Hello everyone! Well I have read everything I can get my hands on and even watched the dvd. I am heading to the store to get all the food needed, plan on starting the 1st phase Monday, I must confess, I am a little worried that this may be another failed diet. I have been on soooo many. I need to lose about 30 pounds. Well I just wanted to say hi and I will be grateful for any and all help.

When you say you have read everything you can get your hands on, the BIG question is....have you read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (2002 or prior version)? Its critical if you are concerned about doing this plan correctly.
You CAN do this!
All the best to you!

Hi tinkerbell and welcome.

You know, I read some of the diets here and find them quite complex. And then I try to remember back to see if I found the Atkin's diet as complex way back at the beginning. I actually did not...mainly, I think, because way back in the early 70's, one of the popular diets was the protein diet. So I initially thought the Atkin's diet was a protein diet. Then I got the book and learned the specific list of foods I HAD to stick with. A bit more complex was learning the actual physiologic explanations for how and why this particular diet can work so well.....that were in the book.

The main thing that makes it very easy and that is CRITICAL to understand is that there is a specific list of foods you must NOT vary from and how important this is. On, for instance, a low-calorie diet...one can have literally anything as long as it stays within the calorie range....a piece of cake, you name it.

But Atkins is all or none. You can NOT sneak in a food that's not on the list. One tiny sweet, etc....can switch you from weight loss to weight gain....because it is a totally metabolic diet. You MUST understand this going in....or you may repeatedly fail and not understand why.

Now.....for a person like me, Atkins is awesome. And that's because....give me just one little slice of cake....or any other simple carbohydrate (bread, pasta, cookies, etc.) and I turn into a ravenous, craving person who is really suffering to stick to a diet. But on Atkins, all those cravings, constantly being hungry, etc.....are literally gone and being on this diet is a breeze for me.

BUT...I have met many who hate this diet. They claim they are very unhappy on it because they can NOT live without bread...or without pasta...or without sweets, etc. Or they just don't like protein and veggies much.

And while yes, I may think that some of these people should give it a real chance and they may be surprised......I actually have to believe most of them because I've been amazed here to see how much success many have had with low-calorie diets.....while I also know how much trouble *I* would have with them.

So, the most important things to know going in, IMO, are 1. that different diets work for different people and 2. that you MUST stick with the list and NEVER vary from it...if you want consistent and relatively quick success.

If you are a person who is not all that picky an eater, likes protein and veggies, and whose main diet problem is being constantly hungry and craving....Atkins is awesome.

deena

thank you sooo much deena.

You're welcome.

Also, I would stay far, far away from the Atkins products, like the bars, etc. The net carbs listed on them are very misleading, IMO....and they can cause frustrating slow-downs in progress.

That's usually one of the first things I note when helping to trouble-shoot someone's weekly menu.

I'll be cheering for you and I'm very interested to see how you do on this diet and what you think of it.

deena

Do you mean stay away from the shakes and bars? I thought they were suppose to help. Thanks for the info. I gather for the first 2 weeks just follow the plan to the letter. Right?

Tinkerbell - The fact that you can not cheat or you can end of gaining weight, that seriously is one of the best things and also the worst things about the Atkins diet. Friday night I wanted to cheat so badly and have an ice cream with my daughter, but I had eaten a lot of protein and fat over the course of the day and I knew that if I had that ice cream I would be in real trouble.

For me my thought process now when thinking about "Cheating" is should I have that extra piece of cheese, olive or pickle, or will eating 25 carbs for the day keep me from losing???? A far cry from "it's okay if I have a biscuit with my meal I'll cut back the rest of the day..."

I have done WW, JC & Atkins and been successful on all of them(well losing...but not maintaining), but it is hard to switch your thought process from Calorie intake to locarbs. This is my second week in this time and after re-familiarizing myself over the weekend I have discovered some changes I need to make over the next week if I am going to be successful doing this diet.

Good Luck as you begin your weight loss journey, I have really enjoyed the support on 3FC during my first week.

Tinkerbell..I had one of the Atkins bars a couple of days ago and I stayed in ketosis. The last time I did this I also had some of the other kind of sugar alcohol sweets and still lost weight. I just didn't eat them every day. Another girl I worked with lost about 70 pounds on this and she ate those sweets too. She also ate low-carb chips and such. I think you should just go by how your body responds. You will know if those things are causing your weight loss to slow down or not and then just limit them. It still important to get your nutrients from veggies so I would limit the snacks and shakes as much as possible. I might have a bar about twice a week cause any more than that I dont lose..or at least that it what I did before. Good luck to you!

To be honest, tinkerbell.....back in the early 90's (when I was quite a bit younger), I did eat some of the Atkins bars when I was on maintenance and already at goal. I loved the chocolate-coconut ones. And the main problem I encountered was that they started to kick in my sweet cravings....and they began to get more and more frequent.....thereby destroying one of the huge benefits of Atkins.....the elimination of sweet cravings.

And I actually did begin to run into problems, once I allowed those sweet cravings to become a "several times daily" occurrence. Luckily, I had this rule: "gain 5 lbs. max and go right back on induction until I lose it".....or I might have undone all my progress.

From my perspective...yes, it does vary person to person. Some can eat this stuff and still lose weight. But generally speaking, when evaluating why someone is not moving forward and analyzing their daily menus.....the first thing that will scream out to me as a cause is using a lot of those products.

IMO, the main problem is not so much that it will stall you....but more that it will set up this cycle of sweet cravings.....and going down that road never ends up in a good place. Eating sweets and simple sugars can truly become a classic addiction, complete with all the obsessive/compulsive thinking that goes along with it. And especially as we get older, and esp. women....our bodies start to recognize just the sweet taste (even if it's not real sugar)......and will 1) start to begin the cycle of sweet cravings and 2) get angry later, when it realizes it was duped and then slow down the metabolism in response. It's like trying to cash a bad check...you think you have money in the bank....but later realize it wasn't real.
The body THOUGHT it was getting a nice sugar rush but when it realizes it was bogus, it slows down the metabolism....realizing it is NOT getting its fix.

The HUGE advantage of Atkins is that it eliminates cravings and binges, it controls hunger and appetite, it satiates your appetite for long periods and when done right, you are eating almost all whole and healthy foods. Why ruin that with a bunch of processed stuff? And also risk reversing some of those great benefits?

Does that make sense?

deena