I have been on Atkins since summer of 2000. My "official" total weight loss is 55 lbs but I think I have a few pounds added back since I broke my leg and have not been able to exercise. Plus I have indulged in some "bad" food, lol. That will be remedied when the cast comes off in a couple of weeks, though.

My Atkins is modified. I rarely have processed meats, pork, bacon or fatty meats. I stick mostly to chicken, lean beef, salads, and lots and lots of ATkins bars. I am checked by the doctor periodically and all is well health wise with me. In fact, this is the first diet that has really worked for me since giving birth 16 years ago, lol.

I do have caffeine free Diet Coke, drink coffee every morning, and try to drink water every day. This can be a problem though when you are at WDW and have to visit every ladies room that you pass! ROFL!!!

 

[luvstiggertoo]

I have not personally tried Atkins, but a couple friend of ours has. They did great on it. The woman lost 30 pounds and the man lost 50!
That was over two years ago......

She's put back on at least 50 pounds and so has he!

I know some people do really well on this, but I've always tried to follow the diets that teach you healthy "normal" eating habits.

Just MHO!

 

[Lavne]

I started Atkins about 6 months before our last Disney trip. It had been all over the talk show circuit and whenever I caught a show about it, totally seemed made for me (a MAJOR carb addict)! The first 3-5 days were pretty rough. I had been eating a bagel for breakfast virtually every day for years, and every other meal was carb-rich too. I think I cut back to about 10-20 carbs per day to start. In that first week I developed major headaches (withdrawl, I'm sure) and made myself crazy craving something that crunched! Once I gave in and took an Excedrine (contains carbs!) and DH brought me some pork rinds (mostly foul, but better than nothing), I made it through!!!

For someone who has been heavy since childhood and never successful at any diet I can recall, I found this one to be fairly livable and not as hard to follow as it seems. Besides my daily bagel, I would often come home for lunch and grab what was easiest - like chips and ice cream. Dinner HAD to have a starch (potatoes, rice, or pasta) or it wasn't a real meal. I have always been a major junk food junkie, although I love water, so drinking plenty comes natural, and I don't like coffee or tea. Because I was determined to make this work, I even went so far as to keep a journal. I was amazed that I could give up the carbs and survive. I was also amazed that I could lose weight that I did!

I did take a number of vitamins and such, a modified version of what is suggested in Atkins' book. A multi-vitamin, B-complex, chromium, flax oil, and fish oil. I usually varied my breakfast & lunches every other week - a plain hard boiled or devilled egg (1 carb) or cheese (1-2 carbs) for breakfast; chicken salad (chicken breast, mayo, parmesean cheese), tuna, or ham and cheese rolls for lunch. Dinner was usually a meat and salad. Since I stopped buying the really bad carbs (chips, desserts, etc), the rest of my family was also benefitting.

I was continually amazed that I could stick with it and was losing weight! I ordered a pit beef sandwich without the bun at the fair, ate only cheese cubes, slices of meat, and a few veggies at my best friend's casual wedding reception, splurged with a half a bite size candy bar for the sugar cravings! All of this was virtually unbelievable for me!!! My bad eating had gotten me to a point where I was actually falling asleep at my desk in the afternoons, but now I was waking up earlier, feeling refreshed, and no more naps! I started walking on a pretty regular basis, and actually enjoyed it!

When it was time for Disney, I had lost almost 50 pounds!!!! Not quite my goal of 10 pounds per month, but pretty close. Over the months I had started a pile of clothes that were too big for me (I'd never imagined such a thing before), and I was even able to fit into a pair of shorts I had bought years ago and never come close to getting zipped for the trip!

You may have noticed by now that I am referring to all this success in the past tense. Well...I had told myself all along, as a sort of goal/reward, that I could eat what I wanted on the vacation (3 days in the parks, 4 days was the cruise). This wouldn't have been too bad, if I had come home and gotten right back on track. But I didn't. Our trip was in early November, so it was too easy to let myself slide right into the holiday eating, and that in turn lasted for the rest of the year. Except that I just didn't return to my usual bad eating, I was indulging my eating obsessions with things that were really ridiculous (mostly chocolate). I've gained back every bit, and maybe an extra pound or two. The fat clothes pile are now my everyday clothes again.

I am trying to get myself back in that mindset again now before my next Disney cruise. It's much harder this time, although I can't quite figure out why. I'm pretty sure it's not the Atkins diet that's too blame - I think it's psychological. I'm not having trouble getting back to the vitamins or eating according to plan for breakfast or lunch, but once I'm home in the evenings I seem to lose sight of the goal. I'm still hopeful, and would definitely recommend trying the Atkins plan to anyone who is relatively sure they have a carb addiction. The first week can be tough, and like anything, keeping with it over time is the real challange. Believe me, if I could do it, anyone can.

 

[ivanova]

I did Atkins for awhile last year ... worked pretty well, once you can get past the first 2 weeks (reduction). It was amazing the impact on it had on my cholesterol (lowered), blood sugar (lowered), etc. And yes, I did lose weight. Once I got past the initial 2 weeks it really was a snap. But I slipped, went off, haven't gotten back on (need to work up the will power to work through the 2 week reduction again).

Yes, you "can" eat a pound of bacon every morning of breakfast, but frankly I can't get past 4 strips ... and by the 3rd day it's monotonous. So in reality you end up balancing the fat/protein you eat, just out of sheer boredom.

You MUST, MUST, MUST drink enough water -- 64 oz. is the typical recommendation, even if you aren't doing Atkins.