I was wondering what other diets you have tried in the past and if they worked for you? The only other diet I tried before this was slim fast. I did lose weight but after about 6 months I gained it back. I also never reached goal weight on that diet. I almost think that going on the slimfast diet started my climb in weight. I am happy to find the Atkins diet plan and I hope I will be able to get my weight back to were it suppossed to be.

About 12 yrs ago and then again 5 yrs ago I did Weight Watchers. Lost 10 lbs the first time in 3 months and the last time only lost 6 in 3 months time. I found WW, although a good plan, for me it was too easy to go over those "points" especially since I am a carboholic. And the fact I had to "count" in my hectic life was just too time-consuming - yes, even more than now (lol). Plus I did not have the added benefits that Low Carbing has given me (lower cholestral, great bloodworkup). I also felt hungry especially in the evenings when I would use up all my points thus I would go over at times and I lacked energy.

I tried many "fad" diets too - grapefruit, metabolife, ... sure, you'd lose a few pounds here and there but I did not feel good while doing them.

Well, lets see....

When I was a teenager and didn't realize I was already slender enough, I did Weight Watchers with my mother.

Around 19, when I was at 5'7 and 128 lbs (idiot!) I joined Nutrasystem for all of about a week. I am allergic to aspartame (Nutrasweet), so their system naturally was not something I could do.

After my first three babies were born and my youngest at the time was around 4...I did fen/phen. Oh yeah....worked like a charm. I took it for *maybe* six weeks, spread out over a 3-4 months period because I didn't take it regularly and talk about melting. The fat just melted off. That was the coolest thing I had ever seen.

Then after child #4....my youngest...I gained so much. I never thought I'd ever see 200 lbs!!!! I did...gave birth at 216 and by the time I started Atkins I was a whopping 231.5. Atkins has been almost as good to me was fen/phen, with the exception that I feel so wonderful, and am much healthier because I'm exercising this time around Also...I will be lowcarbing for the rest of my life with no problems...lol. That is the best part of Atkins...that it is so easy to do!!!


L

20 years ago I did Scarsdale: Low fat, low carb. It gave a nice result, but it did not give any real life plan to follow. I kept almost the same weight after that diet, until I got pregnant...

I did low fat/low calorie thing for 11 years. In the first two years I lost 80lbs and then the next 9 years yo yo'd up and down 20 lbs and never moving any lower then the original 80.

I never needed to diet until the past couple of years... so I don't have that up and down, checkered past, so to speak.

OTOH, my mother has always been very heavy, and has tried a lot of diets. She lost 80 lbs on weight watchers in the late 70s, then, of course, gained it all back, and more.

When she saw how well I did with Atkins, she claims to have tried it. Since then (all within a year!) she has tried a couple I don't remember, plus Suzanne Somers.

I don't think she really ever stuck to any of the diets (she claims she can have sugar with her diabetes, if that gives you a clue!).

But what I think she lacks is a commitment to a lifestyle, which is what Atkins is. Not a diet. As long as she hasn't internalized what it means, she can't do it. As long as she keeps rationalizing her carb binging, she can't commit.

I guess one of my main motivators is that I do NOT want to end up like my mom - obese, asthmatic, allergic, skin problems, arthritis, diabetes, cancer and god knows what else. Her self hatred cripples her as much as any of her physical ailments.

So if you think Atkins is "just another diet", I would recommend reading the book again. It is a lifetime plan, a prescription for staying healthy. The weight loss is just the beginning.

I did Slimfast about 3 years ago. It worked(not like Atkins though), but then I got sick of the shakes.....toooo sweet, and my liver did not like all that stuff either.

Well, in college I worked at a pizza joint so that was my pizza diet and Cola phase!

After college, I tried to do low fat to lose the 20 pounds I had put on, and ended up gaining another 30!

This WOE seems to be the one that works for me.

I did Slim Fast for 6 weeks, lost 18 pounds.

But I was hungry all the time. And when I found out about Atkins, I checked the carb count on those shakes....whoa! Plus you have to add the milk....
I didn't want to end up diabetic, so here I am.

And losing quicker and easier than on a low-fat diet.

I've tried.....

Weight Watchers
eDiets
Slim Fast
Starvation
low fat/low calorie
no carb (very difficult, did it for like two weeks)

This is my WOE for LIFE

Easier to name those.

Everything from grapefruit to cabbage soup to WW to starvation. Been there and done it. All successful for a time, but nothing long term.

I never felt as good on any of them than on Aktins. I am kicking myself for not starting this sooner. Too bad I believed all the bad press about this WOE!

For most of my adult life I used exercise to control my weight. When that wasn't enough I would fast for 7-10 days. When that got old I tried every diet one could think of: Scarsdale Diet, Hollywood diet, popcorn diet, watermellon diet, Slimfast Diet, all-protein diet, Cal-ban, and a host of other useless supplements. Then I tried the Zone Diet. I didn't lose much weight but the carb control made me feel better. But is never helped my elevated cholesterol. So just to see what would happen I started the Atkins Diet.

So far, about 5 weeks, I'm happy with the result. I don't have a scale but I've moved my belt in two notches. Each notch equals 5 pounds.

This is the only diet where I didn't have cravings for carbs. If I'm hungry beteen meals, which is rarely, I munch a few nuts. If it helps the cholesterol, then I think I can stick with it.

Hmmm, Weight Watchers three times( 25 lbs, 13 lbs, 7 lbs), Slim Fast( hungry all the time), First Place(14 lbs, but stayed hungry), Sugar Busters(actually this wasn't too bad, but kind of hard to keep up with). LC is by far the most satisfying, and least stressful for me.

How many diets have failed me? Let me count the ways ...
1. Weight Watchers: three times. I hated counting those points and obsessing about food all day. I also hated those meetings, the faux therapy in which all of us admitted food-a-holics would spend an hour talking about ... food ... and recipes ... I finally gave up after a meeting during which the group spent fifteen minutes discussing how many mini-carrots were considered a portion. The leader finally interrupted that debate with a wry comment: "I don't think over-indulging on carrots is what got us here."
2. Vegetarianism: I thought if I eliminated meat, I could "fill up"-- and lose weight -- on fruits, starches, vegetables and beans. So we're talking platefuls of spaghetti ... three grapefruits for breakfast plus bowl after bowl of Raisin Bran. It was carb city and I was starving, all the time.
3. Obsessive exercise: hour-long aerobics classes followed by weight-lifting ... or five mile runs in below-zero winter temperatures ...
4. Low-fat: I was the queen of bland and tasteless kitchen creations. And, in buying those low-fat muffins, dressings, cereals, I was unknowingly loading up on sugar, sugar, sugar ... no wonder I was bingeing all night, secretly stuffing myself with the kids Halloween candy.
5. Low-cal: Belly-growling hunger pangs all day long.
I look back with such terrible regret because if only I had understood my low-carb addiction I would have been happier and healthier years ago. Thank heaven for Atkins.

Low-Fat/Low-Calorie (AHA Diet I believe)

I went to a dietician in 1996 and she put me on the AHA diet. I was miserable, hungry all the time, and didn't lose the weight I needed to. In my first 2 months on Atkins, I lost more than I lost in 6 months on a low-fat diet. After that, I viewed all diets with suspicion.

I heard about Atkins a while later. But, when I asked about it...I was told it was "DANGEROUS." That combined with my suspicion of "Fad" Diets, I chose to not go on Atkins at that time. I went on Atkins after a friend told me of his success on it.