MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

[Slidesdownmountains]

I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing a little - you guys know loads about it, a lot of which you must have learnt along the way...

When did you start Atkins/ADBB?
What were your starting statistics, and what is your target weight, if you are not already at it?
Most proud moment/biggest accomplishment/biggest 'I know I can do it' moment?
Any slip-ups along the way? Have you had to restart??
Any long-term stalls?
What would be your no.1 tip (aside from reading the book)?

Thanks!

[ShannonK]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

Super awesome questions. Inquiring minds want to know. I am not a moderator and I am not a true success story, unfortunately. Four years ago, I started this plan and within three months or so, I reached goal. My biggest mistake was staying on extended induction the whole time. I never took the time to go through the rungs and figure out my CCLL. How could I expect to maintain the weight loss. (I had lost 30 or so pounds) Of course, I gained it all back in record time.

My biggest success was exercise. I exercised the whole time, almost daily. I know that it helped A LOT.

No stalls at all... and my biggest advice. I know everyone says to read the book. I have to say, going all the way through to the end of the book is a LIFE SAVER. It is saving me this time around. If you only read about induction, you don't realize what the plan is truly about!

I am also interested in what the moderators thoughts are on this.

[not2late]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing a little - you guys know loads about it, a lot of which you must have learnt along the way...

When did you start Atkins/ADBB?

May 2, 2003. I work at a doctor's office. At that time, doctors could invite non-medical people to pharmaceutical and academic dinners/lunches lecture. I was dragged to an academic dinner lecture by one of my bosses (who didn't want to go alone.) Another boss of mine follows a low carb diet and is a big believer in it. He always tried to get me to try it, but I was unsure.

Anyhow, that lecture was about obesity in teenagers. They discussed a study done on NYC teens: one group was placed on Atkins and another was placed on the standard low fat/low cal diet. The teens on the Atkins diet stuck to the diet better and lost weight. And the teens had an improvement on their cholesterol levels.

I had heard plenty of bad things about Atkins. But that convinced me to look into it more because I was fat and I have bad genetics because everyone in my family dies of diabetes, heart disease and strokes. So I read about Atkins on the Net----and found alot of bad stuff about it. But then I read the book and everything made sense. So I decided to go on Atkins.

What were your starting statistics, and what is your target weight, if you are not already at it?

242/141/160 (130)
dress size 26/10/8

I'm between 127-130. My dress size is 8---but I wear a 10 and have it tailored because my bust didn't shrink and if I wore an 8, I would be arrested for indecent exposure.

I still consider myself Pre-Maintenance because I'm still trying to figure out how to maintain my weight. Believe me, losing weight is easy-peasy compared to maintaining it!

Most proud moment/biggest accomplishment/biggest 'I know I can do it' moment?

I've had many: being able to shovel my driveway of snow, being able to fit into smaller clothes, etc. But I think the best was when I ran out of my asthma medications and found I didn't need them anymore because I'm one of those people Dr. Atkins wrote about---the ones who find their health problems like asthma, allergies etc are improved or completely resolve due to the diet.

Any slip-ups along the way? Have you had to restart??

On Day 10 or 11, I had a scratchy throat and I ate a regular cough drop on my way to work because I didn't have the sugar-free version at home.

So not a "restart" but a learning experience to be prepared and keep my home well stocked.

Any long-term stalls?

No. I've never been in a stall because I've always lost inches, if I wasn't losing pounds or I lost pounds if I wasn't losing inches. So I never fit Dr. Atkins' definition of a weight loss plateau.

What would be your no.1 tip (aside from reading the book)?

Thanks!

Make a commitment to yourself that you will give this diet your 100% best. Like with any endeavor in life, if your aren't 100% committed, you will most likely fail.

and another saying the surgical residents at the hospital used to say: Trust no one, do it yourself, no excuses.

[IrishIrish]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

When did you start Atkins/ADBB?

My husband and I began the Atkins WOE in January, 2004, after alternative research and procrastination.

What were your starting statistics, and what is your target weight, if you are not already at it?

I was a few pounds shy of 500 pounds. I kept asking people if anyone had ever had to lose as much as I did on ADBB. My goal was to be healthy. If I don't lose another pound, I am happy where I am.

Most proud moment/biggest accomplishment/biggest 'I know I can do it' moment?

They have all been big accomplisments!! Each weight milestone ... 50 pounds ... 100 pounds ... 150 ... 200 ... 250 ... 300!!! Also I've had two accidents in the last three years requiring multiple surgeries. It could have been debilitating for me, but recovering gave me confidence that I could do anything. And finally, improving my health status. No more insulin and oral diabetes medication required, blood pressure is 90/60 and all health indicators within normal limits.

Any slip-ups along the way? Have you had to restart??

No slip ups in the first 18 months. I've always maintained that I only had one recovery although I knew I was capable of many slips along the way. I did have to slow my program while I was recovering from one of my accidents and subsequent surgeries, but I maintained careful control of it and was insistant that I do so.

Any long-term stalls?

I had several periods I did not lose as much as I had, but I knew I was following plan and would lose when my body was ready to let go. After all, I kept asking myself what the alternative was. I'd been so successful and wasn't ready to throw it all away. Remember, this is a WOE for life.

What would be your no.1 tip (aside from reading the book)?

Let Atkins be your guide for nutrition. Follow DANDR 2002, exactly. Until we are following "Your Name's New Diet Revolution 2002" and it is "your name" on the book, follow the generous and proven advice of Dr. Atkins. Don't try to reinvent the wheel. If you need more to do, work on a good attitude. If I can do this, anyone can!

[Georgiana]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

When did you start Atkins/ADBB?

Atkins: December 2007 (but read on, because I should add a note to this). I joined ADBB a few months later.

What were your starting statistics, and what is your target weight, if you are not already at it?

I'm not sure what my starting weight was because I didn't have a scale then. The first weight I have recorded in my journal is 164 lbs, but this was after low carbing for about a month. I have a weight from my doctor's office from October, when I was 178 lbs. The number scared me, so from October to December I began watching what I ate. I guess my starting weight could have been anything between 170 and 175 lbs.

I say "low carbing" and not "Atkins" because I didn't have DANDR 2002, but some German book that summarized the rules of the diet. These rules were based on DANDR 1992. So I was counting total carbs and was not aware that Atkins is high fat. My diet was high protein, moderate fat, low carb. I corrected this after I joined the Board (thanks Elizellen! ).

Most proud moment/biggest accomplishment/biggest 'I know I can do it' moment?

Running my first 5K. I followed the C25K plan and it has these big jumps from running a few minutes to running 20 or so. I was surprised I could do it.

A funny one was my graduation. We have the official one, and my major also has a less formal one (OK, very informal ) where the professors come up with all kind of evil challenges for students. One of them involved walking on a very narrow plank (about 2 inches wide) above a pool, with some weights tied to your wrists (~20 lbs each). To make things worse, the plank was only going until the middle of the pool---after reaching that point you had to turn around on the plank and walk back. I think starting yoga a few months before this graduation helped me stay dry.

Any slip-ups along the way? Have you had to restart??

Yep. I messed up big time last summer and was off Atkins for about 3 months. I could blame this on my new roommate doing a low fat diet (she was vegan) and alluring me with how healthy low fat is, on moving from Europe to the US (big portion sizes and more junk food), on me for not trying to cook and getting bored with foods, on lightnings for causing me to overeat or on the alignment of the planets, but the truth is I was considering Atkins a diet like any other rather than a way of eating for life.

So I gained something like 10 lbs that summer and went up one dress size, from 8-10 to 10-12. I restarted in September. Since September I once overate ratatouille (yes, I'm weird) which put me above my carb level for that day. Then during Christmas/New Year I was not eating enough veggies, so I decided to restart Induction. I only did Induction for a few days though, because I read one of Megs' posts and figured out it's a bad idea to restart, so I just "fixed" what was wrong and kept going with OWL.

Now I'm back to my pre-off-wagon size (8-10 US) depending what I'm wearing. Shirts are often a 12, for the same reason Megs wrote.

Any long-term stalls?

Stalls, yes. Not sure what you mean by a long-term stall... 4 weeks (the def. of a stall) is long enough for me!!! One time I was not exercising enough. Another time I was eating something that had carby ingredients in it (I eat at the university canteen, so it's often impossible to know the ingredients in food) and it took me forever to figure it out (no blood sugar symptoms, which was a little strange).

I also had a 2-week pause once, but that was due to processed meats that were cured with sugar and it didn't take me too long to realize what was wrong. Once I did, I just removed those from my menu and weight loss restarted.

What would be your no.1 tip (aside from reading the book)?

Follow the diet the way Dr. Atkins wrote it. It's all in the book---how to lose weight, how to deal with stalls, how to maintain your weight, why you should exercise, what are the health benefits Atkins can give you, how to supplement with vitanutrients, how to find out your food intolerances and so on---but there is a lot of information and it often takes more than one reading to actually read it.

[sham]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

Really enjoyed reading this thread thanks to all of you.

[Slidesdownmountains]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

yeah, thanks guys! it's really good to know that you are not just Atkins software programs, and have had your ups and downs like the rest of us

Massive, massive congratulations to you all - do you realise that between you guys, you've lost around 564lbs?????? That's AMAZING!!

[not2late]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

yeah, thanks guys! it's really good to know that you are not just Atkins software programs, and have had your ups and downs like the rest of us

We come off as "Atkins software programs" because as you have read, we know that to be successful on Atkins is to follow it as Dr. ATkins wrote it. We've seen plenty of people do their own thing by tweaking the diet and fail. Sure, they might be successful---but that success is short-lived and usually they come back with a post "I'm going to do it by the book this time."

I really don't understand the desire to reinvent the wheel. Perhaps it's because I'm too lazy and would rather follow a step-by-step plan that someone else already figured out and tweaked. Perhaps it's because I've volunteered/worked in hospitals and clinics since I was a teen and I've seen the deadly consequences of tweaking medications and therapeutic regimens. Perhaps it's because I'm not a cardiologist who developed and had experience with particular weight loss diet for more than 40 years. Or maybe it's a combination of all of the above that made me decide to trust Dr. Atkins and not second-guess him. Whatever it was, I'm happy I did do what Dr. A. said because if I didn't I'm sure I would be a nice round 240 pounder on a boatload of medications.

[Slidesdownmountains]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

I mean it in an affectionate way, I assure you!!

It's good to know your experiences - I mean, we all learn in different ways: some by following instructions, some by experiencing it for themselves, some by their mistakes and so forth. It's great to know what your tips are, and your perspectives on things.

Congrats again.

[jsj0305]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

When did you start Atkins/ADBB?
Initially, I started when I was 2 month postpartum with me son...May 3rd, 2005. I restarted Atkins many times since then.

What were your starting statistics, and what is your target weight, if you are not already at it?
When I first started, I was 193 pounds I wanted to be 140 pounds.
I just restarted 3 days ago at 197.8 pounds...and this time my goal is 130lbs.

Most proud moment/biggest accomplishment/biggest 'I know I can do it' moment?
It would have to have been completing 6 whole weeks of slim in 6. I NEVER worked out before so actually starting a finishing a program was HUGE for me.

Any slip-ups along the way? Have you had to restart??
Oh have I! LOL The first go round, I made it to 153 pounds and gave up on myself. I did NOT go through the Rungs as I should have and deprived myself. Consequently, I cheated thinking I looked amazinggg so what was 1 brownie going to hurt? Well that one brownie turned into 3 months off the diet and massive weight gain. Decided to restart, got pregnant with my daughter so I jumped to maintenance. Went back on for about 3 months after she was born and thought I could go Lowfat/LowCal. What a disaster that was. That was almost exactly a year ago, so it's been just me being miserable for the back 5 months getting bigger and biggerrrrr.

Any long-term stalls?
When I hit 155 pounds, I stalled...and I'm talking a real stall. Almost 5 weeks and I realized I had an issue with Candida. I solved that problem and finally started to lose veryyyyy slowly. I upped my exercise, came of the BC I thought was causing it and my weight got down 2 more pounds before I ruined it for myself =/

What would be your no.1 tip (aside from reading the book)?
Aside from reading the book....I have 2 others.
1.) Go through the rungs!!!! This is not a quick fix, not a 'lose it all on induction and jump off' fad diet. This is a way of life, and if you cannot dedicate yourself to that, Atkins is not for you. I learned this the hard way unfortunately Give yourself variety, enjoy bringing all of those delicious berries and things we are allowed to have!!!

2.) Don't ever take your weight loss for granted. We work DARN hard to lose the weight, do not sacrifice it for somehting as dumb as a brownie. All of our time, our effort, our sweat, and tears.. it is NOT for nothing. This is NOT easy. I lost 40 pounds before and here I sit, I just look like another chubby girl but I'm not. I'm a fighter, I'm someone who care about her health and I cannot WAIT for the outside to reflect that once again

We can do this!!!!!!!!

[Slidesdownmountains]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

thanks for your honest reply, Jsj0305 - you're going to do great, and you have a great attitude.

[not2late]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

It's good to know your experiences - I mean, we all learn in different ways: some by following instructions, some by experiencing it for themselves, some by their mistakes and so forth. It's great to know what your tips are, and your perspectives on things.

.

Of course we all learn in different ways. But there's "positive" learning and "negative" learning. For example, "positive" learning would be watching a loved one dying of lung cancer, which results in you not smoking or giving up smoking. "Negative" learning would be watching a loved one die of lung cancer and you continue smoking or take up smoking to see if cigarette smoking really does cause lung cancer or to see if you can beat lung cancer by only smoking 1 pack a day as opposed to smoking 3.

We try to prevent that "negative" learning thing. Because that negative learning stuff is really self-sabotage: suicide. When you go into something with the plan of "well, the instructions say to connect the yellow wire to the green plug, but forget the instructions! Who wrote them anyway? And what the heck did that guy know about connecting wires to plugs? So what if he had a degree in electrical engineering! I'll do it my way and see what happens. If I electrocute myself or blow the fuse box, then it only proves I'm right! And besides, I know alot of people who connected the yellow wire to the orange plug and they didn't get electrocuted!", you might as well not even try because you are setting yourself up for failure.

And that's another #1 tip: love and respect yourself enough so that you don't sabotage yourself. Once you set up that "I can't" roadblock, then you might as well not even bother. You'll always use that "I can't" excuse for everything and to justify everything you do.

[Slidesdownmountains]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

Of course we all learn in different ways. But there's "positive" learning and "negative" learning. For example, "positive" learning would be watching a loved one dying of lung cancer, which results in you not smoking or giving up smoking. "Negative" learning would be watching a loved one die of lung cancer and you continue smoking or take up smoking to see if cigarette smoking really does cause lung cancer or to see if you can beat lung cancer by only smoking 1 pack a day as opposed to smoking 3.

We try to prevent that "negative" learning thing. Because that negative learning stuff is really self-sabotage: suicide. When you go into something with the plan of "well, the instructions say to connect the yellow wire to the green plug, but forget the instructions! Who wrote them anyway? And what the heck did that guy know about connecting wires to plugs? So what if he had a degree in electrical engineering! I'll do it my way and see what happens. If I electrocute myself or blow the fuse box, then it only proves I'm right! And besides, I know alot of people who connected the yellow wire to the orange plug and they didn't get electrocuted!", you might as well not even try because you are setting yourself up for failure.

Oooooo-k.... *puzzled scratch of head*

I feel like you may be reading too much into my comments about people making mistakes there, Not2Late!
We are all human, not all of us read the book and then manage to follow it through to the T without error - the second-time around club exists for this very reason! Sincerely, well done for not making any mistakes and succeeding so well on Atkins WOE.

(And also, I don't smoke, and know my limits with plug wiring - me and electricity should only come together where hair-straighteners are concerned!)

[Georgiana]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

We are all human, not all of us read the book and then manage to follow it through to the T without error - the second-time around club exists for this very reason!

No rotten tomatoes were ever thrown at ADBB into those folks who fell off the Atkins wagon and came back the second (or 20th) time around. The problem is that some people deliberately ignore the book, convinced they know better than Dr. Atkins. These people tweak the plan Dr. Atkins created, thinking their way of doing things is more efficient or at least just as good, and Dr. Atkins didn't include _____ [insert tweak] in his book because he was either ignorant or not knowledgeable enough or wanted his plan to fit better in the "healthy nutrition" dogma and so on. Some of these people do this because they've heard someone say, "I've lose X lbs in 10 days by doing Atkins---but didn't eat any veggies and didn't bother climbing the carb ladder. Oh, and I didn't even exercise, that's just for fools. I'm sure I'll be SO delighted being smaller when I reach my goal that I won't have ANY problems maintaining." Others are just... well, plain creative. But all are just sabotaging themselves by not trusting the original plan, because that original plan was tested many times and has proved to be very healthy and effective over and over again if followed as written. To make matters worse, these folks are not only sabotaging their weight loss efforts, but also undermining others' work by nudging them away from the path that is known to lead to their health and weight loss goals and not in Yo-Yo Land or, worse, in hospital.

I believe it is usually when someone did not read the book or someone thinks he/she knows better than Dr. Atkins when those giving advice by the book come across as "Atkins software programs". The ones who follow DANDR or have restarted X times, should know how important it is to do things by the book. What everyone chooses to do in the end is up to them, but we would be irresponsible to endorse a "modified Atkins".

PS: In the veggies/exercise/carb ladder example above I was obviously not referring to you.

[Slidesdownmountains]

Re: MODERATORS/LONG-TERM MEMBERS: One for you guys!

No rotten tomatoes were ever thrown at ADBB into those folks who fell off the Atkins wagon and came back the second (or 20th) time around. The problem is that some people deliberately ignore the book, convinced they know better than Dr. Atkins. These people tweak the plan Dr. Atkins created, thinking their way of doing things is more efficient or at least just as good, and Dr. Atkins didn't include _____ [insert tweak] in his book because he was either ignorant or not knowledgeable enough or wanted his plan to fit better in the "healthy nutrition" dogma and so on. Some of these people do this because they've heard someone say, "I've lose X lbs in 10 days by doing Atkins---but didn't eat any veggies and didn't bother climbing the carb ladder. Oh, and I didn't even exercise, that's just for fools. I'm sure I'll be SO delighted being smaller when I reach my goal that I won't have ANY problems maintaining." Others are just... well, plain creative. But all are just sabotaging themselves by not trusting the original plan, because that original plan was tested many times and has proved to be very healthy and effective over and over again if followed as written. To make matters worse, these folks are not only sabotaging their weight loss efforts, but also undermining others' work by nudging them away from the path that is known to lead to their health and weight loss goals and not in Yo-Yo Land or, worse, in hospital.

I believe it is usually when someone did not read the book or someone thinks he/she knows better than Dr. Atkins when those giving advice by the book come across as "Atkins software programs". The ones who follow DANDR or have restarted X times, should know how important it is to do things by the book. What everyone chooses to do in the end is up to them, but we would be irresponsible to endorse a "modified Atkins".

PS: In the veggies/exercise/carb ladder example above I was obviously not referring to you.

Guys - am very sorry if I've caused offence by referring to you as 'Atkins Software Programs' - it was not meant in a derogatory way, just in reference to your encyclopedic knowledge of all things Atkins!