I've lost my 50 pounds [squee squee happy dance delighted giggles] on low-carb, mostly highly restrictive Atkins induction.

I'm sick of it. I can't honestly live this way forever. I'm ready for a switch to "Real Food." I cheat a lot, and it's really sad when a handful of nuts or a fresh-picked apple is "cheating."

At 195 - 10 pounds away! - I'm going to make the switch, following Michael Pollan's sage, witty advice

Does anyone follow this "plan"? Has it worked for you? I'm terrified of gaining the lost weight back, even just a little of it. But, I don't think life is worth living if I can't spend a September afternoon reading under a my pear tree and munching on fresh-picked fruit! I'd rather be 40 pounds overweight and feast happily in my mini-orchard than be at the "right weight" and have to count my servings of fruit.

I have to say that "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." is pretty much what I do! I did count calories at first, but not since over a year ago now. I lost about the last 30 pounds that way and kept it off. Doesn't work for everyone, but I love it.

I don't have personal experience coming off of low-carb, but I imagine you have to expect some gain due to glycogen & water, and probably a few weeks for your body to adjust. But so worth it (and really, necessary) to find something you're really *happy* with.

I did lose on Atkins but found it difficult to follow after a while. I switched to counting calories and haven't been sorry. Calorie counting can follow you over into maintenance very successfully. One of the things I like about calorie counting is the lack of restrictions. This is a sensible, yet flexible way to lose weight and to maintain that loss.

I did Atkins before but became ill after a month. I did lose 10 lbs that month though.

I started calorie counting but stalled after like 15 lbs

I'm now doing south beach diet and my doctor really recommends it- just saw a nutritionist last week and she loved that I was already on South Beach. Maybe you could try that? South beach gradually re-introduces the "good carbs." I haven't really binged since then and don't really crave a lot of the things I used to- so it's a plus for me

I don't know about being told to not eat too much- yeah- I'll probably keep thinking I'm not eating much but in reality I am!

I'm not Atkins expert, but I thought people weren't supposed to stay on induction during the entire weight loss period. There are like 4 levels. If you've had success but you're ready to leave induction, maybe you're just ready for the next level of Atkins which allows more healthy carbs like pears?

Paging Jerseygyrl!

I lost 35 pounds on Atkins, but I just couldn't keep up with a diet that restricted some of my favorite foods. I calorie count now and it totally works for me. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that it works for you. Good luck!

Here's my personal experience with Atkins.

Initially went on it in 1999, lost about 150 lbs give-or-take in less than a year. Got to around 190-200, maintained within 20 lbs of that until 2003 by being lazy with my carbs. But on an average maintenance day I still had well under 50 grams of carb, per day.

2003, went back on induction, lost about another 40-50 lbs. Then I had a nervous breakdown and went totally off it, carb-heavy fat-heavy booze-heavy lifestyle, gained over 100 lbs in less than six months. Fast forward five years, I was hovering at 370.

Went back on Atkins August 2008, because it's the only diet that ever worked for me. Stayed on STRICT induction, no cheating, for 3 months, lost 60 lbs. Went up to maybe 25 grams per day for the next 3 months, lost 40 more lbs. Stalled, tried the "Texas Low-Carb Elimination Diet" for about a month, re-started losing eventually. (In retrospect, I was getting smaller, just not lighter.)

That brings us up to summer 2009. My weightloss was totally stalled at around 120 lbs lost. I was no longer losing size or pounds on Atkins, so I did a bunch of research and switched to The Metabolism Miracle. It's low fat and low carb, but more carb than induction allows. I totally gave up red meat (well, I may have 1 steak a month) and mostly eat chicken, fish, green veggies, almonds, 1 egg a day, and a couple limited condiments in very limited amounts. I started losing again and am now at around 150 lbs lost.

This works for me, but I can't say enough, this plan isn't for everyone. It is very restrictive and I have to be very disciplined to follow it. I keep my carb intake very, very low so I don't have carb cravings. No fantasizing about birthday cake or french fries.

But to your original question, will you gain if you go off Atkins in favor of another plan, there's no one-size-fits-all answer to that. If you go off Atkins and binge on sugary, starchy carbs, of course you will. If you switch from Atkins to low-fat high-carb but otherwise healthy eating, you'll just have to wait and see how your body reacts.

I know myself pretty well. If I went on a low-fat high-carb diet, I would immediately uncontrollably binge on carbs til I gained all the weight back, because my body has no "off" mechanism when it comes to carbs. I think I'm allergic to sugar. But I also think I'm a really extreme case.

Have you read the Atkins book? Do you know about the different levels? Because if you follow the plan, and increase carbs gradually, you can certainly incorporate fruit and all sorts of healthy stuff back in. I'm certainly not getting on your case, but riding induction all the way to 10 lbs from goal is not how Dr. Atkins set the plan up. The book gives excellent advice and details on how to gradually incorporate carbs back in until you find the level you can eat at maintenance and not gain weight back.

Best of luck on whatever plan you decide to follow.

Michael Pollan is DEFINITELY on to something!

But personally, I need a more "spelled-out" plan. I need the built in accountability of calorie counting. It helps me to define the "not too much" portion of Michael's equation. I can't leave that up in the air and open ended.

Therefore for me it's eat mostly plants + calorie counting which ENSURES the "not too much" part of the equation.