I'm considering switching from Atkins to PP. Any advice? Thie is in the early stages yet.

Hi Nadz.
I made the switch about a month ago from Atkins to Protein Power , and i will say it made a huge difference! Protein power is more fruit and friendly per say- with the emphasis on the plan being protein of course.

On atkins, i kept losing and gaining the same few pounds, without really getting anywhere. (I didn't have much to lose.)But still i was very frustrated because i wasn't losing body fat either. I really think the bottom line was that i was taking in too many calories, and too many calories coming from fat. With Protein power the basis is to figure around your protein requirement(which makes sure that you get enough-important for trying to get leaner, not just weight loss.)

With Atkins most of my calories came from fat, which definitely works for some people, but fat racked up too many calories for me despite the fact that i was still in ketosis, i wasn't doing much.

Some people have a problem with fruit setting them off into a binge, but fruit actually makes me feel healthier, and with a balance of protein doesn't set off any cravings for me.

I was a little nervous making the switch, but it has very much paid off, especially with losing fat. Hope this helps you.

I don't see any cons with switching.

I follow PP with my own modifications - eating very little fruit and no grains because grains just set me off. The one big advantage is starting and staying at 30 grams until you are close to your goal weight. Lettuce and other leafy greens are unlimited so are not counted towards your daily carb intake. Making a point of spreading carbs and protein out evenly throughout the day helps keep you in balance too.

One thing to note is that there is a restriction of high fat dairy products like whipping cream, sour cream, etc.

I love PP!

Karen

I love PP also -- I have found a lot of help from the book the 30 Day Low-Carb solution -- it has helped me get more structured as it has a 30 day plan and also recipes for many of those meals. I had gotten in a rut eating the same thing over and over.

If you haven't read the book I think you would enjoy it and find a lot of interesting things in it.

Could someone (Karen?) please point me to where in the book it goes over the dairy restrictions? I have read PP, PPLP and the 30- day book but don't recall seeing a dairy restriction. I've even gone back and re-read the chapters on fats and didn't see it. I would appreciate it if someone can point me in the right direction. The majority of my fats come from mono's but if there's a restriction, I need to make sure I'm not getting too many sats. TIA

It's at the bottom of the protein equivalency charts. Also in going over the menu suggestions and recipes from PP and PPLP, you'll see that very little high fat dairy is used in any of the suggestions and recipes.

Karen

Thanks, Karen. I didn't look at the recipes and only scanned the meal plans - I'll get out the books and look closer .

I was just wondering the exact same thing (if I could switch ti PP) and the thread was already here waiting for me. Karen, how long have you been low carbing? And Florida, why did you decide to make the switch?

Thanks so much for all the great replies I do plan to read the book, but I won't be able to do so till next month. I won't change till I do. Is weight loss slower than Atkins? Also, how small is a small amount of fruits? I'm currently in OWL. I live in the caribbean and so it's hard not to have ANY fruits. I'd love to have one or half a day of say, a small mango or orange or banana. I know that these have a greater effect on the glycemic levels, but what does PP recommend?

It wasn't for me so I would say no, it's the same.

You have 30 grams a day to play with - but in your case it will probably be 55 because you're close to goal weight - and you have to fit it in to carb allotment for the day. The best choices are still the lower carb fruits because the principles of low-carbing don't change no matter what plan you're following. You don't want those insulin spikes to happen.

Karen

Hi Klawrence!

I decided to make the switch mostly because I was getting frustrated with my lack of results. Overall, i feel better on a low carb plan, but i really felt that my fat intake was too high-thus taking in too many calories. I feel that protein power is a more balanced way for me to go. And i know that on this plan i am getting adequate protein. And it's nice not to be so obsessed about being in ketosis.It gave me an all or nothing mentality. Either i was on or way off.
Ultimately, this is something i feel that i can live on.

I seem to have a foot in each camp of Atkins and Eades at the moment. I'm holding myself to the 30 grams of carbs since I have a long haul yet on the fat loss. And I calculated my LBM (plus what I thought I should increase here from 106lbs to 115-120 since I'm very tall, 106 seemed too low and I figure more muscle mass should also increase my metabolism) and try to shoot for around 140 or better in daily protein - with the rest made up from fat. And I'm finding that sticking around the 70% fat calories does seem to be assisting me in continuing weight loss - I'm averaging right now about 1/2 lb per day it seems - will have to see if that continues.
Using FitDay, I'm also finding that if I let my calories drop too low, ie under basal rate? - I seem to stick weightwise!.

I also keep to low carb fruits if I have fruit at all ie. berry fruits. I don't worry about high fat dairy, I just don't have a huge amount of it but when I do use it, I used heavy cream in stead of milk, full fat sour cream etc.

I'm going to give the Atkins plan *3* more weeks, then I'm switching.

I am having trouble getting into deep ketosis - there are multiple factors involved [I take Premarin and Synthroid]...I can't seem to get past trace-to-small amounts on the KetoStix.

I also started having significant fluid retention the past couple of days - despite drinking a MINIMUM of 160 oz. of water a day!

I'm only on Day 9 of Induction, but I'm getting discouraged...

Sandi*
161.5/156/115
5'5"
Small frame
44 years young
Atkins since 6-9-03

I also am moving more toward the pp plan i think i would just feel healthier being about to bite into some fruit more often.
im a little nervous (afraid of wieght gain) but im going to give it a go.

I switched to Protein Power, after 11 months on Atkins(8 sucessfully- 3 screwing up), lost 16 of the re-gained 17 lbs, in just over a month, and had my first whoosh!1(4lbs in 48 hours!!)
I find that I have less desire to snack(lc, of course)now, than i did on Atkins. All in all, I was a good move for me