Hey Lauramax - Atkins ? for you

L Sass

L Sass

Cathlete
Hi Laura - did you see the new study released on Atkins? I know this type of eating will always have its critics (what plan doesn't?!). I know you follow it and I'm just wondering why. Did you ever struggle with weight issues and begin it for weight loss? If so, it has obviously worked for you. But how long have you followed it and do you find that it meets your needs - nutritionally, hedonistically, etc? Any stats on cholesterol, BP etc that you've watched as you've done this plan? Thanks for sharing any info.

Lorrie

Pain is temporary - quitting lasts forever
Candace Grasso, CC-V-6
 
Yes, I saw it on the news this morning but of course they only reinforced what I've been saying all along. ;-) I really loved the fact that the Atkins dieters actually had lower cholestoral than the other study participants.

In any case, I stuck with low cal/low fat until my metabolism changed & it just stopped working for me. Like the minute I turned 30 the scale started creeping up bit by bit--no change in diet or exercise--& before I knew it I'd gained 30 lbs. I weighed about 145 for around 3-4 years & no matter what I tried (extra cardio, less food, lower fat, etc.) I couldn't lose weight. So I finally broke down & went low carb.

I lost the 30 lbs in less than 8 weeks. Then I modified it & now I try to stay >100 carbs a day with one cheat day a week. I've been on it for a little over 4 years now.

My typical daily diet is something like this:

Breakfast: coffee with Splenda, 2 hardboiled eggs & sometimes bacon or sausage if I have time.
Lunch: a huge salad. Sometimes on Sundays I'll chop up a bunch of salad fixins & put them in tupperware, that way I can customize my salads throughout the week. Also I'm lucky enough to have some fabulous delis nearby that make really awesome, giant salads.
Dinner: meat & a veggie, poultry being my meat of choice & asparagus being my favorite veggie. Not sure why but green veggies are lower carb than other veggies.
Snacks: celery with cream cheese, pepperoni & cheese, ANY kind of cheese b/c it's all zero carb, olives, pickles, cucumbers, veggie dips, etc. If I have a craving for something sweet I'll have a little marshmallow Fluff with my peanut butter. ;-)

My beverages of choice are diet 7Up, caffiene free mandarin orange tea w/Splenda, & of course water.
 
That's interesting. I am stuck at 142 and I have been trying to lose a few more pounds. Lots of cardio, low fat, etc. Ditto all you said and I can't budge the scale. Think I might give it a whirl. Thanks Laura.
LD
 
I follow an Atkins type way of eating myself and I feel better than I have in years. Most people think Atkins means cutting out all fruits and grains and eating a lot of fatty foods, but that is just the induction phase of the diet and I never eat a lot of fatty foods on any phase of the diet. I do follow induction if I've put on a pound or two (after the holidays) and it's a relatively pain free way to drop those pounds quickly. Even when I'm cutting my carbs quite a bit I still eat a lot healthier than most. I have egg whites and maybe some turkey bacon for breakfast. I make some tuna salad for a mid-morning snack, lunch is usually a large spinach salad with chicken breast, I have a cheese stick or two for mid-afternoon snack and dinner is some type of fish with a green veggie. When I'm not following induction I add a lot of berries, yogurt, whole grains, etc. to what I am already eating. As far as stats go my cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, etc., are all excellent. I had a physical last year and my doctor was extremely impressed with all my test results. :)
 
Runnergirl,

I had the same problem you're having several years ago. I was eating primarily low fat and doing a lot of cardio and was totally frustrated with how slow the pounds were coming off since I was working my butt off. My aunt was a lowfat follower as well and even though she was in excellent shape she felt kind of tired most of the day. One of her co-workers started following Atkins and lost 50 pounds in a matter of a couple of months. What impressed my aunt more than the weight loss was the energy she had, so she and I decided to give it a try with fantastic results. That's when I changed my eating habits completely. I still did a lot of cardio and the pounds started falling off like crazy. Over the years I have read so many articles that make this way of eating make more and more sense to me. Changing my way eating was the best decision I've made in a long time.

P.S. I'm in no way knocking eating lowfat...it's just something that didn't work well for me.
 
Laura,

I too am in the same problem as these other ladies. I cant for some reason lose wt. I notice as I am getting closer to 38 that my body is fighting me tooth and nail and its frustrating. I am exercising and eating the same, like you and my body wont budge. I might have to try the atkins ,maybe I would have good luck like you. I think you look awesome and if I could lose just 10lbs,no more than 15lbs I would be on cloud nine. I didnt know though that you did this diet to lose. I didnt know you where ever out of shape. It gives me hope!!
 
It must be something with the middle 30's. I have started the atkins.
I am going to continue with my regular w/outs. Right now I am doing the feb 07 rotation. Hopefully this will get the scales moving!
LD
 
It'll definitely move the scale! I lost 7 lbs in the first week--of course much of this was water weight but if you stick w/induction the lbs keep coming off.

The first two weeks are definitely the hardest b/c your body does get addicted to certain foods, which I didn't even know when I started the diet. Sugar is very addicting. So you go thru some withdrawal during the first two weeks. But if you stick with it you'll be amazed at the results--the diet itself kind of becomes addicting.

Also the other great thing about Atkins is you're never hungry b/c you can eat all you want if it's low carb. That's probably the main thing that helped me stick to the diet.

Good luck ladies--I hope you have the same great experience w/the diet that I did! :)
 
Lauramax,
hope you don't mind me busting in - on this.
I'm just entering my mid-thirties...and noticing the same thing. My weight just won't budge! I've been thinking about trying to cut back on the carbs. I currently - for the most part - stay away from white bread, sugar, etc. I mostly stick to whole grains.

Do you incorp. any grains? Or are you pretty strict?
Also - do you ever crave carbs like bread?

I think I need to change my eating.....need to change as my body changes.

Thanks for your input!
Alicia
:)
 
Lauramax, I also am butting in with questions! I'm curious about your workouts, do you ever feel like you're "hitting the wall" when you workout with low carbs? Also, do you add protein to your lunchtime salad? Also, based on your typical daily diet, it looks like it's maybe about 1200 calories including snacks, does that sound about right? Do you think it would work with, say, about 1800 calories but still the same type of foods? I'm very impressed with your results, thanks for any additional info!
 
here's another question about Atkins? Can you eat Splenda and nutra-sweet? What about fruit? Is that a bad carb?
 
I'm not Lauramax, but I've been following this type of diet for years and personally I don't think I'd ever go back to any other type of eating. This just clicked with me when I started and I haven't tried anything else since. I always go back to induction when I put on a pound or two or just want to drop a few and I always have great results with it. I only incorporate whole grains when I'm maintaining and oddly enough, like Laura said, once you get past that two weeks of withdrawls you'd be surprised at how little you do crave carbs and sugar. If I do crave something I'm at a point that I will go ahead a have it, I just don't do it very often. As far as working out I have as much energy if not more than I used to. I find that I'm not dealing with that energy crash after you eat something with a lot of carbs that sends your bloodsugar soaring and then it eventually crashes. I do have some things with Splenda, but I try to stay away from a lot of that. I do eat fruit as well when I'm maintaining, but never when I'm losing. I try to stick with lower glycemic fruits like berries, apples, etc. I love the food choices and once you get the hang of it it becomes very easy. Also with the amount of protein you're getting I rarely find myself hungry which of course is a huge plus.
 
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