My husband and I are both very overweight. I need to lose about 180 and he needs to lose about 130. We are currently looking at differnet plans and researching to find the one that will work best for us. Just a little about us. I am a SAHM to 4 boys under the age of 9. He works a regular full-time job in front of a computer all day. We also need a plan that is not going to cost us an arm and a leg but has great results. We are not looking to lose all the weight over night or in a year. It took years for us to get where we are so it will take a long time to lose it also. So tell me what you think we should know about Atkins. I do own the older and newer versions of the books as well as the cookbook.

Plans we are currently researching...

SugarBusters
South Beach
Fat Flush
Atkins

welcome! well, I think we all pretty much think Atkins is the best- it takes the hunger OUT of the equation. I was a total food addict- I thought about food constantly-especially sugary stuff...that is gone now- although I don't advocate this, today I looked up from my reading to realize it was already 3pm and I hadnt eaten a thing....that never happened to me before....and it was because i just wasnt hungry!

but the best thing I've had happen is this forum- each person here is supportive and kind, friendly and non judgemental.....hope you stick around for awhile!

In my opinion. Look at all the diet plans and carefully choose one you think you will be able to live with for the rest of your life because thats the one you will succeed with.

I have to admit that Leenie is exactly right. I've tried many different diet plans. Watched my portions. Etc. But Atkins is the first one I was never hungry on. I got to eat decent food (unfortunately it costs MORE to eat healthy than to eat foods already prepared for you. lol) and I really never counted my carbs.
My only problem now is a mind thing. Lost my mindset for NOT eating carbs. Lost the "even ONE bite can kill this WOE.". So I'm sabotaging myself. So DEFINITELY make sure it's something you're TOTALLY into and something you can live with. And there's NOTHING set in writing that says you can't start with one thing and then switch to another if it's not for you!!
Good luck

My best advice is to view Atkins like a lifestyle change, this is not something you can do on a whim and switch back and forth, it changes your way of eating for life. If you view it like a diet and have great results when you go back to your old ways the weight will come right back, so bear that in mind when researching. It is not a temporary change.

PS Eating healthy always costs more than not.

Hi and welcome! My husband and I have been on Atkins and it's the only thing that works for us and for so long because neither one of us can handle the carbs and the cravings for and what they cause. We started with the older yellow book and now have the white one. I think this is a great diet for those who don't want to feel hungry and like to eat.

I agree with what everybody said above here.

The cost of the protein foods (meats) seems a bit more costly than a diet with carbs, but I think in the long run, we eat less and save, eat no junk food or cereal which is costly, we save on medical costs and we feel so good with no hunger. We just know now we can eat anything without the bread and potatoes, etc. There's a wonderful subsitute for everything. And we love to eat, and all of the gormet recipes are unbelievable...fun to prepare...and eat.

I'm like you and knew we didn't want to lose it over night, so I took 30 days to read and study the book, then asked our doctors, got the go-ahead and stuck to it. Now I've faultered, so I'm restarting today.

My biggest advice is to stick to it, never go off the plan thinking you can "jump right back on it" because if you have a bad carb problem like me, it's terribly hard to get off the carbs again. And no matter what plan you choose, threefatchicks .com is a great, friendly place to be. The support is wonderful.

When we wanted to try it, we followed the book where it says give it the two weeks, follow it perfectly, find the check list of how you feel now, see the results of how you feel at the end of two weeks, ie energy, sleep, headaches, etc. It also said if you find it's not for you, have another diet plan ready to jump on that day you quit Atkins.

Please let us know what you decide on and how it goes.