To those who have lost a lot of weight/met goal

[just4me]

I'm someone who wants this to work for me so badly, yet I have no excuse for not making it work for me thus far.

I'm just curious from those who have/are succeeding on the program and the weight loss journey, what it was that brought you here and to your solid committment to the program.

Was it that it was easy to follow and worked and you had just not found something like it before? or was it something in your life that just made it time?

Just interested in how it "clicked" for you.

Shannon

[BadToTheBone]

Re: To those who have lost a lot of weight/met goal

Hi Shannon... I started at almost 400 pounds... I could not breath, walk or enjoy life... It was time for me to do something... NOT just to loose weight... BUT... To be healthy too.... I started Atkins because my boss's husband was on it and was having some success with it... I thought it would be good to try... Since I had NO support system at home (As a matter of fact I have someone at home that STILL attempts to sabatage my eating) I did depend on a very strong support system at work and made it down almost 130 pounds...

How do I make it work for me? I started out eating the same thing everyday... That way... I did not have to think about what I was going to eat... It was the same thing everyday... It is a good thing I like Bacon and eggs... I did have that for breakfast and if I was still hungry after that when I got to work... The boss always had a plate full of bacon for us to snack on... For lunch it was chicken salad and dinner was either steak or hambergers with green beans... I also drank a LOT of water... I started out with a 64oz cup... I would fill it up when I got to the office and had finished two by 9AM...

I had more than my share of arguments with the room mate about bringing bad food into the house... Her mother even told me that I was not "Feeding her right"... Whenever "Mom" visits... She brings cakes & candy with her because it is part of a "Healthy" diet... I have gotten to the point where I will just tell her that "I don't like that food" and it has stopped the insistance that "Just a bite won't hurt"...

I AM human... I HAVE let such things as "Carb Creep" catch up with me... I have eaten things that were very poor choices... BUT... I will NEVER give up and will continue to eat Atkins style... I do not consider it to be a "Diet"... I concider it to be a way of life for me...

[G-Mom]

Re: To those who have lost a lot of weight/met goal

Hi Shannon, excellent name BTW , I guess I fit the bill here. I do Atkins for several reasons and here some of them are:

1) I am a raging carboholic. In the past I could eat a whole can of Pringles or half a package of Oreos in a sitting, wait an hour and be hungry again. I did this because I am insulin resistant, as most of us are, and I can never easily be an "eat in moderation" type of person. I needed a plan that removes those temptations altogether.

2) It really, really works and is so healthy! I have seen many people lose weight on low-fat and they were so protein-deficient that they looked almost sickly with little muscle tone. Atkins is adequate protein and high-fat, muscles and tissues love it, and they let you know!! I look and feel super-healthy, even when I have 46 lbs left to lose. I love how Atkins makes me feel and I love the food choices.

3) It is a plan that is easy to do. Low-fat is notoriously difficult to do eating out. On low-carb I can always find delicious meal options. It is also easier to do with my family. My family loves many of my low-carb meals because they taste really good, and are satisfying. It is a plan I can stick with all my life, which is key. I always felt either deprived on low-fat or told myself I could have a couple Pringles and it won't hurt (you know what that leads to!).

Anyway, Atkins works so efficiently (you use your own bodyfat as energy..hello!!) as a weightloss method, and when I get to maintainance, I know I will stick with it, because my options will increase considerably. I have already figured out how I will be forever successful, because as I have lost all this weight, I have been learning a great deal about myself. I will stick with mostly veggies, some fruit and nuts as my carb choices because I have learned these are what I enjoy most and they are healthiest for me. I doubt I will ever eat low carb bread or cereals, since I think wheat is a trigger food for me. You learn these things on your journey. Other folks are different.

You may want to read the wonderful stories in the Loser's Lounge thread on the Main Atkins Board. Talk about inspirational!

In the beginning, switching to Atkins can be difficult, but sugar and starches (also sugar) are very much like drugs that we become addicted to. Drugs are tough to kick, but no one had a bad word to say to a drug addict who finally kicked his cocaine habit. Just remember that no one needs simple sugars and removing them from your life is the best thing you could ever do for your body, only then can you be free from your fat, cravings, and health problems. I really believe that. You can do it!! Atkins is second nature to me now, and it didn't start out that way. It will become that way for you, but you have to believe you can do it.

[2big4mysize]

Re: To those who have lost a lot of weight/met goal

WELL MY DESISION WAS MADE AFTER i GOT STUCK IN A KIDDIE PLAY EQUIPMENT

I did a month researching programs and knowing my likes and dislikes I knew a low carb had to be the way to go and Atkins kept poppoing up. I was a skeptic at the time and really tested the program for the first 2 weeks thinking no way could I lose eating all that. well I was down weight and the rest is history. I found it easiest to just do it and stay cheat free. being allergic to soy fixed me up to avoid all the frankenfoods espically the candies so i had extra help that way.

Just decide you want it and run like heck from your heavier self. Keep your changes in size and weight as a comparison to where you started not where you are now or in a month and even a pound loss in 2 weeks will seem all the more when you add it to your already big loss total. I really focused on the deconstruction of my 300+ pound body and not on where i was now. I didn't takre the monthly pics every one talks about being so inportant to see the changes cause i knew looking in the mirror and in the closet I wasn't that 300+ pounder. when the clothes got too big to stay up I bought new smaller ones and gave the too big stuff away so i couldn't easily regain any weight.
You can do it too but you have to want it more then whatever the pleasure you get from eatting the high carb foods is. Once you do you will have no trouble. Until then you will struggle and cheat and struggle to restart, so make that list of why you want to do Atkins to get smaller and a list od why you don't. Assign a number to the reasons from 1-100 and you can use a number more then once as you value your reasons. ad up your lists and if the doing is greater then the not doing you should do it. keep your lists and reevaluate them as you progress add new reasons and keep yourself focused. read your lists daily and see how you are achieving those reasons.

Happy low carbing.

[bizzlekitty]

Re: To those who have lost a lot of weight/met goal

I had hit my max weight ever (347!!!) after a couple years of hard times, losing my job and health insurance and going off thyroid meds (big NO NO), and cheap food is heavy in carbs.

I got a new job and health insurance and was disgusted by the size of the clothes I had to buy for the new job. I knew I had to do something, but I had tried just about every diet out there to little avail. My next course of action was gastric bypass, but I didn't really want to alter my body with surgery or risk that I couldn't eat my favorite foods ever again, or have complications with eating food at all.

A friend of mine had been doing Atkins and losing weight. Now, she wasn't exactly following it correctly, but the way I am, I want to do things right. I spent weeks researching Atkins, bought and read the book, found websites and found and decided I had enough info to try. And to my surprise, it did. Not just losing weight, but not feeling hungry, changing my way of eating permanently, kicking bad habits of drinking Diet Coke, drinking lots of water, and having alot more energy. The symptoms of my hypothyoridism and fibromyalgia have improved considerably as well. If a change in diet like this can help me so significantly, then I am sticking to it for life.

My weight loss hasn't always been as fast as I'd like. I've had some major stalls, this last one has been for 2+ months and might be still ongoing but the way I look at it, it took me years to gain all this weight, it's going to take years to take it off, plus I feel so much better. My health issues make it difficult to exercise as much as I'd like, but I am now even exercising at least once a week, something I couldn't even really do before.

Atkins is easy to follow, I really don't feel deprived, and I'm eating 3 meals a day without going hungry or skipping meals. I have control over what does into my body and can turn down all the bad foods that I used to love before. And the health benefits beyond just losing weight make it so much better.

I think everyone has to find their own reasons, but I think you really need to give Atkins a good long try (several months at least) and do it right to begin to see the difference it makes.

[Yoly1001]

Re: To those who have lost a lot of weight/met goal

For me it was about my personality change. I am the youngest of 3 sisters, yes I am a little spoiled but also very fun. I liked my personality I was friendly and outgoing. As I started to gain weight I became more introverted, shy. One day I looked up and I couldn't even recognize that girl I used to be. The girl that would take any dare, the girl that would laugh and walk up to people on the street for a chat. I had become a complete stranger, even to myself.

My husband was miserable, I was so awful to him. I remember yelling once, "I'm not that girl I used to be, I've changed I never will be her again, if you love me then you have to love this new me." It was a lie though, I was even lieing to myself. I decided to start atkins because I couldn't live with myself anymore. I couldn't look at the person in the mirror, and not because of my weight but because of the personality switch. I am happy to report that I am back, that girl I used to be has mellowed and become a woman, she has all of the postive characteristics of the girl without so much of the wildness.

I figure if Atkins can give me back this vital part of myself, then I'm here for life. I really missed myself, I felt like I was in the dark for years and then someone (Dr. Atkins) flipped on the switch.

[maribelle]

Re: To those who have lost a lot of weight/met goal

You know, its been a long time since I thought about this topic...why did I start? I guess remembering that is what keeps us straight and true. My story is the same as the others...health, self esteem, loss of self! It just kept getting worse and worse. I was using a cane at 30, was falling asleep whenever I sat down, was stopping breathing at night, and wasn't able to get up when I fell...just to name a few! Plus, I don't want my son to be teased because his mommy is fatter than anyone else's!

Why this diet? Because I'm hypoglecemic and PCO, and it works for me! It helps me control my moods, and mrs. hyde turns back into mrs. jeckyll...teeheehee.

Best of luck to you, and may every day bring you closer to your goal! You can do this, if you think of it as a way of life instead of a diet!

[Shrinkerbell]

Re: To those who have lost a lot of weight/met goal

For me it was finally finding something that worked. I have the will power, just tell me what I need to do! Also, seeing the success stories here helped me know that people can actually get to those goal weights. You have to be so ready within yourself to do it, and you have to believe you'll be successful. If ou don't believe it can be done, you won't do it. Once you do have some success, that convinces you that even more is possible. Good luck. PM me if you ever need help.