You can switch diets/plans. Well, essentially you already have. Because you're not sticking with this one by eating too much cheese and other *allowable* foods. So by not adhering to this diet to a *T*, you've already switched.
You need to take a long, hard look here and see what not only can you stick to long term, but what you are WILLING to stick with long term.
All plans do have an adjustment period; a transition period. You need to learn the ropes and how to prepare and eat the foods on your plan and how to avoid the other ones. There will always be a period of *discomfort* initially, temporarily. You need to accept this. You are always going to have to push yourself a bit in the beginning.
As far as being bored with food. I urge you to not let that get to you. Just think how boring it is being overweight and not living up to your full potential. Don't focus on what FOODS you are missing out on, but what quality of LIFE you are missing out on. Focus on what you are gaining, not giving up. There's a big, big, big pay off to turning down certain foods. When those rewards start surfacing, and it does take some time, the sacrifices will seem negligible in comparison to the unbelievable benefits.
Nothing is as boring as not being able to fit into the swings with my kids or have the energy to chase after them . I'd honestly eat nothing but corn meal if it meant I'd get results and could keep my body healthy. I'd find a way to live with it and be happy . Obviously, that's not required... but it all comes down to what's really important to you. Luckily, it can be done with a little pain in the beginning and relative ease after that!
As far as being bored with food. I urge you to not let that get to you. Just think how boring it is being overweight and not living up to your full potential. Don't focus on what FOODS you are missing out on, but what quality of LIFE you are missing out on. Focus on what you are gaining, not giving up. There's a big, big, big pay off to turning down certain foods. When those rewards start surfacing, and it does take some time, the sacrifices will seem negligible in comparison to the unbelievable benefits.
Regarding being bored -- with either food I eat or exercise I do -- I have to say that that is a recipe for disaster for me. I would not have been able to stay on a plan where I was bored and unable to eat a variety of food. So, perhaps there is some individual variation in this regard.
However, I see that as different from turning down certain foods that might be problematic for me. When it comes to things like brownies, cookies and cakes, I do agree that there are big payoffs to "just say no".
I do best when I balance health and variety in the food I eat.
Regarding being bored -- with either food I eat or exercise I do -- I have to say that that is a recipe for disaster for me. I would not have been able to stay on a plan where I was bored and unable to eat a variety of food. So, perhaps there is some individual variation in this regard.
However, I see that as different from turning down certain foods that might be problematic for me.
Yes. Agreed.
I didn't mean to imply that being bored with food is *acceptable*. Well, not totally. There were certain foods that I had to give up. But I don't miss them - anymore. I ADDED in much better ones. Ones that taste fabulous and are fabulous for me. I no longer settle for foods that *just taste good*. They have to taste good and be good for me, long after I'm done chewing.
One of my non-negotiables was I was not willing to eat boring, bland, tasteless dull foods.
Eating delicious foods was/is ESSENTIAL to my staying on plan for all the years that I have. There is no way I could have lasted this long if I wasn't thoroughly enjoying everything I put into my mouth. It is essential for me to enjoy and get pleasure from everything that I eat.
It makes it much easier to stick to a healthy lifestyle if the foods that I am eating are delicious. No reason to go off plan, when on plan is so good. The foods I eat are quite exciting and yummy to me. They're just different foods then they were in the past. I had to re-think what a treat is. And I have.
I also didn't have all these great healthy foods from the start. I had to DISCOVER them. I had to look for them, I had to create them. So yes, there is an adjustment period as you find/develop these foods.
I also though was definitely trying to point out that adhering to a healthy lifestyle is not boring, dull and uncomfortable. And that I finally realized that being overeating and remaining overweight was most boring, dull and uncomfortable.
Kinda rambling. Not sure if I'm getting my point across. So, I'll stop.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 11-16-2010 at 08:18 AM.
Why not treat your weight loss period as a chance to fine tune your maintenance plan? It's your chance to find out what works for you and what you really are willing to do for a lifetime. You aren't happy with what you are doing right now and while you are doing great with your weight loss, you still have more to lose . . . and a lifetime to maintain that loss. Why not try OWL and see if that's a better fit? Or Primal? Or South Beach? Or even calorie counting with an emphasis on lower carb choices?
You need to find a sustainable diet for you. I eat a high carb diet which I enjoy and I try to vary my foods although I definitely have key foods/staples that always seem to be around. If the plan isn't working for you, then figure what will work for you.
When I was really strict with low carbing I would eat an apple some days and also I ate sunflower seeds. I know you are strictly going by the book but you can tweek it. I just counted carbs in everything and if I ate an apple one day then I just didn't eat salad that day. I always stayed in ketosis too. There are some great recipes for low carbing too such as the cauliflower pizza... Having the same thing over and over again gets old quick. When I first did Atkins I got so sick of eggs I thought I would never eat another one :P
I still stay low carb but I'm not as strict. I just couldn't maintain that strictness for long periods of time!
I don't see how switching to calorie-counting will cause you to gain weight just because you are adding a few healthy carbs back in. It won't cause you to gain weight if you count the calories in those carbs and stay within your calorie limits.
I think it's generally understood that the reason people bounce back so badly after abandoning a low-carb diet is because they add huge portions of carbs into their huge portions of low-carb foods, and wind up eating way too many calories. If you switch to calorie-counting, you won't do that.
At any rate, Robin said it very well, you need a plan you are willing to stick to, and you're not sticking to the plan you have now, so you need to try something else. Whether that's mixing up the low-carb foods you are eating (I have been on a kick of making different kinds of spiced fish dishes lately, I am having a blast and that is something a low-carber can eat), or trying a different, more balanced plan like whole-foods calorie counting, you have to adapt your plan to something you are willing to live with, or you will end up on no plan at all.
Here's my take on this. Take what you've learned from Atkins and apply it as you transition into a plan that works for you.
I did SBD and though it didn't work out for me because it was a *diet*, I did learn a lot from it. I took what I learned from SBD and applied it to calorie counting. That eventually evolved into more of a whole foods calorie counting diet. So I guess I've merged three diets and I'm extremely happy with my plan and tweaking it constantly. The constant tweaking keeps me interested.
I think a good transition for you would be to pick up a SBD book and just read the basics. My understanding is it's very similar to Atkins but with an emphasis on lean protein and vegetables for carbs. But in phase two it starts to introduce healthy carbs like sweet potatoes and lovely honey crisp apples.
You may gain weight at first, just expect that. But know that it ISN'T fat gain. It's just water and/or glycogen stores. Expect it, see it for what it is, and know that if you can stick it out you will reach your goal. Patience above all else! Sustainably. That's the ticket.
I think prolonged induction can work against the person with a lot to lose. Because the book encourages prolonged induction, many people feel obligated to do so, and judge the diet only by induction.
Try a week on owl and see if that helps. You can also alternate owl and induction weeks, or give yourself one owl week a month... whatever works best for you.
You can also make your diet less boring in so many ways. It's unlikely that you're eating as much variety as you could be. You don't have to have eggs and bacon for breakfast. You can have baked fish for breakfast. You can have a viatnamese beef salad for lunch (just replace the sugar in the dressing with Splenda or other low-carb sweetener).
There are tons of options, but you have to go into your grocery store with new eyes. Imagine that you've never been in a grocery store before and explore every aisle (or at least the perimeter, where the whole food options tend to be) looking for "new" foods that fit your low-carb goals.
Asian groceriers are AWESOME for unusual low-carb treats.
Some that I have in my cabinet (they may sound strange, but you might be surprised. I was) from the asian grocery a block from our home. Obviously, even if none of my suggestions sound good to you, there are thousands of low-carb foods that you haven't tried.
Smiling Fish brand Green Curry Fried Sardines (290 calories, 5g carb 19g fat) Smiling Fish products are excellent. I bought my first can as a joke. It sounded so weird (sardines in curry sauce?) that I had to try it. OMG, absolutely yummy. There are several different curries and most flavors come in both sardines and mackerel. There's quite a bit of fat, but it's mostly healthy Omega 3's
Dragonfly brand Mackerel in tom yum sauce (290 calories, 5g carb, 16g fat)I haven't tried this brand yet, but I've had other brands and it's really good. Spicy and a bit sour.
Hot & sour pickled mustard green and Fermented Mustard green (most stores have a dozen or so varieties or more). These are tiny cans of pickled vegetables, and they add flavor to stir fries and soups (I never use a whole can. So I put the leftovers in a small container or ziploc bag). A whole can has 50 calories or less, and the carb count varies from brand to brand (depending on whether carby ingredients are added).
Some are quite tart, and some are very mild. Some are spicy hot, and some aren't. They're usually very cheap (I've never seen them more than $1 and usually they're 65 cents or so).
I know these are kind of "out there" to most folks, but once you start trying new foods, it becomes addictive, and you'd be surprised at how many great low-carb foods are out there in the world. Most of them are right under your nose too. I still find stuff in the regular grocery stores every day, just because now I'm "on the hunt" for new stuff to try.
Even when it comes to hams, bacon, and sausage - there are dozens of varieties to try. If you have a Sam's Club near you, they sell a chicken and asiago sausage that's amazing (if you go to the customer service counter they'll often give you a free day pass to try before you buy the membership. They also have a generous refund policy if you pay the membership fee and then decide that your membership isn't worth it).
Aldi has stir fries that aren't super low-carb if you use the sauce that comes with them, but are very low-carb if you don't (just avoid the ones with rice and noodles). They're about $4 and more than enough food for two people.
I know I'm more adventurous than most, but there are SO SO many options.
I think it's easy to get in a rut when it comes to weight loss, and we start to think the rut is inevitably part of weight loss, and it isn't. I eat far more variety when I'm "on plan" than when I go off it. So I no longer have the excuse that "diet food is boring." It's only as boring as I let it be, because there are so many food options.
I did Atkins and was succesful but just couldn' t stay with it. I count calories, much more freedom . As is said before pick the diet that works for you it is perfectly OK to switch to something else if you are not satisfied .
South Beach might be a little more "livable" for you. It's stilly (fairly) low carb, but you get to enjoy low fat cheese and whole grains (like the oatmeal you're missing) in moderation, and it's within the plan.
Look into the plan and see if it would work for you...I bought the South Beach book on amazon, used, for less than $3. You could also pop into the South Beach diet boards here and ask for input....take a look at some of our recipes to see if the foods interest you.
It's not for everyone. Part of making this a lifestyle change that you can stick with is finding something that works for you. I've tweaked my plan TONS to lose this weight. I'm finding that I personally do SO much better on a low carb plan... but not everyone does. If it makes you feel crappy it's better to find something that doesn't make you feel crappy NOW than to suffer for a long time. This shouldn't be a painful experience. Weight loss can be easy if you find a way to make it easy on you .
Thank you everyone for all of the advice. I guess my biggest problem is that I try to work with whatever food we have in the house because I live with my parents. One of the reasons I chose Atkins is because it would be easier on my family because I'd be able to eat whatever they cook (and my mom has been wonderful at making low-carb dishes for me) without having to have separate meals. For example, if they have ribs smothered in carby sweet sauce, they make some without sauce and I have green beans instead of potatoes. It works out well.
They also don't have a lot of variety in their foods. The extent of their vegetable eating is pretty much carrots, potatoes, green beans and salad. The potatoes and carrots I can't eat. Once I'm making some money for myself (I've talked about this in another thread) I'll be able to buy a larger variety of foods. I feel bad asking her to buy me tons of specific food that only I'll eat, so I mostly ask for basics and work with everything else.
I guess I don't really want to change my plan. I do think I'm going to change it a little bit...add nuts and a little bit of fruit. Thanks again for the great answers.
That still sounds on par with South Beach. Just saying...it's worth a read.
I guess I'd just rather see you find something you like than see you quit. I know you say you won't quit...but gosh I would have if I didn't love my plan.
. I'd honestly eat nothing but corn meal if it meant I'd get results and could keep my body healthy. I'd find a way to live with it and be happy 
