Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

[anymac]

Not sure why the original thread was closed but wanted to see how all of you are coming. I'm a bit over my original weight and hovering at 133. Hubby is at original weight as well.

I know a married couple that have been doing something for the past year that has been working for them... They only eat one carb meal per day which is usually cereal for breakfast but no other carbs. Then on the weekend to shock their body back into burning fat they eat whatever they want. Both are down considerably and have been keeping it off.

This is similar to Atkins in that you are controlling carbs. Which brings me to my real question about staying on the diet:

Living on Linda's wonderful recipes can wear you out. So for those that have been doing Atkins for years, are you back to eating salami and cheese snacks or do you continue to go all out with preparation of interesting carb free dishes all the time?

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

>>no other carbs.>>

They eat no vegetables???

Surely that can't be healthy!

>> Living on Linda's wonderful recipes can wear you out.>>

I have many other sources for recipes.

>>interesting carb free dishes>>

Very few of my meals are "carb free" since I eat a lot of vegetables.

[anymac]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

When I say no carbs I don't mean literally, I mean they don't have bread/breading, pasta, rice, chips, etc.

So are you one who has made Atkins a way of life and have maintained your weight? What are some of the other recipe sources?

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

>>When I say no carbs I don't mean literally, I mean they don't have bread/breading, pasta, rice, chips, etc.>>

Oh.

>> So are you one who has made Atkins a way of life and have maintained your weight?>>

Yes. Maintenance since September 2005.

>>What are some of the other recipe sources?>>

Atkins cookbooks, Dana Carpender, other Internet recipe sites/groups, my own collection of cookbooks.

I would have to come up with what to eat anyway ... might as well be this way of eating!

[liv]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

Salami and cheese would not be carb free
I think I have not changed so much how I always used to cook - I have just changed some ingredients. I still eat steaks, fish, chicken, (but I don't eat bread and make carb free sauces) I eat my proteins with veggies (not with starches as I used to)
Breakfast is the meal that has really changed - I do shakes or eggs now. I used to do breads and cereals.

[crash]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

I have also been intrigued by the weekend carb day, however, i have been uncertain about implementing it with Atkins because i'm pretty sure Atkins relies mainly on the state of ketosis to burn fat? That one day could easily put your body out of ketosis, in which for some people it requires a couple of days or even up to a week of strict induction to get back on track. During that time you may easily put on a few lbs back.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

>> have also been intrigued by the weekend carb day,>>

Then you wouldn't be doing Atkins.

You would also be spending maybe one or two days a week burning fat.

It would be very counterproductive to doing Atkins.

It would also be a good way to mess up your metabolism.

[anymac]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

I think you mean it would be bad for metabolism to mix the low carbs during week and high carb weekend with Atkins.

Because eating well and then shocking the system occassionally I have never heard to be bad. In fact it is what keeps the metabolism from resting on its laurels.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

>>I think you mean it would be bad for metabolism to mix the low carbs during week and high carb weekend with Atkins.>>

Yes.

That's not how Atkins works.

>> Because eating well and then shocking the system occassionally I have never heard to be bad.>>

If you can find that advice in DANDR, I would love to know the chapter!

[amazon1]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

I'm just trying to lose about 15 - 20 pounds and I'm a lot older than you (55) and it's coming off very, very slowly. I've been on my own low-carb regimen for about 20 years but now I cut out lots of the other "healthy" carbs I was eating - fruit, lots of nuts, etc. I'm about 5'6" and gradually went from about 125 to about 142 in a couple of years so I'm trying to get back to where I was. My "fighting" weight was only about 115 so I thought 125 was doable.

I'm using fitday to count calories and carbs and track my weight and I've been losing on average .4 lbs a week. Pretty pitiful. I haven't gone over 20 carbs in over a month. But since I started dieting I've gone from about 142 to 135 and I definitely look better. So I'm sticking with it for now.

[Georgiana]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

Because eating well and then shocking the system occassionally I have never heard to be bad.

That might "work" for people who undereat in order to lose weight. Then "shocking the system occasionally" might be necessary to give your body proper nutrition, because undereating deprives your body of the nutrients it needs to create the chemicals needed for your metabolism to run efficiently.

But Atkins is not about undereating.

In fact it is what keeps the metabolism from resting on its laurels.

It is certainly NOT what keeps the metabolism from "resting on its laurels". Proper nutrition is!

And if you are looking to "boost" your metabolism, exercise is a healthy and efficient way to go.

[Georgiana]

Re: Anyone only trying to lose 15-20 lbs: Part 2

Also... for those who have a cheat day on Atkins... much of the weight shift seen after the cheat is water.

Let's say you cheat and this switches your body back to glucose metabolism. This will refill your body's glycogen stores. Depending on your metabolism and on how "bad" your cheat was, it might take your body a couple of days to get back in lipolysis/ketosis. Whenever this happens, a lot of water is lost in a first phase, before fluid (mineral) balance is restored. In the same time, you are also burning some fat from being in ketosis. So in the end, when the fluid balance is restored, you might see a loss on the scale.

It doesn't mean you "woke up" your metabolism though.

And if by "cheat" you mean a carb loading day, you might want to know that this can impair glucose tolerance.