Ha ha.... I am definately not saying that I couldn't have eaten that breakfast at some point in my life. I am sure that I have had 6 pieces of bacon and 6 eggs at once before. No sausage, though, I hate those patty things. What I was surprized by was that she ate like that and was obviously very proud of herself for her "control" by eschewing the bread. I don't care about research, its absurd to think that you can eat like that and lose weight and be healthy and maintain it. Oh, and for a reference point, I called her a "Very large woman". She was similar in size to me. I consider myself a "very large woman" also! If I were to eat a 1500 calorie breakfast, regardless of what it consisted of, I would not lose weight.
Oh yeah I know! I hate sausage too. I was just trying to point out that while that breakfast as obvious a monstrosity, but we can't think of ourselves as any better, not saying you or anyone was, but I will admit that was my initial reaction and then I thought to myself, "You know Rakel, just because you wouldn't be tempted with a breakfast like that doesn't mean you don't struggle in other areas."
I was assuming the woman was more my size, just because it's just my experience that when someone big adds the "very" adjective it usually means someone larger than them (it's funny how often I've heard women my size and larger refer to someone else as "very" large to mean someone even bigger than they are, as if they themselves don't warrant the same adjective).
I would agree though, that very few people have the metabolism to pull of a 1500 calorie breakfast and still lose weight. I still think though that she is very new to the diet. Whether or not she is able to lose a little weight eating this way, largely depends on what she was eating before. It also may seem ridiculous that she sees herself as virtuous for refusing the bread, but it may be the first step for her. She will learn, or she will not lose, it's that simple.
One advantage, I think of lower carb plans is the hunger drop that most people experience. This is another reason I think she's new to this. My guess is she will be eating much differently after she's been off of starchy carbohydrates a little longer. My point was just that even though many low carbers start out quite a bit like this woman (believing they can and will want to eat huge amounts of protein and fat in the long-term and still feel great and lose weight), they tend not to stick with this behavior and mentality, in part because the reduced carbs do reduce the uncontrolled hunger that a high carb diet sometimes produces.
I have two books by Dr. Atkins and a few years I really did try to follow it. Yes, you can lose weight eating what looks like a "heart attack waiting to happen" type food. You do not eat carbs. I love meat so I thought I would really love it. You do limit fruit and dairy on it. According to the statistics that I have read, that people lose no more or less weight on that program than any other program and seem to keep it off as long as other programs.
My mom is a diabetic and she meets regularly with a registered dietician. When she told me what her diabetic diet was I asked her "Are you on a low carb diet?" She said she didn't know. I had a pocketbook Atkins carb counter book that I sent her so she could count her carbs which is how she has managed to keep her diabetes in check and her weight has gotten so low she is smaller than my sister and I!!
I would say that I am on a modified low carb diet primarily because of my family history of diabetes on both sides. I love meat and I do eat steak although I don't have much fat in the rest of my food plan. I do not eat processed foods and rarely eat baked goods. I have normal cholesterol and blood pressure. I would think that those factors would be something to consider when deciding which program you would best benefit from.
Side note: I know a woman who was almost 400 lbs whom I worked with who went on Dr. Atkins diet, lost 40 lbs and then became pregnant for the first time in her 40s even though she had been married for over 20 years!!
I'm not saying that this could happen to this woman but I would be "careful".
This woman is a classic example of why atkins has a such bad name. Why right now the atking "works for some" and not for everyone. The ones that it doesnt work are just like this lady. I am sure after 2 months she is going to Bash the atkins.
Another reasons why the atkins doesnt work is in todays world you are going to MSG cured bacon ham with nitrates. The cheese you get is processed and can contains transfats.
Dr. Atkins formulated his diet assuming a "perfect world" where there were no endocrine messing chemicals in food.
I was on a raw vegetable diet and all of a sudden my weight loss stopped. I was bouncing up and down after losing 22 pounds in 15 days. With raw vegetables I was only consuming 500 calories a day.
When i joined this forum i realised that I was eating too little calories. I knew I had to increase my calorie intake to atleast 1200. I decided to go the atkins way. So now I am making up the remaining 700 calories with lots of fried fish(fried in clarified butter).
Since I have been on the atkins I have put on 1 kg in 4 days!!!!. But i dont blame the atkins Because I DID NOT FOLLOW IT :-(.
What I have learnt in atkins is if you eat carbs while you are on a high fat/protien diet you are going to put on weight like crazy. All the fats are going to be directly stored.
I was unkowingly eating a 1000 calorie breakfast. And a 1000 calories before dinner snack. The 1000 calorie breakfast contained around 200 carbs. Which did it for me. I realised that i still cannot continue having so many calories.
Right Now I am back on my raw vegetable diet which roughly gives me 300 calories and 20 carbs.(breakfast and dinner). Then I am going to have fried fish and 1 cup boiled mung sprouts for lunch. that would be around 400 calories and 5 carbs. and the same amount of fish for dinner with my raw vegetables. I will be substituting the fish with Jumbo prawns and roasted chicken(when I get my hands on organic) and some roasted lamb meat from time to time so that it doesnt get boring.
I want to ask some expert if this would be a good atkings My carb would be around 24 max 30 Is this a good. More important will it work for me.
I think I should open a new thread for this query
Anyways I feel that biggest problem with atkins is if you are a vegetarian. I was planning to go vegetarian and then I stalled it as I realised I will not be able to maintain a healthy calorie count.(unless I started eating butter with a spoon).
The biggest problem is if you binge my mistake on high carbs the weight is going to come back(especially if you are still eating the high fats). I am excercising and will be comfortably doing heavy weight and walking 10 kms uphill walking without any effort in a month.(now I really struggle). So I am assuming that increasing my carbs to around 200(and reducing fats) around that time should not make me put on weight like I am doing right now.
My plan is after I lose another 40 pounds I will then concentrate on losing weight only through excercise and will start eating a balanced diet.
Excercise is a must because I dont think I can diet forever. I dont think it is practical. I would be a paranoid calorie watcher.
I agree with those who have said that Atkins is very, VERY misunderstood. Sure, you can lose weight be eating what looks like a heart attack on a plate, but in the long run, are you REALLY doing anything for your health that way? I do think that many people just go on Atkins assuming that they have license to eat as they wish without ever considering fats or calories.
My mom was on Atkins for several years, and she had great success with it. She lost about 70 pounds, and felt great...until she fell off the wagon and started eating carbs again. Atkins is like any other plan or program...you have to be willing to stick to it FOR LIFE.
I really admire the people who can truly stick with Atkins and have success with it, just because I tend to be such a carb addict.
Does anyone know of anyone who used a low-carb diet to lose weight, then transitioned to a different way of healthy eating like whole-foods and calorie counting to maintain? Perhaps I should start another thread on this. I'm really interested in knowing!
Just the thought of eating all that food on one sitting makes me ill. For me, it'd probably be 2 scrambled eggs, 2 pieces of bacon and one sausage patty and a coffee with 2 creams... I'd be stuffed. (not to mention ticked off at myself for eating so much! LOL)
Last edited by tamaralynn; 12-25-2007 at 05:12 PM.
I, too, am still trying to wrap my head around 6 eggs. Forget the meat. 6 eggs? I have trouble choking down more than 2. Bacon, I have no trouble with. Sausage, meh. I can take it or leave it.
I know that this thread has gone on for some time, but I have to say that I can't understand how anyone can be that hungry at 1 meal. Maybe it was her first day on Atkins and she wanted to make sure she didn't feel deprived? I dunno.
I started Atkins 3 days ago and I've lost 6 pounds (water). I'm doing the Ketone sticks, which I've read on some of the posts isn't accurate, but I'm not putting all my hope in them. I measured my ketone last night and it was nothing and then this morning it was moderate, which was a huge jump.
I've done Atkins a few times before, and I've read the book, but I think listening to other people's Atkins stories may help me this time. I've actually planned out meals for the week - fun stuff so I don't feel like I'm missing out. I'm going to do taco night and I'll just make a taco salad minus the shell. Saturday is usually pizza night, so I got pepperoni, ital. sausage, peppers, mushrooms, black olives, olive oil and mozz. cheese and diced tomatoes, and I'm going to make a pizza topping casserole. My husband can still order his pizza. I also made a cheeseburger salad earlier this week and couldn't even finish it. I've been super stuffed on this diet, which is great.
Atkins
