Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

[deek deek]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

I never got the induction flu...I did feel down because I had that kind of think that it wasnt fair that I couldnt eat what I wanted but that the kind of thinking that kept me fat all those yrs!! A few days of watever is well worth it to me...I'll never go back to eating that way again!!!

[cruisergal]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

I never had induction flu, either the first time I was on induction, nor this time. Infact, I have never had any side effects at all, other than hunger the first 3 days, and after that, I never felt, or feel hungry at all. Just go with it, and don't worry, if it happens, it happens, it's only about 2-3 days, of the rest of your healthy life!

[Chicklady]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

I've never felt hungry. I have had cravings for 2-3 days....carb withdrawal, which I suppose could be mistaken for hunger.

Funny thing, but if you're looking for an excuse not to diet, any diet, you can find one. In my case, that also applies to quitting smoking, so I'm not judging. Just an observation. Either you're ready to commit to losing the weight (or quitting the butts) or you're not. You're ready when you're ready.

As for the safety of the diet. Well, it's at least as healthy as eating the garbage that made you fat-----and if you follow the plan, and eat your veggies, it's MUCH healthier.

[tcv]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

Hey folks. Sorry, I've been away for a little while. I will look over the messages and respond to each. Thanks for everyone's attention!!

[tcv]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

I think you may be selectively reading posts. Lots of people post during the first few days of induction that they feel bad or weird, but then their bodies are undergoing major change, so that isn't really surprising. But those very people are often back just a day or two later posting about how great they feel.

To be honest, I am probably just offering one of the standard objections to Atkins, that a low-carb life is a life full of cravings.

Nevertheless, my impression of Atkins -- and this is probably going to win me few friends -- is that it's a drastic diet. When I spoke to my gym trainer, he didn't tell me not to do it, but he did tell me that he's never met a single person who was able to stay on it because it was so tough. I trust the guy and, well, that scared me.

In looking over my behavior over the past year, I can see that more-and-more carbs and more simple carbs have crept back into my life. When I lived in Boston, I had few friends/family around. I did splurge on the weekends, however, and that amount crept up, too. Now that I am living in Houston, closer to family, along with lots of nieces, etc. There is a lot more cake, a lot more ice cream, a lot more crap-nutrition snacks. And I've made decisions to eat them all.

Perhaps this is was the CCC is all about. Once you go beyond a certain count, cravings increase and addiction takes over?

But, you're right, I could very well be selectively reading. For that, I apologize.

Cheers,

Mike...

[APanthesilia]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

I've just finished two weeks of induction and I have never felt better. I have way more energy than I ever have and I find that I don't crave bread/pasta/sweets at all- and I was WAY addicted to bread! Now when I walk through that section of the grocery store it doesn't even smell good to me. Also with the energy I have I find myself actually wanting to exercise- that's something I never ever thought I would say. I did not have any induction flu but giving up caffeine gave me a bad headache. I'm so glad I did it though.

The key really is to plan ahead, the only time I was tempted to cheat was when I didn't plan properly and so didn't have enough legal food in the house- then it is too tempting to start foraging for anything in the cabinets, legal or no!

[Boo1667]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

I didn't get the induction flu, and I feel better than I did on any low-cal or low-fat diet I did. I love this way of life because I'm not starving, I'm not craving, and I'm not sluggish. I'm actually getting everything done that I set out to do in a day, instead of passing it up for a chance to "relax" for a bit. Sure, I'd like to eat candy when I see it because I do remember how good it tastes, but it's not scremaing at me, and I'm not breaking out into a cold sweat trying to pass it up. It's just as simple as saying "no thanks" when before I had to summon all of my willpower to say no, and gave in half the time anyway. Life and food choices could be a lot harder if I didn't do Atkins, but why would I want to make things harder than they have to be?

[tcv]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

This process in reverse is why we get a headache and sick if you eat cake or something with a lot of carbs. Also, your body is detoxing and you will probably have yeast die-off, which can make you feel bad for a couple of days.

That's actually very interesting to me. When I was last on a fairly strict diet with a previous trainer, I was pretty low-carbs in general. After having done that for a long time, I had some cake one day and for the next couple of days I felt pretty run-down and ill. It felt like a cold, so I thought it was a cold, but as I did it again and again, I noticed the same thing. Perhaps the reason is the sudden uptake of simple carbs...

[tcv]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

Think of it this way. All the money you save on junk food you can use to buy clothes for when you get your Sexy Back

What if one never had Sexy to begin with?!

[LCer09]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

Nevertheless, my impression of Atkins -- and this is probably going to win me few friends -- is that it's a drastic diet. When I spoke to my gym trainer, he didn't tell me not to do it, but he did tell me that he's never met a single person who was able to stay on it because it was so tough. I trust the guy and, well, that scared me.

He could be telling the truth. He probably is. But you could say that about almost any diet. I've never met a single person who lost and kept weight off doing low cal/fat either.

[SunnySmile501]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tcv
Nevertheless, my impression of Atkins -- and this is probably going to win me few friends -- is that it's a drastic diet. When I spoke to my gym trainer, he didn't tell me not to do it, but he did tell me that he's never met a single person who was able to stay on it because it was so tough. I trust the guy and, well, that scared me.

He could be telling the truth. He probably is. But you could say that about almost any diet. I've never met a single person who lost and kept weight off doing low cal/fat either.

Since that post, though, tcv has seen plenty of long-timers on here that have lost to goal and kept it off for years. There are plenty on here and other sites that don't find it tough at all. I've been doing it since 9-15-05 and I find it very easy and very tasty. I find something new to like every week. You get out of any 'diet' commensurate with what you put into it.

If I believed everything that trainers, physical therapists and even doctors said, I'd still be in a wheelchair instead of able to walk for an hour at a time with no assistive devices at all. I laugh every time I open my storage building and see the wheelchair and walker gathering dust. I still have my quad-canes in the house, but I haven't had to use them in forever.

Sunny!

[kate58]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

Truth is that only a minority - a tiny minority - of people who lose weight on diets keep it off. Keeping it off is harder than losing it, but gaining it all back is the garaunteed outcome for anyone who looks on something like Atkins (or any way of eating that results in weight loss) as a temporary little arrangement to shed some pounds before returning to 'normal' eating. Which is how a LOT of people approach dieting.

The difference occurs when people accept that what they think (thought) of as normal eating was anything but, and adopt a new way of eating, of living, that is based around making healthly choices for good, not just for some arbitrary time. That means long-term success.

I KNOW I could not eat low fat long term. Now that was hard. I felt like crap and have a constant battle with hunger and cravings when I ate that way. Not to mention that I actually gained weight! However I feel fantastic on low-carb, love the food, am not hungry and have infinitely less issues with cravings. And I truly believe (though only time will tell) that I will eat a low carb diet forever. I've learned too much about food and nutrition and especially about the science and politics behind the various ways of eating, to ever want to eat any other way.

[julirama723]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

I'm still a "spring chicken" comparitively speaking, compared to many of the board members here at ADBB, but I've been doing Atkins successfully, with NO CHEATS for over a year and a half.

Drastic? No. Please tell me what is so drastic about eating whole, unprocessed foods, no junk food, fresh veggies everyday (MORE than the daily recommended allowance, I might add), regular exercise, giving up caffiene, and drinking lots of water? I think that's what we're *supposed* to do.

I think you need to read about people who have been on the plan for an extended period of time. So many people start out gung-ho, try to do induction for 3 months (there's no reason to do it longer than 2 weeks) and when they get bored/frustrated/unfulfilled because they haven't followed the plan correctly, they denounce Atkins as an impossibilty, or that it's too drastic, or unhealthy, or some other propaganda.

If done correctly, you'll move up ALL of the rungs, and you'll introduce fresh dairy, nuts, berries and melon, alcohol, legumes, other fruits, starchy veggies, and whole grains back into your diet. The plan is different for each person. During OWL we find out what foods are trigger foods, and discover any potential food allergies or food sensitivities--we avoid these foods like the plague, even if they are "Atkins-legal", because they're NOT legal for us as an individual. After moving up the rungs, the only foods that you won't be eating are white rice, white sugar, white flour, which are things you shouldn't be eating anyway, as they have NO nutritional value.

If you're interested in Atkins, read the book, look at before and after pictures, read the FAQs and become informed. Atkins works, but it's not a plan for everybody. I happen to love the foods I eat, and I don't miss those bad carbs (yes we DO eat carbs on Atkins!) and I certainly don't miss those 95 pounds...

[tcv]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

I find it interesting the resistance I feel with regard to making choices that go against the low-fat dogma. Perhaps that's why I feel it "drastic." But you guys are right. I checked out a couple of Fitday journals of people on Atkins and, well, the amounts seem pretty balanced after they've gone through the phases. Very interesting.

Well, I am reading the book (2002 ed.) and I will go on it once I'm done.

[ValidRouge]

Re: Straight Dope: How painful is Atkins?

tcv, I'm glad to see you're reading the book. If you want even more SCIENTIFICAL support of what Dr. Atkins says, your next read should be "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It's a real eye opener regarding how the low fat/low calorie dogma came about (and is UNPROVEN "science") and how America, following that diet, has become obese, diabetic, and hypertensive.