Did I miss my chance??
 

Does the Adkins diet only work the “first time” you do the diet? I followed the Adkins diet several years ago and successfully lost 25lbs. I gained 10 back and have tried to follow the Adkins diet again with no success. Several people have told me it only works once, and then you miss your shot. I find this a little upsetting and don’t understand that. Is this true?? Or do I just need to try a little harder with staying focused?

There are certainly many people who say that it is much easier the first time. I lost about 60lbs on Atkins 10-12 years ago. I gained it back through poor choices and 2 pregnancies. I attempted low carb a couple of times over the years, and I couldn't stick to it for whatever reason. This time around I made a deep commitment to this wol for life. I am losing quite well. I do think it's harder when you've done it before. One of my biggest downfalls in the past was relying on my memory of how to do it and not reading the book again.
This time, I started fresh and clean, with no preconceived notions of what I was allowed or what I ate last time that didn't cause a problem. My body is older and different from last time. I have intolerances that I don't believe I had before. I think I am losing a bit slower then last time, but I'm also 12 years older. The point is that the weight is coming off, I am eating a more healthy diet, I don't have ANY desire to binge eat (huge for me), and I am in control of what I put in my mouth. The weight loss is great, but almost a side benefit.
It does work, if you're committed and properly follow the plan.
It's not a one shot deal.
Cerridwen

for me, the answer is no. it works everytime. make sure you are doing it by the book. keep the fat high. take your vitamins. and drink your water! good luck!

No you didn't lose your chance. I've restarted multiple times and it always works. Sometimes fast~ sometimes slower. I lost 5.5 lbs last week. Not bad for the 900th restart.

I wonder myself sometimes, but there have been other posts on here that says it gets a little harder each time one starts and stops and starts over again. This time, it is harder for me, it seems, even though I am following it pretty strictly. However, I continue to lose inches, feel better physically, have lost 22 lbs since Feb, but not a lot of scale weight (which I'm tied to). I keep hoping it will eventually pay off and have vowed to continue on hoping one day for goal.

No, it still works. I agree that chances are you will lose a little slower (your body is smart! it likes to hold on to fat). One factor is age...it is definitely more difficult now that I am older (mid-30s) than when I was in my 20s, which also makes me realize that I need to do this for the last time (i.e. not gain the weight back). There are probably a lot of other factors in play such as insulin resistance, which I am sure doesn't fair to well from losing and regaining weight via eating a bunch of carbs. Just be patient and think of all the good changes that are happening in your body. This WOE does a lot more good than just weight loss!

Good luck! :)

I started low carbing 6 years ago, with conceiving a baby as my reason! Well, it worked - my hormone levels evened out, and I have two beautiful sons now. In the past 6 years, I went back and forth quite a bit between low carb and "regular" eating, so I guess I've done induction about 10 times! This past January, I finally decided that low carb is really the way to go, for health reasons even more than weight reasons. ANYWAY, my point is that THIS time I lost even more weight initially, and I find that my body composition/ muscle tone is better than ever. You haven't missed anything!

Still works! It was easier for me 4-5 years ago though...I was able to drink beer on the weekends, eat the low carb doritos, etc and still lose. Now I have to practically totally cut it (all alcohol) out and be really strict. At the same time I had much more to lose the first time. So who really knows?? I feel much more in control this time and much more determined not to fall off the wagon once I hit goal.

Every time you get on Atkins you are older than you were the last time. Losing weight gets harder as you get older, no matter how you lose it.

This is the third time for me, and I've lost almost 50 pounds in 5 months, despite pushing 58. With age comes wisdom ;) I guess. The last time around I hit a stall and fell off the wagon around the point I am right now. I've just gone through a three-week period when the scale didn't budge, and it hasn't bothered me at all (well, okay, it bothered me a bit, but not enough to stop eating this way).

Susan

Oh goodness no! It still works!

I lost 72 lbs my first time around, then after maintaining for 10 months, a serious of life-events caused me to lose focus and I gained it back over a few years. I tried starting Atkins several times after that, but in all honesty, I wasn't truly committed to doing it right, so it never worked. Then when I did decide to stop screwing around, I went back on and the weight is coming off as it's supposed to. I've now lost 40 lbs since I started on January 1st, so clearly it can work however many times you do it.

Welcome back!

I have to agree with all the people doing well on their third, fifteenth, or fiftieth time! I did Atkins and lost 31 lbs in 9 months several years ago (I tried to get back on the wagon in between then and could never make it stick). I was determined to do lose weight this time and Atkins makes sense to me, so I jumped back on the wagon and lost 28 lbs in less than four months! And I am most definitely older and perimenopausal, and have all the reasons that say I shouldn't have lost so easily!

Golden Chance is a bunch of hoo-ey! Welcome back!

For me, it's worked every time for however long I stayed with it. The losses have always been consistant. The "golden" part, however, no longer applies. By that, I mean that I can no longer eat 300 calories more and still lose more than my conventional low fat dieting friends. The reason, I believe, is that it was pretty darn difficult for the body to convert to burning my own body fat instead of the easy carbs. It burned those calories just to learn the conversion. After some time, it was no longer difficult and the extra calories were not needed to get the job done so they were just extra calories. After the first time, my body says "Oh, we get to do this again, OK, no problem."

Short but profound. :lol:

I lost 70lbs in 2001 gained it back, plus 50 more.This time im only eating two times a day and keeping my carbs around 10 grams a day.I tried it like i did when i was younger and ate all the time and didnt lose. so i cut back on the calories and it worked but you really half to want it to only eat 2 times a day its all a mind set.You half to make it work for you and its a healthy way of eating.My wife told me this morning you look smaller that keeps me driven.Good luck