17 years ago I was not a vegan. I was over weight, but not by much. I bought and read and followed the Atkins diet. I was a true believer. I lost weight, I felt great and I thought I was in control.
It took a few years but I regained and then gained some more after leaving behind the Atkins life style.
Flash forward to today. I am a vegan. I have obliterated sugar and hidden sugars from my food choices. However I still feel a twinge of guilt when I eat an apple, orange or tomato. And for that I will always hold that STUPID,( well for me anyways) Atkins diet responsible.
I can't understand why I let myself be brainwashed into rejecting pure healthy fruits and eating 3 egg cheeses omelettes made with sour cream instead.
YUCK!

How was your eating in between Atkins & Vegan, when you gained all the weight? What were you doing that was different from either of those protocols, since both of them worked/work for you for losing weight? Just wondering what the difference was - in your foods or timing of eating or portion sizes or??? Can you pinpoint anything specific?
Thanks, just curious about your weight gain.
Liana

I think trusting your own instinct is best for anybody. I've been there, too. I tried Atkins about 8 years ago and I still have flashes of "this is good/allowed if I was on Atkins" when reaching for cheese, or cream, or full-fat yogurt. Then I have flashes of "I shouldn't be drinking this juice - I should eat the whole fruit instead" from doing Weight Watchers 15 years ago. These ideas seem to stick for life! I'm working on eating and drinking what I like; and what I think is best for me.

I agree...I, too was on Atkins years ago. Lost a nice amount of weight, but had to stop when my HAIR started falling out! Clue, maybe?

Anyway I still really watch the fruits that I eat and try to make most of them berries or maybe a half an apple or banana at a time.

A good diet has to be a balance of more than 1 family of foods out there, not just bacon and omelettes!

Maybe it would help you to set some parameters on how much fruit is a reasonable amount to have in a day. For me, I have one fruit a day because it's very easy for me to overdo it on fruit (I also cut sugar/flour out of my diet). That way, when I have it, I don't feel guilty at all. You might choose to have 2 servings a day, but I just chose to have only one.

For me, the middle way works. Pescatarian.

Lots of protein, but not the nasty stuff i.e. good fats (Omega 3s) really work for me. With lots of veggies and a little fruit too. And oats.

Job done.

I was vegan in my teens. It was great for weight loss. But I work out a lot now and being vegan just wouldn't give me enough protein. I could not lift on a vegan diet. Nope. I'd be that skinny fat guy with no fat and no muscle either.

But fishy vegan. Now-we-are-talking.

Good to hear from you IanG...I have read some of your posts before...

Webwoman, low carb, not necessarily Atkins, has been what works for me for years. Adding carbs to my diet is what caused me to gain. Since my diabetes diagnosis it is absolutely necessary that I limit carbs. I feel that everyone is different and what works for one does not work for others. I worked with a woman who ate vegan and her hair was very sparce and lacked luster. I always thought it was from lack of protein, but that would not be the case with Atkins. Vegans CAN get plenty of protein without eating meat.

I post with Lucinda on another thread and I feel that her success is due to her determination to stick with her plan and never waver, in spite of providing non vegan meals for her family. We would probably all be thin if we found the plan that's best for us and then really stuck to it.

when I tried to transition from hard core Atkins to maintenance, I found myself eating carbs and fats but still avoiding healthy fruits... I could not find the healthy balance b/c I was still addicted to sugar by I was able to trick myself into believeing that I could eat normal servings of whole grains.. I could not. I ate monster portions of whole wheat pasta, or oatmeal or brown rice I went "healthy carb" crazy....
I now make greens the mainstay of my eating... no more carbs for me except in healthy vegetables.