Diet strategy: all at once or stepwise?

[Rhonda 2]

www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pa4b4dc8a69ac0e7ecbe126be9726baa4/e96033ac.jpgSo, as you can see, I need to loose 20 lbs. I know I can give up drinking and save myself 1000 cal per day- and I will loose weight till I hit a plateau. Then I can get my general diet in shape and loose a few more pounds till the inevitable plateau. Finally, I can double my running mileage to 20 miles a week and loose a bit more. So, the question is- should I do all these diet measures at once- or should I implement them stepwise hoping to avoid the plateaus and extend the weight loss phase as long as possible. How about your experience please.

Rhonda

p.s.- I'm over 50, 5'11 in heels, weigh about 170 and in good health.

[not2late]

Re: Diet strategy: all at once or stepwise?

Dr. Atkins defines a weight loss plateau as 4 consecutive weeks without loss of pounds or inches. There were MANY times during my Atkins where I didn't lose any pounds but continuously lost inches, so I never fit the Atkins definition of a plateau.

If you have to lose pounds, like you're on a crew team and you need to "make weight" so that the scull is lighter or if you are a balloonist and need to lose weight to make the basket load lighter, then you might need to focus on the pounds more than the inches lost.

But if you are a regular person who wants to lose weight in order to fit into a dress or fit into a suit, then my suggestion to you is to keep track of those pounds and inches. The scale won't tell you that you lost a pound of body fat but retained a pound of water, it will only show that you didn't lose any pounds. But a measuring tape will show that you lost centimeters or inches off your body and those lost inches might be the difference between a size 8 and a size 6.

Also, don't start worrying about plateaus unless you've gone 4 consecutive weeks without losing pounds or inches.

[Elizellen]

Re: Diet strategy: all at once or stepwise?

If you choose to follow induction rules then you will be doing steps one and two together as alcohol is not allowed on induction.

So really the only choice once you have chosen to do Atkins induction is whether you choose to incorporate exercise from the beginning.

Dr Atkins suggests we exercise from the start unless we are too weak to do so, so I would suggest implementing both parts of Induction - i.e. eating to plan and exercising unless you feel too bad to do so.

BTW at 5'10" starting at 170 with 20 pounds to lose you might not get the big 'woosh' of losses that heavyweights post about here - a loss of a couple of pounds during the first 2 weeks would be fine for you. As you are already at the top end of what several websites state is the healthy range for your height and gender, and with a BMI of just under 25 you may find weightloss a slower process than those 'fluffier' members amongst us.

[Rhonda 2]

Re: Diet strategy: all at once or stepwise?

WOW Eli- thats you? Thats hard to believe. And yes realize that 20 lbs is not so much to loose compared with what others have to loose. With me its a matter of going from a 16 to maybe a 12 (would be nice). Now if I can do something about my shoe size.

Rhonda

[Kawispice]

Re: Diet strategy: all at once or stepwise?

Hi, I'm over 50 too. I'm 5foot 5 inches and I used to work out in a gym for years until my accident 3 years ago. My weight was 117 most of the time. (I have a small frame.) I stopped the gym after the accident ... a car hit my motorbike, almost hit my kneee but thank God he missed me and hit my tank by about 2 inches. I went flying in the air and landed on the pavement and rolled fortunately no bones broken. But I had soft tissue injuries and so I started Pilates instead of the gym and I put on weight.

Now I am back to riding my motorcycle again but not yet back to the gym. I am an ordinary teacher so I don't get that much exercise at work but I was able to lose about 6 pounds during induction and the rest is going about 2 pounds at a time each week.

I envy that you can run because I would love to, but when I rolled I wrecked my knees a bit, so I have to walk fast instead these days. Anyway, I just thought I'd give you an example of an over 50 gal's experience.

[not2late]

Re: Diet strategy: all at once or stepwise?

WOW Eli- thats you? Thats hard to believe. And yes realize that 20 lbs is not so much to loose compared with what others have to loose. With me its a matter of going from a 16 to maybe a 12 (would be nice). Now if I can do something about my shoe size.

Rhonda

Then focus more on inches than on what the scale says. Dr. Atkins said that inches lost was more representative of fat loss than pounds lost.

As for shoe size....your feet might become narrower, but for overall length...I started out as a 9.5 and I'm still a 9.5...would have been nice to lose a couple of shoe sizes but no luck!

[julirama723]

Re: Diet strategy: all at once or stepwise?

I will say that I used to be a 10, and now I'm down to a 9 1/2, and even some of my 9 1/2s are too big. I don't know if my feet were actually "fat" or if it was due to swelling/water retention because of my weight.

[Rhonda 2]

Re: Diet strategy: all at once or stepwise?

Well I never thought I had fat feet- but I wear 11b- and that does not seem likely to change. Hard to shop for anything stylish that size- and I prefer pointy and at least 3" heels.

[Elizellen]

Re: Diet strategy: all at once or stepwise?

you might find you did have fat feet, Rhonda, after you have lost some weight. I have gone down a shoe size as well as a hat size!! I never thought I had a fat head

[Rhonda 2]

Re: Diet strategy: all at once or stepwise?

yes- but you lost 150 lbs- gosh thats incredible. Still hoping I ho down to a 10 anyway- most shops keep that is stock.