Re: Atkins Diet

[AnOther]

It worked for me.

[img]http://parenting.leehansen.com/downloads/coloring/halloween/images/blank-skeleton-clr.gif[/img]

Had a bit of a wind problem but I'm over it now [:D]

 

[Russethouse]

 I lost of weight on South Beach, it's a little less harsh than Atkins, the first time I did Phase 1, I lost 13lbs in 2 weeks........you can find all you need to know here: http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/forum/

[powerdesal]

[quote user="Puzzled"]

I did the Atkins diet a few years ago and was pleased with the results I was achieving, but then various scare stories began to appear and for one reason and another, I stopped.

Has anyone lost a fair bit of weight using the Atkins diet without any major health problems ?

[/quote]

Yes, no problems, but I (we) have only been doing it for 4 years, perhaps there is still time.

The Atkins diet is not strickly a diet in the normally accepted sense but is a 'life style'. It also reduced my cholesterol levels to a point where I stopped antivastatins ( the Doc agreed). 

[Cat]

I know a few people who managed to lose loads of weight on Atkins with no real health problems. Only trouble is that every single one of them has put back on all the weight they lost, and two have put back on more weight than they lost!

As with so many of these "wonder" diets, the weight loss and target weight are only sustainable for as long as the diet lasts, so unless it's going to last forever, or unless someone is able to stick to maintenance for their whole life, these diets are only a short term solution.

Good on you pd for sticking at it for 4 years, I suppose with both of you doing the same eating plan it is easier not to slip back into old eating habits?

[powerdesal]

As I said Cat, I dont consider it to be a 'diet' per se, its a dietary style, as committed carnivores it was not and is not too difficult to maintain.

I agree it is difficult to avoid 'some' weight gain, particularly as (a) you get older and weight seems to be attracted, (b) reduction in gym exercise as a result of the gym being knocked down ! (c) being on my own and eating less than healthily (sometimes).

My wife does not have the same problem as she always loses weight in France due to more physical activity.

I can't actually remember the 'old eating habits', we obviously used to eat more carbs but reduction of that is not a problem, its really a case of being aware of what you eat and the physiological effects of the various food stuffs, plus regular weight checking and immediate action if you see a gain.

We still eat bread,chips, potatoes, pasta and rice but are aware of the effects and moderate consumption accordingly. Oddly enough rice and pasta seem to have the least effect on weight gain. Alcohol is the biggest weight gaining factor.

I have to say that its not really true to say we are / were on the Atkins diet in its true sense, but rather a modified form based on the book "Protein Power" by the Drs Edge. I can understand that the strict Atkins has its problems and, in my view, any 'diet' or dietary regime that has unrealist strictures will not be sustainable over time.

Using the Protein Power regime I lost 9kgs, reduced my waist by 6 ins, reduced my BMI to an unsustainable level of approx 18 but felt much healthier. The reduction of cholesterol was the driver.

I have, in the last few years increased the weight by 3 kgs to a sustainable level, my BMI went up to a sustainable level and my waist increased by approx 1 in. I am still comfortably wearing the same size trousers as after the initial weight loss ( over a 4 month period).

My wife achieved better results and maintains those results with very little 'size bounce' over time. Obviously I can't quote her stats.

We tried (unsuccessfully) to persuade our daughters in UK to adopt the same dietary approach, but because its protein based and thus heavily meat orientated it is not as financially feasible for them as it is for us.

Edit at 18.11 hrs (uae time)  It was not BMI at 18 it was body fat percentage.

[Clair]

Funnily enough, I have recently started eating 'the French way" again (breakfast, 4-course lunch, 4-course diner), after years of following a more British eating plan (breakfast, salad/sandwich, proper diner).

I made an appointment with a nutritionist at the local hospital and, after she’d got over the shock of my diet, she gave me a basic food guide which should help me reach a healthier weight and hopefully stave off some other health risks.

I needed to change for health reasons and I dreaded the heavy-stomach feeling, but I have to admit to being quite comfortable with it and I have managed to lose about 8 pounds in a week, eating more food than I used to.

[5-element]

8 pounds a week, Claire! That's an awful lot. You will get lots of PM's asking you for details, and/or the name of your nutritionist.

I just couldn't eat the British way, salad/soup lunch and then a big dinner with apéro and wine etc... I would turn into a whale in no time at all.

[Clair]

She got me to step on one of those Tanita machines, which prints out your weight, BMI, fat %, fat weight, muscle weight and "water content" weight. It was enough to make me take the whole process seriously, believe me!

After I'd mentioned my serious doubts that I could ever eat as much food as she was listing, she told me that diner at her house was a 5-course affair and she was letting me off lightly!

Her short-term goal is to help me reach a healthier weight. My long-term goal is more ambitious...

[Mme poivre]

Well done caire

yes i did try the adkins diet a few years ago and did begin to loose weight on it but it became cost prohibitive i didn't have any issue with it either.. 

However this year I have tried the Tesco GI diet and have so far lost 20lb and have enjoyed cooking the food and eating it, and not felt hungry at all and I have more energy than I had before. Ho thinks its not bad as well because he has lost a similar amount of weight and enjoys the food.

 

Judith

 

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

For me personally, I have found that eating less has meant I have lost weight. Amazing really, but in the past week I have stopped eating chocolate, crisps, most carbs and focussed on protein, veg, fruit and my only bit of luxury food has been bread. But I've lost half a stone in one week and don't really miss all the crap I used to eat. I don't snack anymore either. Just a bit of lunch and dinner and perhaps a low sugar yoghurt in the evening.

I am more hungry at the moment, but as my stomach shrinks to the size it should be, in the long term that feeling will go.

Lynda is on a similar diet too and doing well.

[mint]

Puzzled, I have tried them all.  I agree Weightwatchers is the pits.

I loved doing Atkins and I lost more weight more easily than I ever did on other diets.  But, like you, I got worried about what it was doing to my body.

I also got fair results with RH's South Beach diet.

Then, when I was 50, I employed a Personal Trainer for 2 years and after that, because of the cost, I carried on in the gym under my own steam.  The training was not the same as I couldn't do the bench-presses and so on without someone standing over me to ensure I was safe lifting the weights.  Even so, I felt pretty good and kept the weight off. 

When I came to France last year, I was a svelte size 8 to 10, could eat anything and felt like a million dollars.  Now, just over a year later, I feel like a whale, am frightened to weigh myself, can't fit into any of my clothes, my waistline has disappeared and my little "six-pack" that I had when I was a gym bunny is well hidden under rolls of yuck.

This is a very timely post because I will now reassess my lifestyle.  Unfortunately, no gym with machines anywhere near us.  So, I will definitely get my bike out for a start and do some gentle cycling until I can run again.

Unfortunately, I seem to be getting a lot of aches and pains since I have been here.  Could hardly walk for nearly a month last month on account of a dodgey knee and, today, I have bad backache.  I am convinced it's because of too idle and sedentary a lifestyle.

Boy, do I need a wake-up call!

[powerdesal]

Sweet,

You dont need machines to get fit, you have everything in your own home.

Arm curls with a tin of food in each hand, or a plastic bag with a couple of kilos of (say) potatoes in each hand, step ups on the bottom two steps of a staircase, crunches on the sitting room or bedroom floor. Think outside the box as they say.

[Tony F Dordogne]

Must be the time of year I think .........

Since the New Year, I've lost over 10 kilos, just changed my eating habits, gone back to a non red meat diet, mainly fish with loads of veggies (now mainly home grown and organic) and fresh fruit tho with the odd ice cream treat in there.  Also much more exercise tho that is regulated by my blood condition which sometimes makes any exercise very difficult.  Balanced dieting IS easy, you just need to know how to obtain it and more importantly, how to cook it.

A chum of mine was recently put on the Atkins Diet by his wife, both had to go back to the Uk for a family event.  The problem was that he had previously and recently been diagnosed with high colestorol and told to cut down seriously on the amount he ate.  Wife knew best and tho he lost weight, his GP is non too pleased - tho he should have said no to her but he never does.

I do miss some things but it's a balance for me - my health problems are always better when I loose weight and eat properly tho living here with the high fat, high red meat, high cholesterol diet is difficult to avoid - goodness knows how so many of the little old locals have survived as long as they have. 

[Wendy]

Whatever happened to 'eat less - move more' ? My doctor some time back said you can eat whatever you like so long as you:

* leave the car at home and walk several times a week

* take the stairs and not the lift

* walk to the TV rather than use the remote...

* eat 'backwards'...huge brekkie, big lunch ( no bread or potatoes after lunch ) then small dinner.

Fats are fine so long as you spend more time moving than you spend eating...

 

 

[Clair]

[quote user="Jura"]Whatever happened to 'eat less - move more' ? [/quote]

All very well in principle, but not much use when I am still struggling to compensate for a removed thyroid 18 months after the operation...

The dosage for the replacement medication has doubled in that time and my GP still requires blood tests every 6 months to monitor its effects.

[powerdesal]

[quote user="Jura"]

Whatever happened to 'eat less - move more' ? My doctor some time back said you can eat whatever you like so long as you:

* leave the car at home and walk several times a week   Would love to, but living 150km from work................

* take the stairs and not the lift  No choice, no lift.

* walk to the TV rather than use the remote...   Get real !!!!!!

* eat 'backwards'...huge brekkie, big lunch ( no bread or potatoes after lunch ) then small dinner.  No lunch, still full from breakfast  [:P]

Fats are fine so long as you spend more time moving than you spend eating...

 

 

[/quote]

[mint]

Steve, eat less camel meat and, particularly, give up the local delicacy of camel testicle kebabs grilled on the barbie.

How's you looking forward to being here permanently and eating some proper cuisine instead?

[powerdesal]

Days to do getting few

20 to go

I am now getting bored, killing time. No more packing that I can do. Shipping co arrive in 10 days to pack up the house.

The biggest problem is getting rid of the booze stocks, its hell, but someone has to do it.

[mint]

Well done, Steve!  You must have worked like stink.

I trust you are not tipping the booze down the sink.  We have done plenty of that since coming to France.  Despite living near Bordeaux, we have yet to find a French red that we enjoy drinking!  Dull or what?

[AnOther]

Whatever happened to 'eat less - move more' ? My doctor some time back said you can eat whatever you like so long as you:

Good advice but not universally practical: 

* leave the car at home and walk several times a week - My 'commute' is about 20 steps and one flight of 15 stairs [8-|]

* take the stairs and not the lift - See above, no lift anyway [:(]

* walk to the TV rather than use the remote...- TV/Video/DVD are within arms reach in my cabin, still use the remotes though [:$]

* eat 'backwards'...huge brekkie, big lunch ( no bread or potatoes after lunch ) then small dinner. - Easy to say but not so easy to follow when I can help myself to a 3 course meal every 8 hours plus snacks from the fridge or salad bar inbetween, if I want that is [6]

Fats are fine so long as you spend more time moving than you spend eating...- Do jaw movements count [Www]

Ultimately then it must be the lack of alcohol offshore which helps me stay slim [:D]

 

[Eos]

20lbs down so far with Atkins & will be happy with another 10.

I lost a lot of weight with Atkins about 5 years ago, much more than above. I thought that I looked too thin for my age, particularly facially & so introduced some food items to put back on a little weight. Only problem was I forgot to stop & while I didn't go back to my original weight, I am now in the midst of a 30lb weight loss lifestyle change.

I enjoy Atkins food & it would naturally make up the bulk of what I eat... I just love crisps & that Friday evening takeaway so they were my bggest challenges last time. This time I am more flexible in my approach & stick to the regime BUT if I want something every couple of weeks or so I have it. It does slow the weight loss down a bit but I don't have that restricted feeling with this choice I've made.