I'd like to hear from the lucky people who started out fairly thin in this WOE. What are your successes and how much did you lose? Tell me anything you'd like about your journey. I've recently gained about 10 lbs in the past 6 months and about 15 in the past year. I was at one time nearly underweight, but now I am very uncomfortable with my current situation.

I'm hoping this is the answer to my weight struggles. I don't want to be constantly hungry and really want to shed a few pounds. Is this program successful for people who just need to firm up a little?

If you are looking to firm up weight training is your answer By doing that you might not loose weight but your body will look different and thats the most important thing.

Akiwican

By firm up I mean lose 10 lbs of fat.

me too!!! I know it is hard for others to understand but I too only have a little to lose and it is not this but the idea that I may not have to obsess over calories and fat grams...for the rest of my life. just because I am not overweight, does not mean i do not have an eating disorder. I have been anorexic, binge eater, bulimic and it is my obsession with carbs that rules this. I would love to correspond with you and would love to hear someones success story, because I will tell you, i have been trying to find one for the past month and am starting to think that maybe this is not " a way of Life" if you cant get on it just to fix disorderly eating habits (versus losing 50plus pounds) Let me know if you find someone. I have been on induction for one week and lost nothing.. I feel good though. stable energy

Hi All!

Yes, LC living works. I don't have a lot to lose either but I want my body back! (I was 110 in the fall of 02 & by dec. 130 ugh) I had to work at putting weight on so I have to work at taking it off.

What I like about this lifestyle is:
1. You eat healthy
2. 3 meals a day
3. you don't skip meals
4. you have energy
5. you don't starve

However, since I don't have much too lose - it's gonna take time & patience. But I'd rather wait than starve myself to thinness.
viv!

I just want to commend everybody who finds they're 10-20 lbs over the weight they'd like to be, and decide to do something about it before it gets out of hand. I wish I had done that, now I have 58 more lbs to lose--but, once I get to my goal, I'll be watching the numbers....

Good luck to all of you!
N.

I am - and was - in the same boat as you guys as well. I first went on Atkins in August of 2001 and after about 3 to 4 weeks - I had lost 10 of the 15 pounds I wanted to take off. I had to go off the diet after 3 weeks because I found out I was prego (with twins). All through the pregnancy I watched what I ate and ate well (with a few pints of ice cream too) and after I gave birth, I went back to my original weight within 3 days.
It was the 4 months after that followed where I literally SAT at home feeding, changing, and putting two very collicky babies to sleep. That was when I put the extra 10-15 pounds on that I want to remove now.

So it does work and it works well. There are times it becomes a litle frustrating but it is worth it to hang in there....

This time around it is taking longer for the weight to come off but it is and that is what is important.

teachkids

I'm so happy to hear from all of you! I didn't know if this would work for me or not. It gives me hope to hear stories of people like me. I'm starting this Sunday and I'm excited. Can you guys share any more tips, adivce, or stories??? I want this weight gone cause my tiny 5'4'' frame does not carry the gain well!

Hey!

Yes, low carb works even if you only have a little to lose. But also weight training will help tone you up and get rid of that extra fat. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn even when not exercising.

I think Dr. Atkins (on Phil Donahue recently) said that people with just 10-15 pounds to drop might not need to go through induction. Someone might need to check me out on that.

I am at the point where I have 14 pounds to lose to get to my initial goal weight. I am sticking with Atkins for the rest of my life, even after I get there.

I agree that this is a good WOE for aiding in past eating issues. I know that though my eating disorder certainly didn't have only one cause, a major contributor was the fact that I was raised as a sugar junkie and it's easier to starve than to try to moderate intake of an addictive substance! Now, I'm not constantly obsessed with food and I can get on with my life.

But be prepared for weight loss to be slow. *Especially* if you're not used to eating a lot of protein and fat. Your body might have a lot of catching up to do; repair work and replenishing long-wasted muscle. You might even (gasp) gain a pound or two, but take some measurements before you start - don't trust the scale.

Best of luck - keep us posted! I wanted to write more, but I gotta get ready for work. Feel free to drop by my journal, and/or start one yourself!

(edit) Oh yeah, btw - I second the resistance training. It makes a huge difference. You won't bulk up like a guy; gals don't have enough testosterone.

Thanks for all the input! I am a personal trainer and am all for strength training. However, although my energy has been stable on this diet, i am sooo drained after or during weight lifting. I know, its the beginning, and possibly i will become more accustomed to working out without my apple before hand.

Y'know what? You might benefit from a higher carb level and/or the cyclical ketogenic type thing. This is where you try to stay low carb most of the time, except right before a workout. You give your muscles some added carbs to work with. Check out the exercise forum for more info.

I feel I am the same way. I am 6'3 and was 205. I am down to 193, but I still seem fat(I have a gut, and manboobs I lost 7 pounds in the first 5 days of the Aktins diet, so something is working

Hi jealibeanz:

I notice that our stats are pretty similar. I started out here at my maintenance weight. It was for health reasons I started LCing. That's not to say I've never had weight problems, I do. In university, I got up to 145 before deciding I never wanted to live that way again. Now I'm dealing with issues of sugar addiction which has really played havoc in my life.

I was 119 pds starting LC but the sugar addictions got the best of me. For the first time, I really feel like I'm getting them under control. 43 days so far without sugar! That's my baseline, not weight. I know at my weight, it will come off if I can control my addiction. The loss is much slower now than it ever has been, but I'm learning new ways of managing my eating behaviour. I've taken it off quickly doing LC, but the cravings came shortly after the loss.

Anyway, I think everyone should LC. This is a way of eating healthy, not a weight loss plan per se. We sometimes lose site of that.

I'd love you to visit my journal or I'll visit yours if you start one up.

Wanda

Hi Wanda
Thanks so much for your posting. I can totally relate to the sugar addiction thing. I'm starting my induction phase tomorrow and I'm not doing it for the weight loss neither. It's more for my SANITY! It's so inspiring to read about other people having problems with sugar too. I tried to make peace with carbs (and believe me, I did) by trying to eat the "right" kinds, but it did not work for me. Carbs drive me crazy! Just one bite and my brain just go out of control...it wants more and more and more...