Stupid Question!

[marilynp]

I am in the process of reading the book and spent endless hours on this forum gaining tons of useful info., but my one "stupid" question is this....If I am in ketosis (purple ketostix)...then will I definitely lose weight?

The reason I ask is that I am so used to low calorie ...starving to lose weight. It seems unbelievable that I can feel this satisfied and still lose weight. I often wonder if I am eating to much? Can you eat too much on Atkins, if it is carb free?
Thanks for taking the time to read this!

[Momma2threegirls]

It's not a stupid question. But I think it's a change in mindset for you (keep reading) i think you will need to understand the WHY to get to the HOW. Atkins is NOT a no carb diet. dairy, eggs, and vegtables all have carbs in them. During induction you are to not eat more than 20 carbs. You CAN and WILL loose weight. You will cease being a slave to cravings and hunger if you do a clean induction, detox your body and then work smartly to add back in a greater variety of foods. I worried, like you, about the same issues. I did WW for years and my weight bounced around. The cravings never left me alone. I binged on and off. I lost weight - but life was a daily battle. Some days were minute by minute of food obsessions. I was CRAZY, literally. I decided to rad the book cover to cover and then dedicate myself to a clean induction and no weigh in for two weeks. I haven't looked back. It was the best thing. it wasn't easy at first -but once the cravings stopped I found liberation. I can't turn back. This is the first time in my life that I don't wake up planning, thinking, and obsessing about food. All you can do is trust and try.

HTH - Erika

[marilynp]

Thank you Erica!!!!!! I did go to bed with th e book last night, I have the best intentions of getting all the information, but I am trying to do this with 4 kids, etc. Your story is SO my story! WW for years, which worked on and off, always thinking about food and planning my next meal. I feel great on Atkins, and do feel mhy first week of induction has been clean. I have certainly not cheated, it has been more a case of trying to make sure that the carbs I am getting are the right ones and the right amount, etc. It is a mindset, I am breaking old habits and patterns. Your post, your stats, and your success are so motivational. Thank you for your help!! And congrats...looks like you have done AMAZING!!!!!!!

[Skeptika23]

Marilyn - I'm here to confirm as well that yes, it is totally possible to lose pounds and inches (inches are important) doing Atkins, and you don't have to starve to death to do it.

I was on the traditional low-calorie, low fat, high carb diet and I actually gained ten pounds. I increased my exercise dramatically - my personal theory is that I gained muscle mass but the fat just stayed there on top of the muscle!

I was starving - like, knock over Grandma to get to the food starving - all the time. It was miserable, and it was so demoralizing to gain weight by following all of the "traditional" rules. I did everything right according to every standard recommendation I'd read.

You will find you end up eating less calories due to eating Atkins than you did before on the low calorie/low fat plan and you won't starve (thank you, delicious natural fats)! I struggled to keep to a 1800 calorie/day regimen before, now, I average anywhere between 1200 and 1500 daily. That's one of the reasons you will lose weight.

[Momma2threegirls]

Thanks AMrilyn I'm glad I could help.

i just want to say "YES!" to what Jackie said about feeling demoralized on other WOE'ing. But I also want to caution you about calories. I do not focus or worry about calories. Some days I eat less than 2000, some days I eat more than 2000. (and loose the same) But I don't count them or worry about them. I use Fitday.com to log my food - so I see the talley at the end of the day. for awhile I fell into the trap of paying a lot of attention to them. the truth was often i'd eat 1500 calories each day for my week and NOT loose b/c I wasn't getting enough of the right things. So keep track of what youa re eating. Track your carbs - but don't pay too much weight to the overall calories. If you follow the plan you won't be hungry and they won't matter

[Razzle39]

I agree with Jackie. This diet is a natural appetite suppressor. I plug all my foods into fitday.com. THis is a freee resource on the web which is awesome for keeping track of your calorie count. I am not keeping track in case I eat too many but the opposite. There are days where I come up short at 1100 calories and I have to find something else to eat so I wont slow my metabolism. One day for fun I plugged in what I used to eat and I was shocked that my average calories count was around 3000 calories a day. UGH!