Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

[TwistOfFate]

I went on the lowcarb diet and went from 180 to 150. But I went off of it for a while and I am not at 160. I want to go on a diet again now but I am tired of lowcarb food. I want to go on a low calorie diet. So if I start eating a bunch of foods that are low in calories but high in carbs, am I going to keep gaining weight since I am eating carbs, or will I lose weight since I am eating less calories?

[Brook]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

Likely- both. LOL


You'll replenish your glycogen stores, and that will add weight. Eating lowfat/low calories works for a lot of people - if they can stick to it.

I hope you find what works for you
~Brook

[skinnyby25]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

I suggest that you try the GI diet. It's more of a low cal/low carb approach. I just bought the book because I was bored of low carb food. With the GI diet, you can eat more fruit and vegetables so you have much more variety than Atkins. I haven't gained back any weight that I lost on Atkins but I know I feel a lot better about the way I'm eating now than I did on Atkins.

(Sorry to all the hard core Atkineers! I just can't eat this way anymore! It feels unhealthy and I'm bored!)

/KIM

[Brook]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

With the GI diet, you can eat more fruit and vegetables so you have much more variety than Atkins.

Induction is NOT Atkins!!!!

There is absolutely no reason, whatsoever, that someone on Atkins can't eat fruit and a big variety of vegetables.

If someone is "following Atkins" and isn't leaving induction or only restricting themselves to Induction then they're not following the Atkins program, just the most restrictive piece of it. That's a choice, but it's not the Atkins program and it's not how the program was written.

There's no reason why one can't follow the Atkins principles AND eat lower calories - I've been doing it for the better part of the last 2 years.

~Brook

[sadie147]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

If done properly sure...I know alot of people that have done low cal/low fat successfully.

I suggest that you try the GI diet. It's more of a low cal/low carb approach. I just bought the book because I was bored of low carb food. With the GI diet, you can eat more fruit and vegetables so you have much more variety than Atkins. I haven't gained back any weight that I lost on Atkins but I know I feel a lot better about the way I'm eating now than I did on Atkins.

(Sorry to all the hard core Atkineers! I just can't eat this way anymore! It feels unhealthy and I'm bored!)

/KIM

this is an exellent idea as well. You should stop by ADBB's sister board, Low Carb Bulletin board. There is info and links on there for GI diets. It's at www.lowcarbbulletinboard.com it's for all low carb plans, not just Atkins.

Good luck!

[Sheshy]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

HI skinny,

I'm curious what you're going to be able to eat following the GI diet, that you can't eat following the Atkins Plan...could you share?

I suggest that you try the GI diet. It's more of a low cal/low carb approach. I just bought the book because I was bored of low carb food. With the GI diet, you can eat more fruit and vegetables so you have much more variety than Atkins. I haven't gained back any weight that I lost on Atkins but I know I feel a lot better about the way I'm eating now than I did on Atkins.

(Sorry to all the hard core Atkineers! I just can't eat this way anymore! It feels unhealthy and I'm bored!)

/KIM

[2big4mysize]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

board with low carb foods and wanted nmore fruits and veggies?????
lets see 14 day restricted to 3 cups of veggies, then OWL rungs with 3 being veggie ( I count beans as veggies) and 2 being fruit so now you got 6-8 cups a day of them which you select from the same lists the low GI plan uses for picking them in a little over 2 months of Atkins low carbing? How much more volume of veggies and fruits does this low GI diet allow you that you can say Atkins doesn't let you have enough?

[skinnyby25]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

Induction is NOT Atkins!!!!

I never said that the entire Atkins program is based on Induction, but it's the worst part of the program. I just feel that with the GI diet, I am able to enjoy things I like to eat a lot sooner. I've been reading this board for a long time, I've seen so many people quit Atkins during Induction (myself included, many times) because of the restrictions. With the GI diet, there is no Induction phase in that you can enjoy fruit and other Atkins "no-no's" from day 1, which is what I need.

I realize that Induction is suppose to switch your body into Ketosis, etc. Trust me, I've read the book but let's face it, it's monotonous. I can give up potatoes and rice, pasta and bread, chocolate and sweets easily but then to tell me that I can't have fruit, dairy (other than a few items) and vegetables like carrots or corn for at least 2 weeks is a little hard for me. If I have to give up "bad" carbs like white bread and potatos, then at least let me fill the void with fruit and yogurt.

Yes, I realize that eventually you can have fruit on Atkins but not until you hit the right rung and even then you have to limit your consumption. I'm not bashing people who do Atkins, obviously it works but just not for me. Yes, I've lost weight trying Induction and quickly but it's just not right for me mentally. Even though my body was changing, my mind kept telling me to have a more balanced diet from Day 1.

That's just my opinion, and that's why I'm trying to combine the GI diet with a low carb approach. Thank you to whomever suggested the other Low Carb bulletin board, I've been there as well, I think it's more my pace and I won't get pushed around for saying something that wasn't "by the book".

/KIM

[Brook]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

Induction is only a two week part of the program, Kim. Two weeks. If you're experiencing menu monotony more often than not it's a lack of recipe/menu idea surfing. It's been said you could run a 5-star restaurant from the Induction Foods List, and honestly, I agree!

It's true. If you follow the program exactly as written you'd have to wait 3 weeks to add in carrots, dairy for 4 weeks, fruits/nuts for 5 weeks, and corn would have to until the starchy veggie rung a few weeks later. If that doesn't work for you, that's cool, - but not being able to work the program isn't from a lack of food variety. I was pointing out that the lack of variety is more a choice than a program restriction.

Expressions of opinion aren't being "pushed around". Expecting to present our WOE on an Atkins specific board as being unhealthy or monotonous to be un-answered isn't exactly fair, nor is implying you were somehow attacked after doing so! The monotony is fixable. The continued incorrect perception that our WOE is very restrictive for the long haul is also fixable.

It is healthy and it doesn't have to be monotonous and just like every other way of eating - that part takes effort, interest, and learning to think outside the box. That applies to eating Atkins, low-carb-plan-dejour, low-fat-plan-dejour You have to learn how to work whatever program you choose!

As I said, I hope everyone finds what works for them and works it. It's all we can do.

~Brook

[yemenitegreen]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

I can give up potatoes and rice, pasta and bread, chocolate and sweets easily but then to tell me that I can't have fruit, dairy (other than a few items) and vegetables like carrots or corn for at least 2 weeks is a little hard for me. If I have to give up "bad" carbs like white bread and potatos, then at least let me fill the void with fruit and yogurt.

Well, some people tend to think of the foods they can't have instead of seeing the food they can have. Obviously, when having corn is more important to you than ketosis, Atkins isn't for you, And if you consier cutting out starches as something you "have to give up" I really wonder why you chose Atkins as a program in the first place.

I do cut out starches like white bread or potatoes because they are plain unhealthy, because I prefer to eat food which is nutrient dense and I don't want to become diabetic. I prefer (as oppose to I have to) eat low-carb foods to being overweight, I prefer to follow Atkins, which is a medical program, not a diet, to make sure my body gets exactly the foods it needs and can handle - that's what all the 'restrictive' part is about in the end.

I wonder about the food choice thing - people who are doing Atkins eat such an enormous variety of foods. many even learned to value new veggies and fruits they would never have thought of.

I can't wait to read what foods you are having on a GI diet Atkineers can't have. (And I'll never ever be on a 'diet' again.).

Chiming in with the others, I do believe that you should choose a plan which suits you, and since it is obviously not Atkins, stick to it, but please don't bash Atkins on an Atkins board just because you are bored.

yemenitegreen

[2big4mysize]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

Yes, I realize that eventually you can have fruit on Atkins but not until you hit the right rung and even then you have to limit your consumption.

you have to limit your consumption on the GI plan as well and you don't get the appetite supression of ketosis. it is the GI dieters willpower every day that keeps them on plan too.

[Isabeau]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

Good advice given to you and lots to think about. I hope you're able to make a decision and ultimately do what's best for you. Good luck!

[atkinsagain]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

I went on the lowcarb diet and went from 180 to 150. But I went off of it for a while and I am not at 160. I want to go on a diet again now but I am tired of lowcarb food. I want to go on a low calorie diet. So if I start eating a bunch of foods that are low in calories but high in carbs, am I going to keep gaining weight since I am eating carbs, or will I lose weight since I am eating less calories?

How low calorie are you talking? I've found this woe naturally keeps my calories down simply because I'm not as hungry all of the time, so I eat less. I average about 1200-1400 calories a day. I've had days where I was as low as 650, and days where I was as high as 1700. It really just depends on how hungry I am on any given day. The thing I love about it is if I'm hungry, I can eat from a wide variety of choices without guilt or blowing it for the day, and still keep my calories what I consider to be fairly low.

I can only answer from my own experience, and that is eating a lot of carbs makes me want more carbs, I rarely feel satisfied from a hunger standpoint so it is difficult for me to stick to a low calorie/higher carb diet for any length of time. Doing that also makes me feel I depriving myself because once I've hit that magic caloric intake for the day, I have to stop eating even though I may be starving. It's difficult to find foods with zero calories. I can find foods with zero carbs.

Everybody is different and I hope you find a woe that works for you and you can stick to because it is true, diets don't work.

[ttdriver]

Re: Can I go from a lowcarb diet to a low calorie diet?

Well, some people tend to think of the foods they can't have instead of seeing the food they can have. Obviously, when having corn is more important to you than ketosis, Atkins isn't for you, And if you consier cutting out starches as something you "have to give up" I really wonder why you chose Atkins as a program in the first place.

I do cut out starches like white bread or potatoes because they are plain unhealthy, because I prefer to eat food which is nutrient dense and I don't want to become diabetic. I prefer (as oppose to I have to) eat low-carb foods to being overweight, I prefer to follow Atkins, which is a medical program, not a diet, to make sure my body gets exactly the foods it needs and can handle - that's what all the 'restrictive' part is about in the end.

I wonder about the food choice thing - people who are doing Atkins eat such an enormous variety of foods. many even learned to value new veggies and fruits they would never have thought of.

I can't wait to read what foods you are having on a GI diet Atkineers can't have. (And I'll never ever be on a 'diet' again.).

Chiming in with the others, I do believe that you should choose a plan which suits you, and since it is obviously not Atkins, stick to it, but please don't bash Atkins on an Atkins board just because you are bored.

yemenitegreen

Bored on Atkins ... must not be the one I follow!

Betty