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Originally posted by mizski
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The big thing I see here is that 40 lbs is not a lot of weight. I lost that in two months, but I'm relatively more overweight... I think a lot of people are on Atkins who don't need to be on Atkins. Dr. Atkins himself said it was for the morbidly obese and metabolically challenged only. I looked through some of the starting photos on this web site and half the people on this site don't fit that category. It was originally conceived as a diet for diabetics. Atkins believes that we ALL eat too many carbs... But eating the carbs you should when you have a normal metabolism and going on Atkins are two completely different animals.
Trying to Atkins off 20 lbs was what got ME into trouble. I went on Atkins when I was 250 lbs (my ideal weight was 227 lbs) and yo-yo'd on and off Atkins and Weight Watcher's over the many years. Atkins had the worst rebound effect by far.... The problem with the Atkins diet is that it is designed to be a lifestyle change for those with a burned out metabolism from eating too many of the wrong foods for too long and are now seriously obese. It's more than a simple weight adjustment diet. 6 months after I started Atkins to lose weight at 250 and 3 months after I quit Akins, I was 280 lbs... and then more and more each time I tried. I had never READ THE BOOK. If you haven't read the book, you must do so and see if this really is your diet.
Every time I fell off the wagon with Atkins, I immediately gained back DOUBLE the weight that I lost in half the time that it took me to lose it... This put me up to my current starting weight of 425 lbs, diabetic, low thyroid, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and water retention in my extremeties.
So using the Atkins as a temporary wieght loss diet or for anything other than for what it was originally intended for will eventually put you in the category for needing the Atkins diet anyway... You have to understand that when you get on the diet, YOU CAN NEVER GET OFF IT... ever... Kiss normal eating by everyone else's standards goodbye. There will never be a day when you can sit in front of the TV with a pint of Haagen Das... You can never eat halloween candy with your kids... You can never knock back a six pack of regular beer while fishing with your buddies ever again... You can never have sugar or carbs the way you used to ever again... You have to face it in that way... or you'll be twice as overweight as you are now...
Now there's no going back for me. If I fall off the Atkin's wagon again, it will likely be a death sentence.
Whereas, I think back when I was 250 lbs, if I had just gone for a walk every day and cut out the junk food, I would have probably been okay today.
If you are only 40 lbs overweight and you have a normal metabolism, you just need to eat healthy and excersize. At 40 lbs, there's probably nothing wrong with your metabolism that requires you to lose weight through the drastic carb cutting measures of Atkins. Sure, everyone out there probably needs to cut back on their carb intake from the perceived normal diet the media sells us... But follow a lifestyle tip from Jack Lalanne, the old TV excersize and lifestyle guru from the 60's, "If God didn't make it, DON'T EAT IT" and get plenty of exersize and over a long time and months and months of commitment you'll be back in shape. Using Atkins weight loss diet as a quick weight loss gimmick or as a mispercieved need to cut too many carbs from your lifestyle when you have somewhat normal metabolism is a REALLY REALLY BAD IDEA - At least from my experience...
There are some ladies out there who have a fantasy that they are horribly overweight from the Barbi Doll sensationalism foisted upon them by beauty magazines and by men who's perceptions of female beauty are also warped under the same mass media brainwashing. For centuries and centuries, a curvy figure was considered to be the height of sexiness and optimal health... It still is among non-Western cultures. This same figure today is deemed extremely fat by the granola crunching, yogurt swilling, livestrong, Vogue magazine wannabe's... I think many misperceptions of what "healthy" is for women (as opposed to attractive by current beauty trends) has led some here who don't need to be here and has turned men's opinions of these women in the same direction.
So be easy on your wife, especially if she is in good health. Try to get "into" how she looks just as she is. Women are supposed to have more body fat, on average, then men, especially after having children. Don't expect her to be as skinny as you should be. Nobody likes to be told they're obese, either directly or indirectly and it isn't necessary if they're in good health. Instead, encourage a healthy, active lifestyle. Get rid of the junk food for you, your wife and your kids and let things fix themselves. It's not an overnight process and don't expect that what is healthy for your wife is what you see in FHM or serving your salad at Hooters... But that's my opinion.
Just to be clear, there's the Atkins attitude toward lifestyle and healthy eating (and what is healthy eating) - which is good for everyone.
Then there is the Atkins Weight Loss diet which is not good for everyone...
At least that's my tip from 20+ years of dieting mistakes... Now everyone will probably jump down my throat in reply... So I'm going to go put my battle armor on and dig a fox hole and wait for the barrage of angry responses, but that's how I see it...
But you were talking specifically about the Atkins Diet.
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