After HUGE success just last year... I am back on Atkins!

[Zaxtor99]

I am a male. 6'4. 33 years old now.

And last February of 2004, I started Atkins, the first diet ever in my life seeking to lose pounds after noticing my weight climbing up to 288 pounds.

Within 2 1/2 months, by the 1st of May, I had lost 69 pounds and was down to 219. I had a goal of 205. But I caved in to all the temptations of my love for baked potatoes with my steaks, Grands flaky layers biscuits with my breakfasts of sausage and eggs, and things like ice cream, cheesecake, etc. I guess I figured that if I started gaining again.. or when I did, that I would just jump right back on Atkins to take it off. Well, so now 11 months later, after getting off a very successful Atkins diet... I sit at 262, gaining back 43 pounds with my carb-loving ways.

I am currently on Day #7 of induction, dropping 5 pounds already. Going carb-free isn't really that hard for me, as I love meat and things like Hidden Valley ranch dressing smothering my salads.

My problem that I can't seem to get through my head is how am I ever going to avoid my love of real mashed potatoes and brown gravy, flaky biscuits, and cheesecakes etc etc for the rest of my life? (and sorry guys but substituting califlower for mashed potatoes isn't gonna cut it... my taste buds are a little smarter then these kinds of deciets, hehe)

I guess my real question is Why can't I play roller coaster? Why can I not enjoy the foods I love when I hit my goal weight... and just try to hit Atkins again when I gain 10 pounds or something much smaller then what
I just put back on the past 11 months? Then go free again... then Atkins again for a short time... and so on. What would the risks of such be? I mean I did Atkins for just over 2 months, lost almost 70 pounds, and it took me 11 months to gain back 43 of those pounds. And those 11 months were filled with all the carbs my taste buds wanted, trust me. Hehe.

I understand staying Atkins for life would be much simpler and easier. But I just don't think I can do away with my potatoes, biscuits, bread, orange juice, etc etc for the rest of my life. And sorry, sparingly as in 1 glass of OJ every two months ain't gonna cut it. Hehe.

I'm not trying to be difficult. Just honest. And curious as to the response I get.

Thanks!!

- Zaxx

[Kent]

Well since the substitutes are already written off (although the cheesecakes I make now are every bit as good as the old way IMO), then it becomes a decision of desire and which do you want more. If having the mashed potatoes, juice, etc. is important to you, you could try to switch to a portion control diet after the weight loss is gone, but from the weight loss bounce you've experienced in the last 11 months, I would take those lessons to heart. Personally, I have accepted those items are gone.

What did Chinese Food (like Sesames Chicken, full carb pizza, pasta) ever give me except a protruding stomach and temporary craving satisfaction? I am looking for a more permanent solution. This WOE is not meant to be a crash diet tool, aka get the weight off quick and then go back to eating normally. Understand the maintenance phase and figuring out what your body can tolerate in smaller portions will be key to long term retention of weight loss. Perhaps your maintenance phase might feature mashed potatoes once a week, but it may not if it causes the additional cravings.

Just my thoughts, I hope they're helpful.

[sadie147]

guess my real question is Why can't I play roller coaster? Why can I not enjoy the foods I love when I hit my goal weight... and just try to hit Atkins again when I gain 10 pounds or something much smaller then what
I just put back on the past 11 months?

It seems to me you did already try this and it didn't work? I think you know the answer to your own question. Also did you go through the OWL rungs? Yes I know that an occaisional potato or glass of orange juice is nt what you want, you'd like it more often..but obviously that didn't work for you in the past. I agree with bowulf, I think you need to understand the maintenace phase of Atkins, and also try to exercise some portion control, and cut back on how often you indulge in these foods and how much. You need to go thru all the rungs of OWL to determine what foods, if any are going to cause issues for you as well. Hope this helps..

[not2late]

I agree completely with Sadie. I'm a firm believer that you have to go through OWL and Pre-Maintainance in order to make your Maintenance work. Not only do I believe it because Dr. Atkins said to do it, but if you look through the Maintainence forum, the successful "Maintainers" are the ones who went through all the phases.

I'm in the starchy vegetable rung of OWL. I not only can eat the foods I like (fruits, legumes and now some starchy vegetables), but I also find that eating even a 5 net carb portion of them are very satisfying. Before Atkins I could eat maybe 2 whole oranges at one sitting without feeling "satisfied". Now, a few orange sections is all I need to feel "satisfied". Orange and other fruit juices---before Atkins I could drink glass after glass after glass. Now, 4 ounces is more than enough for me, because I don't want anymore than that.

So go through the other Phases. It's pretty sad that folks are under the impression that Induction is the entire Atkins diet. While I can understand that the media and folks who haven't read the book will think that way, I have a hard time believing that folks here, who should have read the book, think that way too.

[snorkelman]

The reason you should no do the yo-yo plan is because with each repeated bout of dieting, your metabolism becomes less and less efficient and you can actually become progressively fatter while eating less food.

The tough part is that people attempting to do Atkins often end up with hunger pangs and cravings, which causes them to "fall off the wagon." There are plenty of people here to help you and encourage you how to stay on the wagon, but yes, cravings are difficult and anyone who claims that a very low carb diet is easy to do is nuts. That is why Atkins isn't Induction forever. The Atkins plan assumes you will start adding carbs.

Trust me, you can't do induction for the rest of your life.

[Isabeau]

I agree. It's so important to go through all of the phases of Atkins to not only keep the weight off, but to understand how certain food choices are going to effect your body.

[Becky Sue]

Zaxx,
Have you read the(Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution) DANDR,2002 edition and fully understand how all the phases of this WOE works, if so please re-read it? If not, please buy the book and read it. It explains just how you can succeed long term.

Welcome back to this WOE(way of eating). It worked for you before and it can get you to your goal this time. Now to understand the OWL phase, the pre-maintance and the maintance phases.

The best to you.
Becky Sue
288-196-180

[2big4mysize]

I really really have to ask you why you can't have biscuits whole grain of course and pototes as a part of your Atkins maintneamnce program. Many of us do those things because our metabolisms allow for it. You did do all 4 phases of Atkins didn't you? or did you do what you thought was Atkins just induction foods for life?

If you haven't read it you should get and read the 2002 or later printing of Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution or Atkins For Life and understand how you can maintain your weight loss eating real foods as a part of your Atkins even those taters you love but IF and Only if your metabolism allows it. Those of us that are heavy exercisers can enjoy more carbs on maintneance then we can if we choose not to workout.

When you are gaining weight you are undoing the health benefits you gain doing Atkins with blood sugar controls and cholesterol improvements. While in your 30s you may not feel or see every nerve fiber and blood vessel is and it is the cummulative damage we go in our life time that controls our health in our senior yrs.

Your weight and health will be a function of your choices make them wisely

[Zaxtor99]

Okay. Thanks for the response. To be honest, I read the Induction part of the DANDR very closely, skimmed the OWL phase, and lightly skimmed just parts of the rest of the book.. probably because I wasn't to my goal yet when
I gave up Atkins and went straight to "carb freedom" as you might call it. So I will go and read carefully the OWL and maintenance and Atkins for Life phases more carefully this time around.

Obviously, I don't want to keep having to repeat induction over and over every year like this and have 50+ pounds to lose. One of these times I might not get the motivation to even start Atkins again (if I keep regaining the weight) and I'll wind up bigger then ever. So thanks everyone, and I will read and understand the whole book as well as I did the first part of the DANDR this time around.

I do agree that most carbs are nothing but junk and only make you hungrier and still feel unsatisfied. This strong belief took root after seeing the success last year of almost 70 pounds weight loss in just over two months. With the first success with Atkins last year, I have pretty much already got rid of most carb filled junk for life that I used to eat before my first Atkins experience. Things like doughnuts, candy bars, chips, and noodles that I used to eat regularly are now almost disgusting to me and I honestly don't believe will ever be a temptation again for life. There are just some old favorites like moms homemade pies, real potatoes, and orange juice that I simply know I do love. I think you are probably right, that with all four phases of the Atkins way, I will learn to enjoy these in moderation. I wish that the "low-carb OJ" I've tried in the past tasted like the real thing rather then tasting like TANG, heh... It would probably make
enjoying such foods easier. It is amazing to me however how good somethings like low carb ice cream and low carb breads can actually be, as I did experiment with a lot of these low-carb foods last summer.

Anyhow... I came back to these boards to help make my 2nd attempt at losing the weight become more of a long-term success. I know there are a lot of motivating and knowledgeable, and caring people going through the same thoughts and experiences as myself. Thanks everyone...

- Zaxx

[2big4mysize]

good for yo one thing about that OJ why have it as juice instead of taking the time to have it as a real orange the conusming of it as an orage casues us to slow down and take our time consuming that amount af carbs giving us notonly chewing satisfation and fiber from the actual plant but the time it takes slows us down in consuming other foods and helps us with out portion control. Drink water eat fruit when you get to the fruit rungs.

[ciaobella]

I believe....someone will correct me if i am wrong i am sure :geek ....that once you reach lifetime maintenance phase of the diet you can have mashed potatoes once in a while, they are just no longer a staple of your daily diet like they used to be....it's just induction and the first few rungs of owl that are really restrictive...i think dr atkins realized that inorder for people to stay on this WOE they need some flexibility.....i bet that if after you finish up induction and read the rest of the book then you will take atkins as more of a lifestyle (like vegetarian or something) choice and not a life-long "diet".

good luck!!!! and congrats on losing those first 5lbs

[not2late]

I believe....someone will correct me if i am wrong i am sure :geek ....that once you reach lifetime maintenance phase of the diet you can have mashed potatoes once in a while, they are just no longer a staple of your daily diet like they used to be....it's just induction and the first few rungs of owl that are really restrictive...i think dr atkins realized that inorder for people to stay on this WOE they need some flexibility.....i bet that if after you finish up induction and read the rest of the book then you will take atkins as more of a lifestyle (like vegetarian or something) choice and not a life-long "diet".

good luck!!!! and congrats on losing those first 5lbs

Yes you can. You can even have non-low carb bread and even non-low carb desserts---on occasion and in moderation. Each of us has a level of carbs our body can tolerate. That's why it's really important to move onto OWL, find your carb level and learn how your body reacts to certain foods. Who knows, you might be like Loonatika. She can eat 100 net carbs and still lose weight. That's how her body works (and I don't think she feels deprived with the kinds and amounts of foods she can eat!).

While the "low carb" products are convenient, I think they're also a curse. It's too easy to fall into the mindset of "it's low carb, so I can eat few servings of it and nothing bad will happen". That's the same mentality folks had with the low fat food----and look how people ballooned on them.

[Elizellen]

And you may find that introducing other foods might take away the 'allure' of mashed potatoes!
My DH says he prefers my mashed celeriac to the mashed potatoes I used to make in the days before Atkins!! And I used to make fantastic mashed potatoes too!!

[tabekat]

tough love

and sorry guys but substituting califlower for mashed potatoes isn't gonna cut it... my taste buds are a little smarter then these kinds of deciets, hehe)

So gaining back all the weight you lost is going to cut it???

You aren't new to Atkins, so I'm not going to babycake this response.

Are the taste buds the problem?

It sounds like a different body part has a self-inflated sense of denial.

True smarts, true sophistication, would involve making sure every bite that passes the tongue is healthy nurturing food that doesn't force your body to frantically shuttle globs of extra fat to every spare corner.

After sticking to Atkins I found my taste buds were totally cooperating with me. They now crave healthy food and high carb foods do not taste good to me anymore. I am happy to be fooled, in fact I prefer cauliflower and spaghetti squash to rice and potatos. I especially enjoy knowing I can eat these foods and not have them do a slam junk on my blood control.

Your body is your vehicle. Your engine. Basically it sounds as if you are saying that you want to keep putting bad fuel in your body, then give it some good fuel. Then give it some bad fuel, then give it some good fuel. How well would your car respond to this?

This is no way to treat the vehicle that has served you so long and so well despite your casual disregard for its well-being.

Have that melting butter on a delicious flaky mock danish rather than the frankenbiscuits. Eat the cauliflower and the squash. You are worth it. Your body is worth it.

[MySongAngel]

I thought of this too... he he... I LOVE cake and biscuits... mmmmm.... and donuts and designer coffee drinks. From now to the day I die, I certainly can't imagine never having another piece of Black Tie Chocolate Mousse cake (from Olive Garden... my weakness).

However... Dr. Atkins says in his book under "Uses and Abuses of Induction" that "if you retreat to induction every time you stray, you may begin to reinforce a dangerous pattern of behaviour..... Another more serious concern I have is the impact this back-and-forthing can have on your metabolism....It's likely that your metabolism will adapt at a certain point-in a sense, developing a tolerance. People who repeatedly regain weight and go back to Induction sometimes find that they do not experience the dramatic and easy weight loss they initially enjoyed.... You may be in for a nasty surprise."

So in other words... if you have the discipline to be able to immediately begin induction at the first sight of weight gain, then you might be just fine, and it might be a great way to eat whatever, but there's also a chance that it will catch up to you, and the weight loss won't be as easy the 3rd or 4th time around. Is it worth the chance?

You just need to pay attention to what you're eating. Don't ever mindlessly eat things. Don't take "no-no's" lightly. If you have a baked potato down the road... feel the "big-dealness" of that... and wait a while before you have another one. It's also important to pay attention to your weight. Don't wait until you've gained back 43 pounds. That's a long road to have to go back down.