6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

[nicnshawn]

Okay so - Here is my experience so far - I am aprox 31 pounds lighter - I excersize 30 minutes a day every day with an additional 25 sit-ups and 15 push ups later in the day - I take the weekend off with no exercise. My food intake is Eggs and Bacon for breakfast, burger patty with cheese bacon and mayo for lunch or on some days just a salad - dinner i fix something grilled usually, chicken, ribs, burgers etc and a small amount of organic green beans - **** okay the good stuff. I eat about 4 mini Reese's cups and about a cup and 1/2 of ice cream a day, along with caramel balls covered in chocolate.. Now... I deal with some punishments, 1 is that its all carb free except the ice cream which is 3 net grams everything else is sugar alcohol - and that make me go to the bathroom fairly strong sometimes But I deal with it personally and my weight loss has not been hindered **** Also I found these things that are like crystal light but sweetened with splenda - They are called "ready2go" drink mixes - They are sooo good.. Anyway I am 31 pounds lighter (OHH by the way Im sure I get away with all the sweetish stuff because I exercise every day) Anyway 31 pounds lighter, doing my own modified induction :P and loving this program..

Shawn

[SunnySmile501]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

What program is that? It's not Atkins. I guess you could call it Shawnkins. Hope your program works out for you in the long haul.

[Georgiana]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

Shawn, first of all, congratulations for the 31 lbs lost! There is nothing wrong with taking the weekends off. Rest days are just as important as exercise days.

About your menu... As Sunny said, you are not following Atkins. You call this "my own modified induction", so I see you are, in a way, aware of this. However, your "modified induction" is not a "modified Atkins induction". There is simply no such thing! You either do Atkins induction or you do not. Anything in between is a completely new diet and it is not what Dr. Atkins advised (based on years of research and hundreds of patients). Since this is an Atkins board and we go by DANDR 2002, we will never encourage people to bend the rules and try to outsmart the results of Dr. Atkins' research. From my experience here, following the plan by the book is the only guaranteed way to achieve and maintain your weight loss goal -- those members who had long term success on Atkins are, almost without exception, those who do not do a "modified Atkins".

[liv]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

So what happens if you try to cut down on the sweet stuff? You could give it a shot and see if you really need it. It is not good for you as a daily habit. Any way you can perhaps make it just an occasional treat? Don't forget to eat your veggies too. Very healthy, full of nutrients, Good stuff
Good work on the exercising.

[Blue_American]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

Where are you getting carb-free Reese's?

[AllThings]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

Where are you getting carb-free Reese's?

LMAO! OK. That's what I want to know.

[Lyssie]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

They're not *carb free* they're sugar free. Hershey's makes sugar free versions of most of their candies/chocolates if I remember correctly, that are made with sugar alcohols.. they should be available in the candy section of your store... But unless you are *POSITIVE* you will not stall, and are on the *APPROPRIATE RUNG OF OWL* you should not even be thinking about touching these.

Congratulations on your loss Shawn. I hope that when you decide to stop eating that way the weight doesn't immediately come back. I personally think it's much easier to follow Atkins and work through the rungs and not yo-yo back (again).

[AllThings]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

Perhaps that's why he does it that way. He may know that if he takes a more stringent approach, he'll eventually give it up and re-gain. This may be the way that he feels he can maintain whatever he loses. People have to do what works for them. It's an individual choice.

[Lyssie]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

A more stringent approach?? By eating veggies? Eating just fat and protein is NOT ATKINS and is NOT HEALTHY. People who restrict their foods this way typically give up and regain everything since they have not followed the plan and learned how to eat the way that's best for your body. Using sugar alcohols as a laxative because you are not eating fiber from veggies is really not good.

FYI, if you're eating this way, you're not doing Atkins either. You guys should really pickup a book and read again WHY the plan was created the way it was.

Anyway, I think that's all I can say. Best of luck.

[clogger]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

If you want long-term success like SunnySmile501, Georgiana, liv, and Lyssie rather then short-term "crash diet" success you can achieve on most eating plans I suggest you really heed the advice these ladies have given you.

They're not saying things to make life difficult for you (or others). They're speaking from experience. Look at the dates that they joined. Look at the pounds that they've lost and kept off. They follow the plan as Dr. Atkins laid it out. If you want to change your lifestyle, be able to eat great Atkins-friendly foods, get off the roller coaster of losing and gaining weight, lose weight and keep it off then I would follow the lead of those who have shown how successful one can be if they follow Atkins - not something like (or very unlike) Atkins.

Sometimes you'll get tough love on this board because it's ultimately for your benefit.

Good luck to you!

[Blue_American]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

Using sugar alcohols as a laxative because you are not eating fiber from veggies is really not good.
.

Oh wow! Is that why all the weight was coming off so fast for him? Is that what happens!?!?

[Lyssie]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

Well, there are a few reasons that one would be able to lose that much weight.
A major one would be they even posted, that the sugar alcohols are having a laxative effect. Sorry, that's not good, not healthy.
They're exercising (which is good), but (and this is coming from someone who can workout an hour a day and still not lose 30lbs in 6 weeks) it is not going to help you get away with eating junk.
There is also no reference as to how much this person has to lose. The cold hard truth is that a very overweight person (boys more so than girls) can lose weight very quickly with Atkins. If someone weighs 300lbs, and they lose 30lbs in 6 weeks, it's not so shocking. Think about what percentage of your weight you lost with 6 weeks of clean eating...
A person cannot maintain eating like this for the rest of their life. Sorry if this sounds harsh but eating like this is just setting someone up for disaster. It's horrific for your body and it's not teaching you any of the things Dr. Atkins wanted us to learn to be able to turn this into a Way of Life, not just a quick fix.

Doing a "modified induction" is just not Atkins. Great if it works for one person. I wouldn't want to be having diarrhea everyday because I'm trying to lose weight faster. If I were willing to deal with ruining my body in order to lose weight, I'd probably start drinking the ipecac syrup and become bullemic.

Anyway. I am sorry for those of you who this offended.

[Georgiana]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

This may be the way that he feels he can maintain whatever he loses. People have to do what works for them. It's an individual choice.

AllThings, here we can only advise people about the correct and healthy way to follow Atkins. At the end of the day, whether they take our advice or not is indeed an individual choice.

Oh wow! Is that why all the weight was coming off so fast for him? Is that what happens!?!?

Actually, Blue_American, it might a reason. Research published by two German doctors in the British Medical Journal in January 2008 has shown excessive intake of sorbitol to cause severe weight loss due to its laxative effects. The two patients treated as part of this study were consuming 20-30 g of sorbitol daily and their weight loss was of over 20% of the total body weight, all in a matter of months. In Europe, many sugar-free products are sweetened with sorbitol, especially chewing gums. In the US, the sugar alcohol mostly used is maltitol. As far as I am aware, there are no studies done on the influence of maltitol's laxative effects on weight loss. However, in 4 mini cups, 1.5 cup of SF ice cream and a few caramel balls, there is over 60 g of maltitol. I would not be very surprised if this amount of maltitol would have the same effect as sorbitol, especially when someone does complain of diarrhea.

Another problem with sugar and its substitutes is the so-called "cephalic phase insulin response". Eating one mini cup every few days/weeks once you are out of induction is one thing, but eating 4 of them, plus ice cream and caramel balls daily seems to me more like an addiction to sweets rather than a need to satisfy that sweet tooth. Here is what another member wrote about this:

For some folks artificial sweeteners and regular sugar can trigger something called the "cephalic phase insulin response". Basically, the sweet taste alone will cause you to release insulin. The insulin will grab any bit of sugar you might have floating around in your blood. When you blood sugar dips below a certain point, it triggers your brain to feel hunger or cravings.

This is results in a vicious cycle: the more you eat or drink of the artificial sweetener the more insulin you'll release so the hungrier you'll feel and the more you'll want/need to eat. That's why some people can't stop drinking can after can of diet soda: satisfying their sweet tooth only makes them want more. This can happen with any artificial sweetener.

Just a Good Glance at Foods Releases Insulin
Reverse aging by manipulating your own hormones for maximum growth hormone production.

This is why the ADBB moderators and old-timers strongly advise everyone to kill that sweet tooth during Induction. Starve that sweet tooth and you'll be in control of the food, rather than the food be in control of you.

Besides this, too much sugar alcohol (even if it does not put one out of ketosis) can cause:

• Metabolic acidosis, which can lead to dangerous acid reflux, a risk factor for cancer of the larynx.
• Electrolyte loss and dehydration, a risk factor for heat stroke, muscle cramping and cardiovascular problems.
  
• Excessive thirst, which can lead to bloating and increases in blood volume that is undesirable for anyone at risk for hypertension.
  

Source: low carb diet - The One Low Carb Diet That Always Works

There is many ways to lose weight, some of them healthy, some... not really so... and it is everyone's choice which path they follow. But Shawn, if changes as small as eating vegetables daily and giving up sweets (or at least reducing their amount) would help you lose weight and improve your health, I believe it is worth making the effort. In my opinion, being thin but unhealthy is not better than being overweight.

[AllThings]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

A more stringent approach?? By eating veggies? Eating just fat and protein is NOT ATKINS and is NOT HEALTHY. People who restrict their foods this way typically give up and regain everything since they have not followed the plan and learned how to eat the way that's best for your body. Using sugar alcohols as a laxative because you are not eating fiber from veggies is really not good.

FYI, if you're eating this way, you're not doing Atkins either. You guys should really pickup a book and read again WHY the plan was created the way it was.

Anyway, I think that's all I can say. Best of luck.

First of all, you need to calm down and re-read.

I said that maybe the reason he chooses to still eat ice cream is because he knows that FOR HIM, eating protein and vegetbles is only going to lead him to a point that he'll give up more easily.

FYI, I don't eat what he eats but I have enough sense to know that everybody on here is not about to eat protein, fat, and 2 pounds of vegetables everyday and it's nobody's damn business if those people choose to eat that way especially if they feel like it works for them.

Also, I have every last version of the book and have read them all because I grew up a competitive swimmer whose coach was a firm believer in this WOE.

The average American diet is devoid of sufficient vegetables so YES, this is what would be called a "stringent" eating plan and that's why most people don't/won't/can't do it successfully.

Now, until you start buying my clothes or my groceries, it would behoove you watch your tone with me from here on out. I have one mother.

Anything else?

[AllThings]

Re: 6 weeks - My experience - Plus I ate sweets!

AllThings, here we can only advise people about the correct and healthy way to follow Atkins. At the end of the day, whether they take our advice or not is indeed an individual choice.

Right...which is what I was saying. And nobody needs to blast them for their "individual choice" especially when the people I see on here who are the worst at throwing stones are the ones who have done the diet 3-8 times and have a net loss of 12 pounds.