Hello.

I have tried the Montignac method for two months but with little success - not really me and it was not that dissimilar from the way I normally eat . . . . . . so . . . . . . .

I have been surfing the Atkins forum - I have read his book and I think I shall give this a go. Starting tomorrow. Need to go shopping first and stock up if I am going to have any success with this WOE.

But . . . . . .

Still feel like I need some convincing. It is such a dramatic change.

My real question is what type of weight loss should I realistically expect in the first two weeks?

Cheers

SlimUK

Realistically speaking, about 10 percent.

Atkin's is NOT a fast weight loss plan, so don't get your hopes up that you will drop 30 pounds in the first two weeks. The only people that lose that kind of weight normally need to lose 100 or more pounds.

I have been on the plan for over a year now and have lost 48 pounds. If you do the diet correctly the weight comes off at a slow rate. This is so by the time you hit your goal you will already being eating exactly what and how you need to be doing to maintain your new weight.

Think of this as a way of life and not a diet. This isn't something you bounce on and off of at a whim to lose weight and go back to what you did to gain it. Regardless of which diet you chose, unless you change your eating habits you will always be stuck on that rollcoaster of gaining weight/losing weight. Like any diet, when you go off it and start eating junk again you will regain the weight.

Something to think about.

Switching from a lowish, low glycemic index plan to Atkins will not produce the big weight loss that those who are are starting low carb for the first time experience or those who have switched from High carb weight gaining situations.

In part you have already started the metabolic adjustment. It is not really possible to lose more than a pound or two of fat a week in any weight reduction programme. A lot of the Induction weight loss reported is water. What you should be looking for is permanent weight and size reduction but also increase in muscle tone. Muscle weighs more than fat so you can sometimes not lose a pound but lose fat, gain muscle and also lose inches.

Atkins recommends that for a two week period you reduce carbohydrates to less than 20 carb grams a day. It is not the case that the less carbs the more weight you will lose. That means that 10 carbs is not "better" than 20. The <30 carbs that Protein power recommends is not necessarily "worse" than 20.

20 is the level that experience has suggested is the bar under which virtually everybody will reach Ketosis after a few days. It is a level that after about a week the craving for carbohydrate or the sweet tooth has just about ceased as far as the body is concerned. Takes a while longer for you head to catch up with the idea.

You will lose weight on most diets be they low carb, low fat, or low calorie. The problem is what happens when you stop. The weight returns. True Low carbing works because the change of eating habits are permanent, you eat enough food, you are not hungry and the learning process of finding the carb level that you can maintain for life once you reach your target weight (and you will reach it) is all part of the programme.

Low carb eating, Atkins or whatever, strikes at the fundamental metabolic truths of weight gain in a way that calorific theory dosen't. It explains why some people get fat and others do not and yet they eat the same things. This truth is what should convince you.

The following is undeniably true:

Carbohydrate is converted by the body into a sugar in the blood :glucose. Increased blood sugar levels in turn raise the insulin level. Insulin is the hormaone that controls the sugar level. Some of the blood sugar the insulin stores as Glycogen in the Liver and in muscle. This is the store of energy for the body. Too much carbohydrate and we have too much Insulin. Insulin then converts the excess glucose into tryglceride - a form of fat. It is stored around the body in all the places you don't want!

The problem we have is that each individual has a different or has developed its own metabolic process and sensitivity to Insulin. Your thin friend (we do have them) who eats carbs as if they we going out of fashion and stays thin more than likely has a reduced sensitivity than you. In some people such as Type II diabetics the Insulin mechanism has got so much out of control that the body is really suffering and blood sugar is totally out of balance. Medication has to be given to restore the balance or they have to lower their sugar/glucose intake. They are forced to go low carb.

There is no trick or magic formula to Atkins,PP,CAD or any of the low carb plans. There strength is in the greater effectiveness of the weight loss process and a range of healthy, non processed foods to sustain you for life that they promote.

Although I started the "Atkins" diet. I no longer refer to myself as on it. It is just the name of a Dr. who was the first to lay out some of the metabolic facts of life for me. Dr. Eades then gave a more scientific input on the benefit of protein to add to what I now knew about the problems with high Carbohydrate.

From then on it was up to me. Plus a little help from my friends on this forum. They have encyclopedic knowledge and have all been there done that and got the tee shrt before me.

Nice post there Rustpot!

Thought I would pop in with my two cents worth.

One of the reasons that I like Atkins is it's simplicity. Some folks call it strict, but to my way of thinking the lack of a long list of rules gives me a lot of flexibility to make the plan my own. Because of this, I'm happy and comfortable to continue on it as a WOL. I've been eating like this for 8.5 months and have lost fifty some odd pounds and don't feel like I've suffered to do it!

I wish you every success on Atkins and will look forward to following your progress.

Marlaine

Hi

I have followed Atkins in the past and lost weight, but not quickly. I am currently doing Montignac plan and I seem to be losing weight at about the same rate as I did on Atkins. On diets that offer a fast weight loss, you will find that a lot of the weight lost will be fluid, not the fat you want to lose, and it is very quickly regained.

After six weeks on the Montignac plan I can really feel and see the difference, it is not just about what the scales say, as any woman knows they fluctuate during the month irrespective of whether you are losing weight. The two plans are very similar. I like Montignac because it allows more fruit and it is a bit more like a normal balanced diet. That's not to say Atkins is not a good diet plan, but I don't like too much meat or fat.

When my weight loss started to slow down on Montignac I realised that I needed to cut down on the nuts and cheese and that kick started the weight loss again. I also looked the quantities I was eating, particularly of porridge in the morning and meat in the evening as I was eating more than I should have. I also try to eat my evening meal before 7:00pm, whereas I used to eat it about 8:30pm. I've also found that drinking losts of water has helped. The main thing benefit of Montignac , besides losing weight is feeling really great, both physically and mentally. My skin is in wonderful condition, really glowing and soft as a baby's, but this could be also be the water and the multivitamin as well as the diet.


If it Montignac isn't working for you, then maybe Atkins would be a better plan, but neither are magic wands that make the weight disappear in a couple of weeks, they are both eating plans for life. Don't despair, you can and will lose weight, but for some people it takes longer than others.

Have a wonderful jubilee weekend in this glorious sun.