Why do people give Atkins up after experiencing success?

[womanpraised]

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

Leave it to Time to manage to be offensive across the board. What a rag.

[tickletussler]

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

In some ways I can understand how easy it is to "give up" Atkins after experiencing success. It is about how difficult it can be to break ties with old foods and eating habits.

Ok, take for example one "good" Atkins day for me:
When I stick to completely wholesome and unprocessed foods ie no soy sauces, cooking simply with olive oil, salt & pepper, I can easily eat my meats and 10 cups of salad & other veggies and still be within 20g carbs.
However, if I eat some "processed" foods like cheese, use soy sauce, bit of lemon juice, couple of tablespoons of cream, add a couple of handfuls of fresh basil, I would be hard-pressed to have 4 cups of veggies AND keep it to 20g carbs - more realistically, it could end up around 50g... (and we're not even talking about including foods like nuts, other dairy or fruits)

On a "bad" Atkins day for me:
I would be rushed off my feet at work, stressed, tired, cold when I get home with little time to prepare for foods - taking all the emotional and physical components of the day when I'm just dying to get some food into me and don't even have time to wonder if I have cravings or not, I would look for foods that are quick, easy, warming and make me feel better, and it would end up looking like a warm bowl of canned soup or cup of fries on the way home or some warm bread & slices of ham. Why? Because these were cheap, easy, quick and late in the evening when I didn't have time to catch even the late-night supermarkets, these foods were "quick, easy, warming and make me feel better".

Doing Atkins or any other low-carb woe for that matter IS hard work, especially if prior to this, it wasn't your woe. It's changing years, perhaps a lifetime of habits and conveniences. Plus, there's no way we have the same amount or type of physical activity as our grandparents or forefathers.
We could examine to see why some cultures seem "slimmer" or healthier, but it doesn't change the fact that some people can eat pasta everyday and still not be fat, or others whose main staple is rice otherwise the dishes are too salty to eat on their own, or poorer societies who rely on eating bread and scramble for whatever luxury they can get in meat/fruits/veg.

Fact is our society today has more processed and convenience foods and we are less likely to have to toil for our foods and more likely to spend our day earning our money behind a desk all day. When Dr Atkins established his diet, he wasn't saying "eat more fats" or "eat less carbs". He was saying eat more "organic", less processed foods, take the time to think about what we're eating, to put more effort into what we put into our bodies otherwise we are going to end up with clogged arteries and die an early death. Most of all, he tried to instill a need for more physical activity in our lives and tried to teach us to eat a more balanced way of eating.

Hence as long as we don't completely give up on this better way of eating, and still do some physical activity everyday, as long as our "bad" days don't outweigh our "good" days, from there it is all a matter of personal choice whether we "give up Atkins after experiencing success"

[BikerGoddess]

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

Very good post, tickle.

[2big4mysize]

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

I think it has more to do with mind set as just witnessed in ticklehusslers post On a "bad" Atkins day for me:
I would be rushed off my feet at work, stressed, tired, cold when I get home with little time to prepare for foods - taking all the emotional and physical components of the day when I'm just dying to get some food into me and don't even have time to wonder if I have cravings or not, I would look for foods that are quick, easy, warming and make me feel better, and it would end up looking like a warm bowl of canned soup or cup of fries on the way home or some warm bread & slices of ham. Why? Because these were cheap, easy, quick and late in the evening when I didn't have time to catch even the late-night supermarkets, these foods were "quick, easy, warming and make me feel better".
remember this topic is about goalies who faulter not inductees quick easy for a goalie? how about just grabbing some nuts or seeds that is exactly what Dr Atkins used for his on the go quick prep meals during the work day at his desk. there are many quick easy foods you can have in cans in your cupboard meat or fish mixed with some spices and mayoinstead of that soup. I have even run in the 24 hr store and gotten a bag of prewashed greens, a single serving of almonds and a can of tuna in Olive oil and dumped them together and eatten it from the bag with some disposible plastic cultlery i keep in the dash. I keep my pocket knife there too for quick cutting of fruits, cheeses, ( you could even just graze from the deli counter purchases) and veggies.

It really is about changing our point of view Atkins can be as fast as a trip to McDonalds/the late night 24hr convenience store or as elaborate as a 7 course meal. Nothing can't be done using our WOE as the bases for the foods if you just think low carb. Yes it takes lots of practice but by the time you reach goal following all the phases as Dr Atkins says you have had lots and lots of proctice doing it right.

it comes down to a mind set either i will continue to eat my Atkins program and stay the healthier smaller me by avoiding those high carb foods I am addicted to!

OR

Great Atkins helped me lose it now I can get off my diet and eat my old higher carb way. If I happen to gain some then I can lose it on Atkins again.

those are the only two options a goalie really has. some will say well I could eat a healthy high carb plan and stick with my weight loss but if they could do that then they would not have needed Atkins in the first place. it is hard to accept that we are not perfect and that we are going to be fighting a life long addiction to high carb foods. Face it nobody wants to admit foods can give us a druglike high just from the natural chemicals found in it and we are addicted to that and lack the willpower to control that addiction

[tentcamp]

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

Having just arrived at goal I am reading this with interest. I suppose everyone starts out as I am thinking they will keep it off forever. I am determined to make it work for me I have a plan - I plan to never make that exception, take even that one bite of unacceptable food. I can't imagine a situation where there would be nothing at all for me to eat, I always have a couple servings of almonds, a couple strips of beef Jerky with me in my backpack and even a Atkins bar if I get really hard up. I have stuff at work to eat in an emergency, stuff that will not spoil, enough for several days. I will not starve until I can find acceptable food. I will continue to weigh my self every morning and will not wait until I am more than two pounds above goal before making changes to drop back until they are gone. I will not purchase any bigger clothing. Now if I could just get everyone to understand that I plan to never eat those foods again that this is how I eat now, it's not a "diet" and now I can quit. Even people that I think understand the plan still say "you are thin enough now", "you don't need to lose any more weight". The hard part has just begun....

[ttdriver]

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

Having just arrived at goal I am reading this with interest. I suppose everyone starts out as I am thinking they will keep it off forever. I am determined to make it work for me I have a plan - I plan to never make that exception, take even that one bite of unacceptable food. I can't imagine a situation where there would be nothing at all for me to eat, I always have a couple servings of almonds, a couple strips of beef Jerky with me in my backpack and even a Atkins bar if I get really hard up. I have stuff at work to eat in an emergency, stuff that will not spoil, enough for several days. I will not starve until I can find acceptable food. I will continue to weigh my self every morning and will not wait until I am more than two pounds above goal before making changes to drop back until they are gone. I will not purchase any bigger clothing. Now if I could just get everyone to understand that I plan to never eat those foods again that this is how I eat now, it's not a "diet" and now I can quit. Even people that I think understand the plan still say "you are thin enough now", "you don't need to lose any more weight". The hard part has just begun....

BRAVO!! I couldn't agree more!

Betty

[BikerGoddess]

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

Tentcamp, congratulations on making goal!

I totally hear you...my family can't understand why I'm still doing that crazy diet. My friends suggest pizza and ice cream. There seems to be one lone person cheering me on - the cashier at the cafeteria at work. She's really impressed I've kept the weight off and tells me every few weeks that she can't believe it's lasted so long.

Good luck with your journey.

Laura

[mom23kgirls]

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

For me its sadley health reasons- You see I love the way I feel on Atkins, I love the control over food that I have- I love my clear skin, I love the feeling of never being hungry.....ect....

BUT; despite all of my efforts to combat it I can not

a. Get my energy back- I have upped the water ( 120 plus ounces), have taken all supplements plus potassium, exercised- see even after 6 months I still had the induction flu drag- You know? My legs where like lead weights all the time-
I"m in good shape- but when I follow Atkins I feel tired all the time-

b. the constipation issues.
Like maybe 1 marble every other week-
have taken laxitives, taken pyllium, medimucal(SF) eaten flax, upped my fiberous vegies, water water and more water.....

Now I support Atkins full steam- but for me I guess its not the way

[Desertthorn]

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

Mom, I am sorry that your having these issues and there really isn't anything that I could suggest to you except maybe lower your protein and up your veggies

[BikerGoddess]

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

Mom, are you in Maintenance? I could see those symptoms if you continued doing Induction, but if you're in Maintenance, it would really concern me. Have you checked with your doctor?

Laura

[mom23kgirls]

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

HI there-

No I never get past induction- well extended induction.
I have completly normal "function" when not doing Atkins, and energy levels are fine as well- Just dont get the weightloss and control

I know that if I did a "modified" atkins I may lose weight- its just that I am a serious addict- a little of something makes me want alot!

[BikerGoddess]

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

Hun, you need to move to OWL. It is a trade off, but if the symptoms concern you enough to post about them, you need to do something about it. You don't have to go off completely or stay in Induction - that's precisely what OWL is for. You don't have to modify it in any way, just go on to the next step.

I know I was terrified to go in to OWL, but it really isn't that bad. We have a forum that you can check out and talk with people who are also going through the same thing. Give that a try before giving up completely.

Laura

[IronEagle]

Re: The Science behind this way of life

I lost 55 lbs. and I'm only 5 lbs away from goal. There is no way in **** that I can go back to eating high amounts of carbohydrates. I don't miss them, I'm not tempted by them. I can be in a room full of the most "tempting" carbs and to me they are as tempting as a glass of water with rat poison in it.

Nice!

[GypsyLinda]

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

I personally can't imagine giving up, because when my waistbands begin getting just a tiny bit snug, I know it is because I have been getting lazy. I can't imagine being where I was 50lbs ago! The foods I gave up on are NOT worth feeling awful about myself.

Perhaps people think that it will be ok, that since they lost it so easily, they can give into the temptation, and if the weight comes back on they will just lose it easily again, not realizing it can be more difficult than the first time.

I know better...and I don't want to go there again.

[Waterbabe_Helena]

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

Various reasons I expect.

One woman I spoke to said she lost over 100 lbs, broke up with her boyfriend, got really really upset, and comforted herself with carbs. Sadly she gained 70lbs before she stopped.

Giving in to all the temptations?

Fear of becoming slim?