HELP MEEEE ! (ATKINS RELATED)

[c0urtr0cbaby]

o the chase. I am 5'1 178 pounds and looking to lose about 40-50 pounds FAST. I want to give myself about 2-3 months to do this. I started Atkins on Monday and I am a member of a Low Carb forum in addition to this. They informed me that I would lose about 3-8 pounds initially then it would slow to 1-2 pounds a week. Wth?? I thought Atkins was supposed to peel the weight off! If I'll only be losing that little a week, I can do that without cutting out all these freaking carbs! Anyone former or current Atkins dieters have ANY encouragement for me to stay on this thing? If not, I'm just gonna switch up my game plan. It hasn't been that hard, but if I'm gonna stick it out, I wanna have some idea that my 40-50 pounds in 2-3 months plan is gonna work!
HELP!!

[AlexB]

40-50lbs in 2-3 months is pretty unrealistic. Not to say it can't be done but I don't know any diet that will get you there. Low carb works great and you will have some high weeks as well as low weight loss weeks.

My weight was about 3lbs a week when I was strictly on it. But there are other factors that come into play other than cutting out carbs.

[naturalmanenyc]

My friend lost 30 lbs on Atkins in a couple of months. She and I were just talking about it today. Back then (years ago) she was in beauty pagents and she survived on almost strictly tuna salad while on Atkins. She definitely said it was not a safe diet for her and that cutting out fruit was a killer.

ETA- a male coworker is on Atkins right now (saw him yesterday) and he has been surviving on chicken wings (hot wings). He has lost a ton of weight though. He has to be 6'3" and about 350 lbs. I saw him about 2 weeks ago and yesterday his pants were sagging. He has his belt at a much tighter loop. He had a tremendous amount of bunching of his pants which is what prompted me to ask what he was doing to lose weight and to later ask my friends about Atkins.

[SweetCaramel1]

i didn't have a positive experience with atkins. my co-worker did loose about 15lbs but she put on double after that.

i'm sorry. i don't mean to be negative. people are successful with atkins, but i don't know any of them personally.

imho 40-50 lbs in 3 months may put your system into shock and should only be attempted under the supervision of a physician.

[discobiscuits]

I would not recommend Atkins. I've done it and the induction period is a killer. You then must continue on Atkins for life or you will end up like Sweet Caramel's post.


For me, the only time I ever did/do Atkins is only the induction period to jump start weight loss but I've never stayed on it because it is not healthy or safe.

[AlexB]

I would not recommend Atkins. I've done it and the induction period is a killer. You then must continue on Atkins for life or you will end up like Sweet Caramel's post.


For me, the only time I ever did/do Atkins is only the induction period to jump start weight loss but I've never stayed on it because it is not healthy or safe.

I disagree completely.

The induction period is tough but it's much easier from there. You don't stay on the induction period the whole time. Like anything, you have to be consistent or it doesn't work. That's no different than any other diet.

As you progress on the diet you gradually add back healthier carbs. I don't see what's unhealthy or unsafe about Atkins. Unless you consider cutting white flour, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and simple carbs unhealthy.

[chiconya]

I lost weight on Atkins overall I am trying out eating clean. I didn't never get to the holy grail Atkins meaning I never went past the first phase. And I did gain the weight back when I dropped off and stopped working out (Thats the reason for weight gain not the diet itself). I am not saying write off Atkins it's just not a quick fix (well it is a quick fix but you have to be in for the long haul). If I had to do it all again I would leave out the cheese, sour cream, and a lot saturated fats wich is hard by the way cause on Atkins your body runs on fat. And I wouldn't count vegetable carbs at all.

Why? Cause I need my leafy greens to help go to the bathroom. Now I am
striving to eat less meat and the basis of Atkins is meat. My biggest problem was I was eating all that meat losing weight and not going to the bathroom not a good combo.

If you are not truly dedicated to do all the phases of Atkins and learn your minimum amount of carbs needed to function. I wouldn't do it Atkins is a whole lifestyle change. If it helps you any if I was eating meat I would definitely go for the Atkins life style approach. In the end I think it balances out to that of the other popular low-carb diets south beach and the zone. Now I wouldn't go all insane with it and eat their low-carb products either those thing have more junk ingredients than I ever seen in my life.

I have a few books on Atkins, education is essential www.Atkins.com is pretty resourceful as well.

PM with any question you may have I am here for you loose that weight girl!

PS AND DON'T FORGET TO WORK OUT!

Off Topic
SweetCarmel! You hair looks super lively after the cut.

[ravenmerlita]

Dropping 50 pounds in 2-3 months doesn't seem realistic. But consistently dropping 10-12 pounds a month is possible on Atkins. I have done really well on Atkins, lost weight and kept it off.

I find Atkins to be most flexible for me because it's easy to jump start weight loss and break through a plateau. Atkins is easy to understand -- which makes it easy to stick to. I also like eating this way. I'm a meat eater but even in induction, you can eat several cups of vegetables a day.

Once you are past the induction phase, you add back in some starchier carbs. Before Atkins I didn't eat vegetables or fruit at all. Now I eat vegetables and fruit everyday. I also eat a lot of lean protein, good fats (avocado, olive oil, peanut butter), brown rice, oatmeal and whole grain/high fiber bread.

I think choosing the right diet depends on your preferences. Atkins gave me the breakthrough I needed.

[msdeevee]

It can be done. Any diet will work for anybody if you work it.

The last time I did Atkins I lost 16lbs in less than 2 weeks.

I know of 2 people that lost a lot of weight on Atkins and kept if off.

I gained mine back because I'm an emotional eater, I went off of it and sabotaged myself.

If you put your mind to it and stick to it and exercise you can do it.

[kami11213]

i didn't have a positive experience with atkins. my co-worker did loose about 15lbs but she put on double after that.

i'm sorry. i don't mean to be negative. people are successful with atkins, but i don't know any of them personally.

imho 40-50 lbs in 3 months may put your system into shock and should only be attempted under the supervision of a physician.

I completely agree... I lost 15lbs in a couple of weeks w/ Atkins but put on double that once I started adding fruits and carbs back into my diet :ohwell:

[thickness]

Whatever diet plan you decide on, make sure it includes foods that are compatible with your lifestyle. If not, you are ultimately setting yourself up for failure. I sense that you really want to lose the weight, but just know that it takes time and consistent effort to make it happen.

[asummertyme]

When I did the atkins diet and I was strict...I lost 20 pounds in a month..I didnt mind the Induction because for me,eating with the recipes i used it worked for me..but only for that period of time..but i also exercised and drank my water too...
but thats with any diet plan..exercise is always the booster to take you where you wanna be...
exercise is key for that faster weightloss..

[discobiscuits]

I disagree completely.

The induction period is tough but it's much easier from there. You don't stay on the induction period the whole time. Like anything, you have to be consistent or it doesn't work. That's no different than any other diet.
That is correct, you don't stay on induction forever and it does get easier from there. However, per the Atkins book, you cannot add certian restricted foods back into your diet ever and some you can but in very limited amounts. This diet is high in sodium and cholesterol and is unsuitable for diabetics and other medically challenged types.
As you progress on the diet you gradually add back healthier carbs. I don't see what's unhealthy or unsafe about Atkins.
It has been scientifically proven that Atkins is quite unhealthy in many ways just as it has been proven that if followed 100% by the book literally with no deviations, one can keep the weight off. therein lies the kicker. Few people do Atkins for life as it is not the healthiest nor the easiest to maintain.


Unless you consider cutting white flour, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and simple carbs unhealthy.

Eliminating or reducing those from one's diet is good and very healthy.
:yep::yep::yep::yep: Slow carb or low-glycemic diets are better and healthier with the same benefits as low-carb or Atkins diets.

[brickhouse]

I have done Atkins many times and lost about 30lbs in 2 months. There are 4 phases but I tend to stay on the induction longer. I don't know why. I use to be the Atkins guru. I had all the books and cds and help others get started. I just find out you can eat healthy and lose weight without going to that degree and I don't believe all that saturated fat will be healthy in the long run. I recently started BFL and was eating fruit, nuts and yogurts during the day and I still lost 11lbs in 2 weeks.

[c0urtr0cbaby]

Thanks everyone! I stopped it anyway, lol. The eating part didn’t bother me. For the first two days, I wasn't hungry or anything. I was eating GOOD. Third day, I got sick out of NOWHERE. Fever, sneezing like all hell; I think they call it 'Induction Flu.' Well, I GTF off that diet and I'm just gonna reduce the number of carbs and eat cleaner overall. I have an appointment with a weight loss doc, so we'll see what happens, but thanks for all the responses ladies!