I don't follow Atkins. I found it a bit too complicated, as odd as that sounds. I didn't like counting carbs. I preferred to just not eat them, hehe.

What I've been doing is giving myself unlimited veggies and meat. I know that some veggies are high in carbs, but they have a lot of fiber as well, and I'm convinced fiber is the root of all goodness. My usual day includes salad, low-starch veggies, eggs, meat and small amounts of nut-butter.

I've been sneaking in fruit here and there, too. When I track [which is rare], I'm around 20-30 carbs per day. I put in what I had today - including sweet corn, grapes, a low-carb tortilla and a banana - and I was up around 100.

All morning and afternoon, I was light-headed and dizzy. I felt faint. Of course, I know that I needed to up my blood sugar because it was dangerously low [and after eating I feel like I could run a marathon], but now I'm worried that I'll need to go through a Spartan induction period again.

Any experience? Has anyone had a day like this - where you just needed a boost - and has it affected your short-term weight loss significantly?

My eating is fairly similar to yours, in that I don't follow anyone's diet but my own, but try to keep my carbs under about 30, and I eat pretty much like you (except the fruit - I have berries maybe once a week).

I had a few days this summer when I over-ate the carbs (on vacation) and the whole hunger cycle began again. I ended up doing an 'induction style' return to basics for about 10 days -- it took me 4 days to get back to feeling 'normal' without hunger, without the dragging feeling.

Did it effect my short term weight loss? Of course, but really, that doesent matter. I gained weight fast upping the carbs (which is simply a mathematical relationship in your body between stored carbs and water. You lose the carb storage, you'll re-lose the water). I was back on the downward trend about 2 weeks later.

If you think of your eating & exercise as a lifestlye you'll have to maintain forever to stay at a lower weight, the truth is that in your life you'll have moments of greater and lesser focus. So on vacations, at holidays, at times of great stress or celebration you might bounce up for a bit, need to step in with a "back to basics" approach for a few days or weeks, and then find your weight back at normal. Why do we think dieting will be different? Life still happens while we're trying to lose. Try to think of those periods as training for maintenance. If you're a few weeks (or month) "late" to meeting your goal, does it really matter? Of course not. You'll not be any less accomplished if you lose 60 pounds in 2 years vs losing 60 pounds in 9 months. And 2 yrs from now in both cases you'll still need to be actively managing your lower weight.

Hang in there, and be gentle with yourself.

Hey there,
I also follow a modified version of a diet, but I lean more towards the Carbo Addicts Diet. That way I'm not having to weigh and measure and count anything - during the day I eat no carbs, then for one hour at night I eat what I want, as long as it has carbs.

Obviously, I should try to have a balanced, healthy meal at night, but if I don't and I have pizza or chinese or whatever, no biggie - it's in my 'reward meal' hour. It definitely makes me feel less deprived.

For breakfast i've been having some chopped up veggies (peppers, onions) with a couple of eggs and some cheese, zap it in the microwave and it's great - I eat it at work most days. Today I ate breakfast at 10ish...then had water to drink. It's now almost 1.30pm, and I need to go have lunch before a meeting, but I'm not at all hungry. Admittedly it's not always like that - and I'm not a very strong person with the being 'good', but this seems to work for me.

I can definitely relate to wanting more, which made me feel like Atkins was too restrictive for me. This seems to work. Feeling deprived is never good!

Hang in !!!!

Sorry - didn't mean to say deprived as in deprived of food, or hungry. I meant that with CAD if I want a chocolate bar, then I can have it in my RM. It's not ideal, and I do need to watch the balanced, healthy meal part, but this diet gives me the option to have something I really crave if I want to, in that hour.

If I felt I could NEVER have ice cream, or a small chocolate bar, ever again, I'd go insane. This plan makes me feel like I can still enjoy the things I love, just in moderation and when the time is right.

It's great that Atkins worked for you, and I know lots of people who swear by it, but for me the bit more freedom offered by CAD works.