Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

[is thin possible?]

Ok! Here's the scoop! I love the Atkins way of eating! For the first time in my life I am feeling full of energy, have lost 115 pounds and feel awesome! All without any hunger pangs!

Soooo...your wondering...why am I asking if Atkins works over the long haul. Well here goes. Today I was being interviewed for an article to be printed in our YMCA newsletter featuring members who have made significant life changes contributing to better health. Anyway, during the interview, the fitness coordinator says, "I am glad to see someone taking the common sense approach to their diet. I have a lady friend who lost all of her weight on Atkins and gained it all back! Diets like that don't work!" As you can imagine, I didn't fess up to being an Atkineer! (I didn't need her to "dis" me in the article. Guess I took the chickens way out .) What I find interesting though, is that as I described my eating plan and menu, (without calling it Atkins) she thought it was wonderful.

I believe that I can eat this way forever and be healthy. However, I am nearing my weight loss goal and am getting ready to shift into pre-maintenance. I am a little scared that as I add back in the other food groups I will start to see the scale steadily climb. Is this what happened to the lady my fitness coordinator was talking about? Or did this gal not make life long changes in her eating patterns? I know I can't staty on extended induction much longer. Help! I'm scared and never want to be fat again!

I guess I am asking for advice from anyone who has had a significant weight loss and then transitioned into life time maintenance without gaining all of the weight back. I want to hear from tangible people who have long-term success. Please share the things you found most helpful in maintaining your loss.

Sorry for rambling. And thanks for any input you can give.

Blessings,

[Iapetus999]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term succe

776 days (or so) on Atkins and counting....

Been under goal weight for 1 year 7 months or so.

What's my secret?
1) Exercise.
2) Exercise more.
3) I don't eat sugar, bread/grains, rice
Here's my diet/exercise for today:

Breakfast
1 stick cheese
1 banana
2 eggs
1 grande soy latte with SF vanilla

workout: 6.5 mile run (estimate ~900 cals burned)
lunch:
1 myoplex "carb sense" bar (only after workouts for recovery)
1 large ceaser salad...avoided croutons
1 cup (8 oz) clam chowder (prolly highest carb food of day)

snack:
4-6 oz peanuts (hard to judge just yanking from jar)
1-2 oz almonds

dinner:
1 bag baby carrots
12 cherry tomatoes (couldn't stop eating them )
4 Grilled turkey breast cutlets seasoned with olive oil + a spice mix. (I ate too much of this too )
1 PBR beer

I didn't have any kind of dessert or anything but I might grab a couple nuts or a couple cherries.
Drank only water except what was listed here.

4) No real cheating. I will have occasional "tastes" of hi-carb hi-sugar foods like cake etc (which Dr. A says is OK in DANDR) but I don't eat a whole piece...and I wash it down with lots of water. No binge days, or "I'll go off Atkins today" days. An occasional hi-carb dish at an occasional meal.
5) Occasional drinks are good...just not the sweet foofy ones.
6) I post on this board and try to encourage others. It makes me feel like I'm part of something. Posting here definitely helps.

[dpshaw]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

You two are so inspirational. I am waaaaaay off where you are right now, but that's why I just love visitng all the different forums - YOU are now MY goal !!

[ttdriver]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on such amazing success! You definitely deserve !!


Second of all, you mean you're still on induction? What's a typical daily menu for you? Just curious...

Third, this lady is RIGHT ... Diets don't work. Including Atkins. If you are only doing it 'to lose weight', you'll lose it all right, but if you abandon it once you lose the weight and go back to doing the crap foods that made you fat ... NEWSFLASH: YOU'LL GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK.

This is NOT a diet. This is a permanent CHANGE in the way you eat FOREVER. Its also a permanent change in your exercise .. you MUST continue regular exercise FOREVER.

Crap foods make you fat. Eat crap foods get fat. Continue to eat crap foods, get fatter. Combine that with little or no exercise .. stay fat.

REAL FOOD that you eat on Atkins is what your body truly needs to fuel itself. Whole foods, meats, eggs, healthy fats, unprocessed foods ... THE TOTAL ELIMINATION OF SUGAR AND STARCH AND REGULAR RIGOROUS EXERCISE IS THE ONLY WAY TO PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS.

I've been on Atkins since January 2002. I've lost 40 pounds and kept them off for 3 years. I've been in lifetime maintenance since December 2002. I workout 5 days a week (I run 35 miles a week plus do weight training). I do not eat processed foods or sugar. I drink lots of unsweetened tea (green tea, black tea, etc). I don't use artificial sweeteners hardly at all. They are way too sweet for me. I don't eat low-carb junk foods. NOTHING PROCESSED. I still take alot of vitamins/supplements and drink plenty of water.

Yes, diets (including Atkins) will fail if they are used as 'temporary fixes'. But Atkins DOES work for the long haul IF you change your eating habits forever and incorporate regular exercise into your life.

Don't ever shy away from telling people you follow the ATKINS LIFESTYLE. Your continued success will silence ALL skeptics.

Betty

[Brook]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

You have a fantastic opportunity to educate the lady you talked to. Once she gave your menu props, I'd have been all over, "See?!! THAT is what Atkins done right looks like!" LOL

I've been on Atkins since May 4, 2002. I lost 82lbs and went from a size 22 to a current size 8ish. I will admit to gaining 10lbs in the last 4 months (seperated from dh- started working full time outside the home for the first time in 9 years - screwy schedule & not nearly the exercise time I normally make/take/have - but getting that back in check!), but my schedule is normalizing and we're finding our groove & I'm learning to make that workout time again for me.

So that's 3 years and I've kept almost all of it off. The 10lbs will be gone in very short order again too - just you wait and see

The transition to lifetime maintenance does *NOT* make you regain weight - it's what prevents it from coming back on. Going back to eating the way you ate that got you fat in the first place is what makes you get fat again - like ttdriver said

Strategies? Simply follow the plan. Stick with whole, natural foods in normal sized portions, exercise regularly and VOILA.

BTW- I'd be sure to point out to the person interviewing you that *all* diets have a 95% failure rate in the space of 5 years. Not just Atkins, not just low-carb, but ALL diets. I'd be sure to ask her how many people she's seen on things like Weight Watchers who haven't made their goals or came close and put it back on. Sometimes a jolt of perspective is what they need

Congrats on your losses!!
~Brook

[fawn]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

I must agree with Brook and TT. Returning to old habits makes you gain weight. Get going with owl. You'll be sorry if you don't. You want to train your body to manage a fairly high carb count. (To me high is 90 with exercise) that's all my body can manage. It's really all I need without adding crap.

My other piece of advice would be: You know in your heart how good Atkins wol has been to you because you have obviously conquered a great amount of weight loss. It is a healthy lifestyle and you are eating more veggies now than ever. DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT HESITATE TO DEFEND THE ATKINS WOL. It works. I'm going on 6 years now and I love my life of food. I have my days where I indulge (usually drinking a few cocktails on vacation) but I never allow it to affect me or run into an un-acceptable amount of carbs which for me would be about 150 to not gain.

[Iapetus999]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

I just wanted to note I added carrots to my menu from yesterday.
And don't be afraid to tell people you do Atkins.

[Perry]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term succe

Strategies? Simply follow the plan. Stick with whole, natural foods in normal sized portions, exercise regularly and VOILA.

Excellent advice all around this thread but this one is my favorite.

[SugarFreeSheila]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

My original goal was 115 pounds, and I am now 9 pounds below that now after stepping up my resistance training back in 2003.

For permanent success, the best advice I could ever give anybody is the most boring and simplistic of all: follow the program as outlined in the DANDR text. It is not meant as a diet, but a way of life. Low-carb sweets & products are not meant to be consumed with every meal of every day (or heaven forbid, instead of every meal, every day! lol), and should be treated precisely as they are meant: as treats. I limit them to only weekends and this has worked for me. Regular cardiovascular activity is not only important, but "not negotiable," as the program instructs. Keeping a good attitude and staying motivated is also key after making goal.

I have so many more pointers, and the above is only the tip of the iceberg ...

[Bugaboo]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

I agree with everyone here. People will say "Are you still doing that diet?" and no matter how many times I tell them..."I'm not on a diet! This is how I eat now and always will." I know that if I go back to the way I ate before that weight will come right back on. I'm not quite at goal yet but I look and feel better than I have in years. And I've kept the weight off for a year now. Not as long as some of the other successful people (you all look fantastic btw) but me being a commitment phobe that's really saying something. I also donated all my clothes as they got too big for me. I didn't even keep a token pair of pants or anything. I think that helped me to keep looking forward. I think a big key to staying on this WOL is keeping the positive mentality. One thing I see over and over with goalies is their positive thinking...I think it plays a big part in remaining successful.

Help! I'm scared and never want to be fat again!

As long as you don't go back to the way you were eating there's no way that's going to happen. You're doing great!!!!

[is thin possible?]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

Oh I love you people! You are sooo wonderful! How can I ever repay you all for the continuing advice you give me in times of need. YOU ALL have played a SIGNIFICANT ROLE in my successes thus far!

I will print off this thread and keep it in my weight loss journal to read periodically as a reminder of what I need to do. Please know that all of your advice will be with me for many months to come!

The one thing I do realize that I have done wrong is not transitioning into OWL sooner. The DANDR said that extended induction was "OK" to stay in if you had a significant amout of weight to lose. Astoundingly, my weight loss goal slipped up on me faster that I expected! (Imagine that! Weight loss slipping up on you. Never had that happen on any other diet.) Anyhow, you can better believe that I am reading up on OWL and pre-maintanence because I want to do this thing right, forever!

One final question. Because I am so close to my goal (About 10 pounds...I may choose 20. I'll see as the last lbs. come off depending how I look and feel.) Do I skip OWL and go into the pre-maintenance phase? Or are they one and the same? No wait, I know what I need to do....keep studying the DANDR for my answers. But in addition to reading my DANDR...please post away and give me your advice. I love your input!

ATTN: DP SHAW! Hang in there bud! And you too will be at or near your goal! It is so possible. I am forever thankfulto Dr. Atkins! Blessings to you...keep posting us on your progress!

[soliwit]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

You deffinately have to go to OWL, you need it to get to your CCLL (Critical Carbohydrate Losing Level)
So no, pre maintenance and OWL are not one and the same !!
Read all the stickies on the OWL-board they will really help you to do this right, cause to my opinion it is not easy, but I know for sure you will get there !!
Good luck on being even more of a loser !!!!

[Heather150]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

I've been on Atkins for 2 1/2 years. I've lost 82 pounds with 3 to go. I'm 27 pounds below my first original goal. Does Atkins work? Hail yes it works!!! The lowest size I ever got into in my high school days was a size 12. I'm now in a size 4, could possibly be in a size 2 by the time I get to goal.
The one tip I could give is to go thru all the phases and let the weight come off as it does. Don't hurry it. I am a slow loser, always have been all my life (Been obese since birth). My metabolism is shot. But...I kept at it and slowly things moved on the scale, and the inches lost is amazing.
By letting the weight come off slowly, I learned how to eat, when to eat, and to listen to my body.
I'm in this thing for the long haul. I won't say I've never cheated or had off plan foods along the way.....but I did know that one meal was just that. Back to plan with the very next meal and carried on.
I now eat things off the "have in moderation/rarely" list such as popcorn, watermelon, apples, corn on the cob and I'm still losing.
I defend Atkins whenever it is brought up. I feel so strongly about that. Atkins gets such a bum rap...that people need to be set straight. And the more people you let know about it, and they see your results, the more positive people will get (hopefully).
You've done a great job...keep up the great work.

[ttdriver]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

Heather, its great to see you're still doing so well!! I've missed ya girlie!




Betty

[Heather150]

Re: Does Atkins work over the long haul? Please post here if you have long term success!

Hey betty!
I've been around...just don't post much over here, as you can tell by my post count! LOL
But I do lurk!
I just leave the good advice giving to all you experts!