Hi, i'm trying to lose around 2 stone. I thought about doing the induction phase of atkins for the two weeks, then switching to low calories and excercise. I know the first two week of atkins are the best. Is this a good idea at all?

has anyone else tried this?

the induction phase of atkins i'm not sure i'd say is the best - people tend to lose weight on it - but i'm not a fan of eliminitating an entire food group from your system - even for short term...

why not just stick with a plan that you can stay with long term and go with calorie counting and eat what you want within moderation

i mostly agree with you, but i need something to motivate me, and i think if i see weight loss quickly i'll b more wililng then to tstick to something. i've tried caloie counting since i was about 14 which is six years, and i can never stick to it, so i'm hop;ing i can stick to this.

You are on Start line... Good Luck!

So what is your plan for maintenance once the weight comes off?

I've found *for me* that I could never go "On" a diet. I needed to learn to eat regular food - food that my family and I eat - just in moderation.

Who knew an entire can of Pringles wasn't a single serving?

I think any diet where you're in a calorie deficit could work - that doesn't mean it's great for the long term, and I believe firmly that diets are the number one cause of Yo yo weight gain.

I have been on the Atkins diet for many years with no ill effects. I have lost more than 15 pounds in 45 days with no exercise. When I started to exercise every day, for about 30 minutes, I lost over 30 pounds in 40 days. My doctor has no problem with me being on the diet and has even encouraged me to stay on it. He has other patients who have done very well on the diet too. I am monitored with blood tests every three months. I am diabetic and this diet is the only way that I can keep my blood sugar levels under control. The real plus to this diet is that you never go hungry. In fact, this diet actually curbs your appetite and you will start to eat less. The first two weeks is the hardest but then you can add some carbs back into your diet. You need the first two weeks to convert your body to use fat instead of carbs for energy. You can get Ketostix at your local pharmacy. Just follow the directions. As long as they continue to turn even the slightest shade of purple, you are still burning fat. If they stay pink then you need to back off on the amount of carb intake until they turn purple again. This is how you know how many carbs you can actually eat and continue to burn fat. I love the diet because I can have eggs and bacon. I also eat cheese and drink half and half. The lower the fat content in milk, the higher the sugar. Read the label. For me sugar is the enemy. In place of bread and crackers, I eat pork rinds. I also eat LEAN red meats, poulty and fish. Lots of fish is the best, but there is nothing wrong with LEAN red meats. Red meat has an enzyme the body needs that is found in no other food. Before you ask, my cholesterol levels are fine too. I am 60 years old and my cholesterol level was at 150 on my last blood test. I apologize for being so long winded but I am an avid believer in the Atkins diet because it has worked so well for me. Buy Dr. Atkins book, especially if you can find the first one written. I believe that you will be amazed by what you find. You can probably find it at the library and save yourself a few bucks. I know there is a lot of bad press out there about this diet. So far none has applied to me. I really don't think there would be any harm if you decide to try it out. Remember, it's just as easy to stop using the diet as it is to start if for some reason you feel it isn't working for you. Best of luck. A Newbee to this site - Rick

hi, i tried this a few years ago. i lost weight very quickly on the atkins, when i introduced a few extra carbs within a calorie controlled diet i just as quickly put it back on. it may be different for others. what i think, is that atkins is a way of life and when you start introducing carbs(other than the veg/salad that you are originally "allowed") you have to be careful about the type and amount and adjust accordingly. this is just from my personal experience/thoughts only.slim

I lost my weight on Atkins back in 2002 and I have had no trouble maintaining since. I have had a pregnancy since and lost almost all that weight I gained a few months later. I am only a few kgs up from goal but I am not trying to lose weight as I am still breastfeeding. I eat extra carbs now and maintain with no problem.

If I want to treat myself, I can easily because I have worked on all my issues with food.

The thing for me is now I have so much more freedom. Say I have a big 250g block of chocolate, I can break off one small line and leave the rest and not go back to it. Where as before I would eat the whole thing. It is a wonderful feeling. People always say they can't give up their carbs but the sugar rollercoaster is much, much worse, I am glad I am off it!!!

I don't look at sugar and starches the same anymore, and if I eat a particular type and it makes me feel more hungry afterwards I know that it is my blood sugar not true hunger and I can ignore it and make sure I don't make eating said thing a habit.

Also everything tastes so much sweeter now, I don't need so much sugar anymore!

The thing is with any diet you cannot just go back to how you ate that made you fat in the first place.

I don't maintain on low levels of carbs, I maintain fine at 100-150g carbs and I can still enjoy eating fat which I find satisfies me.

Another thing is when you open yourself up to the idea of a low carb diet you eventually open yourself up to other ideas as well. I eat so much healthier then I did before low carb and am so aware of what I am putting in my mouth. I consider all things now, not just carbs but types of fats, preservatives, everything and my kids eat much healthier now too!

To me, Atkins is what you make of it...

Why would you "switch" to exercise after 2 weeks? Isn't that something you could start, oh, I dunno, today? Is there some Atkins rule that you have to do it without exercise? Wouldn't it be more beneficial to get the great results of Atkins for those first two weeks AND get stronger at the same time? I understand the desire to "kick-start" a program, but exercise should just be a given.

I hear soooo much about programs with claims of "Lose Weight With No Exercise!!!!" Is that really a realistic goal? I would rather be fit and chubby than just slim and weak any day of the week. And whereas you would lose weight with "just" doing Atkins, would you not do better if you also incoporated exercise as well? I have never heard that Low Carb is the same as Low Activity.... Now I am not saying go run out and join a gym and pump weights 4 hours a day or anthing, but I just find it odd so many programs like Atkins seem to REALLY emphasize the "I lost weight sitting on my butt watching TV!" point of view.

I know Atkins and other programs work for many other people and I think it is great that it does. But in the big picture isnt it the changes you make in your whole life that are going to be the most important factor? Not just living in 2 week stints?

I think personally if you are healthy, happy and fit you should be able to switch it up anyway you want. As long as it works for your personal goals, go with it. There are no guarantees in any of this. Changing programs, habits and lifestyle can play a big part, but the most important thing all of us need to change to achieve real success, is ourselves. No program in existence can do that. Its all up to us.

"To thine own self be true." - William Shakespeare

sirant

I did the full induction phase of Atkins, by the letter, for the first 2 weeks...not for weight loss (though I dropped 7 pounds in that period, mostly water I'm sure)...not because I had any intention of following it long term...but because I had a really bad problem with binge eating and an addiction to sugar (in the form of highly refined carbs) that I'd been unsuccessfully trying to break for months. For the two weeks I did not count calories, ate like a pig, got my 20g carbs a day from broccoli and mushrooms, did not begin exercising because I barely had enough energy just to function, I'm not kidding when I say life was nearly unbearable during the first week....I only made it through the whole induction period because, while I could'nt satisfy my desire for sweets, I could satisfy my desire to eat, eat, eat. Sounds nasty and unpleasant and unhealthy....cause it was.

But, here's the thing (and the reason I can't advise you against trying it without being a hypocrite)....at the end of the period I literally felt like a fog had lifted from my brain. I could think clearly and focus better than I had in years. I wasn't hungry all the time, I could eat a reasonable meal without wanting to go back for seconds or thirds, my cravings for sugary stuff had dulled to a whimper rather than a roar.

And that's the point where I sat down and wrote out a eating plan based on all the reading and research I'd done up to that point (I'd already decided on going "whole foods"). I spent the next few weeks slowly increasing my low gi carbs by 10 grams a week and reducing my saturated fat intake, paying very close attention to the quality and caloric count of my changing diet.

I already had my exercise plan mapped out for me by some friends (I was a slug but lucky enough to have a couple of very fit male friends) and when I hit 60g of carbs I had enough energy to actively exercise (lift and run) 3x week, as I increased my carbs, I increased my exercise.

So, the point of this really long reply is, yea, it can work. But I also think it has the potential to backfire big time. I think if you decide to try it you really need to already have a solid long range plan in place before starting...not just wing it.

I'm not doing the atkins thing anymore, just excercise and low calories.

But i wasn't excercising for the first two weeks because it isn't really advisable to excercise during the induction phase of atkins, somethign to do with burning excess protein or something. I'm not really sure why, but i know it's nto a good idea, it damages the kidneys.

I will avoid any eating plan that could possbily damage me if I exercise. I like exercising too much. Thats kinda scary actually.....

sirant

I've a question for you... It is known that diabetics develop kidneys diseases more than regular people, aren't you concern of what that diet can do to them at long term?

Whilst the Atkins Diet has been around for years now, it still remains as popular today as it ever was. Most people you talk to will have either tried the diet or they will know somebody who has. The truth is, whilst there may be many people who have tried the diet and succeeded, the Atkins Diet will certainly not be for everyone. Every single person is different and what works for one person may not work for another.

The main question however is does the diet provide results at all? Well it seems that people certainly lose weight over a six month period. In fact they lose quite a lot of weight and that obviously makes people feel amazing. However, studies have shown that most people who lose that weight over six months tend to put it back on within twelve months. So, whilst it may seem to work at first, the weight does eventually come back on and you are then left exactly where you started.

The Atkins Diet Review