Question:
Because of my new diagnosis I am thinking of trying the Atkins Diet,
A. Is anyone on it
B. What do you think of it
C. Does it work
hi lisa i hear it works good. i never tried it.
have a good day all
richard
Yes it does work...And you acn drop pounds very quickly...But Everytime I tried this summer, it seemed like my hubby had a vacation and you cannot diet on vacation...
I am looking into the South Beach diet...It allows you a bit of carbs, a litle bread of potataos , which I miss on Atkins!
I was on atkins about 4 months ago and yes it does work. I had plumped up to 65lbs over my high school weight over the past 15 years. It is not easy, but it gets easier as you go. I was loosing about 1 lb a day or everyother day. Lost 35lbs total. went off, like deb for vacation "you are so right about that" and gained about 5 back in two months. Now I went back on again. I actually feel better on it although I miss some of the foods that you can't have.
But, I was sceptical before I did it, and if you stick to it, or at least extremely close, you will loose weight fast.
Good Luck.
Lisa, everything I say here is to be taken with a grain of salt, as I'm not a medical professional, nutritionist or any other kind of expert of anything other than my own body. Having said that, here goes:
I started Atkins a year ago when I was dxed with PA, as I was very heavy and knew taking weight off would make it that much easier on my joints. Being a 45 year old woman in menopause makes losing weight very difficult for me, and having struggled with weight all my life, I was looking for a weight loss regime that would hopefully yield maximum results quickly.
I will start this by saying I ran the Atkins plan by my GP and my derm before starting to make sure I wasn't going to hurt myself. Both encouraged me to give it a try, after making sure I had no physical issues that would risk my health.
I did strict by-the-book Atkins for the first four months and did lose weight rapidly. The benefits I reaped were lowered cholesterol, no more acid reflux, reduced plaque on my teeth, and greater flexibility. After I stopped losing, though, I came to the conclusion FOR MYSELF that doing strict Atkins wasn't enough. I needed to also cut calories. So since that time I'm still low carbing, but not drastically low. I've added good carbs back in, in the form of whole grains and fruit. And I've cut my saturated fats and upped my good fats in the form of flax oil and the like. The weight started coming off again. I lose approximately five to six pounds a month, which is a nice healthy loss.
I also must stress with Atkins or any other low carb diet not to stay at the lowest level too long. Atkins recommends only 2 weeks on the lowest level, but then it's a good idea to start adding the good carbs slowly back in. And it was very important to me to keep the daily veggie content as high as possible, for many reasons, including getting enough fiber and nutrients.
I also found that I absolutely had to introduce exercise into my regimen to keep the weight coming off. Not only does it help increase my metabolism, but it reduces my hunger. And of course with PA it helps keep my joints lubricated and muscles strong, which makes it easier to keep moving.
As to whether doing Atkins helped my PA or P, not directly. I didn't notice either getting worse, and I didn't notice either getting better. But losing 80 lbs. over a year did improve my health in so many other ways, it made dealing with both a little easier.
I'm still struggling with weight loss and have 60 lbs to go. I continue to tweak my eating patterns to nudge things along, and I continue to research the latest findings on getting enough calcium and other valuable nutrients to keep my health at an optimum while doing so.
Hope you find this useful! Best of luck with whichever way you choose to go.
Jody
Aint it great jody and deb when your pants start falling off unless you have a belt. I guess you got to do it have that experience. I'm back on again, and hopefully for another 20-30lbs or so. I'll be back down to high school weight.
I started LoCarb @ the end of Jan, right before starting Enbrel. I cleared significantly on Enbrel in the 1st 4 weeks. Within 3 months I was down 20 pounds and completly clear.... However.... Easter, My DH Birthday, Mother's Day, My 1st yr. Aniv, My Birthday, followed by Father's Day.... I have fallen totally off the LoCarb wagon.... :( I love my fruit in the summer and have been maxing out on it... I am looking at going back on the diet getting back to totally clear. (I have had a few spots break out with the increase carb intake) Then trying to lower my Enbrel dose, & see if I can maintain my clearnes.... I was going to start today, but DH got me yummy watermelon over the weekend..... :rolleyes: I will let you all know when I get the discipline again, and will track my progress, along with the changes in my Enbrel dose..... I really want to find out if I can go down to no shots, & remain clear...
Gotta watch your cholesterol on this diet. If you are predisposed to a high cholesterol it might not be the diet for you. I didn't do well on it. My husband did, but his counts became high and he had to stop.
jody = my hero!!!
im not doing atkins, i cant. im asian, i cant go without white rice!! But i am doing a low calorie thing. Im not going to call it a diet, because this is how im suppose to eat for the rest of my life. My nutritionst put me on 1200 calories/day. Im nto craving carbs because i get a good amount of it, like a 40-60 with carbs-protiens.
Because my activities are low, and i only go to the gym about 4times a week, this is enough for me, when i become more active, ill be raised to 1500calories/day.
its not what you eat (ookies, maybe its a little part of that) but what you do (activities) I lvoe the way i feel now after going to the gym for barely a month. ive lost 2 1/2 inches. which is amazing to me, because i hadnt changed my diet yet, just excercise, now that my diet has changed, im going to reep my rewards in the months to come!
Good luck with your atkins! just remember to not over-due it and loose too much weight. SKINNY WAIF went out in 1994 ;)
Brendalynn, there is absolutely no chance I'll ever get too skinny! I've never even managed to reach my goal weight in my life, so even if I get within 10 lbs of it, I'll consider myself a success!
Annie, good point about the cholesterol thing. I was lucky that mine actually lowered by 20 points, but I think it's due to my reducing saturated fats and adding healthy EFAs, plus the exercise. But just like with P and PA, there is no single eating plan that's going to work for 100% of the population. We all have to struggle to find what works for us individually and what doesn't. I'm still fiddling with the process myself.
So for all of us who battle the bulge, I wish everyone victory!
Jody
I have done quite a bit of research on the Atkins diet.. I personally choose a high-complex-carb, low fat diet, designed by my nutritionist, but have seen mixed results on Atkins...
The key is to do your homework before starting it. Do not Do Not DO NOT!!!! just start eating low-carb foods... There is a very strick schedule to Atkins, and you must make sure you follow it to a T... The problem with Atkins is that so many folks get on the diet after seeing a 45-second news-clip about cutting out carbs..
It is a good way to lose weight, but you have to be careful with any diet that involves during upside down the food-pyramid... On Atkins, you are depriving your body of something it needs. Energy. And your body will go into shock. If you do not follow the entire diet, the weight will come back very quickly...
I'm not bashing the diet. I've seen it work for many folks. But I've seen it fail on even more. The folks it worked on followed the true diet religiously.. The ones that it failed for just gave up carbs for a while...
Get the book, surf the internet, or do whatever to find the full schedule and follow each phase...
Not trying to preach over here, just figured I'd toss in my 2 cents... Good luck!!!!! :)
Julio, you da man! Words of wisdom there!
Jody
I'm doing atkins since Jan. and lost close to 30 lbs. I still have some more to go, but I have started adding good carbs like potatoes and rice. I would love to add fruit but I can't. I found that my trigger for p was related to food. I was eating lots of bread and sweets before I started the diet. I found that the itching stopped when I did the first two weeks of the diet. I then went out and had some wheat and sugar. I spent the night itching like crazy. I tried some fruit and also started itching. I was becoming lactose intolerant as well. I was almost done with the second round of Amevive when I started the diet. I am not totally clear yet, but my patches are getting smooth and starting to fade. I have not had really bad itching in a long time.
Because of the diet, I found out that my triggers are any type of sugar and possibly some wheat. I know it is not the gluten since the Atkins bread has gluten but not other things. The one good thing about this diet is that there are low-carb treats that you can have and not feel guilty about. I could not do any other diet, because I was not ready to pass up chocolate. I have found really good low-carb chocolate, so as a treat it works. Being able to go out an have low-carb ice cream and other stuff is nice also.
Anyone who says that you can't eat out on Atkins is eating at the wrong places. There are so many things that you can get that are not bread or pasta. Because I have to stay away from that stuff, I am paying attention to what is available.
Good luck.
SHANA
Thanks for all the information.
I'm hoping if I lose around 42 pounds my monthly's and so-on will return and who knows, the next step is a bouncing baby. Which would make me and my DH very very happy indeed.
Once again, thanks guys.
I have been doing a lo-carb diest for the passed two months. It is a modified Atkins/South Beach Diet. I have lost over thirty pounds and feel great. Weather or not it has helped my "P" or "PA" is not important to me.
The Lo-carb diet has brought my sugar down from 325 to 120, and my closterol down from 289 to 204. It is working for me. So if the diet is helping my P & PA great, I think that is work of the Amieve and Cyclosporene.
Bottom line I feel great.
Mitch
Note to internetsnob. Understand your Asian and need your rice why not use brown rice instead. Healtier and has basically the same number of carbs but much more nutritional value.
Thanks Mitch, well done & keep up the good work.
I hope I can do as well.
WOW Mitch that is wonderful!! :D
Originally posted by rosy3939
Note to internetsnob. Understand your Asian and need your rice why not use brown rice instead. Healtier and has basically the same number of carbs but much more nutritional value.
have you tried brown rice mitch?? ewwwwww!!! it has a nutty factor i dont dig. But i do eat it on the rare occasions, ive been limited to a cup of white rice a day (the horrrrrrror!) but im slowly getting used to it.
What about wild rice? Or Basmatti rice? Or a mixture of the two?
MMMmmm.. I know what I'm having with dinner tonight!!!!
Just to let you know I lost 10lbs in my first week...... (yes I am dancing)
I am so chuffed, I dont know how the heck it came off so quick but it did.
Only 74 to go...
I feel so good, my cycles have returned (properly), my husband said I have stopped snoring (not that I think I did anyway).... ladies don't snore, we just breath deeply.... yeah and we smell of roses.....laughing cause she is so happy......
thanks guys
:D :D :D :D
:) Hi Lisa-
I am so happy for your success but (there is always a but) trying to stay on a diet like Atkins deprives yourself of much needed nutrients that you would get from other sources like fruits and vegetables. A more balanced diet like a mediterrean diet would be much better. Watching your carbs is good but eating carbs that have a high fiber content cancels out the total amount of carbs you would take in normally. Also eating fats is good too but they must be monosaturated fats. These fats are much healthier than all the butter and cream you would eat on the Atkins diet. Another thing is sticking to 1200 calories during your inital weight loss period. You can budget your calories during the day to 6 small frequent meals. This helps to keep your metabolism up and also stops you from overeating. After you start to exercise and lose some weight you can increase your calories accordingly. This kind of diet works better in the long run because it is more realistic and allows you to adapt more readily when you dine out, go to parties etc.
I apologize if I am sounding like a know it all but this diet has worked for me and allowed me to lose weight more slowly, and develop healther eating habits that I hope will be with me for the rest of my life. This diet also slows the aging process and helps stave off diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol which were all creeping up on me.
Stay healthy.
Marie
Thanks Marie
I am on a good multivitamin/minerals and essential oils from my gp who is going to be keeping an eye on me, I dont know if you read my previous thread on this subject.... I cannot eat many carbs, I have PCOS this is the diet my gyno has suggested in order for me to lose the weight quickly and gain help with fertility before I am tooooooo old, even though I am only 30 I dont want to have children to late and she understands this is a personal thing as my husband is older than myself.
I have previously been on the weight watchers diet which is excellent and when I get closer to my goal weight (long way off) that is what I will switch too.
Thank you for the info :D
I worry about that atkins stuff. I haven't read or anything on it. I have just seen the Atkins approved items. Those don't look healthy. Thats a lot of cholesterol some wraps and some meals have fat still in them. Everyone chooses as they will. I wouldn't just removing my fifty lbs. :p
Way to go Lisa, I lost 35lbs. on the Atkins and hopefully some more soon, gotta get my head straight first. In retrospect, loosing 35lbs. was well worth it for me. I think it was worth the risk if there was any. I agree that we need a good diet. But pre Atkins, my diet was crap to begin with, so now I'm 35lbs. lighter and without sugar, feel that I am eating better than before.
Good job and it's good that you got your doc watching it. My doc had no problem with the atkins and even recommended it considering I was at 5'9" and 260lbs. Now 5'9" and 230lbs. is a lot better. Now I just got to get to 200 and I'll be doing real good.
A. Is anyone on it
B. What do you think of it
C. Does it work
Answers:
hi lisa i hear it works good. i never tried it.
have a good day all
richard
Answers:
Yes it does work...And you acn drop pounds very quickly...But Everytime I tried this summer, it seemed like my hubby had a vacation and you cannot diet on vacation...
I am looking into the South Beach diet...It allows you a bit of carbs, a litle bread of potataos , which I miss on Atkins!
Answers:
I was on atkins about 4 months ago and yes it does work. I had plumped up to 65lbs over my high school weight over the past 15 years. It is not easy, but it gets easier as you go. I was loosing about 1 lb a day or everyother day. Lost 35lbs total. went off, like deb for vacation "you are so right about that" and gained about 5 back in two months. Now I went back on again. I actually feel better on it although I miss some of the foods that you can't have.
But, I was sceptical before I did it, and if you stick to it, or at least extremely close, you will loose weight fast.
Good Luck.
Answers:
Lisa, everything I say here is to be taken with a grain of salt, as I'm not a medical professional, nutritionist or any other kind of expert of anything other than my own body. Having said that, here goes:
I started Atkins a year ago when I was dxed with PA, as I was very heavy and knew taking weight off would make it that much easier on my joints. Being a 45 year old woman in menopause makes losing weight very difficult for me, and having struggled with weight all my life, I was looking for a weight loss regime that would hopefully yield maximum results quickly.
I will start this by saying I ran the Atkins plan by my GP and my derm before starting to make sure I wasn't going to hurt myself. Both encouraged me to give it a try, after making sure I had no physical issues that would risk my health.
I did strict by-the-book Atkins for the first four months and did lose weight rapidly. The benefits I reaped were lowered cholesterol, no more acid reflux, reduced plaque on my teeth, and greater flexibility. After I stopped losing, though, I came to the conclusion FOR MYSELF that doing strict Atkins wasn't enough. I needed to also cut calories. So since that time I'm still low carbing, but not drastically low. I've added good carbs back in, in the form of whole grains and fruit. And I've cut my saturated fats and upped my good fats in the form of flax oil and the like. The weight started coming off again. I lose approximately five to six pounds a month, which is a nice healthy loss.
I also must stress with Atkins or any other low carb diet not to stay at the lowest level too long. Atkins recommends only 2 weeks on the lowest level, but then it's a good idea to start adding the good carbs slowly back in. And it was very important to me to keep the daily veggie content as high as possible, for many reasons, including getting enough fiber and nutrients.
I also found that I absolutely had to introduce exercise into my regimen to keep the weight coming off. Not only does it help increase my metabolism, but it reduces my hunger. And of course with PA it helps keep my joints lubricated and muscles strong, which makes it easier to keep moving.
As to whether doing Atkins helped my PA or P, not directly. I didn't notice either getting worse, and I didn't notice either getting better. But losing 80 lbs. over a year did improve my health in so many other ways, it made dealing with both a little easier.
I'm still struggling with weight loss and have 60 lbs to go. I continue to tweak my eating patterns to nudge things along, and I continue to research the latest findings on getting enough calcium and other valuable nutrients to keep my health at an optimum while doing so.
Hope you find this useful! Best of luck with whichever way you choose to go.
Jody
Answers:
Aint it great jody and deb when your pants start falling off unless you have a belt. I guess you got to do it have that experience. I'm back on again, and hopefully for another 20-30lbs or so. I'll be back down to high school weight.
Answers:
I started LoCarb @ the end of Jan, right before starting Enbrel. I cleared significantly on Enbrel in the 1st 4 weeks. Within 3 months I was down 20 pounds and completly clear.... However.... Easter, My DH Birthday, Mother's Day, My 1st yr. Aniv, My Birthday, followed by Father's Day.... I have fallen totally off the LoCarb wagon.... :( I love my fruit in the summer and have been maxing out on it... I am looking at going back on the diet getting back to totally clear. (I have had a few spots break out with the increase carb intake) Then trying to lower my Enbrel dose, & see if I can maintain my clearnes.... I was going to start today, but DH got me yummy watermelon over the weekend..... :rolleyes: I will let you all know when I get the discipline again, and will track my progress, along with the changes in my Enbrel dose..... I really want to find out if I can go down to no shots, & remain clear...
Answers:
Gotta watch your cholesterol on this diet. If you are predisposed to a high cholesterol it might not be the diet for you. I didn't do well on it. My husband did, but his counts became high and he had to stop.
Answers:
jody = my hero!!!
im not doing atkins, i cant. im asian, i cant go without white rice!! But i am doing a low calorie thing. Im not going to call it a diet, because this is how im suppose to eat for the rest of my life. My nutritionst put me on 1200 calories/day. Im nto craving carbs because i get a good amount of it, like a 40-60 with carbs-protiens.
Because my activities are low, and i only go to the gym about 4times a week, this is enough for me, when i become more active, ill be raised to 1500calories/day.
its not what you eat (ookies, maybe its a little part of that) but what you do (activities) I lvoe the way i feel now after going to the gym for barely a month. ive lost 2 1/2 inches. which is amazing to me, because i hadnt changed my diet yet, just excercise, now that my diet has changed, im going to reep my rewards in the months to come!
Good luck with your atkins! just remember to not over-due it and loose too much weight. SKINNY WAIF went out in 1994 ;)
Answers:
Brendalynn, there is absolutely no chance I'll ever get too skinny! I've never even managed to reach my goal weight in my life, so even if I get within 10 lbs of it, I'll consider myself a success!
Annie, good point about the cholesterol thing. I was lucky that mine actually lowered by 20 points, but I think it's due to my reducing saturated fats and adding healthy EFAs, plus the exercise. But just like with P and PA, there is no single eating plan that's going to work for 100% of the population. We all have to struggle to find what works for us individually and what doesn't. I'm still fiddling with the process myself.
So for all of us who battle the bulge, I wish everyone victory!
Jody
Answers:
I have done quite a bit of research on the Atkins diet.. I personally choose a high-complex-carb, low fat diet, designed by my nutritionist, but have seen mixed results on Atkins...
The key is to do your homework before starting it. Do not Do Not DO NOT!!!! just start eating low-carb foods... There is a very strick schedule to Atkins, and you must make sure you follow it to a T... The problem with Atkins is that so many folks get on the diet after seeing a 45-second news-clip about cutting out carbs..
It is a good way to lose weight, but you have to be careful with any diet that involves during upside down the food-pyramid... On Atkins, you are depriving your body of something it needs. Energy. And your body will go into shock. If you do not follow the entire diet, the weight will come back very quickly...
I'm not bashing the diet. I've seen it work for many folks. But I've seen it fail on even more. The folks it worked on followed the true diet religiously.. The ones that it failed for just gave up carbs for a while...
Get the book, surf the internet, or do whatever to find the full schedule and follow each phase...
Not trying to preach over here, just figured I'd toss in my 2 cents... Good luck!!!!! :)
Answers:
Julio, you da man! Words of wisdom there!
Jody
Answers:
I'm doing atkins since Jan. and lost close to 30 lbs. I still have some more to go, but I have started adding good carbs like potatoes and rice. I would love to add fruit but I can't. I found that my trigger for p was related to food. I was eating lots of bread and sweets before I started the diet. I found that the itching stopped when I did the first two weeks of the diet. I then went out and had some wheat and sugar. I spent the night itching like crazy. I tried some fruit and also started itching. I was becoming lactose intolerant as well. I was almost done with the second round of Amevive when I started the diet. I am not totally clear yet, but my patches are getting smooth and starting to fade. I have not had really bad itching in a long time.
Because of the diet, I found out that my triggers are any type of sugar and possibly some wheat. I know it is not the gluten since the Atkins bread has gluten but not other things. The one good thing about this diet is that there are low-carb treats that you can have and not feel guilty about. I could not do any other diet, because I was not ready to pass up chocolate. I have found really good low-carb chocolate, so as a treat it works. Being able to go out an have low-carb ice cream and other stuff is nice also.
Anyone who says that you can't eat out on Atkins is eating at the wrong places. There are so many things that you can get that are not bread or pasta. Because I have to stay away from that stuff, I am paying attention to what is available.
Good luck.
SHANA
Answers:
Thanks for all the information.
I'm hoping if I lose around 42 pounds my monthly's and so-on will return and who knows, the next step is a bouncing baby. Which would make me and my DH very very happy indeed.
Once again, thanks guys.
Answers:
I have been doing a lo-carb diest for the passed two months. It is a modified Atkins/South Beach Diet. I have lost over thirty pounds and feel great. Weather or not it has helped my "P" or "PA" is not important to me.
The Lo-carb diet has brought my sugar down from 325 to 120, and my closterol down from 289 to 204. It is working for me. So if the diet is helping my P & PA great, I think that is work of the Amieve and Cyclosporene.
Bottom line I feel great.
Mitch
Note to internetsnob. Understand your Asian and need your rice why not use brown rice instead. Healtier and has basically the same number of carbs but much more nutritional value.
Answers:
Thanks Mitch, well done & keep up the good work.
I hope I can do as well.
Answers:
WOW Mitch that is wonderful!! :D
Answers:
Originally posted by rosy3939
Note to internetsnob. Understand your Asian and need your rice why not use brown rice instead. Healtier and has basically the same number of carbs but much more nutritional value.
have you tried brown rice mitch?? ewwwwww!!! it has a nutty factor i dont dig. But i do eat it on the rare occasions, ive been limited to a cup of white rice a day (the horrrrrrror!) but im slowly getting used to it.
Answers:
What about wild rice? Or Basmatti rice? Or a mixture of the two?
MMMmmm.. I know what I'm having with dinner tonight!!!!
Answers:
Just to let you know I lost 10lbs in my first week...... (yes I am dancing)
I am so chuffed, I dont know how the heck it came off so quick but it did.
Only 74 to go...
I feel so good, my cycles have returned (properly), my husband said I have stopped snoring (not that I think I did anyway).... ladies don't snore, we just breath deeply.... yeah and we smell of roses.....laughing cause she is so happy......
thanks guys
:D :D :D :D
Answers:
:) Hi Lisa-
I am so happy for your success but (there is always a but) trying to stay on a diet like Atkins deprives yourself of much needed nutrients that you would get from other sources like fruits and vegetables. A more balanced diet like a mediterrean diet would be much better. Watching your carbs is good but eating carbs that have a high fiber content cancels out the total amount of carbs you would take in normally. Also eating fats is good too but they must be monosaturated fats. These fats are much healthier than all the butter and cream you would eat on the Atkins diet. Another thing is sticking to 1200 calories during your inital weight loss period. You can budget your calories during the day to 6 small frequent meals. This helps to keep your metabolism up and also stops you from overeating. After you start to exercise and lose some weight you can increase your calories accordingly. This kind of diet works better in the long run because it is more realistic and allows you to adapt more readily when you dine out, go to parties etc.
I apologize if I am sounding like a know it all but this diet has worked for me and allowed me to lose weight more slowly, and develop healther eating habits that I hope will be with me for the rest of my life. This diet also slows the aging process and helps stave off diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol which were all creeping up on me.
Stay healthy.
Marie
Answers:
Thanks Marie
I am on a good multivitamin/minerals and essential oils from my gp who is going to be keeping an eye on me, I dont know if you read my previous thread on this subject.... I cannot eat many carbs, I have PCOS this is the diet my gyno has suggested in order for me to lose the weight quickly and gain help with fertility before I am tooooooo old, even though I am only 30 I dont want to have children to late and she understands this is a personal thing as my husband is older than myself.
I have previously been on the weight watchers diet which is excellent and when I get closer to my goal weight (long way off) that is what I will switch too.
Thank you for the info :D
Answers:
I worry about that atkins stuff. I haven't read or anything on it. I have just seen the Atkins approved items. Those don't look healthy. Thats a lot of cholesterol some wraps and some meals have fat still in them. Everyone chooses as they will. I wouldn't just removing my fifty lbs. :p
Answers:
Way to go Lisa, I lost 35lbs. on the Atkins and hopefully some more soon, gotta get my head straight first. In retrospect, loosing 35lbs. was well worth it for me. I think it was worth the risk if there was any. I agree that we need a good diet. But pre Atkins, my diet was crap to begin with, so now I'm 35lbs. lighter and without sugar, feel that I am eating better than before.
Good job and it's good that you got your doc watching it. My doc had no problem with the atkins and even recommended it considering I was at 5'9" and 260lbs. Now 5'9" and 230lbs. is a lot better. Now I just got to get to 200 and I'll be doing real good.
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