***Question***

[conni82]

Hey all! well i have a question, ive been doing atkins a few days now...havent really seen any results...Honestly I have been through all kinds of diets in my life...my lowest weight reached was 129 lbs, but i did it by starving all the time...sometimes i would eat as low as 200 calories a day...Anyway, im back at 151, and i have some questions...i am very depressed, i hope to lose about 10 lbs at least in one month...I am not really comfortable eating lots of fat...I was wondering if it was okay to do less calories, very little carbs, and more protein and still lose weight?? I jog about 40 minutes every day for my exercise...

can i do this diet and still lose, since its not high in fat?

breakfast consists of:
omelet (3 eggs) (made from egg whites only) with peppers, tomatoes, and onions
lunch:2 boiled eggs, a few leaves of lettuce
dinner: chicken (grilled)chopped with peppers (sort of like in a salad) , lettuce, tomatoes, and egg

this diet is low fat, high protein, and low carb...and it keeps me satisfied and energized...is it okay?????

i usually fill up and feel satisfied with just that...someone pleeeeeeease help!! im feeling very depressed

[Bugaboo]

I know it's hard to get out of the mind set that fat is bad but in the book in Chapter 11 Dr.A says "I cannot stress strongly enough that trying to do a low-fat version of Atkins will interfere with fat burning and derail your weight loss."

Don't be afraid of fat! Trans fats yes...but not butter and olive oil and etc. We eat until we're satisfied not stuffed. Food is not your enemy! Don't punish yourself...eat the wonderful vast array of allowable foods and enjoy yourself! Also, because you don't have much to lose you'll probably lose slower...be patient it will pay off! I hope you feel better soon!

[Desertthorn]

Yep Bugs is right. You need to understand how this diet works before you can expect to lose weight. You can't do low fat Atkins. Period. Its the fat that helps us lose the weight. If you can't eat fat, then look the low-GI diets that are coming out. Also the best way to lose weight is to up your exercise
Also when you starve yourself, your body holds on to fat as a protective measure so going low calorie is only making yourself unhealthy.
Read the book my friend, and it will explain how the plan works, but don't make up your own diet cause that doesn't work at all.

[Elizellen]

Hi Connie
Welcome to ADBB

The 'average' loss on 14 days induction is expected to be between 5% and 10% of what you hope to lose - so for you anything over 2 pounds will be outstanding!!

It is difficult to get out of the mindset 'fat is bad' - I think we all found that when we started - but please dont try to low-fat Atkins - it cant be done and still be Atkins!!

Are you exercising as well? Many Atkineers find their bodies reshape themselves without losng pounds if they exercise.

Have you measured yourself with a tapemeasure? It will help reassure you if you find the pounds going slowly if you can prove to yourself that you are shrinking in inches.

[Finelly]

The short answer is "no".

You have been abusing your body for years with the starvation diet and whatever binging, etc., you have been doing. Your metabolism is probably shot and any kind of "diet" that you try that doesn't help to re-establish a healthy metabolism is going to fail in the long run.

Before you start Atkins, I think you need to do some reflecting and reading. The DANDR book is great and you should read it through. But you also need to consider this race you are having with yourself. The very fact that you are asking if you can lose 10 lbs in a month is problematic. You are setting yourself up to race to a loss, not to eat healthily and establish a new relationship with food.

Atkins is NOT a diet. It is a way of eating, a way of living and relating to food. It is not about restricting calories or fat. It is also not something you customize to suit your food desires. You CANNOT do Atkins with the same mindset that you did any other diet, because Atkins is about EATING, not starving, EXPLORING, not restricting.

I'm going to be really blunt here. I do not think that Atkins is for you UNLESS you can get past the starvation thinking and the "race to lose" mindset you have. You will fail on this way of eating and relating to food unless you can accept that you must eat fat and protein and cannot just reduce carbs, but limit them to 20 grams for at least 2 weeks. You will fail on this way of eating if you set a 10 lb in one month limit and get frustrated if the weight doesn't come off the way you want.

You will SUCCEED if you make a decision to become healthy, follow the plan correctly, and learn to know your body and how and when it chooses to drop pounds on the scale. And, even more importantly, if you accept that inches are more important than pounds. At this point, until you read the book and read a whole bunch of posts on this board relating to induction and weight loss, you are setting yourself up to fail.