All Perfect People Stand Up!

[dreamof145]

I've been on Atkins for over a year now and I've never had a cheat. No, I'm not saying I am perfect. I made a committment to myself to change my life and eat the Atkins way.

I have learned to substitute the real potatoes for the cauliflower potatoes. They satisfy me, so I don't buy potatoes anymore. I also substitute the real rice for the cauliflower rice and that satisfies me and my stir-fry tastes as good as the real rice dishes do. I eat spaghetti squash instead of noodles. I make Atkins Pizza instead of eating regular pizza.

If the kids are eating chips and dip, I make cheese chips for me or I buy a bag of pork rinds and munch on them. I try to always be prepared. My purse and glove-box of my car have emergency packets in them if I ever need them.

It is just a matter of being prepared.

I will try to always have my WOE available for myself so that I don't have to make that decision of eating the high-carb foods again. I live each day as it comes and try to be prepared for whatever comes up.

[CathyR]

isnt everyone letting this get to a bigger deal than it is? Each of us have our opinions. I think some of us are just too sensitive.

[TryingToStayHappy]

Well, i'm new here, and i have a lot to lose so i've been very strict.

i've stayed under 20-25 carbs every day since Jan 2004.

for me it's literally a "do or die" thing. i'm not just overweight, i'm hyooge. i need to be healthy so i can live a long life.

[AllieCat0817]

In my mind mine was a 'do or die' thing too....

[Hafsa226]

I want to respond to both Cathy and SCP.

It's very hard for someone who does not have a great deal of weight to lose to understand or to put yourselves into our shoes.

For many of us, this was our last chance. It was either Atkins, surgery, or give up and die slowly, with the ONLY enjoyment in life being getting to eat those "highly enjoyable foods". (Those very same foods being the same ones which were killing us in the first place)

SCP, your start weight was not unhealthy for a 5'10'' male, and Cathy, your start weight was less than my eventual goal.

I am not judging anyone for being able to eat an occasional "treat", but for many of us, it is not and may never be an option. This is do or die time for me. I don't think anyone is being sanctimonious for saying that they are cheat free for certain periods of time. I am not cheat free because I am perfect. I cheated a couple of times at the beginning and found it SO hard to restart, (one cheat day turning into weeks of uncontrolled binging and beating myself up over it) that eating a piece of cake was not worth the price I would have to pay later. My metabolism is very slow and I gain weight very easily. I may never be as lucky as the two of you.

And that's what you should consider yourselves. Very lucky indeed to have never needed to lose another person's worth of weight. And very lucky indeed, if you can have some high carb food and not spiral out of control.

You may think we are being sensitive, but (and I can only speak for myself here) losing 77 pounds (so far) has been a LOT of work, an enormous commitment and something that I have to work at EVERY day, EVERY meal.

Okay, call me sensitive, but when you flat out say that you don't believe that I could be cheat free and possibly give up these foods forever, I feel you are being super INsensitive. It is unfair to poo-poo the amazing accomplishments of some of these people. 2Big has lost 146 pounds! Bowulf has lost 173 pounds!

Would I give up my favorite foods forever in exchange for a longer life I may actually get to enjoy by participating in it?

Believe it or not, the answer is YES.

[bizzlekitty]

Re: All Perfect People Stand Up!

Ok, I got pretty slammed pretty good in my first post entitled "Am I the only one" when I asked if other people really NEVER indulge themselves in an occasional treat. Not only do I not believe most of these people, but I think that this philosophy of NEVER eating highly enjoyable foods is absolutely ridiculous.

Believe what you will, but it's also likely that with Atkins, it will change your WOE enough that the things that you or you used to be consider "highly enjoyable" just aren't any more. I have found that my tastes have changed with Atkins and that things like soda and cake and cookies are no longer enjoyable to me, not just for the taste, but for the feelings afterward and that lack of satisfaction from these foods that I once had.

And as alot of people here told you, their tolerance (mine included) for "occasional treats" is very low, not just because of cravings/control, but that it messes up their ongoing weight loss. Sure you can cheat here and there and it might slow down your weight loss or cause you to fall off the wagon. But that is your choice to make. I think many here choose not to cheat and risk that.

[quote]Thanks to Atkins, I have changed my life for the better. Everything is different and better now. I believe everything I've read in that book. It's all very logical. But to me it's still boils down to portion control. I'm consuming a third of the food I used to eat. I believe THAT'S why I've ultimately lost weight. How about you? How MUCH do you eat now compared to before? (I do, however feel I'm eating much HEALTHIER overall thanks to Atkins.)

Actually, I am eating more now then I did before Atkins. I used to skip breakfast and eat a sandwich/chips for lunch, then a carby-dinner or fast food (hamburger+fries). And I still gained weight.

Now I eat more food (3 meals a day) of healthy portions, and steak when I want it without feeling guilty.

Portion control works for most people in losing weight. What Atkins does is give those that especially have a more difficult time losing weight the extra bonus of appetite suppression and a better method of losing weight through using body chemistry (ketosis) to more effectively lose weight. Trust me, I've tried portion control and it just didn't work for me, no matter hard how I tried, and I ended up gaining weight and being tired/hungry/frustrated.

I don't bring any of this up to try to be a rebel or make anyone else question their game plan. I bring it up because time and time again I see people on these boards claim perfection in their diets...and then ridicule others for not wanting to be perfect, too. And I don't believe Doctor Atkins envisioned a WOL that involved perfection.

I have seen many people here and elsewhere sticking to a strict diet and it working. People claim perfection because they are doing it and have found that it works the best for them and in general, works best overall for people wanting to lose weight and become healthy.

I haven't seen anyone ridiculing anyone for not wanting to be perfect. I have seen people trying offer advice to others on how best to do Atkins and make it work most effectively. Some people do not necessarily take this advice very well sometimes, or want to do Atkins "their own way" but then wonder why it doesn't work or cheat etc.

And I can believe Dr. Atkins imagined a diet of perfection. He obviously worked with a number of people to develop the plan of what worked best. He is pretty specific with what is allowed and not allowed foods and how to do Induction and OWL.

No one here is saying that everyone has to do Atkins perfectly (except for Induction, at the minimum). But everyone will likely agree that if it's done perfectly, it will be most effective and that is the advise given here to help people do their best with Atkins to make it most effective. If I saw people giving advise that "the occcasional cheat is ok" I doubt Atkins or this board would be as successful as it has been.

You posted that you are a 37 year old male, and judging by your weight, you don't have as much weight as some of us to lose. I found it much easier to lose weight when I only had 40-50 lbs to lose by doing portion control. It's a totally different world if you have more to lose, or you have tried portion control and it just doesn't work. That's where Atkins comes in and is proven to be not only good for losing weight, but healthy and easy to do, and it also changes your eating habits substantially that you no longer want those foods that caused you to gain weight to begin with and gives you control to resist them.

The key is to find whatever works for you, be it strict Atkins or portion control and do your best to stick with it. The advice given here is for Atkins, not low-carb or whatever plan you wish.

[not2late]

Re: All Perfect People Stand Up!

And I can believe Dr. Atkins imagined a diet of perfection. He obviously worked with a number of people to develop the plan of what worked best. He is pretty specific with what is allowed and not allowed foods and how to do Induction and OWL.

According to his biographer, he was known for yelling at his patients for cheating. "Reduce them to tears" was the quote from one of his nurses at the Atkins Center......

[2big4mysize]

our tolerance for individual total carb levels is genetic and based on our physical activity too. I can eat over 110 net carbs when I'm doing my HIIT and BFL workouts and lose but when I had to cut out all lowerbody exercise after the knee surgeries I had to cut my carbs back to just 40 just to maintain.

Some folk were overweight just because they ate too much period. For those folk controlling the total cals will work just as Dr Atkins said in Chapter 11 of DANDR if your total cals in is less then your total calls out you will lose weight. and he was defining losing weight as loing fat mass something SCP's scale weight nunbers after his one day experiments will not show as the scale will only tell you how much total body mass you have being effected by the pull of gravity. it doesn't know if you are fat mass lighter fluid mass heavier or muscle mass heavier. Just total mass more or total mass less.

SOme of use are not only morbidly obese when we start Atkins be are carboholics too and like an alcoholic there is no just one drink for us. When we take the tiger out everyday and have our alloted carbs and then pen the beast back up it is very hard. I used my treadmill for my stress and for my craving control turning into an exercise junkie and I know when I couldn't use it for those 2 months my cravings for carby foods drove me bonkers and I caved. It took me almost a month to get back to the I love Atkins stage and cheatfree again. I never want to be in that posistin again so I will always chose the Atkins aceptable foods over just a bit of any high carb high sugar processed food just cause it is a special event as I have learned to celebrate life's events and the love of my friends and family and not the foods associate with them. Nobody deserves any food as a reward for anything. Food is something that should be looked upon a s a means to fuel our bodies period. We deserve to be the healthier smaller people we have become from doing our Atkins.

We don't tell alcoholics it is okay to drink a beer casue we know just the taste is enough to send them off on a real binge so too don't tell us carboholics we can have just a bit if we use portion control cause SCP, you are setting us up for a binge and it is the carboholic who has to regain control not the poster saying oh you can have it it will not hurt look I eat it and lose. Same thing with the frankenfoods you don't tell an alcoholic be happy with an NA BEER cause again it toocan trigger a binge of drinking so too can those frankenfoods. If we could practice portion control with those type of foods we would never have become morbidly obese to begin with.

[Elizellen]

Alright. I haven't called anyone a liar. Just because I don't believe someone could go 23 months without a bite of something sugary or starchy, does not mean I'm calling them a liar. Heck, I could be wrong. But wrong is different than calling someone a liar.

Actually SCP - what you don't seem to understand is that you HAVE called people liars whether you intended that or not.
You could have worded your posting as "I find it hard to believe", or "Wow how amazing that some of you have been able not to 'cheat' on Atkins" - but you chose to say "I don't believe you have done it".

Just because you could not do it doesn't mean some of us haven't! :hug

Why not accept that it is YOU who has had a problem not eating sugars and starches and that others HAVE succeeded in cutting those things out of their WOE? No-one has been unkind to you about not being able (or willing) to do Atkins 'by the book' so why should you be unkind to us who strive to do so?

Like the others in this thread I wish you well in remaining at goal for many years once you have lost your last 2 pounds. :hug

[Streetcorner Philosopher]

Elizellen and others,

Yes you are all right. I give up. I'm curled up in the fetal position now. I'm no longer going to argue. If someone was offended, please forgive me.

Bizzlekitty had a few good points. You're right. Having 20-30 pounds is a different mind-set than having to lose alot more. However, I have been much heavier in my life than even 186 (which was my starting point for my modified Atkins plan). In highschool I weighed over 210....which is still not huge, but all my weight seems to go to my stomach which gives the illusion of very large. Even now at 5-10" 167 lbs, I still have a large-ish stomach.

Unfortunately I seem to have lost weight first in my face, arms, and legs. Stomach seems to be last to go for some reason.

[Pam_C]

I know that sometimes your writing can sound a lot different than you mean it too. We just wanted you to understand how and why we can stay away from those foods. I was 5'1" and over 220 pounds when I started. I know what that little bite does to me. Not gain weight but will make it harder to get back on track. I just don't make it readily available to me if it ain't there I can't have it. Then I'm too proud to "cheat" when we go out cause I want everyone to see how dedicated I am. I have had high blood pressure since I was 14 and on meds. I don't take anything now. It was do or die. I have worked way to hard to just throw it away. Yes I also took offense to what you said mainly because you don't know me and what I'm capable of. It was the way you phrased your words. Just look at this title. I come here for encouragement. Now that you understand where we are coming from I commend you for apologizing.

[Streetcorner Philosopher]

You know the reason I started this thread was because my wife and I have been doing Atkins together since the start of January. We've both lost pretty good amount of weight. She's lost 25 lbs now.

The thing is my wife has been haunted by weight her whole life. She's never been more than 30 lbs over weight, but even that amount of weight has affected her self esteem to the point where she used to cry on a regular basis regarding her inability to lose weight.

During our dual weight-loss, we BOTH noticed a pattern of how MUCH we ate and the ensuant weight loss. Carb control helped, of course. But when it came down to it, the ugly truth for both of us was all about portion contol.

For instance, I could eat a Hershey's chocolate bar for breakfast....A snickers for lunch....and a salad for dinner and lose 3 pounds in one day! On the contrary I could eat a plate of chicken and vegetables twice a day and gain weight!

Now granted, the candy bars are not optimal for health reasons, but weight-loss was the goal at the time. And eating candy bars is certainly not the norm, but it's just an example of how something loaded with carbs can actually help you lose weight if you budget your day.

I guess I'm just amazed that other people haven't noticed the same thing. I realize that having a chocolate bar can make one have future cravings, so that might be a down-side if you can't control your urges. To me, eating a chocolate bar once a week or 10 days is a healthy thing to do mentally....since I enjoy those. It's a great thing to look forward to after a week of good work.

[Pam_C]

I will say that honestly if I ate 2 candy bars and a salad eveyday then I could lose weight too I'm 25 (so I have that on my side).BUT eventually that will catch up because you aren't eating enough calories and your body will hit starvation mode. If you were to eat 3 reg. meals a day and have a candy bar your weight loss would probably stall. I make sure I have eaten at least 1200 calories a day. You sound like my husband. lol The first time he started atkins he wouldn't eat a candy bar BUT he would put one in his mouth and then spit it out for the taste of it. He said that doesn't count since it was only in there for 5 seconds. Yes he would count how long he left it in his mouth! Have you tried www.fitday.com? It will track your calories and carbs. It's free. You and your wife are losing and that's great. If it works for you and is healthy then go for it.

[adbbadmin]

I am locking this thread as it is not serving a useful pupose at this time.
I will also be locking the first thread as I believe there is really no more to say on this subject.

Some people can eat more than others once they reach maintainance and even before in pre-maintainance.
We need to learn to listen to our bodies, as you can be sure it will tell you when things are right and when things are wrong.
Some people on maintainance can eat some of those foods that were not legal in the other stages of this way of eating, and others know they can not touch them or it will begin a slide down the slippery slope to becoming unhealthy again.
For those who can eat a higher carb count, taste things made with sugar and processed white four, then okay. For those who can't, we don't.
Best wishes to all on your low carb journey.