[Enjknsua]

Thanks for the replies.

A typical day for me whilst on atkins was:

Breakfast
2 egg omellette with a cup of salad

Lunch
2 chicken drumsticks with salad, cheese and full fat mayo

Dinner
Lamb/beef/pork etc with a cup of vegetables.

Lots of water all day ....

That was it really

My new diet is totally unnacceptable to any health diet. It's high carb, high fat, high sugar ... there is no point in me posting a menu of it because I know it's terrible. I've kind of given up to be honest but I want to get back into low carb

[topcasinobonua]

So how long were you able to stick with the plan in the first place? Was there something specific that helped you to fall off the wagon? For me it can be something as simple as a bad day at work, or being stuck at home
alone to make me want to eat bad. It's honestly a struggle
everyday to not give in to temptations, but I know that the cravings pass and that the outcome (a new, HEALTHIER, if not a wee bit thinner me) is going to be worth it.

Do you have support at home? Do you keep a food journal? What is your goal in losing weight? And by that I mean how do you think your life will change when you reach that goal, and not how much do you want to lose. What made you want to lose weight in the first place?

I'm not a counselor by any means, but I have dieted several times in the past, and now that I'm working through some of the self esteem issues and understand how much of a crutch I let food become for me I'm able to make better decisions. I may not always stick to the plan to the letter, but if I make the decision to eat off the plan, I understand the consequences and have no one to blame but my self.

My advice is to get a calendar, set a new start date and PURGE your house of all temptations. Grocery shop the day before you start and only get the healthy stuff.

You CAN do it!

[Enjknsua]

Thanks again for your reply and insight.

It was strange, I stuck to the diet really well for a few months but I struggled with my karate lessons and simple stuff like walking up the stairs. My legs and arms felt like there was just no muscle there at all (ok, there isn't a lot but I'm sure there's a bit! ) and that kind of made me wonder if I was doing the right thing.

Aside from that, I stopped losing weight. I think it's because I wasn't eating enough.

But all the way through I kept thinking to myself "I could litrally murder a packet of crisps (potato chips?) or a bar of chocolate " and eventually it got to the point where I thought "I'm getting nothing out of this diet. Ive stopped losing weight, my karate is suffering and I want to eat crisps and chocolate ... I'm quitting".

But the wierd thing was, when I "allowed" myself crisps etc I found I no longer wanted them. I would get a packet from the cupboard, have them sat next to me for 10 minutes and then put them back. I'd open a bar of chocolate, eat a tiny bit and then put it back in the fridge ...

Atkins had literally changed my relationship with food, I realised at that point. No longer did I WANT to gorge on sugary junk food ... so this left me confused as to what it was that I did want.

I still don't know. My appetite now is non existant. I'm just forced myself to eat a bacon omellette and I know I won't be hungry now all day so I'll have to force in the other two meals too. This is when things get difficult because I know I won't be eating enough to lose weight.

I have around 15lbs to lose to reach my target weight so naturally that will go slowly ... I'm just so impatient. I'm not sure why I want to lose it tbh because I'm already in my healthy weight range. I'd just like to look good in clothes and not have blobs of fat hanging out everywhere!

Upto now I have been stuck in the house all day every day which I guess will make things difficult as when I'm bored, I eat. After the easter holidays I am back at work so perhaps I will find things easier then?

[Enjknsua]

I have completely fallen off the wagon. I stopped low carbing about two weeks ago under the false assumption that I would still lose weight as long as my portion sizes were small.

I've since put on 3lbs (in two weeks). And, I feel terrible. My stomach aches constantly, I have no appetite and I feel sick all the time.

I have no ketostix but I assume my ketosis state is well gone now.

I do have the book, and I have read it but I'm having trouble fully understanding it.

I have a small appetite at the best of times so I found whilst on Atkins I wasn't even eating 1000 calories a day. I was having to force myself to eat and I found that the less I ate, the less weight I lost. When I ate as much as I possibly could, I lost weight.

So obviously, I am planning on restarting Atkins but how do I deal with the lack of appetite and is it normal to lose more weight by actually eating more?

[freddystone]

When you say fell off the wagon what did you start to eat and drink



As far as i know the simple answer to your question is YES you have to eat to lose weight ,Also portion size ,its whats in that portion ,i read some where that atkins is not only a low carb diet it is also a high fat diet not a high protein diet,but i am no expert don't pretend to be,
Also sugar and alcohol are no no trust me on the alcohol bit ,every time i have a drink at night the next day my weight loss has stopped and has always gone up (i know i know i know) naughty me

[topcasinobonua]

I guess I could reiterate the science here but it seems such a waste since you are reading the book, but to very quickly and briefly summarize the science... Carbohydrates= fuel for your body. Stored fat = fuel for your body. Thus reducing your carb intake means your body burns the stored fat as fuel and you lose pounds. The more active you are the more fat gets burned and the faster you lose weight. It's that simple.

As far as the calorie thing goes, your body still needs to eat low carb food, and reasonable but not gigantic portions of it, to trick your body into burning the fat as fuel instead of holding on to it. If you stop eating like normal your body says "starvation" and you won't lose a thing.

I'm curious also as to how you were eating before hand and what off the wagon is for you. Also what have you been eating on the diet? Ifbyou post some menu's it might help us paint a clearer picture of where you've gone wrong.

I have my fingers crossed for you!

[topcasinobonua]

You do karate? That sounds like fun! Do you do any weight lifting at all? I've found that it helps me.

You may not be having much luck with your weight if you're eating very large and really fatty meals. To me a bacon omelette sounds disgusting. But to each their own. I know some people who have better luck with eating much smaller, but more frequent meals a day. Maybe as many as six. But make sure you're eating good for you vegetables with fiber and good carbs. They make a huge difference.

If you only need to lose 15 pounds it's going to take some time. If you just can't wait, Atkins may not be for you It sucks to say. Sorry.

On a last note, take a day and weigh and measure all your food and figure out where your caloriesnare coming from (protein, fats, and carbs) and try to match them to the proportions that Atkins recommends.