I was on Atkins for maybe 6 weeks. It made me miserable and caused me to binge because I was depriving myself of so much. So now I'm going back to doing a low calories diet, which consists of mostly carbs. I'm worried I'll gain weight because of the carb shock on my body. Any advice?

You can do a lower carb plan without going as extreme as Atkins . . . just make sure that the carbs you eat are the good lower GI/GL kind -- lots of vegetables and fruit and whole grains.

Why does your low cal diet have to consist of "mostly carbs". Why not have a balance low cal diet that balances protein, carbs, and healthy fats?

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by mostly i mean about 150g carbs, which isn't TOO bad compared to how many I used to eat before trying atkins. after atkins i need this amount of carbs to keep me sane, slowly i think i can reduce them. when i cut them too much all i think about is food. they are mostly grain carbs and not sugar carbs.

Funny that you bring up this topic. I have been posting on threads lately how I had the same problem on Atkins. I have really struggled with changing my outlook on carbs as well. I have never been successful at losing weight until I started doing WW at my home. I don't have any books or anything. I basically just do the flex program. I have lost 30 pounds and have gone from a size 14 to a size 8 since April 7, 2008. I feel wonderful and don't have nearly the cravings that Atkins left me with.

I remember when I was doing Atkins just feeling miserable about the fact that I may die tomorrow and not have gotten to eat pizza or tacos or a McDonald's ice cream in soooooo long. I love counting calories, because I really do get all the foods that I ate before. I do find lower calorie options for a lot of them. I will admit that I miss eating all the bacon that I used to go crazy on with Atkins. But I bet you my cholesterol is a lot lower. I found that the longer I was on Atkins, the less I ate because I was totally bored with the foods I was allowed. I felt so restricted. I was starving.

I do feel like I learned some useful tools. I am a pro at reading labels and knowing exactly how food is going to affect me. I love WW because it really rewired my metabolism. I had these huge fears that once I started eating carbs again that I would gain all this weight. Not true. Don't be afraid. Bread has never tasted so good.

I will give you an example of what I eat for a menu:

Breakfast:

Three pieces of Milton's bread, toasted, with I can't Believe It's Not Butter and honey.

Snack:

Banana and blueberries

Lunch:

Toasted English muffin with deli turkey, slice of provolone, some Light Lays Potato chips, a couple tomatoes, some carrots, and a small salad

Snack:

Light and Fit Yogurt or melon and berries

Dinner:

Chicken breast, Wild rice or cous-cous, small salad or an omelet made with two egg whites and one egg and some Kraft fat free cheese and tomatoes. The omelet also makes a great snack.

you lose eating that menu? thats amazing! it sounds delicious. i'm soo happy to be off atkins i've had no problem staying within my calorie limit

I've been searching for Milton's bread for the last 3 months....Sam's seems to have stopped carrying it...any ideas for NJ?