Q re: going off Atkins

[LageNomAi]

No, I'm not going off Atkins.

I participate on another, non-health-related chat board and someone asked about Atkins. Several of us have been vocal proponents in our responses, but several people who responded shared what seemed to be the same story: I tried it, I lost an amazing amount of weight, I went off it, I ballooned up to my highest weight ever.

I'm struck that everyone who went off the diet claims to have gone to their highest weight ever. Presuming this isn't exaggeration, what would cause this? Unless they are all binging wildly in response to having denied themselves bad carbs while on Atkins, I can't figure out why going off Atkins, as opposed to any other diet, would cause people to snap back to an even higher weight. Or is this common when falling off the wagon with any diet?

[Georgiana]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

I'm sure their pre-Atkins diet was making them gain weight, too. It wasn't a maintenance diet.

So, probably they would have reached a "higher weight" whether they had "done" Atkins or not.

Plus, there's usually some binging on carbs involved when one stops... and maybe a period of being on/off, which slows down even more an already screwed up metabolism.

[Whatsername]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

You shouldn't "go off" Atkins...you maintain it. That is the mistake I made the first time I did it. While I didn't go to my highest weight ever, it was close enough. Why that happened? I just figure it is the balance of carbs, protein, fat and no sugar. When you don't have that, gaining weight is how your body responds. The blood sugar, the cravings. I don't know about other diets because I have only tried a few and none of them worked for me anyway. Well, I did lose some weight on The Zone but once I stopped that, I did gain all that weight back.

Personally, I think anyone who stops any kind of "diet" is likely to gain the weight back. That is the nature of the beast with dieting.

Interesting topic.

Jane

[LageNomAi]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

You shouldn't "go off" Atkins...you maintain it.

I agree and I don't mean to imply with my question that anyone should do this or that it's appropriate. This is simply an issue that came up on another board. These particular people all started Atkins and then stopped, which is what I mean when I say they "went off" of it.

I did try to explain that one never should "go off" Atkins and that it's a lifestyle change. Unfortunately, there will always be some who want the quick, temporary fix.

[Suzanne_H]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

I think you hit the nail on the head right there LageNomAi... when we diet for the sake of losing X pounds instead of changing our lifestyle, then we set ourselves up to regain all we lost and gain some more.

I will say this... I am able to lose weight yet eat way more calories on Atkins than say when I was on WeightWatchers (and craving and fighting reflux and... etc.). So, when I started eating carbs again the weight came back much faster than when I went off WW. So much to losing weight this way is body chemistry. I'm not a physician, but it's been my experience. I have eventually regained more weight than I lost, however, on all diets regardless.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

>>is this common when falling off the wagon with any diet?>>

Yes.

That's why success with maintaining weight loss is so rare.

[Elizellen]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

Maybe the reason some people put weight back on quickly is that they have lost the 'fear of fat' that we have to overcome when starting Atkins and along with all the carby foods they add to their menus after 'going off Atkins' they are still lavish with the fullfat dressings, cream, butter and fatty meats they got used to in our WOE?

[bizzlekitty]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

I would imagine there's a metabolic reason why the weight comes back on so fast too.

For one, you likely switch from ketosis to glucosis and the body all of a sudden finds a huge spike in glucose and insulin. What happens when you get an excess? It gets turned into fat (fat cells refill).

This is why its important to follow the entire program into Maintenance forever, not just as a quick weight loss drop.

[mizski]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

along with all the carby foods they add to their menus after 'going off Atkins' they are still lavish with the fullfat dressings, cream, butter and fatty meats they got used to in our WOE

In a nutshell, I think this is why. This fact was one of those lightbulb moments for me when I read DANDR and thought about Maintenance.

When you figure that the recommended USDA diet contains about 350g carbs/day and it is very easy to go above that if eating fast foods/packaged foods and when you consider that most people who get to Maintenance probably can only have 60-150g carbs/day you get instant and continual weight gain. And, if you are still having full fat foods with all those carbs/sugars...blammo. Blimpiness returns.

Also, most people on any weight loss program do not bother to learn about the maintenance phase; they lose weight and then go back to how they ate before when they were heavy.

I wonder if any of those posters really took the time to do OWL correctly. I'm guessing they did not.

[IrishIrish]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

All of my prior diet results have been predictable. I am a good dieter. I lose weight. I gain weight and I gain more. So, for me, the question has been, what plan can I follow to promote a healthy way of life. Event driven diets don't work for me.

Many do a great job losing weight and a reward meal turns into extra carbs here and there and a turn to convenience foods, a five pound gain, a holiday, a birthday party, a vacation and they continue with "reasons" that "require" them to eat off plan.

I stay away from slippery slopes because I've see it with people and I've experienced it myself. Unless permanent changes are made, weight can be a constant battle. Someone once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. For me, my insanity is dieting and weight issues. Atkins has taught me lots about what works for me so I don't chose the insanity any longer.

[LageNomAi]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

I wonder if any of those posters really took the time to do OWL correctly. I'm guessing they did not.

Based upon some of the comments being made, my guess is that they didn't even read the book. One person has made comments that make it clear that she does understand this WOE, it just wasn't for her. The rest are saying things that make me think they got their info from a magazine article, the neighbor, etc., etc..

There is too much to this WOE to explain on a message board, so I posted my final "this is what it REALLY is" post and am moving on to other topics. You can't preach to those who don't want to be converted.

[not2late]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

I think if you go back to the diet that made you fat in the first place, you will gain weight (and probably more.) If you adopt the mentality "Woo Hoo! I lost 100 pounds and I'm at my 120 pound goal weight! YAY! Now I can eat all the pasta, cake, cookies, etc. etc. that I want!", you can be almost certain you will regain the weight.

[ziggy]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

ya if they did atkins properly they would still be doing good

and i agree with bizzlekitty

lets say your body has been a garbage/posion burning metabolism for 20 years and all of a sudden BAM your eating healthy and it turns off the garbage/posion burning system because thankfully its no longer needed

then you take down the barriers of the system that protected you from garbage and posion and allow your body now to grow and become healthy

then all of a sudden BAM your stuffing your face with giant amounts of garbage and posion again and since your body took down its garbage/posion defence/handleing systems your now extra vulnerable to it and it must all be stored as fat as to not cause organ damage

[cleochatra]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

And even if you're not stuffing yourself, foods which create horrific allergic reactions like glutens and soys and nightshades will wreak havok on a system that was largely used to being without those things. It is generally what can be tried in those higher rungs that people glom onto, forgetting all about the more important lower rungs.

Atkins really susses out many of the food intolerances from which people suffer. Revisiting those allergy-inducing foods post-Atkins not only makes one hungrier, it reduces the 'good feeling' seratonin and other brain aminos, creating a need for even more of the allergen-producing foods.

Top this with a newly unstable blood sugar from adding back in too much of those insulin producing foods and you have the hunger wibbly wobblies now on top of reduced seratonins.

I would nix the entire grain rung if Atkins was mine to fix. No human needs grains. Grains are what our food eats.

[mizski]

Re: Q re: going off Atkins

No human needs grains. Grains are what our food eats.

OMG...I keep telling this to people who then look at me like I am some kind of crazy demon. Some actually get mad and try to defend why you HAVE to have whole grains. Fiber they say...you need fiber. And when I reply that I get lots of fiber with veggies...I just get a vacuous stare back. No reply. No reply at all to that one.

Sometimes I even go on to say I don't think we need much fruit either. Lots of sugar in fruit and with the exception of things like blueberries maybe, we can get those phytonutrients from veggies. THAT really sends them off in a huff.

p.s. LOVE LOVE your blog. Thanks for all the recipes.