ITS SO INCREDIBLY SAD

[AllieCat0817]

Hi Folks, :wave


Those issues aside, it's my belief that the overwhelming majority of over weight people don't understand that they're addicted to sugar and addicted to carbohydrates.

Absolutely

Atkins is more than a "diet" it's more than a means to an end or a way to reach a desired goal weight, It is in fact a detox and recovery program designed and proven to shatter addictions, re structure eating habits and save lives - and it accomplishes all of this regardless of body size, shape or weight.

Peter ha

So so true. Some people take it more seriously than others. I take it just as seriously as Betty. Other's don't take it that seriously- that's their choice. Everyone has to do what's best for them. I know life is a journey, we all reach different places at different times.

[not2late]

But for some misguided reason, OWL gets a bad reputation that weight loss slows to a crawl and folks become carb-phobic.

And one of our mods reported recently she was eating 100 carbs a day and STILL losing weight!! :yikes

Exactly and she was worried that she would NEVER find her CCLL! That's why the Extended Induction Forum is so depressing to me. Lots of folks posting threads that they "cheated" by eating strawberries or that they went over their carb count by 5 net carbs or something along those lines.

If these folks would only trust Dr. Atkins and move onto OWL, they wouldn't be so stressed out that they can't eat this or that or that they ate too many carbs. But they don't and they cling to the magic 20 hoping that it will bring them to goal sooner (and then they post in the Maintenance forum that they're still losing weight and they don't know how to stop or that they don't know how to add on carbs or worse, they reappear on the Induction forums because they completely fell off, regained the weight they lost and are back to square one.)

What people tend to forget is that the statistics are against each of us. 9 out of 10 dieters will regain the weight they lost in the first year of reaching their goal. Why? When I look at the successful Maintenance people, it's obvious. The successful ones went through all the stages of the diet, learned how their bodies react to carb levels and foods and used that knowledge to maintain their weight.

If you can never incorporate grains into your diet more than once a week during Maintenance because they adversely affect your body, that's what you have to deal with forever. If cantaloupe sets off massive cravings in you, then that's a food that either has to be treated with caution or avoided all together.

[Kent]

That's why the Extended Induction Forum is so depressing to me.

Or perhaps they have found the stage of the diet that meets their needs. If I never eat a potato or cantalope, rice, or whole wheat bread again, I can still die a very happy man.

[ttdriver]

Megs, I so agree!! There are some foods that are just off limits forever and its not the same for everyone. But making your way through all 4 phases is essential to figuring out which foods those are.

ABSOLUTELY!! Man, there are some WISE people on this board!! :nod

Betty

[ttdriver]

And I agree, bowulf .. no potatoes and I die happy too!! *They* were always a trigger for me.......... :anger

Betty

[Nutri_Nut]

I could never find my CCLL. I stopped losing weight after five months. I kept "upping" my carbs like I was told to do, and then I started gaining. Eventually, I was off this WOE and have remained off since then. I couldn't lose anymore, and I couldn't eat anymore without gaining, so I gave up.

About not eating whole grains or starch veggies...that leaves VERY little left to eat. I am sorry, but I could never live like that. I travel occasionally, and we are invited to friends' homes for dinner. I could never expect them to cater to me and force everyone else invited to eat as I do. And it became ridiculous and insulting bringing my own food.

I lost weight (for awhile) on Atkins, but I was miserable. I am still trying to find a happy medium. I hope I find it.

[Nutri_Nut]

spirittalker, I still can't find this quote: Can you give me the link?



[Actually she already did.


ttdriver wrote:


How do you know my diet? Have you been watching me eat? Excuse me, but I think you have me confused with someone else ... I eat whole grains every single day ... where did you ever get the idea I shun anything completely?? ][/quote]

[spirittalker]

Page 1 of this thread. Second post from the bottom.

[not2late]

I could never find my CCLL. I stopped losing weight after five months. I kept "upping" my carbs like I was told to do, and then I started gaining. Eventually, I was off this WOE and have remained off since then. I couldn't lose anymore, and I couldn't eat anymore without gaining, so I gave up.

About not eating whole grains or starch veggies...that leaves VERY little left to eat. I am sorry, but I could never live like that. I travel occasionally, and we are invited to friends' homes for dinner. I could never expect them to cater to me and force everyone else invited to eat as I do. And it became ridiculous and insulting bringing my own food.

I lost weight (for awhile) on Atkins, but I was miserable. I am still trying to find a happy medium. I hope I find it.

During OWL, you up your carbs by 5 nets until you stop losing weight. That level is your CCLL. Then you back off by 5 nets and your weight loss will pick up again. In other words, if you stop losing weight at 50 net carbs daily, you know that 50 is your CCLL and you cannot go over 50 nets if you want to continue losing weiht.

Whoever told you to keep adding 5 net carbs until you started gaining weight was way off on the advice, and I'm sorry if anyone sent you down the wrong path here.

Or perhaps they have found the stage of the diet that meets their needs. If I never eat a potato or cantalope, rice, or whole wheat bread again, I can still die a very happy man.

Or is it fear of not losing weight? I see alot of folks on the Extended Induction forum who are terrified of moving onto OWL because they are under the mistaken idea that they'll stop losing weight if they eat an additional 5 net carbs of Induction vegetables.

While that might be the case for the severely metabolically resistant to weight loss, that's not the case for the majority of people----if you believe what Dr. Atkins wrote in the book.

Just remember, the CCML is a unique number. Each of us has our own level of carbs we need to maintain our weight. I've seen folks who stayed on Induction throughout their weight loss post frantic messages on the Maintenance board that they can't stop losing weight and have no idea how to re-introduce carbs to stop the weight loss. These are the same folks who show up on the Induction forum or 12 months later because they fell off and regained their weight. In other words, all their effort was for absolutely nothing because they never learned how their body reacts to foods and different carb levels and they never learned how to "eat in the real world".

Like I said, the statistics are against us. 9 out of 10 will regain their weight within one year of losing it. It's best if we program ourselves that we have 2 goals in during the WOE: 1. to lose weight and 2. learn how to maintain our goals.

[Elizellen]

I could never find my CCLL. I stopped losing weight after five months. I kept "upping" my carbs like I was told to do, and then I started gaining. Eventually, I was off this WOE and have remained off since then. I couldn't lose anymore, and I couldn't eat anymore without gaining, so I gave up.

Sounds like you did find your CCLL - can you remember how many carbs you were eating when you started gaining weight? That was probably a few carbs over your CCLL.
If you establish that while at the OWL stage then acccording to Chapter 14

you'll make adjustments accordingly. Most people simply drop back to the prior level of carb consumption

As I understand the book this means you go back to whatever carb level you were at before adding the rung on which you stopped losing weight but continue eating the new food group.
To progress further up the OWL ladder you then swop out some of the previous rungs' foods for the new rung's foods and see if you start to lose weight again. If so you continue doing this and testing how the various new food groups affect you till you have tried all the rungs.
But you have to stay at the carb count from just before you started gaining weight which would be your maximum carb level for maintaining.

About not eating whole grains or starch veggies...that leaves VERY little left to eat. I am sorry, but I could never live like that.

I have been luckier than you in that I have not missed those food items in the slightest over the past 22 months - and like some of the other posters feel that if I find I cannot eat them when I get to the relevant OWL rungs I shan't feel deprived.

I hope you do find the way for you to lose weight and then maintain while being satisfied with what you eat and wish you all the best in your quest - whichever WOE you choose. :hug

[Kent]

About not eating whole grains or starch veggies...that leaves VERY little left to eat. I am sorry, but I could never live like that.

That's the beauty of Atkins. You don't have to. It is a personal decision -- maybe you could add everything back in yogurt, carrots, cabbage, corn, wheat bread, alcohol, milk, even potatoes, and never have a problem. Some of us (ok I specifically) don't want to or have any desire to. I love my diet as it exists today. My doc loves my diet. My blood work results loves my diet. My exercise performance loves my diet. In short, why change something that is absolutely working for ME.

Your version of Atkins, low carb, and low cal can be whatever you wish it to be. My end version may not even resemble what Dr. Atkins wanted - there is always room for taste. As for what will happen with me in a year with my Induction foods diets, I guess I will respond with the same thing I said to naysayers at the start. Let my results speak for themselves.

These are the same folks who show up on the Induction forum or 12 months later because they fell off and regained their weight. In other words, all their effort was for absolutely nothing because they never learned how their body reacts to foods and different carb levels and they never learned how to "eat in the real world".

After 12 months or so, the failure was not in staying Induction, but in listening to one's beliefs. If you never add the real pizza or Chinese back in, you never have to worry about it. I have 15 pounds to go, and I will see how my time on the maintenance board is.

[AllieCat0817]

Man this forum is the bomb. Specifically the members here. You are some smart people and I admire you!

[not2late]

These are the same folks who show up on the Induction forum or 12 months later because they fell off and regained their weight. In other words, all their effort was for absolutely nothing because they never learned how their body reacts to foods and different carb levels and they never learned how to "eat in the real world".

After 12 months or so, the failure was not in staying Induction, but in listening to one's beliefs. If you never add the real pizza or Chinese back in, you never have to worry about it. I have 15 pounds to go, and I will see how my time on the maintenance board is.

The failure is that they never learned what their body could and could not tolerate while they were losing weight. Some foods set off cravings. 2big had an interesting problem during her Pre-Maintenance: she added on the 10 net carbs of food she was already eating and developed cravings and blood sugar instability problems from the amount of carbs.

Her experience and the experiences of others leads me to believe that there's 2 goals while on this or any other weight loss program: 1. losing the weight and 2. learning to keep it off by learning about your body and how it reacts to foods---which is more important.

Each of us has a Critical Carbohydrate Maintenance Level. If you stay on 20 net grams throughout, you'll have to find it once you reach goal. The only way to find it is to start adding carbs and watch how your body reacts to them--cravings, blood sugar problems and everything else.

As for not going back to eating pizza and the like will guarantee you won't gain back the weight...I don't know. We have folks in the OWL/Pre-Maintenance forum who eat their proper amount of carbs and gain weight over time because they forget to regulate their calories and their fat/protein/carb ratio while adding the carbs back in during OWL because it becomes a balancing act: if you eat X, you might have to cut back on Y and Z. Once they get used to it, their loss returns and they have an easy time transitioning to Pre-Maintenance and Maintenance.

Like I said, from the time I've been on this board and have lurked on other Atkins boards, the folks who successfully keep it off with the least amount of troubles are the ones who go through each of the phases because they learn about their bodies at each phase.

[selfxuntitled]

its odd

I used to be more comfortable... thinking im not alone in the obesity when seeing the obese scarfing. now that i know that there is something you can actually DO about it... my perception has changed.

btw.. I ate at chilis last night hehe i had the buffalo wings (nonbreaded of course)

[AllieCat0817]

Re: its odd

now that i know that there is something you can actually DO about it... my perception has changed.

I agree. Only problem is, THEY hafta know there is something they can do about it...........