Why is it...

[julie616]

that once you go off atkins for being on it for quite some time, you gain it all back (and sometimes more?!) It's so frustrating!

I understand Atkins is a way of life...but sometimes don't you just get sick of it? don't you miss pizza and pasta and bread with some butter next to your salad?

Here I go again...

I had done Atkins and had great success, and kept the weight off....for quite some time. At some point, though, I let it go completely...I gained some weight back (not in its entirety) and decided I better get back on Atkins...but after being off of it for a few months, it was really difficult to get back in the swing of things. Now, 6 months later, I have gained almost all of my weight loss back. I am sick of not fitting into the new clothes I bought last year when I lost the weight, so here I go again. Today is day one of my return. I predict 2008 to be a wonderful, but challenging, year.

Is there some kind of "sponser" section on this board? I would love to find a "buddy" or someone that would be interested in doing this together-someone to moan and groan and laugh, smile, and share with! Ideally, it would be someone with a similar lifestyle. (Ideally female, 25-35, married). If you are out there, send me a message!!

-Julie

[LooseShoes]

Re: Why is it...

I think it's the same way with any "diet", Julie--if you quit doing what's working, you'll gain it back. Some of us just can't handle carbs well, and if we start eating them, we lose control.

I hope you get the mindset back and tough it out for the first week or so. If you remember, it DOES get easier from there. You can do this! Come here as often as you like for support, we all need it--sometimes more than others, but we all need it.

Good luck and hang tough!

[Chicklady]

Re: Why is it...

I understand Atkins is a way of life...but sometimes don't you just get sick of it? don't you miss pizza and pasta and bread with some butter next to your salad?

I would like to sound so perfect that I could say, no, I never miss those things. But I'd be lying. This isn't my 3rd go round for no reason. But I guess I've finally figured out that I DO have a choice......eat the pizza and gain back the weight, or eat Atkins for life. :shrug: I guess those are the choices we are all faced with, and in the long run, decisions we can only make for ourselves. That pizza does taste great, but it stays on my hips a heck of a lot longer than it stays on my tastebuds.

[sallyseachange]

Re: Why is it...

Good for you for re-committing to Atkins to lose the weight you re-gained. Soon you'll be feeling good about yourself once again.

I agree with Caryl... you'll regain after any diet, once you stop.
Most of us who choose Atkins for weight loss, have to come to terms with the fact that certain foodstuffs (carbs etc) are not for us when eaten in large quantities. What starts out as a temporary indulgence so often results in either a gradual descent down a slippery slope back to Carbsville, or in a long term fall from the wagon. The consequences are not usually pretty.

If you miss certain foods very much, look for the great substitutes for these. There are ever so many, which usually just need a little extra preparation. Well worth it, especially if they keep you on the programme.
You can do it!

[*Emma*]

Re: Why is it...

I understand Atkins is a way of life...but sometimes don't you just get sick of it? don't you miss pizza and pasta and bread with some butter next to your salad?

Did you go thru the rungs and do OWL properly?

I quite often eat (wholewheat) bread with my salad, (wholewheat based) pizza, not added pasta in yet, its not something i miss.

[kate58]

Re: Why is it...

once you go off atkins for being on it for quite some time, you gain it all back

That is such a common complaint about all diets and I don't really know why since it's nothing but logical.

Funnily enough it's quite rare to hear people complain about the opposite effect, even though it's just as true.

"How come when I eat loads of sugar and junk food and carbage for quite some time and then stop, all the weight I've gained comes off?"

No diet or way of eating works like a vaccination, protecting you from future gains no matter what you do. That's why the only plans with any hope of long term success have a well worked out strategy for maintenance, and why the latest "2 week miracle diet" things are such a waste of time and energy.

You have had a hard time and it's very difficult to re-lose weight, as much in your head as anything else. But you have also learned valuable lessons about your body and about how to do the plan long term that will stand to you as you move forward again. I am sure you can be just as successful in losing weight this time round and will end up much better prepared for maintaining when you do. The very best to you on the journey.

[Sera]

Re: Why is it...

there are so many things you can add back into your diet if do this all the way (owl until the end) and if u dont have an intolerance.
I will stay on rung 8 for a few more weeks, try some carrots and peas and then will move to rung 9 and finally have some whole wheat pasta again which i loved when i did a general low carb diet before.
as for a real pizza (ordered from somewhere) I guess I might go for that once in a while when on maintenance but since we have never been too big on ordering stuff this wont happen a lot.

also once u reach the nuts rung, u might be able to find bread mixes or recipes where almond flour is used instead of normal flour.
im eating bread every day, 100 g have 3 net carbs and while it tastes a little different, its just something to get used to, i love it now.

as i've said before, if u are really strong and can control yourself, i personally think a "cheat" every now and then on maintenance wont hurt you but you already know that u cant handle straying from the plan, so dont do it.

[deek deek]

Re: Why is it...

WHAT KATE SAID WAS SO TRUE....How come when I eat loads of sugar and junk food and carbage for quite some time and then stop, all the weight I've gained comes off?" PPL ALWAYS THINK OF IT THE OTHER WAY BUT IT GOES BOTH WAYS...ATKINS IS A WOL NOT A QUICK FIX....I MISS PASTA AND BREAD AND CAKES AND ALL THE STUFF THAT MADE ME FAT BUT I KNOW IT HASNT WORKED ALL THOSE YRS FOR ME SO I JUST STAY CLEAR LOL....GOOD LUCK ON UR JOURNEY, JUST REMEBER WERE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!!

[sadie147]

Re: Why is it...

Did you go thru the rungs and do OWL properly?

I quite often eat (wholewheat) bread with my salad, (wholewheat based) pizza, not added pasta in yet, its not something i miss.

I have to agree with Emma, if you follow the plan properly, go thru OWL etc, when you reach maintenanace and your goal weight, there is a very wide variety of foods you can have. I eat wholegrain crust pizza (most pizza chains here now sell it so i'm sure they do there) on occaision, as well as a variety of whole grain breads, rolls etc. I know my limit with them, how many servings i hcan have a week etc. the thing i avoid the most is sugar, white flours, starches etc.

As Saly mentioned while you are still in inductoin and working your way through owl, there are many recipes you can try that are great substitutes for your favourite foods.

[dreamof145]

Re: Why is it...

I understand your post. One of the reasons that I've never been successful till now was that I wasn't educated in my body - how it reacts to foods and I didn't have the substitution resources available that I've found here. I still enjoy my pasta dinners, my pizza and rice and all the things that I ate before....however the difference now is that I've learned through the different phases how/what/when and why I've made new choices in my eating habits. If it hadn't been for the substitutions, I'd never had made it. I make the ATKINS pizza without crust/using the hamburger crust. Its delicious and satisfies my craving for pizza. I make diced/fried cauliflower and use it as my rice for my stir-fry meals. I use mashed cauliflower when I fix the family mashed potatoes. I make my noodles with eggs (see the substitution forum) when I make pasta. I sometimes use the zucchini sliced thin in place of noodles for soups and pasta. There are so many ways to get around the flour, sugar and other heavy carb dishes. Be creative...enjoy the foods you eat...don't waste time wishing you could eat the foods that got your weight out of control, instead make meals that tastes delicious and are legal for your way of life. Get excited about the weight you'll lose and keep off because you've formed new habits. My only regret is that I didn't do this years earlier. You can do it! We're all here for you!

[not2late]

Re: Why is it...

that once you go off atkins for being on it for quite some time, you gain it all back (and sometimes more?!) It's so frustrating!

I understand Atkins is a way of life...but sometimes don't you just get sick of it? don't you miss pizza and pasta and bread with some butter next to your salad?

Here I go again...

I had done Atkins and had great success, and kept the weight off....for quite some time. At some point, though, I let it go completely...I gained some weight back (not in its entirety) and decided I better get back on Atkins...but after being off of it for a few months, it was really difficult to get back in the swing of things. Now, 6 months later, I have gained almost all of my weight loss back. I am sick of not fitting into the new clothes I bought last year when I lost the weight, so here I go again. Today is day one of my return. I predict 2008 to be a wonderful, but challenging, year.

Is there some kind of "sponser" section on this board? I would love to find a "buddy" or someone that would be interested in doing this together-someone to moan and groan and laugh, smile, and share with! Ideally, it would be someone with a similar lifestyle. (Ideally female, 25-35, married). If you are out there, send me a message!!

-Julie

I second what others have said. Furthermore, here's a quote from The "Facts and Fallacies" chapter of the book:

However, the Atkins Nutritional Approach does not exclude these foods (fruits, vegetables and grains.) The Induction phase of Atkins, which people often mistake for the entire program, is the most strict, permitting only 20 grams of carbohydrates each day.

In my opinion, if you don't do the plan properly and stick to Induction until you reach your goal, you are only cheating yourself because you never learn how to eat for your body, which is vital to maintaining your goal weight.