I'm sure this question has been asked a million times

[daquix]

... but I am looking for answers from Atkins VETERANS (those who have reached their goal or are very close). No offense to those in the middle. I have heard that those on Atkins do lose weight and at a good pace, but when they go off, they tend to gain it all back. Is this true? I know some people who have.

Edit: I guess I shouldn't say JUST veterans - those who have gained it back also, please respond. Looking for advice here! I want to come on board again, but I don't want to gain it all back after I lose it.

[Bluebelt2007]

Many people do gain weight back, however, it's b/c they have stopped this Way of Eating (WOE) and have gone back the food items that caused them to be overweight in the first place.

I am one of these people. I lost Eighty pounds about 8 years ago and maintained my weight loss for several years on a low carb plan. The only reason I gained weight back, was I slowly abadoned the Low carbs life style that made me feel food and that was successful. I was foolish enough to think I could eat sugar with control. The reason I eventually got back to 352 pounds was I can not.

I really relate it to be an alcoholic, if you stop drinking you are dealing with your problem. It's the unsucceful alcoholic, who after time thinks he/she can get by having a drink, etc. At the end of the day, I am a carboholic, if I can live my life knowing that and dealing with it I will be succesful. If I can't it won't work.

The other reason I am overweight is a lifetime of poor choices in regards to food. I can lose all the weight I want, but when I am finally at my ideal weight, if I have not learned to make good choices (I believe this WOE is the good choice), it will be all for not. We all have to individually recognize what got us to where we are.

Hope this helps, It's just my opinion. Happy Holidays and good luck.

[Chicklady]

My story is the same as Bluebelts almost ver batum.....It took a while to sink in that this is not a diet that you do and then go off. This is a way of eating for life.

[inhisgrip]

Hi daquix, Same here. I lost 70 pounds on Atkins my first time around. I kept it off for about a year. I slowly returned to my old habits, my old way of eating and gained all the weight back.

However...my dad lost 110 pounds on Atkins way back when (before the low carb craze hit). He has maintained his weight ever since! He has been successful because he exercises daily and watches his carb intake.

[daquix]

Thanks for the answers everyone!

[Elizellen]

I feel that mostly the people who lose well on Atkins then put it all back on are those who havent followed the 4 stages of Atkins, gradually adding foods back into their WOE while climbing the OWL ladder.
Once they hit goal as they havent learned how to handle non-induction allowed foods they often revert to the high carb WOE they had before they started Atkins (possibly also keeping the highfat attitude of Atkins) and so put weight back on again easily.

[Brook]

95% of dieters fail within a period of 5 years. By fail I mean they do not maintain their weight loss. That's not just Atkins- that's *all* dieters.

The bottom line is this: If you go back to eating the way that got you fat in the first place, you're going to get fat again. If you continue to eat the way that got you healthy, you're going to stay healthy.

WOE/WOL mentality vs dieters mentality. One keeps it off and the other mentality is the makings of a dietary statistic. Which are you going to be?!

Hi and welcome!

[sallyseachange]

I'll echo the others... Atkins (or any other successful weight loss programme) has to be a lifestyle change which also incorporates exercise. If it isn't, it's doomed to failure.

[dreamof145]

I agree with the previous posts. Those who gain weight back didn't learn the 4 phases and understand that this is a way of life, not a way to quickly lose weight and then go back to their previous eating habits. Dr. Atkins explains in his book that the program was written so people could lose weight, get healthier and learn to make wise choices regarding their meals in order to maintain their goal weight after they've reached it.

[Hudson]

Eating 6 donuts, 3 cokes, 1 candy bar, Supersize Cheeseburger,fries and drink, 8 slices of pizza and 2 bowls of ice cream every day got me fat. I am 100% certain if I eat that again I will gain about 100 lbs.

Going off of carbs or sugar for a few months for weight loss is about useless.