I am done with atkins
 

Well, maybe this WOE just isn't for me. I have been on induction (never cheating I might add) and have only lost 10 lbs in 8 weeks. I am done. I think I am going to try somersizing. It is low carbs but will allow some fruits. :rolleyes: I even tried the yeast diet.(no cheeses or sour cream etc)
It is not like I have only 10 lbs to lose. 5'4 180 goal is 125. I believe this may have worked before I had my daughter 3 years ago but I think the whole pregnancy thing threw my metabolism for a loopy. My hubby has lost about 50 pounds we started in June.
I loved reading all your posts but I think I need to do something different.
Good bye,
Darlene

10 pounds in 8 weeks is not that bad. I hope you find a plan you can live with. I miss fruit a lot, but there are lots of things on Atkins that I love, that I had not allowed myself for years. And the craving for carbs is gone, so its worth it to me.

Perhaps you needed to just get off of induction and RAISE your carb intake. By doing that you will be able to add some fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. Some have even added other fruits such as a half an apple instead of the whole apple. This woe is plyable, contrary to popular beliefs. IMHO, every low carb diet is based on one of the phases of the Atkins WOE. Like you, my weight loss has been a little slow but it is faster than any other method that I have tried and it has kept me healthy. I am sticking to this woe because Dr. Atkins was the first, of my knowledge, that championed the low carb way of eating. He stuck to this concept.

Black57

Could you post what you are eating daily? Maybe we can help you out. Don't give up!

I think 10lbs in 8 weeks is great!!! try not to compare yourself to others rate of weight loss, we are all different. Hang in there and review what you are eating to see if there is anything in particular that you can change. Hang in there.

Average weight loss is about a pound a week. You are above average and you are complaining??? :rolleyes:

Don't compare yourself with your DH's weightloss. I have come to the conclusion that men have a pact with the devil when it comes to losing weight!

Either that or, I must admit, they have more muscle than us and consequently lose weight faster. "sigh!"

You are doing great! Why don't you try, as suggested, and add some LC fruit back into your diet? I noticed my weightloss picked up significanty after upping my carbs a bit...

I'm a big believer in letting people do what they think is best for themselves. I love Atkins, but I can honestly say that if I hadn't had the success I've had, I'd be looking around, too. If that means another LC plan, great! If it means waiting a week and trying Induction again, great! Whatever choice you make, just own it and embrace it. Life is too short for regret. Sending good vibes your way...

J.

I don't think pregnancy messes up metabolism that much. I have a 3 year old son and a 6 month old daughter, both born by c-section. I know your frustrated, but you are 10 pounds better off then where you would be without an LC eating plan. You might try looking at the other LC plans and see if any may suit your needs more.

You need to remember though that none of these are crash diets. They are ways of changing eating habits and additudes about food to reach a healthy weight and overall health.

I was considering quitting becasue my weighless had stopped for 7 weeks...but that was 10 lbs ago. Sometimes, especially a month to two months after starting your body needs to adjust to the weightloss...I'm not telling you to stick with it, becasue if your heart isn't in it , it won't work, but (there's the B word) you aren't teh first to feel this way and sometimes it takes some pain not to gain.

I think Atkins is a wonderful way to lose weight, but if you aren't losing then I think it's fine to consider other options. I know that personally I will not stick with Atkins for the rest of my life - I like my carbs too much for that. I WILL, however, LIMIT my processed carbs for the rest of my life. I feel much better on this plan than I have in recent memory - but I need my pizza, pie, frosted mini-wheats for breakfast, and especially FRUIT. Once I lose the weight that I need to lose, I am going to try to maintain by eating less and exercising more. (Including weight lifting to keep up the metabolism.)

So long story short - do whatever works for you - Atkins or not. And good luck!

Where does that number come from? If you are very obsese then maybe for some people, but if you are overweight or even normal weight wanting to loose some weight then I find loosing a pound week very hard to believe. In my best weight loss streak, I lost .5 a week for 7 weeks which I thought was great.

I think is dangerous to see up expectations like that for all the people that don't loose weight that fast.

If you can average a 1 pound a month loss, that is 12 pounds a year. Stay on this WOL and that is 120 pounds a decade. That sounds alot better than then gaining 30 pounds a decade like I did I found LCing.

I believe you should be happy that your weight is not going up, and is has a general downward trend. A definite improvement over how you gained the weight.

Basically, Somersizing is the same as atkins except you can have some carbs. Maybe I wasn't eating enough carbs and that was the reason for the slowness. Although overweight, I do carry lots of muscle (was a semi-pro pitcher) so I have always been very atheletic. I am only saying this because those who have posted about the men losing lots because of muscle......that I do have. I do love low carbing...i would never sway from that. Lots are saying 10 pounds is good for 2 months but I lost all that in the first 2 weeks then it was stopped. I appreciate all your advice! You guys are wonderful.
Darlene

well, you've lost an average of over a pound a week! i'm reading this that you lost that during induction, and none since? please correct me if i'm wrong. if that's the facts, then i'm sure it is discouraging. but look at it in the bigger picture - over a pound a week!!! how long did it take you to put the weight on?

you may, in the end, decide that this is not the WOL for you. however, if you are just discouraged, i think it's a great idea for you to post what you eat & drink here, and if (and if so, what kind) you excersize.

for some reason, you are stalled after induction (again, if i read your post correctly), and the reason's got to be in there somewhere. could be something hidden that you didn't notice or thought was OK, could be that you do need to up your carbs, could be any old thing.

I think 10 lbs is great! Don't give up! :)

I do believe pregnancy can really mess up metabolism, but more a thyroid. With each of my pregnancies I gained weight big time. While other ladies could eat all sort of junk and sweets, I ate healthy and gained about 56 lbs with each during pregnancy. I nursed my babies until 13 months and my thyroid did not get back to normal until after I stopped nursing. So give your body time to adjust, especially if you are nursing. I have a total of 30 lbs left on me from all three pregnancies.

Good luck and hang in there!:wiggle:

A pound a week is just that - an average. Four or so pounds a month is not abnormal at all. The first time I did Atkins, I was just overweight, not obese. I lost 35 pounds in six months, that is an average of about 5.5 pounds a month, not uncommon when doing Atkins. Yes, I had stalls of up to five weeks, but whooshes as well, hence the term AVERAGE.

I have now been back on Atkins 14 weeks. Guess what? I have lost 14.5 pounds. An AVERAGE of about a pound a week. Yes, it stops for a couple weeks then two or so pounds go away and so on. Any nutritionist will tell you that a pound a week is average and healthy on any weightloss plan. More than that is unusual and less than that is definitely common, but a pound is about average.

This is not a fast weightloss diet this is a healthy way to eat everyday whenever you are hungry and to be satisfied while SLOWLY get to your goal weight.

The slowly teaches you to eat right and patience so this time you keep it off. You will not lose weight everyday. Your body will get into natural stalls where it needs to catch up with the weight it has lost. It is good to take measurements now because usually in a stall (4 weeks of no weightloss) you usually are still losing inches.

Realistic weightloss expectations are 10% of your goal of weight to lose is usually lost during induction then 5% of the remaining weight to lose approx every month.

Darlene
When I read your post I thought that it could be posted by me. I started by june 9th and my weight records could be very discouraging
w1 -4.5
w2 -4
w3 -1
w4 +0.5
w5 +1
w6 -4.5
w7 +1
w8 +1
w9 -1
...and that is without cheating and being at induction the 9 weeks. Also, the boost of energy many people talk never happened to me.
That zig zag pattern reminds the same when I measure myself.
My thyroid was removed some years ago and I guess
that fact is slowing the weight loss
Although, last week I tried an old pair of jeans a size smaller and they fit right and today I´m wearing a dress that I couldnt use before...so that;s enough for me to continue, no matter what the weight - or the measure tape-indicates.
I know the process could have some discouraging moments but maybe our bodies deserves more time to adjust to the weight loss and we must celebrate little victories to keep going.
I wish you the best, Isiar

Simple math:
10 lbs in 8 weeks = 5lbs per month.

Three years since last daughter = 36mths = 180lbs.

With 65lbs to go you would have met goal THREE times since the birth of your daughter.

I too have only lost 10 pounds in 8 weeks. And I only recently broke a long stall. Sometimes, people lose weight like that...the scale barely moves, and then *whoosh* three or four pounds come off overnight. But I am sticking with this WOE because I like the food and because I don't feel hungry all the time (like I did with a low-fat diet).

-G.

p.s. Don't forget to let the tape measure take some stats for you, too. Don't always rely upon the scale!

Hi Darlene,
I lost like you did on Induction and then stopped. I only lost 6 lbs. and then nothing for several weeks. I found I had to tweek the fat and protein intake for me to lose weight. I had to up my fat intake to around 70% and me calories stayed around 1500 and I have steadily lost since the 2-3 lbs per week. Good luck in whatever you try. It has to be something you are comfortable with for it to work for you!! Donnie

Hi Darlene,
I understand that the slow loss combined with the prohibitions on food make for an equation that is negative and makes you want to move on! No matter how happy other people are losing a pound a week, you may be frustrated and rightly so. There is a lot of sacrifice going on here, and you are not feeling the payout for that sacrifice so you want to move onto something that works faster. Thats totally OK, but let me tell you that this plan combined with general weight loss principles can work faster for those who want it to.
My suggestions: do what you would do under any weight loss plan- exercise more and eat less. That will speed up weight loss and most importantly thats what any plan will get you to do its the only way to lose weight. So why not start decreasing by 20% the food you are eating on Atkins, slowly work up to a 50% decrease. in the same line of reasoning increase exercise by 20% and work up to a 50% increase in exercise. That will get you to goal faster, and you have every right to want that. Each of us is different and our needs are different, you can stay on Atkins and get faster results if you wish, so if you do go for it!

Hi:

If you've been convinced to give Atkins a bit longer, then do so. BUT, if you are still unsure what you want to do, you may want to look into SugarBusters. You can check out www.prettyimpressivestuff.com/sugarbusters or the Sugarbusters site, or get the book.

I was 152 pounds 7 months after giving birth. I started Atkins in March and did it for 2 months. I lost 10-12 pounds, but they were very touchy pounds. I went on vacation and had a sandwich, FF and ice cream and gained five pounds. I decided to look for a long-term solution for myself, and Atkins wasn't it. I agree with the low-carb notion, but I don't see anything wrong with naturally occuring carbs such as those in fruit and dairy products and I think that limited whole grains is very good for you. I started SB on May 1st and by July 1st, I was down to 125 pounds. I have fluctuated between 125-127 pounds for the past 1 1/2 months (my goal was 130). I even splurge a little now and then, but don't really feel the need to with the allowances in this diet. SB basically is a no sugar diet (nothing over 3g) unless it is a naturally occuring sugar (such as those in fruit and dairy). You are allowed 2-3 starchy carbs per day (these have to be whole grain foods such as bread, pitas, pasta, rice, etc...). You are allowed 2-3 fruits per day and some dairy products. You are not allowed certain fruits & veggies such as pineapple, watermelon, bananas or beets. There's a bit more to it, but a pretty simple program to follow. I know that I have gotten my metabolism where it needs to be now, and have the willpower I need to eat this way forever. It was a very positive switch for me.

Men always lose faster than women; they have more muscle tone per pound than we do and we have all the hormonal stuff that comes with being a woman.

Good luck and I hope you find something that works for you.

Thyroid has been mentioned a couple times. I just want to stress that if you feel your metabolism has been out of whack since the birth of your child, PLEASE consider getting your thyroid checked. Pregnancy is notorious for causing thyroid problems (or accentuating thyroid problems that you didn't know about before). If your thyroid is not functioning properly, you will not be able to loose much more than water weight on ANY diet. And it is very bad for your body over all, as the cells can not properly perform their functions if your throid hormones are low.

They say it is average to lose 1-2 pounds a week. So 5 pounds a month is pretty much right on. A lot of people lost fast, but not everyone. Like you said, as you get older your metabolism slows down and also after having kids. That is going to be the case on any diet. Just because you change diets won't change the scientific facts that make this diet work and others not work. Somersizing however is a good version of low carbing. Give it a whirl and see how it works but don't get discouraged b/c you are a slow loser. Don't you remember the section in the Atkins book about the fast loser and the slow loser. He said this happens all the time. 5 pounds a month is 60 pounds in one year. You could either be still overweight in a year from now or at goal. Which would you rather be? What's a year really in the long run?

Hi Darlene, I feel your disappointment, I lost 13 lbs on 2 weeks of induction and in the 14 weeks since then I've only lost an additional 7 lbs,in spite of being very good and not cheating. The only thing is I do feel so much better since going lo carb that I don't want to quit that. I am going to try the South Beach Diet, very similar but lower fat (which I'm concerned about on Atkins) and it allows more hi fiber carbs, including fruit and whole wheat products. Maybe this will get me going again in the right direction. I just have a hard time looking at a nice crisp apple and a glob of fat and trying to convince myself the apple is bad for me and the fat is good.