[kathie67]

I have been doing lowcarb since June 2012 and lost about 38 lbs. I have been at the same weight since the first week of December and have tried to raise/lower carbs to get things moving again. I was wondering if anyone has successfully went from an Atkins type way of eating to calorie counting? Thanks!1

[JerseyGyrl]

Originally Posted by kathie67

I have been doing lowcarb since June 2012 and lost about 38 lbs. I have been at the same weight since the first week of December and have tried to raise/lower carbs to get things moving again. I was wondering if anyone has successfully went from an Atkins type way of eating to calorie counting? Thanks!1

I've been doing Atkins for almost 9 years now and I'm curious about a few things. What was your starting weight? What was an average day of eating like for you?

[bargoo]

I did do Atkins and was successful but eventually found it tedious and switched to calorie counting, I do, however try to watch my carbs. I found calorie counting worked best for me.

[TexArk]

I lost weight on low carb diets (Atkins, Protein Power) and found that they really helped curb the cravings. I use fruits, rice, and potatoes for my carbs and leave off wheat and sugar almost 100%. I did stall out in my weight loss though and started tracking calories to see what I really needed to maintain or lose and where the "start to gain" spot was. You can still eat too many calories very easily if you aren't tracking. So now I use myfitnesspal to track and I pretty much use the alternate day or up/down way of eating. In other words I average my calories for the week. I also have found that the spreadsheet on The Hackers Diet really helps me send the trend of weight loss and I can also see what my calorie deficit is. The chart never knows how many calories you are eating, but by your weight loss it calculates what the daily deficit actually is. A calorie deficit of 500 calories a day is needed for a one lb. weight loss per week no matter how many carbs are involved. I think the low carb helps with satiety and cravings.

Hope this helps. So yes I transitioned to include both carb counting and calorie counting.

[Fit dad 2b]

Of course, we're all different, but here's what became of me and Adkins, err...Atkins (sorry JerseyGyrl - I saw your sig and loved it - so true!!)

9 years ago I lost almost 100 lbs on Atkins (eventually gained it all back, but that's not by fault of the Atkins plan - it was all me). However, about a quarter of the way into that journey, the scale stopped moving. I realized that I was eating too many calories, even though my carbs were in check.

I'm not saying you're making this mistake, but I realized that I was following the letter of the plan (as I understood it), but not the spirit. Atkins is not "eat all the bacon and red meat I want, and bring on the butter!!", and I had to make an adjustment if I wanted to see continued success.

Atkins taught me a lot about what I call "good" and "bad" carbs, and how my body reacts to them. This time around, I've developed a plan for myself that centers on counting calories, but there's a lot of my prior experience from Atkins in there as well. I'm far enough into my plan that I'm usually a little hungry, but I'm not fighting a constant urge to binge, and I think I've got some Atkins philosophy to thank for that. My carb count is usually around 100g per day, which is high according to Atkins, but as long as most of those carbs come from dairy/veggies/(and maybe just a little) whole grains, and very very few come from white flour/sugar/corn syrup/potatoes, hitting my daily target of 1700-1800 calories feels almost too easy (at times).

[kathie67]

Originally Posted by JerseyGyrl

I've been doing Atkins for almost 9 years now and I'm curious about a few things. What was your starting weight? What was an average day of eating like for you?

My starting weight was 290 and I have been 250-255 since the first week of December. A normal day of eating is usually 2 scrambled eggs with 3 pieces of bacon for brunch and dinner is usually chicken breast or cheeseburger with green veggie. Snacks are usually almonds or sugar free jello. My alternate brunch choice is usually sliced deli turkey,cheese, half and avocado and few cherry tomatoes with olive oil drizzled on them.

[JerseyGyrl]

Originally Posted by kathie67

My starting weight was 290 and I have been 250-255 since the first week of December. A normal day of eating is usually 2 scrambled eggs with 3 pieces of bacon for brunch and dinner is usually chicken breast or cheeseburger with green veggie. Snacks are usually almonds or sugar free jello. My alternate brunch choice is usually sliced deli turkey,cheese, half and avocado and few cherry tomatoes with olive oil drizzled on them.

Hi Kathie
Thank you for your response.
It doesn't seem like you are eating enough. Contrary to popular misconception, Atkins, from day 1, focuses on veggies. While Induction encourages you to keep your carbs at no more than 20 net (total carbs minus dietary fiber), 12-15 of those 20 carbs should be coming from veggies & salads on the acceptable foods list.
Have you read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (2002 or prior versions)? It explains exactly how & why Atkins works.
I hope this helps.
All the best to you!!

[JerseyGyrl]

Originally Posted by Fit dad 2b

Atkins is not "eat all the bacon and red meat I want, and bring on the butter!!", and I had to make an adjustment if I wanted to see continued success.

Excellent post!
Unfortunately, there is so much misconception about Atkins and this is what most people believe..."eat all the bacon and red meat I want, and bring on the butter!!" Most are completely surprised when they learn this is not Atkins at all. From day 1 on Atkins, the focus is on veggies & salads. Yes, bacon, red meat & butter are permitted....but, that being said, NO, you can not eat all you want!
Sadly, I don't think most people read the book before attempting to do Atkins. They rely purely on hearsay (which is often totally incorrect). They do what they believe is Atkins and it doesn't work and they say "oh yes, I've tried Atkins and that didn't work for me" This is why I urge everyone to read the book BEFORE they attempt Atkins. Understanding how & why Atkins, when done correctly works, makes all the difference!
Most importantly, whatever plan one chooses needs to be a total lifestyle change meaning, this is not a diet you use to lose the weight and then return to old habits...this is a lifestyle change for the rest of your life!
Continued success to you and thanks again for the great post!

[marigrace]

I went from calorie counting to WW ... at about 1600 calories....and they both worked. I did Atkins by the book many years ago.... 25 carb induction for weeks...before anyone had ever heard of net carbs. For me this was too restrictive....and ultimately I think I SHOULD have paid more attention to caloric intake.
WW is a good plan because you can incorporate pretty much any food. The down side... ( for me) was that as a carb junkie, I was eating too much fruit and bread....which gave cravings of mystical porportions....and often derailed me. Right now, I'm keeping my carbs very low and calories to a maximum of 1500 calories...tracking everything so I can really look at it. What I have found is that I feel satisfied with much less calories , feel better over all, and the cravings are no longer there to derail me.
Its hard to say what's best for any one person. This works for me. You may have to experiment to find what works for you.

[kathie67]

I should clarify that I am not on Atkins specifically but it is probably closest to the way I eat. I generally stay at or under 35 grams of carbs a day, eat no rice,pasta,bread, potato, etc. No sugars. I would estimate my calories at about 1500, maybe? I sometimes give myself a day of carb eating to kind of jump start a stall but it has not worked this time.Thanks for all the responses. Also, I did read the old Atkins book in the 90's, so I do understand the concept and it has worked well in the past when I have needed to lose 20-30 lbs. I thought since I started at a much higher weight the weight would fall off faster but no such luck

[Fit dad 2b]

Originally Posted by JerseyGyrl

...This is why I urge everyone to read the book BEFORE they attempt Atkins...Continued success to you and thanks again for the great post!

Thanks so much for the compliment, and you are SO right about the book. Once I thoroughly read it, I was amazed at how so much misconception about Atkins could be avoided if people took the time to actually read it. Actually, I'm going to go dig out my copy right now and see if there are things in there I've forgotten about!

[storm]

I did atkins and lost about 40 lbs, but it was way too strict for me. I couldn't get out of phase 1 because of fear that slowly putting back wheat breads or pasta would make me gain it all back. I find counting calories works best for my mind set but that was just me. I don't lose weight as fast as I did on atkins but it is a lot healthier weight loss.

[justaloser]

I was excited to find this post. I lost the majority of my weight on lowcarb (Protein Power/Atkins '72) but have switched to calorie counting. I still eat no wheat/gluten (I'm Celiac) and also no sugar (so lowcarb taught me good things!).

I'm doing very well on the calorie counting, my carbs are now in the 70 to 100gm ranges (that's a LOT for 'me', lol) and I feel better, I have more energy.

I'm disabled and the meds that I take ...well, my fat% was UP there, and I was 'healthy' in cholesterol readings, etc. but I started to binge here and there...on things NOT lowcarb...so I finally just decided to switch it up and add more carbs (and no, not all at once, lol...it's taken me awhile to do this).

I climbed the rungs, and found that in order to lose more weight, it would have to be 20gms carb the 'rest of my life'. I'm disabled, can't exercise a LOT...but never was able to get above that rung...I have food allergies and I was actually binging on things like berries!

I'm 58 and my metabolism isn't what it used to be (what an understatement, lol) and I know how healthy lowcarb is for the body, but for now...I feel better going up in carbs and down in fat.

I always ate a LOT of veggies on lowcarb too...not starchy ones (and still don't much..just pumpkin and sweet tators after working out)...but I think I may have found my 'eating niche' finally.