My story, And my plans to do it over.

[Wnipper]

3 years ago after much reading I decided to try Atkins. I weighed roughly 350 at 6'4" 31 years of age. It was a slamming success, in 9 months I weighed 200#. I stayed in induction, no problems. Did an absolute TON of walking for excersise, and I mean ALOT of walking. Not at first though, that came maybe 4 months in after subtantial weight loss. I felt great, Just walking around I almost felt like I was floating compared to hauling the huge weight I had before. In comes the downfall, I abruptly ended Atkins and what followed was....horrible. I was inhaling candy bars chips pasta etc, but it wasnt like a binge eating pattern. It was as if my body just freaked out and I was carb loading on some primal level of need, and I just couldnt control it. What was my mistake? Going from nearly a year of induction with almost no carbs at all to simple carbohydrates loading, my body literally was in a survival mode to get those carbs like feast after famine. I shouldve walked through the stages of gradually increasing my levels of carbs. Because I didnt I now weigh.....400+. I'm going to restart Atkins, follow my previous progression but at the end walk up the stages, slowly. Now at this point I need advice.

The reason weight is such a large spanning issue today is the sheer easy access of simple, refined carbohydrates, carbs arent the enemy, simple carbs are. That means sugar, bleached white flour, white rice etc etc. What I want to do after Atkins this time is gradually phase into a complex carb lifestyle, legumes, whole grain bread, brown rice, all whole grains etc etc. I would like some good thought out opinions about that if you wouldnt mind. I'm a big believer in eating whole foods and I love doing so. Can I resist white bread, cookies, sugar in my tea? Yes. As a matter of fact pre-Atkins I never craved nor went after desserts. Sure I had them on occasion but my thing was more on the potatoes and white rice kinda side.

[chinadoll]

Re: My story, And my plans to do it over.

Wnelcome Wnipper! Here's hoping you have the same loss success this time and continued success with maintenance.

[Splandrea]

Re: My story, And my plans to do it over.

The DANDR book explains precicely how to add wholel grains, legumes, etc back into your diet after a few months. So, if you read the book (2002 version) and follow the plan, it should "take" you to a place where you are eating very healthfully, not just meat and cheese like everyone thinks.

[SunnySmile501]

Re: My story, And my plans to do it over.

All of those whole foods are added back in as you go up the rungs of the ladder. You may or may not be able to add them back in due to intolerances or allergies, etc. That's what you find out by very carefully going up one step at a time and don't skip ahead to get to something you really love. You are an addict. You crave what you are addicted to.

By carefully adding back foods, you find out if they make you crave or you have an allergic reaction. Many of us find out that we can not eat nuts and seeds without binging. I never knew that my life-long asthma was the result of a wheat/grain allergy and most of my severe stomach problems were from it, too. Only by removing all grain for nearly a year, then eating it again, did I find this out. It was very painful. Bread & pasta was what made me fat and it was what I craved.

Also, as you add back carbs slowly, you will find out how many carbs you can have a day without gaining weight. The only way to have long-term success is to read the book and follow the rules, exactly. If you are addicted or intolerant to certain foods, eating them again is the same as a drug addict or alcoholic taking that first drug or drink.

You did it before--you can do it again.

Sunny!

[Elsie150]

Re: My story, And my plans to do it over.

Well..sounds like you want to do it just like the book explains it. We go by DANDR 2002 edition here. If you follow the plan you will be adding in all the good carbs your body can tolerate along the way...while also learning how to maintain. Welcome back. Looking forward to seeing your success posts along the way.