Atkins diet experience (1 Viewer)

Well, I started this diet 12/31/03 (one day early I know) and so far I've lost fifteen pounds in just over three weeks. I've never lost weight this effortlessly. It's just amazing compared to all the previous attempts I've tried to lose weight (usually lowered caloric intake + regular exercise, diet focused mainly on fruits, veggies and carbs). I always starved on those diets and couldn't keep them up for more than a month or two, after which I would gain the weight back.

What do I eat on the Atkins plan? Salad once a day (always), eggs, bacon, sausage (mmm bratwurst), chicken, fish, shrimp (w/butter sauce), steak, hamburgers (sans bun), low-carb shakes, and sugar free jello made with vodka

I've been monitoring my ketones with ketostix and I always maintain between 40mg/dL and 160mg/dL concentrations, which seems to vary with my activity (went up when I went back to school, hiking around campus and taking a tennis class). I've also been monitoring my blood sugar (both parents are diabetic, borrowed one of their kits) and my average blood sugar reading first thing in the morning has dropped from 110 down to about 90 (can't remember units on that one).

I feel so much better than I used to, my stamina has increased noticeably (I've been a sedentary programmer for far too long). I finally decided to go on this diet with the recent studies that showed the tendency of the Atkins plan to lower LDL and raise HDL cholesterol levels while reducing triglycerides, and causing no kidney/heart/etc damage.

Any other people with Atkins diet experience?

I'm sure my cardiologist would [sarcasm]love[/sarcasm] me going on the Atkins diet.

22 lbs in 4 weeks (262 to 240, I'm 6'2), stable for 6 weeks. Lotsa lifting, lotsa protein shakes.

I let myself cheat every 14 days - Apple Jacks...yummm

Just as a preemptive move, I'll ask that this thread be kept positive please. We have had threads about Atkins in the past and it generally comes down to an Atkins good/bad debate which is never good.

Mark: You might want to try www.atkinsfriends.com for more specific experiences.

Personally, I dropped about 45 pounds in 5 months and have kept it off with 0 effort (really, none at all) for two years after reverting back to my slovenly ways. I'm hoping to sum up the courage to do another 45 lbs. round sometime soon.

Good luck!

Anyone happen to have a grocery list for one to start on the Atkins diet (Induction Period)?

A buddy of mine swears by this diet...I always dismissed it previously, but this past Holiday season really got me like none other before And I think I want to try this thing out.

To lose weight previously, I basically would nearly starve myself (eat very little, only drink water) for 4-5 days and run - run - run! Typical weight loss doing this was ~15 lbs in those 4-5 days. The last time I did this (last week) I thought I was going to die. I know this isn't the way to do it...but it was all I knew for sure that would work. No more of that for me though...so I'm interested in the Atkins plan for the first time in my life.

I'm 6'0" tall and weigh 210 and in pretty good shape
My job (US Military) requires that I weigh 205 or below so I'm not up to standards right now, as things are now anyway.

Any Grocery List or list of acceptable foods for the Atkins Diet (Induction phase) would be appreciated!

Hey Mark (and others),

I started Atkins January 1st (right on schedule ). I lost 11 lbs. the first week, seven more the second (had the flu for a few of those days, though), and two more lbs the third, for a total of 20 lbs. (270 – 250).

What amazes me most is how little I crave carbs. I ate a lot of bread – love the stuff – and I find it incredible that it’s been more than three weeks since I’ve had so much as a bread crumb, and crave it not at all.

Interestingly, the one thing I do get a hankerin’ for every now and then is fresh fruit. Ironically, I’ve never been much of a fruit eater before.

I’ve encountered several occasions already – parties, eating out, pot-lucks at work – which could have been major booby traps for me, but so far I’ve side-stepped each land mine with absolute ease.

I’d previously been reluctant to go on this diet, but recent published scientific studies have swayed me to give it a go. Originally, my plan was to go for a month, then re-evaluate. I can say with certainty that I’ll be going a good bit past February 1.

Keep us posted, and best of luck!

Jon

I've had success with Atkins several times in the past. Just make sure you start adding small amounts of carbs back after the 2-week induction period like you're supposed to. You don't want to go longer than that without feeding your body SOME carbs.

The official Atkins site is a good start for a grocery list. They also have a lot of recipes to work with.

http://atkinscenter.com/

I lasted for the first 3 days, but I foundnothing interesting to eat.

I'd love to do this again, but with some more interesting foods.

Ideas??

Brent

It isn't fun, but it worked great for me. The weight is staying off. I am done losing weight. I generally don't eat carbs after lunch anymore, but eat whatever I like before that and my weight is staying exactly where I want!

I agree with the "start slowly adding carbs back to your diet after a couple weeks" mentality. After 2-3 weeks slowly add them back. I'd just start by going up to 20/day carbs for the 3rd or 4th week, 30/day carbs for the 4th or 5th week and on-and-on. I know it may seem odd, but lots of people suggest eating lo-fat proteins like baked chicken, turkey brest etc...and getting all your fats from sources such as fish oil, olive oil etc... I support you on losing what weight you want to lose 100% (as long as you're not already at less than 7% body fat ).

I personally have not tried this diet but I’m interested because of a friends experience with the diet.

He was always fit but he wanted to lean his body out for better definition. So he went on the diet and continued his weight training. After several months he was very ripped. The diet certainly did strip away body fat. I believe when he was tested that he had ended up losing almost 2 percent of his body fat.

In the past year I have lost 80lbs the old fashion way, better eating, (I’ll admit it I love all types of food, the only problem is that many of the foods were high in calories.) and exercise. At my peak I was up to 4.5 miles a day, due to an injury not related to the running I had to trim it back to 2.5 every other day and 3 miles walking on the others.

Now that I’m fit I would like to go on the Atkins for a few months to see if I can lean out my body some.

Thanks for the links that others have provided, I’ll have to go and read up on the diet.

I was on this diet for about 3 months and was very faithful to the diet. And you know what...it worked.

Now being faithful and avoiding those carbs is tough. I found that dinner and breakfast (when I ate in the morning) were pretty easy. Lunch at work was tough. Bringing an Atkins friendly diet everyday was not that easy. Made a costco run - bought lotsa meats - cooked em up. no problemo. It was a little easier for me because I dont eat much sweets. I kinda have an allergy to really sweet sugary things so I over the years I have built up an aversion to them. I dont eat desserts, like my coffee black, and still found it hard to deal.
We used splenda. (went on diet with my wife).

my metabolism is slow and so it took a lot of time to get into ketosis so if I ate a few more carbs than I should have one day, it took longer for me to get back.

I lost 15-20 lbs in the few months. Got down to a weight I hadnt been at for years.

As a permanent lifestyle though, I think the Atkins is hard to maintain. You do lose the fondness for sweet things, and if and when you go off the diet and start eating sugary foods again, you really come to realize just how much sugar we consume !

I will say this: if someone wanted to lose a lot of weight in a short amt of time, this Atkins diet definitely will do it....you just have to be faithful and not cheat at all.

your mileage may vary.

good luck.

crap, I'm going to have to try this diet. I need to drop some weight bad.

Jonathan makes a good point that on any rather extreme diet like this, most of the weight loss in the first week or two is water weight. So if you lose 10 lbs in the first two weeks, it's probably not body fat. You should judge your weight loss by how your clothes fit.

From what I understand, before it was called the "Atkin's Diet", this program had been used since the 70's for very overweight people to lose body fat quickly before going into surgery.

As far as going on the Atkin's diet without eating meat, I can give you some personal experience. My wife and I were on this diet for a while, and she's a vegetarian (mostly). It was very difficult to maintain this program without meat. There simply isn't enough of a food selection. We did it, but she was so sick of eggs for breakfast after about a month she couldn't stomach them anymore. We made some soy bread (from soy meal, very low carbs), but you had to use a lot of eggs and it ended up tasting like egg bread. Edible, but not tasty.

She would have eggs for breakfast, tuna or tuna salad for lunch, maybe some nuts for a snack, and fish with a salad for dinner. It's a very hard diet to do as a vegetarian.

Personally, I think the best weight loss regimen is simply eating less, eating better, and exersizing. It doesn't even have to be exhaustive exercise. Going for a brisk 30 minute walk in the evening is good. Along with reducing your caloric intake by 300 calories a day and changing the balance from sugar and bread to more veggies and fruit. Pretty simple.

Of course, if you totally abhor exercise like my wife does, it may be a problem.

I am not a nutritionist, doctor, or fitness expert but I would like to share my experiences with "FAT" loss and improving overall fitness, health and well being. I am 32.5 years old. I have gained significant positive personal experience in my situation and will forever be heading on a path away from fat and towards fitness.

For those of you who don't care to get too much info. Here are some points:

You want to lose FAT, not water or muscle.
You want to increase your cardio vascular fitness.
You want to increase muscle size and strength, in order to burn fat efficiently when necessary (like starting a fat loss plan) and to increase overall energy and fitness.
You want to eat nutritious foods and not eliminate any one food group.

Is anybody interested in learning how to loss fat which is an alternative to the Atkins Diet? Its my own personal plan and it works very well. Its specific, although I didn't do anything extra ordinary, apart from following my own plan without exceptions.

It all started in grade 9. I lost weight at age 14 from 226 LBS to 175 LBS in six months and I then roughly stabilized. I then stayed the same during my 20's about 175 LBS but never got rid of my belly. I then gained weight between 29 and 32. From 1999 to 2001 I ballooned from my mid 175 to 196 LBS! In 2002 I brought it back down to the mid to low 180's mountain biking, but I've never been able to really get what I want (eliminate belly fat and have defined stomach. May never totally achieve, but I keep getting better). I started to go back up to the high 180's again. I finally made some very important discoveries and I can share them with people here. Regardless of age, for my height, I am now in the best shape I have ever been and I am actually burning my belly fat beyond what I have ever done before. I have a specific method and its come from everything I've ever learned. I now weigh 160 LBS and yet my weight training muscle strenght has gone up (meaning I have not only burnt fat, but gained muscle).

I did not go on the Atkins diet. I did not "starve" myself. I didn't do anything extreme. I ate carbos, but there is one thing I nearly eliminated (can you guess what it is?). I feel my plan can teach most people how to loose weight forever and become healthier without depriving you of foods too much. It can be difficult at first, and is very hard if you have lots and lots of fat to loose, however, my method allows you to slack off slightly as you improve and loose fat, as long as you monitor your progress and get back on track. Meaning, you can only slack off for a day or two. Maybe eat a few things you shouldn't for a week, but after that, its back to business for at least one month at a time. I can help people lose weight in a healthy way. Part of the method is derived from Atkins type methodology, but its adjusted for me because it includes my own specific methods which I discovered over time through reflection in a sort of trial and error process

I would like to share my plan, but only to those who are interested. I cannot garantee anything, and you must consult your doctor to make sure you don't do anything ill advised for you personally, but most of my advice is common sense, its just the sum of all of my plan which together will make you lose, I believe, more fat than the Atkins diet, in the long run. Its not complicated.

Does anyone want to know my particular approach to fitness, diet and nutrition? Just reply with a yes and I'll post my plan here. Or email PM me