I thought I'd try Atkins and it's almost been two weeks and I can't handle this diet anymore, it's just not for me. I want to go back to just 1200 calories a day and watching it on Monday which will be exactly two weeks after I started the low-carb diet. Do you think it would be a bad idea to just start eating carbs again when I've only been eating under 20 grams of carbs for the past 2 weeks? I don't want to gain back any of the weight I lost in the past 2 weeks..... Thanks!

Are you getting any results with Atkins since you started? If yes, then you might just want to stick with it. If not then maybe you could try others.

1200 calories is a very low calorie diet - so you might want to rethink starting at that low a calorie.

Personally, i'd switch from atkins to something that you can sustain for the rest of your life - and thati ncludes eating carbs - preferably in the form of whole grains but it's better than all meat all the time

Isnt the induction phase of atkins 2 weeks? then doesn't it allow for the addition of some carbs or is that south beach?

If you've only been doing it for a couple of weeks, just structure carbs back into your diet slowly.

But I suggest learning a bit from some of the stickies found here. Regardless of what macros you are eating, 1200 cals is too low.

Under 20g of carbs is what the atkins asks ? Sheesh that sounds really unhealthy!

My feeling is, if you have to ask "is it okay?" it probably isn't.

Im 21 now and 330 lbs.... When i went to college i was 18 and 330 lbs and new i needed to lose wight to enjoy college. So i went on the atkins. I hated it but i did lose 80 lbs in 6 months. I was 250 ilbs and still miserable. I hated the diet and knew it was something i couldnt stay with any longer. So instead of moving to another diet i just started eating the things i did before atkins. I gained all the weight back and now feel hopless. Im new here today and need to do something. My Dad has had 2 heart attacks before the age of 50 and is in good shape. I feel my first isnt too far away. I need help. I dont how im going to do it and would love for any suggestions.

Hey Rak - why not start yourself a diary and tell us a bit about yourself -

Don't feel hopeless -there's a solution to m ost every situation - it's just finding it - you'll get that assistance you need here.

you might want to get yourself an account at FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal to record your daily calories -it's tough to cut back unless you know what uou are taking in to begin with...

take a deep breath and relax..

I tried Atkins twice, and both times, after losing 40 lbs. or so, I gained it all back and then some. For 95% of all people, "diets" don't work. You have to find a lifestyle change that you can stick with the rest of your life. Cutting out a major food group doesn't fall into that category in my book. And if you already hate Atkins, it sounds like the same is true for you.

You may want to take a look at some of the posts in this Index of WLF "Keepers". There's a section on nutrition that has some great ideas.

A couple of thoughts:

1. Some of the weight you lost was just water/glyco depletion...when you start introducing carbs again the weight you may initially gain is going to be just that, not fat, so don't freak out and think that carbs are "making you fat"...if you stick to a reasonable deficit post Atkins weight loss will resume.

2. Unless you are already very, very small and just trying to lose a few pounds, there is no reason you have to restrict yourself to 1200 calories a day....I don't know who/where/why that number was devised at the "magic" formula for weight loss in females but in the end it will do you more harm than good.

3. The 20g a day carbs is just the induction phase of the Atkins plan, the next phase structures in a slow increase in carbs...you may want to just transition into that while you are developing your own healthy "plan" of eating that you can happily stick with through your weight loss and beyond. There are many, many stickies and threads on this forum (start under "nutrition" that can help you with this.

Good luck.

i tried atkins a few years ago when it first became so "trendy". i lost over a stone very quickly and initially i enjoyed the food. i could have lots of meat, cheese, cream etc. but i felt so ill, especially the headaches, never had anything like them before or since. also because i was limited in my choice of foods i very quickly became bored, had a carbohydrate binge (pasta i believe) and within a few days i was even heavier than before.
i also suggest upping your carbs and calories slowly. you may see a bit of a weight gain, but it will be temporary. this time i dont deprive myself of anything (except dorritos and creamy dips ), just eat a lot less of it and less frequently. slim

I tried Atkins a few years ago, too. I lost 25 lbs in 3 months, but I just couldn't do it anymore. I was having strong cravings for things like apples and raisin bran. It was an interesting experiment to perform on myself, though! It's always kind of cool when you learn something new about how your body works in comparison to others.

I've done low-carb for a large portion of my life. I can tell you it is a bad idea just to go right back into carbs... I've gotten "carb shock" before and it's just aweful, nausea vomiting and just sick sick sick.

If you are interested, send me a personal message and I will try and help you taylor a plan that works better for you and what you enjoy eating and something that you can stick to.

Everyone's body is different but I can attest to the fact that cutting BAD carbs out definitely definitely leads to healthy weightloss.

It's important to modify your diet to fit your personality, your body, and your life.

What is your definition of healthy weightloss? What is unhealthy weightloss in your opinion? And what are bad carbs in your opinion?

To everyone else in this thread:

My take on Atkins or any other low carb diet. Most people love carbs. Most people eat them on a consistent basis. Low carbs has all a sudden (this past decade) became the next fad diet.

Did you know that high carb diets used to be the "in" thing? And people lost weight then too. The reason being is, macronutrients are NOT the driving factor behind weightloss.

People lose weight doing high protein, low protein, high carb, low carb, high fat, low fat, and everything in between. Again, the macros don't matter as much as other things (read calories).

Low carb has gotten SO MUCH media exposure with the help of Atkins.

Most people are not educated on the subject and when every ad they see ANYWHERE deals with LOW CARBS, modern dieters become conditioned to believe that the only way to lose weight is to cut out carbs.

So they do it. They cut the thing they love the most out of their diets. And *most* hate it. Go low enough and intake and you trigger ketosis. Many don't like the accompanying characteristics of ketosis. Some handle them okay.

But my point is, people still crave carbs. And this creates an unhealthy relationship with food. They end up hating what they are doing b/c of the control. Cutting out or drastically reducing one of the three macros, IMO, is just stupid.

Why kill yourself to that degree when weightloss can be easily achieved by more sane and balanced approaches? Why not give more attention to the variable that actually DOES control our weight? That being energy. Calories.

Steve was not preaching "to you" he was making a valid point to anyone willing to read it that i agree with completely.