help! i gave up after almost one year :(

[saraalaswad]

Hello all,

I am so upset, after almost a year, well 327 days on atkins and then i gave up! i was so strict on the diet and lost 72 pounds. Its been around 20 days since i stopped atkins, i went on to weight watchers for around the first 10 days and couldnt stand it, i was so ill and bloated.. and now i am eating anything and everything.. i dont know why i stopped and what to do now.. I have only gained 3 pounds since i stopped but me and everyone i know is worried i will pile on all the weight i took so long to lost. the sad thing is i was only around 50lbs short of my goal which is nothing compared to where i begun a year ago..

My question is, has anyone been through this? have you suddenly made a bad decision to go off atkins after so long ? what were the repercussions? and did you res-start? if so did you still loose weight? and were there any side affects.

i am scared to restart because i feel i am messing with my body, but its taken me this 20 days or so to realize i want to go back to atkins, and no other way of eating is right for me except atkins..

let me know what you all think, and how you thinki should go about this.

many thanks

ashamed sara

xxx

[Sherri]

Hi Sara,
Just pick up where you left off. You'll be doing your body and health good by going back to the Atkins lifestyle.
After a 4 day detox you'll be losing weight and heading to goal.
You can do this!
That's good that you only gained 3 pounds. That will melt off quickly and is probably just water retention anyways.
Come back to what you know is healthiest for you, ATKINS.
You said it yourself "and no other way of eating is right for me except atkins.."
Go back to what is best for you!
Sincerely, Sherri

[OzLover]

First off congrats on your amazing loss!! I would think going back to Induction would be a smart thing to do. You need to detox & get the crap out of your system. The go up the rungs per DANDR. When you stopped what rung were you at? I would also reread DANDR & also give it some deep thought as to why to stopped this way of eating.

Good luck & keep in touch!

[saraalaswad]

Sherri: your right, i dont know i went off it, i guess it was a momentary lapse in judgement..I will restart on induction tomorrow and hopefully move past this thanks for your support.. xxxx

ozlover: hello well i was on rung 3, i was on extended induction for quite a while.. i think i will go back to induction with the hope that the weightloss will restart and i can get back to what works best for me.. atleast i didnt allow myself to go to far..
thanks for your advice
xxxx

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

I was going to say pretty much exactly what OzLover said...but also, asides from re-starting Induction and re-reading the book...

you said, "i dont know why i stopped and what to do now" - that's something you need to stop and ask yourself and REALLY find the answer to.

WHY did you "stop"? You made all these INCREDIBLE and HEALTHY changes to your body - you gave up sugar for 327 days and yet all of a sudden you're going to give ALL of that up?

Why? This question needs to be answered within yourself before you'll truly get back on the wagon...and I KNOW you can do it - get back on track, that is - but you SERIOUSLY need to stop and figure out WHY it is that you stopped in the first place.

Are you bored? Are you angry? Do you have anything stressful in your life? Any life changing event out of no where?

Do you no longer "believe" in the DANDR woe? you seriously need to sit down with yourself - grab some pen and paper (or a computer/word/blog, etc...) and just start writing out ALL your feelings on WHY you loved what you were doing for the past year and WHY all of a sudden you don't feel like doing it anymore.

YOU ARE WORTH IT! :P

[liv]

I think this time once you find the groove you should consider moving up OWL. Low carbing becomes more a lifestyle the more foods you learn to eat properly and it may be easier for you to avoid burn outs.

Congratulations on making it back.

[roadshow]

I lost 130 pounds and stopped (not one one my best decisions). I gained 30 back and went on Weight Watchers. I actually did lose the 30 I gained. I couldn't stick to WW. I was losing focus and constantly felt like I needed to snack. I stopped WW and did nothing for a few months and re-gained the 30 pounds again. Now I am back on induction, about 10 days so far. I feel in control again. I have only lost about 3 pounds so far, but I'm commited to sticking with it.
So, don't be ashamed Sara. Jump back in. Your body may go through a brief adjustment period, but eventually the Atkin's fat buring machine will kick in again.

[SunnySmile501]

I am thinking that with only allowing yourself to go up to rung 3, that you got tired of your choices. There are so many great foods out there that are legal at higher rungs.

I've been doing this so long that I can't imagine eating any other way. Never have I eaten this well and been so satisfied with food choices.

Branch out and try new and different food choices. Check out recipes and give something new a whirl. Almost anything you can imagine can be made low carb and healthy.

Sunny!

[Elizellen]

Welcome back Sarah

Dr Atkins talks about what to do if you slip off track for a while. Get back on induction and then move to OWL. If you were only offplan for a few days/meals you might be back in ketosis quickly and can then return to the level/rung of OWL you were at previously.

I can't find any specific advice in DANDR about how to handle a lapse of several weeks, but think it would be wise to do induction till you are back in ketosis and no longer experiencing cravings then move quickly up the OWL ladder to where you reached before, but then move on up further.

As SunnySmile said, once you are at the higher rungs your food choices are more liberal and might enable you to acclimatise to Atkins more easily.