Behavioral Support

[HardRuler]

What can anyone tell me about the behavioral part of the Atkins weight loss plan?

I ask because the average success rate for diets is 2%. I don't mean to be a wet blanket. I am a weight loss counselor and I have found that regardless of the diet compliance is usually the issue. I have had many former low carbers, Jenny Craig drop outs, zoned out Zoners and Ornish orphans come to me for help and I have been very successful with them.

Why do you think it is that so many dieters fall of the wagon?

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by HardRuler

What can anyone tell me about the behavioral part of the Atkins weight loss plan?

I ask because the average success rate for diets is 2%. I don't mean to be a wet blanket. I am a weight loss counselor and I have found that regardless of the diet compliance is usually the issue. I have had many former low carbers, Jenny Craig drop outs, zoned out Zoners and Ornish orphans come to me for help and I have been very successful with them.

Why do you think it is that so many dieters fall of the wagon?

I think you have pointed out the reason yourself -- dieting. In my opinion, most people fail to reach goal or to maintain their weight loss because they are been dieting instead of assimilating the "diet" as their new way of eating and living.

Atkins. I believe the way Atkins is designed makes it relatively easy for "dieters" not only to lose weight, but also to keep it off. However, to achieve this, one has to follow Atkins the correct way, i.e. advance through all the phases and follow the rules of each phase. As I have seen on the ADBB, the successful Atkineers are those who, along their journey, have the patience to learn how their bodies react to certain foods or food combinations, to certain levels of exercise, to certain life events, etc. and whose purpose is not simply losing weight, but "losing" their unhealthy dietary and lifestyle habits.

[chinadoll]

I think many people look at it as a way to "fix" them and once they go as far as they can they either give up on getting "fixed" or consider themselves "fixed" and stop following the lifestyle (whatever it is) Unless you are willing to look at this as a permanent change it never works. We like the things we used to eat so it is pretty easy to slip back to some old habits. Humans in general are not that disciplined. They are beings that pursue what tastes good rather than what is in our best interests.

[OzLover]

I agree 100% with Georgiana & chinadoll. I would like to add that in my opinion many "dieters" do not examine what it is that causes them to use food to deal with their problems. It is a drug of choice for many people. For me that is a crucial piece in my journey & certainly an ongoing process.

[Elizellen]

Originally Posted by HardRuler

Why do you think it is that so many dieters fall of the wagon?

As the others have said - because they stop 'dieting'. To successfully keep weight off after losing it you cannot return to eating the same old foods that got you overweight to start with.

I can't remember who first said 'If you keep on doing what you were doing in exactly the same way you can't expect a different outcome', but it is true.

To keep weight off we need to keep eating the foods that helped us to lose weight, and I feel that the Atkins WOE is one way of eating that I can be content with and not want to add back those foods that my body cannot get slim on!

[kibskix]

1. "Dieting" makes you feel deprived. Its a negative word. No one -really- wants to look at themselves negatively while they're attempting to do something good for themselves. I know WAY too many girls my age that the only way they even get motivated to lose weight is with negativity. "Oh my god I HATE Myself i'm SO going on a diet" Its sick. I don't use the word.

2. Laziness. I hate to be a brat, and its not entirely their fault either. All these fad diets promising overnight results. Girls who lose 2 lbs a week and they think they're doing BADLY. People don't have a healthy perspective of losing weight in general, that any loss is a good loss, and that its a long haul, not a sprint. So when people realize omg I have to -work- to get this to come off? Its a lot harder than they realized, and they tend to back out. Its scary, especially if you already feel self conscious and like you're doing it all by yourself. A support system is vital.

3. Miracle Mindset. People who DO get the weight to come off, and they work nice and hard and now they're happy. This is good! They have self confidence now and throw caution to the wind and go out and celebrate their miracle diet plan by.... totally reversing it. the "I lost 30 lbs, i'm going to reward myself with a cake" sort of thing.

4. ALL of this stems from #4. Deprivation, or what I like to call, the Whiny Child inside all of us. If you stay in the mindset of "I hate this i'm being punished I can't have ANY of the things I WANT" you will fail. period. You can't make a positive change in your life without a positive outlook. My mother for instance, has tried to do atkins with me, but her head just isnt in it, its not clicking, and after about half a day she just sits and complains, and cheats. she's watched me lose weight in the first 8 days doing a clean induction, but she's very much the "That isnt fair", "I cant eat like that forever" "what could it hurt" girl. And no matter how many times I say "it isnt forever" it doesn't matter. Its an excuse, and its why she isn't losing weight.

5. Losing weight is not just a physical change, its surprisingly emotional too. It varies from person to person, but its much harder for people who eat emotionally, or hide behind their weight. Its surprising to me how many people, once they lose weight, sabotage themselves because they're afraid of being thin. Its the "what if" machine. what if I dont keep it off, what if people notice i'm gaining weight again and judge me, what if what if what if. You psych yourself out! Also people who eat for comfort, eat for bordom, eat for whatever. You HAVE HAVE HAVE to break the habits, and lifelong habits may take a round or two or five to get rid of. But those core emotional issues must be dealt with to be successful.


As far as the behavioral part of the atkins plan that you asked about... You really can't describe it. I've tried, and you come of sounding like a babbling cultist lol. But i'll attempt it one more time!
BEFORE atkins... I was not healthy. I did not feel healthy. I could almost FEEL the icky laziness of my lifestyle. There was no pride in myself, and that holds you back from doing every day things other people do. It holds you back emotionally from people you love. Your food makes you sleepy, and upsets your tummy, and its not being put to any use, and you can tell that all that crap you just ate is just sitting there waiting to be turned into more fat.
NOW, I am on daay... nine. Only nine days, not terribly long, right? I feel entirely different than the person I was 10 days ago.
*My sleeping habits corrected themselves on their own. I used to stay up till 2am on my butt on the computer! Now I feel naturally tired around 10 or 11 (and let me tell you how unbelievably GOOD being naturally tired IS!) and I wake up at 6 or 7!
*My skin is... different! lol Its hard to explain. The last time my boyfriend saw me he said "theres a... glow about you". And he didn't know I had started eating differently either. Its clearer, and softer.
*I don't feel guilty about what I put in my body, and just that change alone has an amazing effect on my mood.
*Speaking of my mood. I am honest to god -ecstatic- when I wake up in the morning. I no longer drag my butt around, dying for coffee. I jump out of bed, and am instantly clear-headed and aware. I feel... whats the word... excited. All the time! Its ridiculous! I have so much energy, i've caught myself wiggling my butt and making up silly songs when i'm cooking. I smile and laugh a LOT more.
*Because of aaalll those things, I'm kinder to people. I'm more patient. I'm more able to focus. You wouldn't think you could notice all those changes in a little over a week, but thats how amazing atkins is. you wake up one day and say hello to a new feeling in your own skin. It suddenly becomes less about losing weight, and more about living this way and feeling this way. The weight loss is a fantastic icing on this cake, but I would do atkins purely for the way it makes me feel. My body is burning fat 24/7. I never feel hungry, I am always satisfied. and my lack of hunger isn't coming from some disgusting franken-shake, or some pill with god knows what in it. I'm not starving myself then trying to duct tape my tummys mouth so it won't complain! I eat about 4 times a day, with veggies in every single meal, and a LOT of water. You get energy from your food, it doesn't weigh you down. Your body begins to work like a well oiled machine in that sense, and not an overstuffed picnic basket! You can just tell.
Atkins is awesome.

[not2late]

I agree with the others. The success rate is low because if they make it to goal, most people don't know how to eat/exercise/live to maintain that goal weight. They think they can "go back to eating normally" and everything will be sunshine and roses. The problem is if "normal" is 5 bagels, 2 bags of chips, a dozen cookies and a pot of pasta every day then they'll regain their weight.

If you go through ATkins and follow the Phases, then you will learn how to eat for your body. However, even on Atkins, people mistakenly believe that Induction Phase is the entire diet and that On-Going WEight Loss Phase and Pre-Maintenance are a waste of time. So they lose all their weight on Induction and find that they can't maintain their goal because they never learned how to eat for their bodies.

The folks who don't make it to goal because they keep falling off their diets are a different story. From what I've seen on this board, they actively sabotage themselves with excuses.

[kibskix]

personally I think self sabotage begins before you even start. As soon as you say "well I'm starting my diet tomorrow so today i'm going eat all the things I miss and love so much", you might as well just not even begin. Because that mindset will come back and bite you in the rear later on as soon as it gets hard. Or as soon as you get stressed. Or as soon as you get PMS. Its all excuses, You have to tell yourself just DO it. The only reason I've been cheat free so far is I don't even let thoughts of cheating or imagining 'well one wont hurt' even enter my brain. every time i'm confronted with a situation where i'm in the general vicinity of food thats bad for me, its a challenge! And damned if i'm gonna lose! After a while, you realize how strong you can be, and how nasty all that bad food actually looks and tastes. Why would you ever want to go back to it?

[Sherri]

I agree with the posters, only I wanted to add my 2 cents.
As Garfield the cat would say, "Diet is Die without the T"
Anyone who follows Atkins to the T can tell you that it's not a diet, IT'S A LIFESTYLE. One that you have to make lifestyle changes, for life.
"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten"

[kibskix]

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten"
I love this quote sherri. For example, I'm going to be at my boyfriends house this weekend. He has no induction friendly food there. But you cant just go "oh well i'll just cheat this weekend then start again when I come home". I'm cooking a weekend worth of food, and bringing it with me. He's also offered to run out to the grocery store with me if I mistakenly don't pack enough, and is immensely supportive and helpful. I discussed all of this ahead of time and he helps keep me accountable. I don't even let how easy it would be to just cheat all weekend enter my brain because I've worked darn hard to stay cheat free, i'm on a roll!! And as soon as I eat something i shouldn't have, this wonderful high I get from being in ketosis will go away, and the food I eat won't be fuel, it will be just extra baggage that serves no purpose, and make me feel gross. I dont even want it!
You can't keep giving up and expect results.