Don't want to lose weight

[Riverj]

I like the Atkins diet and I'm excited when I read the testimonials of people who had their life changed by this diet. I'm not thin but I'm not healthy. I suffer from low energy, fatigue, mood swings, insomnia, anxiety. The typical ailments of modern western life.

When I read people claiming that after one week of induction they had the same energy they used to have a little children and feel great psychologically and feel like doing a lot of things they hadn't the courage to try before, I just think "I want it too!"

But I can't. Because I'm extremely thin and instead of losing weight I might actually benefit from 1 or 2 pounds more of lean mass.

My problem with Atkins is that I can't find a middle ground.

When I restrict carbs I lose my appetite to the point I never feel like eating and skip meals all the time.

When I eat more carbs I can't stop being hungry all the time and eating slice after slice of bread.

I like the food on Atkins but I can't eat a very low carb diet as it seems to promote further weight loss in me.

On the other hand I can't stand or tolerate (blood sugar wise) most carbs I need to add to maintain: fruits, legumes, whole grains, potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes.

So I wonder if people who need to maintain or are maintaining can share with me what approach works best for them and if they can suggest one that might work for me.

Thank you !

[neutronnorman]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

Calories, track you calories and replace your carb intake with healthy fats as balast. You'll still lose fat weight but if you work out you will look much better. Do not skip meals

I'll let you in on a little secret. I was taking 20 mg of prozac a day until I switched over to fat burning. I quit cold turkey and by no means, if you are on meds, do not stop taking them without advising your physician! I feel great!

My sleep patterns have changed to the point I cut my Ativan dosage in half, and by 10:30 p.m. I'm a zombie. Last night, nature called, and I fell asleep on the thrown.

Norman

[not2late]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

REad DANDR 2002 and pay attention to the Maintenance Chapter. then read Atkins for Life, because that book expands the concepts of the Maintenance Phase.

[Riverj]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

REad DANDR 2002 and pay attention to the Maintenance Chapter. then read Atkins for Life, because that book expands the concepts of the Maintenance Phase.

I don't have the book, I can order it from amazon but it will take few weeks to be delivered. Can you please tell me more in the meanwhile? I'm afraid Atkins for Life Maintenance Phase might entail the comsumption of foods like whole grains and legumes, foods I don't tolerate at all.

[Riverj]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

Everyone says they feel great in ketosis and induction, that they have a lot of energy, no more depression or anxiety and it's like they're new born.

Does this great feeling decrease as you move out of induction and ketosis and eat more carbs? Is maintenance less dramatic and great than the first phase? Do you think a person too thin to go into induction will never experience the great feelings people experience in the first phase of Atkins?

[not2late]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

I don't have the book, I can order it from amazon but it will take few weeks to be delivered. Can you please tell me more in the meanwhile? I'm afraid Atkins for Life Maintenance Phase might entail the comsumption of foods like whole grains and legumes, foods I don't tolerate at all.

I would suggest you read the books yourself, rather than doing a version of it you "heard" from someone else.

I remember you Riverj. And in your last thread you made here on ADBB, we all advised you to read the books in addition to giving you advice, that you obviously have not bothered to consider.

so read the books before you screw up your health more than you already have.

[neutronnorman]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

Yikes! RiverJ spanked by not2late. I could feel the sting here in Miami through cyberspace....

Norman

[Georgiana]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

I don't have the book, I can order it from amazon but it will take few weeks to be delivered. Can you please tell me more in the meanwhile? I'm afraid Atkins for Life Maintenance Phase might entail the comsumption of foods like whole grains and legumes, foods I don't tolerate at all.

The Maintenance phase involves the consumption of all foods you discovered you are able to consume during the weight loss phases of Atkins. Since you only tried foods up to fruits, eating 50 carbs and having a stable blood sugar, how do you know you cannot tolerate whole grains and legumes "at all"?

I agree with not2late. You need to read the book to understand how to do Maintenance correctly (just because it takes a while to get them is not an excuse for you not to order them since your first post at ADBB was almost two weeks ago---you would have probably gotten the books by now). Induction is quite mindless, but Maintenance is individualized to fit your needs, not those of member X or Y, which is why it is impossible to teach someone "The Maintenance Phase in a Nutshell".

At your weight (terribly low!), you should take your diet very seriously as you cannot afford playing with your health and doing things the way you did them up to now. This involves reading the book and sorting out the issues you have with your doctor.

What have you done diet-wise since your previous thread on this Board?

[Riverj]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

I would suggest you read the books yourself, rather than doing a version of it you "heard" from someone else.

I remember you Riverj. And in your last thread you made here on ADBB, we all advised you to read the books in addition to giving you advice, that you obviously have not bothered to consider.

so read the books before you screw up your health more than you already have.

I have read DANDR cover to cover. Since I live in Europe, from my experience, the delivery of a book I order in American will take a couple of months.

[Riverj]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

The Maintenance phase involves the consumption of all foods you discovered you are able to consume during the weight loss phases of Atkins. Since you only tried foods up to fruits, eating 50 carbs and having a stable blood sugar, how do you know you cannot tolerate whole grains and legumes "at all"?

My body reacts to whole grains worse than it reacts to refined grains. Whole barley and whole wheat breain spike my blood sugar more than refined pasta and white bread. The little extra fiber they contain is not enough to decrease sugar absorption and to make a difference but they're more carb dense. The more I test the more I realize I can eat few foods. Wheat makes me bloated, fruits with an high fructose to glucose ratio are malabsorbed by my organism and cause hypoglycemia and digestive distress, whole grains spike my blood sugar way more than sucrose, potatoes, rice and yams and old-fashioned oats have the worst effect on me.

What have you done diet-wise since your previous thread on this Board?

Just experimenting, feeling sick and finding out I don't tolerate lot of foods.

[vector2]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

My body reacts to whole grains worse than it reacts to refined grains. Whole barley and whole wheat breain spike my blood sugar more than refined pasta and white bread.

This is pretty much impossible from a physiological standpoint assuming you're not cooking the whole-grain product longer than the refined product (longer cooking makes grains much easier to digest). I'll believe you once I see blood glucose readings 2 hours after you eat 4oz of whole wheat pasta cooked for 10 minutes, and then a separate reading on a different day for 4oz of white pasta.

[Riverj]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

This is pretty much impossible from a physiological standpoint assuming you're not cooking the whole-grain product longer than the refined product (longer cooking makes grains much easier to digest). I'll believe you once I see blood glucose readings 2 hours after you eat 4oz of whole wheat pasta cooked for 10 minutes, and then a separate reading on a different day for 4oz of white pasta.

Have you tried it yourself?
Whole wheat pasta is as refined as white pasta.
Pasta is made from flour durum bound with water.
Flour is already an as refined as it get food which is quickly absorbed. Giving it the shape of pasta doens't change much the fact that it has an high impact on blood sugar. Whole flour and white flour have an identical impact on blood glucose, because grounding a seed makes it easily and quickly absorbable. The difference is so little to be negligeable.

In this table you can see that whole bread has an higher GI and GL than white bread.

Glycemic Load Table
(GL is multiplied by 10)

[vector2]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

Have you tried it yourself?
Whole wheat pasta is as refined as white pasta.
Pasta is made from flour durum bound with water.
Flour is already an as refined as it get food which is quickly absorbed. Giving it the shape of pasta doens't change much the fact that it has an high impact on blood sugar. Whole flour and white flour have an identical impact on blood glucose, because grounding a seed makes it easily and quickly absorbable. The difference is so little to be negligeable.

In this table you can see that whole bread has an higher GI and GL than white bread.

Glycemic Load Table
(GL is multiplied by 10)

On that same page, white pasta has a higher GI than whole wheat. Regardless, GI is notoriously inconsistent (according to Taubes in 'Good Calories, Bad Calories') and it varies tremendously from source to source. On this page, this page, and this page, white bread has a higher GI than whole wheat.

The difference may be negligible, but excess fiber is proven to slow absorption to some extent. You claimed that whole grains spike your glucose more than refined. This seems pretty unlikely.

Also, the fact that flour is turned into a pasta shape isn't the important point. Boxed pasta is dried, and the duration of the cooking time is what affects its digestibility. The rawer the pasta's center is, the longer it takes digestive enzymes to do their work.

[not2late]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

I have read DANDR cover to cover. Since I live in Europe, from my experience, the delivery of a book I order in American will take a couple of months.

If you have read the book cover to cover, then you have read Chapter 17: "Lifetime Maintenance" and you don't need me to give you a summary of it at all.

In reference to your difficulties with grains, in your last thread, you were advised to seek medical attention because some posters thought your symptoms were similar to celiac disease. Have you consulted your physician?

By the way, have you followed the advise given to you at the other low carb support board? It was similar to ours you know.

[Riverj]

Re: Don't want to lose weight

If you have read the book cover to cover, then you have read Chapter 17: "Lifetime Maintenance" and you don't need me to give you a summary of it at all.

Yes but someone suggested Atkins for Life is different.

In reference to your difficulties with grains, in your last thread, you were advised to seek medical attention because some posters thought your symptoms were similar to celiac disease. Have you consulted your physician?

Yes, everything was negative, I have no antigliadin antibodies.
My doctor won't put me through the stress of a GI tract test since the main tests came out negative and I have not clear symptoms of celiac.

By the way, have you followed the advise given to you at the other low carb support board? It was similar to ours you know.

I was told to raise carbs, I'm still not sure how since I don't tolerate most of them and they easily disrupt my blood sugar balance.