questions prior to starting my diet......

[seashellz]

From reading the posts and getting feedback from friends I know that Atkins normally produces quite a rapid weight loss, especially in the induction period. I have 70 pounds to lose and one of my fears is the awful sagging skin that some crash diets can leave their dieters with! After looking at the success stories in pictures though, I did not see one person with that kind of look. Is the fast weight loss that Atkins produces prone to leaving sagging skin or do you find that has not been a problem in your diet? Many thanks for any responses

Shell

[kibskix]

most people after the initial weight loss period lose about 2-3lbs a week on average. this is well within an ok range for most peoples skin to have time to shrink along with the rest of them. Also weight training and building muscle will help.

[Desertthorn]

You should lose about 7 pounds the first two weeks and then 1 to 3 pounds a week after that. Kib is absolutely right, exercise and toning will help with the loose skin.

[msanjelpie]

My first time doing Atkins I lost 100 lbs in 14 months. It was a steady speed of about 7 lbs per month. I had a lot of sagging skin, mainly in the lower abdomen and knee area. This was because I didn't exercise the entire time... I then started pilates after the weight loss to try and help with the excess skin. Turned out about a year later the excess skin was gone. It just took my body a while for the new skin to not grow as much as it had when I was bigger...

This time around (5 years later) I am going to exercise, especially in the areas where there will be excess skin. Not so much aerobic exercise but toning and light weight work. I hope it will help anyway.

But if you had to ask which I prefer, I would prefer being slim with excess skin to being fat anyday...