Greetings!
I just found this site, and I am so thrilled to see such a vast array of knowledge. I am hoping to borrow some of that to come up with a plan of my own.

My history: I never was much of a dieter though I have always been slightly overweight. After having my fifth child five years ago I gained weight quickly and was diagnosed with PCOS. I went on Atkins, lost the weight very easily and was fine.

Over the past five years, I found myself frustrated that I couldn't eat an apple, or go out to dinner at an italian restaurant. I became a single mother, was in college and it was far easier to grab pizza or fast food on my way home. I tried weight watchers once, and it was difficult for me to figure out points, because I am making meals for 5 kids, and it became confusing.

I realized this summer I was once again far too heavy. I thought I would do it sensibly, so all summer I ate fresh foods, kept my calories low (about 1700, not too low) and began using the treadmill about 25 minutes a time, 3 times a week. Granted, it isn't a huge amount but I figured I would begin losing some weight simply by being aware.

Yesterday at my yearly exam, I found out I was up over 35 pounds since this time last year?!? Obviously eating fresh foods and exercising isn't helping much.

I have to be honest and say at this time, I feel ignorant about what to eat and how. I would love a structured plan to give me guidelines, yet when I bought South Beach Diet. . I can't afford it! I have to make meals that will work for the family and Tuna with scallops isn't gonna cut it. I don't know that I want to go back to Atkins and give up fruits and all breads/pasta,

So, its a long shot but any ideas? I am now in grad school, so we still are dealing with lack of time. I see menus and lunches are really elaborate! I work full time, and am often running between meetings.

This shouldn't be so hard! Thanks for reading and any advice would be welcome!

How sure are you about the calories you are eating? Are you weighing/measuring your food? How often do you eat out?

You said over the summer you changed your eating habits, do you know if you maintained/lost over the summer?

Hi,
Yes, I'm fairly sure. I use fitday to track my calories, and have primarily been eating out of my garden, along with chicken and beef maybe once a month. I don't eat pork and I am allergic to shellfish.

Over the course of the summer, I am not sure how much I lost, I know that I went down a pant size, but that doesn't feel like much when I did such a large overhaul of my diet. As for eating out, I haven't done much of that at all this summer, maybe 2-3 times a month and then I am careful what I am picking. I graduated in June and didn't start grad school until last week, so I had much more time on hand.

Thanks!

well it seems to me you are going in the right direction and since you don't know if you are losing my best advise would be to keep it up and in a couple weeks find a scale and compare it to the doctors. if your only judge is clothes size then you are improving.

If you are up 35 pounds from last October, but down a pant size over this summer since starting to eat better and exercise more, I don't see how you can say it isn't helping much. So you gained from October through the summer (more than 35#), then improved your lifestyle, and now you've lost part of that weight. You're on the right track.

Atkins is really unhealthy, so I would try your best to avoid that - not to mention its really a short term diet and really you seem to be looking for long term/something you can fit into your lifestyle.

What has helped me is to eat as much fruit as i desire before each meal i have...whether thats two bags of grapes, or 10 bananas.

As for fitting into your family schedule..make some raw salads to go with your meals.

This is actually not at all true and is very misleading. I don't follow the Atkins plan, but I am familiar with it and done properly, there's nothing unhealthy about it.

Back to the original question .. I too am confused by your weight description. You're up from this time last year, but you're down over the last couple of months when you've been eating healthily, right? So it seems that what you're doing now is working. I wouldn't change it.

Sticking with 1700 calories (about), eating fresh foods, and exercising *is* doing you good, obviously. I think you might be expecting too much, too fast.

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Is it possible you gained much more than you thought between weighing yourself last year and when you started your diet?

I have to say that I completely disagree with this advice. For one, if I were to eat 10 bananas....well, you can overeat on ANYTHING and gain weight, even if it is a food that is healthy for you. If I ate 10 bananas, I would only have about 500 calories left for the rest of the day to eat...and this would be completely unhealthy.

It boils down to calories in vs. calories out...

Also, Atkins in itself is NOT an unhealthy diet. If it is done properly and correctly, it can be a very healthy eating plan. If you are eating meat prepared in healthy ways, and using your daily carb allowances on vegetables, and low carb fruits-it is just fine.

Where Atkins or ANY low carb plan becomes unhealthy is when you have individuals living on bacon, sausage, cheese, and pork rinds, simply because they happen to be low/no carb foods.

You have people that are going to manipulate ANY diet plan...these are the same type of people who then go on a low fat diet, and eat an entire box of fat free cookies, and frequently indulge in fat free ice cream and pudding cups...simply because they are FAT FREE.

Then, they complain because they tried this diet, and that diet, and they CAN'T lose weight.



To the OP-
If you have went down a clothing size over the summer with a 1700 calorie diet and regular exercise, you are doing GREAT. I recommend now, that you weigh yourself. Write down the number, keep doing what you are doing, and weigh yourself again about once every week or two. You should be wanting to see about a pound or so lost per week. It is really going to depend on your current weight how fast you lose. Someone who weighs 300 is going to see faster losses than someone who weighs 150.

When you get to the point where a few weeks goes by and there is no weight change, then adjust your calories down to 1600 at THAT TIME. Don't do it before it needs to be done.

Be sure to advance your exercise now and then, as your body becomes fitter. Walk faster, go up a little in dumbell weights, etc. Keep advancing when your body is able, and you will keep getting fitter.

As much as I agree that if you eat too many calories you will put on weight, that wasnt my point.

By consuming fruit you will feel more satisfied and eat less rubbish. The very best quality vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, enzymes, co-enzymes, fiber, water, protein, carbohydrates, and fats come from fruits and vegetables. They are complete nutritional packages and provide the body with everything it needs to function properly. So consuming a lot of fruit is good for you and will help curve cravings on the basis you eat lots and because you are consuming the nutrients that your body needs.

I consider any diet that puts unncessary strain on your body to be unhealthy. Aktins is unhealthy. It is not beneficial for you to eat a lot of protein. The majority of your calores should be taken from carbohydrates. Atkins failed to distinguish between simple and complex carbs. Fruit is a simple carb from a whole food source and cooked grains like rice are complex carbs. Simple carbs are easily digested and their sugars readily available to be absorbed by cells. Complex carbs are more difficult to digest and require substantial amounts of energy in the conversion to sugar, and are denatured by the cooking process, making them difficult for the body to assimilate and creating toxic byproducts. In short, they are fattening and unhealthy.

By eliminating the complex carbs Atkins threw out the fat villain and ensured people would lose weight but he also threw out simple carbs too.

Too much protein can lead to all sorts of health problems as well and creates an acidic environment in the body which your body counterbalances this by taking the precious alkaline mineral, calcium, from the bloodstream and bones, setting the stage for osteoporosis and tooth decay.

Fruit gives the perfect example for calorie percentages. It is mostly carbohydrates with some fats and protein.

Both of those statements are false.

I would encourage others to do their own research - solid, in depth research, before making up their minds one way or the other.

I would also suggest that anyone interested in the Atkins diet actually READ the book - the original book. There is plenty of mention of complex carbs vs. simple carbs vs. fruit carbs.

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I agree but even Atkins admits that his research is outdated...

I would encourage others to read
The China Study too.

Actually, EVERYONE is different, and for some individuals it IS beneficial to eat protein. Those why bodybuild, for example. They must consume extra protein to maintain the extra muscle mass.

Diabetics are another prime example. Those who are diabetic need to eat protein at each meal to even their blood sugar levels. I am a gestational diabetic (diabetic when pregnant) and even though I am not considered diabetic when I am not pregnant...I am STILL carb sensitive. If I were to eat mainly carbs with little protein, I would have many incidents of getting the dizziness, jitters, and shakes-and be crashing and burning all day long. NOT good. I am also a professional dancer, and there is no way that I could go all day with very little protein-I simply couldn't do it.

Now, I do eat carbs-I eat plenty of them, but it is balanced with protein and some fats. I am not an Atkins follower, but I think that it is unfair to say that anyone who does Atkins is being unhealthy. You cannot compare one person who is eating chicken breast and a salad to someone else who is eating bacon and pork rinds, because they are not doing the same thing.

I'm vegan and eat protein at every meal to help stabilize my blood sugar. I don't follow atkins or a low carb plan. I am not one who could eat all the fruit I want because if I did, I'd gain weight. I love fruit and at my highest weight, I ate lots and lots of fruit. I do eat a couple pieces of fruit a day but certainly not all I could eat if given free reign.

It sounds like you are making progress and know where you want to be heading. Just stick with it and be patient!