Hi there everyone. I'm 19 years old and I have lost about 50 pounds on Atkins since September '03. I am done losing weight, but I still try to avoid white flour and sugar. So, here's the deal: I have been cheating like crazy, yet I still lose weight. Here's what I mean: breakfast: approx 1 cup of Raisin Bran Crunch cereal with about 1 cup Carb Countdown milk. Lunch: bowl of broccoli cheese soup from Panera (where I work) with a piece of french bread. Dinner: pizza with salad. Dessert: Atkins ice cream. OK, so this is usually what I eat and I know it's not very heathy...but I don't understand why I keep losing. So, I thought I would ask yall what you thought of my theory: I gained those 50 extra pounds over the span of 8 months to 1 year because I was overeating due to emotional reasons. So, I used Atkins to lose the weight, and now I can go back to eating like a "normal teenager." I don't overeat anymore even though I don't always eat the healthiest foods possible. I lost 5 pounds within the past two weeks or so without trying...I'm down to 120 pounds now and I think I look healthy. Is this good? Bad? What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Leigh

huggs to ya leigh, i wish i had your problem hehehe. you aren't eating alot or over eating it looks like, how do you feel? do you have energy are you happy? it might be that your body isn't done yet and you are just going to where your body wants to be. you might want to make a dr. visit and get things checked just to be sure =0) other wise congrats on your loss you are doing great =)

It could be hyperthyroidism, you may want to see your doc just to have it checked out.

It sounds like a simple case of a young woman who is no longer compulsively overeating, and therefore, is just not consuming an overload of calories that her body is not burning off.

Perhaps, just focus on eating the healthiest foods that you can and keeping treats to a minimum.

Congrats on reaching your goal and getting your emotional eating under control.

Being 19 probably helps alot. You have a better metabolism and havn't had as much time to damage it.

I agree that even lowering carbs can help out tons. The only thing I'd say is cut out the french bread becaus eit is exreamly high GI and keep going with what works. You might add fruits and veggies for overall health though, which could also help increase energy and general well being.

Hi there, here is my story...and i hope you can help me!!...In 7th grade, i was the fattest girl in my class at a weight of 168 lbs...then i decided to do a low fat diet plus exercising 3 times a day, my energy had gone so high i went down to a low 130, but i was barely eating, then when i got back to cheating and i mantained a weight, i stayed at a permanent weight of 145 for 5 years straight through pre-high and high school, and i met a guy last summer of 03', after graduating months before, and i started gaining weight dramatically...now im at 165, my old weight as a fat 7th grade girl, only now im grown up!!! im 19 years old, going on 20 on september 16th, (and we share a bday a few days apart too ) and i was wondering, i recently purchased some low carb foods and im ready to start this new atkins diet, and i notice ure stats are like mine, u were around my same weight i am now, before u lost, and u are at my goal weight which is 125 lbs, ure not old, but young like me, and u did it fine, also ure before picture, is how i look, a chubby face and chubby arms and waist, but still have outer beauty and am capable, i saw ure after pic, and it reminded me of how i felt when i lost my weight in 7th grade, and kept it off, and could fit into cute clothes...can u please help me??? since ure almost exactly like me!!!...because i think i gained my weight back from emotional reasons as well, and because i was with a guy which didnt do anything good for my self esteem...im confident i can do it, but what i wanna know is how u lost ure weight in the beginning...because a lot of atkins dieters i know, dont exercise and lose the weight...did u lose the weight by exercise, or did u just strictly diet with low carb, how was ure plan when u first started in september? (i think thats when u said u started)...the reason y i wanna know, is because our bodies r almost identical and we share the same age by a few days apart, and i wanna be committed...and im pleading for your support on this low carb thing!!! please help me! i already got the splenda, carb countdown red.fat milk, diet soda 0 carb, steak, eggs, bacon, and hamburger...pretty much everything that can be allowed, but i wanna know what a typical month was for u each day and how many times u ate, so i know what i should do, i really need this, ive become so depressed. Thank you for reading this email out of concern and please respond at your most convienent availability...Thank you!!! and im very proud of your weight loss, and u r truly beautiful and deserve all the congrats u can get!!!
Sincerely.
Gisell, from daytona beach, florida

ya know madcabbit, you're young! And you've removed the extra pounds, so I would just monitor and try not to go overboard. Stay away from the refined stuff like you're doing, but then don't worry about it!

Hey everyone, thanks for your comments! I guess I should just be thankful that I can eat higher carb foods and not gain back the weight. I'm pretty sure my age and metabolism are big factors in this. I will stay away from sugar and white flour and try to eat the right foods. At least I know that if I do gain back anything, I can always go lower carb and lose it easily! Hugs to all you guys!!

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Hey there Gisell! That’s really weird how much we have in common: almost the same height and starting weight and birthday and age!!! Crazy. Also, my boyfriend influenced my weight gain. I don’t blame him for it at all but looking back I can see that he was a contributing factor even though he didn’t mean to be. Ok, well I will try to help you out as much as possible. Here it goes: I don’t exercise. I loathe it. I have done Pilates on and off, but never stuck with it. I have exercised maybe a dozen times since I started Atkins in September. I'm just not one of those kinds of people. That being said, I could exercise a bit to tone my tummy and thighs…but it’s not on the top of my list of things to do if ya know what I mean. So, the first two weeks I followed Atkins by the book. Eat no more than 20 grams of carbs a day, only eat foods allowed on the list for Induction, and drink LOTS of water. You will lose a lot of weight during these two weeks, I believe I lost about 10 pounds, but it’s different for each person. Here is what I remember eating during induction (it was a long time ago, so bear with me):

Lots of salad with romaine, cucumber, cheddar cheese, bacon crumbles, sunflower seeds, and ranch dressing

Chicken breast, baked with lemon pepper seasoning, dipped in LC ketchup (I put ketchup on ALL of the meat I eat)

Steamed broccoli smothered in cheddar cheese

Fried cheese chips (cheddar cheese slices nuked till crispy) dipped in salsa and sour cream

Hamburgers without the bun--you can actually have the Hardee’s LC burger during Induction

Radish/turnip hashbrowns with LC ketchup

Taco salad--seasoned beef, lettuce, cheddar cheese, salsa, and sour cream all mixed up

Bacon, bacon, bacon (I luv bacon)

SF jell-o

Steak with LC ketchup

Hmmm, I'm having trouble thinking about more stuff. But, let me tell you that I do NOT eat eggs. I have tried them every way possible and they make me sick every time. So, if you like eggs, then you can have omelets, scrambeled eggs, etc. for breakfast.

Ok, after those first two weeks I went up to 25 grams of carbs because I was getting bored with the food. Then, I started making a LC cheesecake each week and would have that for breakfast every day. I actually found that if I didn’t have the cheesecake for breakfast, my weight loss would slow down. Excessive amounts of cheese stalls some people, but it had the opposite effect on me, go figure. I would make pumpkin cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, Reese’s cheesecake, caramel cheesecake…mmm, I LUV me some cheesecake!! Hehe, OK, I also started making LC waffles with SF maple syrup and they were really good for a quick breakfast as well. (I'm not a breakfast person, so I had to have something quick and easy). I also bought a box of the Carbsense pizza crust mix and made LC pizza and LC foccacia bread and would have that for lunch. After about another two weeks of staying at 25 grams, I moved up to between 25 and 30. I would typically eat meatblaas with mozzarealla and parmesan with Ragu’s pizza quick sauce. I also ate steak umms with broccoli, onions and garlic sauteed in soy sauce a lot for dinner. LC bread became my best friend and I would have grilled cheese sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, peanut butter toast with 50/50 jelly, etc, etc. I like the Atkins Apple Crisp Morning Start bars and would take those to school along with a thing of string cheese and a diet soda. Also, Minute Maid has a diet lemonade which I am addicted to. Oh, I must tell you that I am the queen of fast food and at this point I was eating out alot. Here is what I would eat:

Wendy’s:
-Side salad w/o tomatoes, Caesar dressing (1 carb per pack!!)
-Any burger with bacon, lettuce, mustard, mayo, and no bun, no ketchup

Taco Bell:
-Crunchy taco w/o shell (for those of you wondering about the hidden carbs in the meat, I had a friend who works there check for me AND I wrote to the company requesting the carb and sugar count. They sent me a photocopy straight off the package and it is: 0g sugar and 3g carbs and 2g fiber= 1 g carbs per 1.5 ounces, not too bad for something that tastes sooo good)
-mild, hot, or fire sauce has 0 carbs
-green sauce has approximately 2g carbs per pack
-I would also order two sides of beef, two sides of lettuce, a side of guacamole, and a side of baja sauce and mix it all together. This costs less then buying tacos then throwing away the shell and you get more food.

Arby’s:
-Roast Beef sandwich w/o bun (again, I wrote the company and they said: 0g sugar and 0.09g carbs per 1 ounce beef sooo good on a low carb roll!!!)

Burger King:
-Grilled chicken sandwich w/o bun
-Any burger w/o bun or ketchup

Subway:
-Atkins wraps
-Salads
-Turkey bacon sub, throw away the roll. When the turkey sub is the sub of the month, I get it and roll up the meat and cheese with the lettuce, cucumbers, and onions and southwest sauce and eat it like that.

Allrighty then. As far as my progress went, I lost inches in my chest first. Then I believe it was my waist and arms and finally my thighs. Here’s what I recorded:

beginning measurements as of 9/22/03:
arm: 14
thigh: 24
chest: 41
waist: 40
hips: 42

measurements half way as of 10/06/03:
arm: 13
thigh: 23.5
chest: 37
waist: 38
hips: 38.5

measurements at goal as of 3/14/04:
arm: 11.5
thigh: 21
chest: 34
waist: 29
hips: 34

I have not taken measurements recently, but I'm sure they’re the same or really close to the previous ones. I am genetically predisposed to have an hourglass-type figure, so my thighs will always be bigger than I want.

Ok, well I hoped I helped and gave you some ideas. You may want to check out my journal, as I often recorded what I ate while I was losing. Maybe you should consider starting a journal too to record what you are eating and track your progress. It also allows people to see how you are doing and lend support and advice. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I wish you the best of luck on your LC journey!! I will be in touch.

Have a super day
Leigh