Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

[bnzstar]

Wow! American food is Anglo or Caucasian? Have you ever been to the South????? Maybe I missed something, but most of American cuisine is a mix of cultural ideas, I mention the south because many of the so-called comfort foods of the region came about as a result of African influence through the presence of slaves.
Meat and potatoes didn't start making us fat until

1)We became more urbanized and people no longer did hours of physical labor through farming or dock or factory work.
2)T.V. and computer technology made our lives more sedentary.
3)We started eating stuff packed in cans and boxes with all kinds of additives.

I'm not dissing Atkins, but I notice my cousins who live in rural Texas and still work the farm, eat from their garden, and walk to school everyday are thin even though their diet consists of lots of bread, potatoes, corn, and every dinner is followed by a rich dessert, ice cream all the time during the summer, etc.
In addition they only eat fresh veggies and fruits. Going to the pizza hut or taco bell is a once a year treat since its 25 miles away from their home...and my grandma made EVERYTHING from scratch. In a can, box, or frozen from the store.....she won't touch it.
But she also gets up at 4 a.m. to start cooking...so there you go.

[feemia]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

For me it was the food choices. I lost 23 lbs in 5 months on Atkins, but I was never happy with the food choices and I was always hungry. I'm not willing to commit long term to a WOE that requires me to limit the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables that I can have.

I still avoid processed carbohydrates. Atkins taught me that it is possible, even in a society with a McDonalds every other block, to give up white bread and sugar. In fact, unless its a freshly baked loaf of sourdough, white bread tastes like paste to me now.

[Brook]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

I'm not willing to commit long term to a WOE that requires me to limit the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables that I can have.

That's just it though....it doesn't and it's an all too common misconception.

There's a vast amount of choices available, but we have to be willing to do the work to learn what they are and how to prepare them. The recipes don't just land themselves in our kitchens and brains without us putting them there.

Hungry? No reason to ever be hungry. If you're hungry...eat.

And weight loss phases are distinctly different than maintenance phases. We're not limited on veggies and fruits on maintenance.....but the trick is learning what your levels are to maintain.

I found mine. What landed me here was some major life changes that drastically limited my ability to workout as regularly and as hard as I had become accustomed to - that and when my workouts were limited I didn't cut back on the food I was eating. Umm, yeah. Bad combo.

My solution? I've reworked my schedule to get those workouts in and revamped my menu to take it down a few calories so I can drop the 15lbs that found their way back onto my butt. Once they're gone, I'll be back to eating more veggies and fruit than 90% of the population does - and it won't cost me a single pound

~Brook

[Iapetus999]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

I eat plenty of fruit & veggies

Remember Induction is not Forever...it's 2 weeks.

[ttdriver]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

For me it was the food choices. I lost 23 lbs in 5 months on Atkins, but I was never happy with the food choices and I was always hungry. I'm not willing to commit long term to a WOE that requires me to limit the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables that I can have.

I don't know what "atkins" you were following, but it certainly isn't the one I've been following for nearly 4 years.

I am NEVER hungry. If you are in ketosis, its an appetite suppressant. I would love to know what you've been eating that kept you hungry.

The Atkins of 2002 includes just about every fruit and veggie under the sun once you get to maintenance.

THE LACK OF DEPRIVATION IS WHAT MAKES THIS PLAN SO EASY TO STICK WITH FOR LIFE.

Betty

[Peytonn]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

¿¿ why are y'all disagreeing with that? it DOES limit the amount of fruit and vegetables you can have...


what am I missing?

[Brook]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

what am I missing?

OWL, PreMaintenance and Maintenance.

[Peytonn]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

OWL, PreMaintenance and Maintenance.

I'm not looking for a smart as$ answer... ....... OWL DOES limit the amount of veggies/fruit you can eat.... so do the other phases... depending on your own tolerance for them....

[Brook]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

Well yikes.

It wasn't a smart assed answer, it was a succinct one. Bite someone else's face off, and drop the attitude. You didn't list out the kind of answer you wanted, and frankly, 5 minutes ago I had kids to deal with instead of someone who'd be as rude as you just were. If that's not okay with you, that's your problem.

It limits the amount of carbs you can eat, which you gradually increase - but that doesn't translate into a limited amount of vegetables and fruits if you choose what you're eating carefully. 30-50 grams of carb in veggies and fruit can be a HUGE amount of veggies and fruit. Even at induction levels when foods are chosen carefully we can get way more in than the USRDA.

If you choose to spend your carbs on garbage, then yep, you're self limiting your fruits and veggies. If you choose to continue to stay really high fat instead of adding more balance into the 3 groups - which will translate into higher calories - then yep, you're limited. If you choose to spend them wisely you can eat more fruits and veggies than you know what to do with.

And pre-maintenance and maintenance levels are generally very generous in this regard. Limited fruits and veggies is more self imposed than anything.

And THAT's why we were disagreeing.

Better?

[2big4mysize]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

... ....... OWL DOES limit the amount of veggies/fruit you can eat.... so do the other phases... depending on your own tolerance for them....

yep your tolerance for them but as Brook said you can eat an awful lot of them while being under your CCLL did you know Dr Atkins said he was eating 6-8 cups a day of veggies in maintenance.

And Dr Atkins said in DANDR with vigorous exercise which he defined as 45 min a day a couple of days a week you can even increase your limit based on your metabolism. those of us who work out daily have a hard time eating all our carbs as just fruits and veggies.

The bottom line is people are going to decide what they want to do and then make excuses to justify it when they know it isn't correct/healthy but they want it.


Happy low carbing

[Peytonn]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

That's just it though....it doesn't and it's an all too common misconception.

There's a vast amount of choices available, but we have to be willing to do the work to learn what they are and how to prepare them. The recipes don't just land themselves in our kitchens and brains without us putting them there.

Hungry? No reason to ever be hungry. If you're hungry...eat.

And weight loss phases are distinctly different than maintenance phases. We're not limited on veggies and fruits on maintenance.....but the trick is learning what your levels are to maintain.

I found mine. What landed me here was some major life changes that drastically limited my ability to workout as regularly and as hard as I had become accustomed to - that and when my workouts were limited I didn't cut back on the food I was eating. Umm, yeah. Bad combo.

My solution? I've reworked my schedule to get those workouts in and revamped my menu to take it down a few calories so I can drop the 15lbs that found their way back onto my butt. Once they're gone, I'll be back to eating more veggies and fruit than 90% of the population does - and it won't cost me a single pound

~Brook

you clearly said it DOESN'T limit the fruits and veggies.... and I asked why everybody is saying that.......

[Peytonn]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

I didn't say there weren't choices... selection.. but it does limit the amount of fruit/veggie you can eat

[womanpraised]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

I did well on Atkins some time ago, though I never made it all the way to goal, I was losing and feeling great. My thoughts on this thread:

Lots of ethnic food is not necesarily carb based,for example, we have a friend who was born and raised in Germany, and spent a good bit of child hood in Italy. He laughs at "Italian restaurants" and all the pasta,, they serve it because it is cheap to make... wheres the seafood? The fish, the mussels... It isnt ALL pasta and tomato sauce. I think one reason that people in other countries where there is a lot of carb based food are healthier than Americans are that they are not always in a fully automated, do everything for me place, they bike or walk to get around, they are active in their "free time",, they dont ha ve access to so many of the processed foods as kids that they destroy their metabolism and hormone responses from the get go and can thus handle the foods better, and while processed, the food isnt processed to death. I would argue that Atkins in an AntiAmerican way of eating... Much of the charm of travel is doing the local produce and meat markets with friends and relatives, just as they do, they arent buying mac and chz in bulk from Stuffmart, they are grabbing meat from the butcher and in season produce from the produce cart and bread from the baker, and going home and making a meal. Across the board, as other places have access to more "americanized" food and "industrialized" convienences and stores they are fatter and less healthy. People are convienenced to death, and no where is that more evident than good old home sweet home.

Evil Americans, destroying the world yet again.

Enough... always love to throw in my two cents...

For me, the reason I stopped short of goal was mostly financial. If it comes down to fruits and carrots and broccoli for the kids, or veggies and meat for me, I have to buy for my kids. And while it is wonderful to say, put the kids on the woe, it is healthier to them, if you can say that without really sitting down and punching numbers, you have always been well off. I can feed my family on 50.00 a week, if we eat like everyone else. 75.00 a week feeds us well, but still high carb, mac and cheese, but with veggies on the side and fruit for lunches. Many times I have made the compromise where mommy gets the crap food.. baked potatoes and rice and eggs, so that the kids can get their protein and produce, and we can come in at about 60.00-75.00 a week.

No pity party, just the finances of a single mom. And you cant say, just eat the eggs, there isnt enough energy in that to do night shift and homeschool and activities and everything else. The kids cant eat less becuase they are growing kids, and it would be wrong to deprive them. So when between a rock and the utilities, you ditch the woe, pay the bills and buy what groceries you can.

If finances allow, my other downfall can be emotional. If my world is shifting, I run to what I know, what is comfortable. I stopped Atkins financially, I stayed off after that year because the world was falling apart, and I could only think about a limited number of things. Everything else had to be autopiloted.

There are other things that put it beyond control. Just some thoughts, folks. Not everyone who goes off plan is silly or wasting the experience. It is a way of life, and sometimes, you have to live in a way you might not want to. Not everyone has the luxury of the choice. If folks do, that is awesome. If they dont, chances are things arent that wonderful overall, and they ought not have to carry another load put there by us.

[kkat55]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

Last year I had only come as far as Induction and I was on it for about a month. I then got a job where my boss bought us lunch and one bite of this and one bite of that eventually turned into sweets, then full-blown eating the "old" way again. I got off the program because I am a carb addict. Once I eat something high-carb or high-sugar, that is it for me because I get VERY strong cravings that are hard to control...or I feel like they "overcome" me.

But, I'm back again because I KNOW that this is the way to go. I want to break my addiction. I may stumble and I may fall, but I am trying to "pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again."

I will not give up.

[not2late]

Re: Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

It limits the amount of carbs you can eat, which you gradually increase - but that doesn't translate into a limited amount of vegetables and fruits if you choose what you're eating carefully. 30-50 grams of carb in veggies and fruit can be a HUGE amount of veggies and fruit. Even at induction levels when foods are chosen carefully we can get way more in than the USRDA.

Brook's right on that. During Induction you eat the 5 daily servings of veggies if you portion them in the 2 cups salad list + 1 cup other veggie list. Per the USDA, 1 serving is 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked. http://www.5aday.com/html/consumers/serving.php

In terms of fruits, it depends. The USDA doesn't specify what a "fruit" is. But there are "vegetable fruits" for example, tomatoes (which is a berry) and cucumbers (which is melon) and these "vegetable fruits" are completely acceptable during Induction and early OWL. Moreover there are avocadoes and olives are fruits that are okay for Induction and OWL.

When you move to OWL Rung 1 you add 5 net carbs of the Induction veggies to your Induction veggie menu. Depending on the veggie, 5 net carbs can be 2/3 to 2 cups, which puts you over the USDA recommended veggie serving.