Hey Jammie, First off, let me say, I don’t/didn’t feel the least bit offended or attacked by what you said, I guess you just said it in a very caring way to a complete stranger... So, I am going to answer each one of your points individually... just makes it easier for me...
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Originally Posted by Jamackarch
***Question for you... Atkins '72 doesn't mention Kcals...and your protein choices seem on the very lean side (canned chick=no skin, fish...) plus salad and coffee..
I get that LC allows our appetites to be suppressed, so maybe you are just not that hungry... but... and I say this with all due respect for someone who has totally kicked A$$! , but it SEEMS (and I could be totally wrong), but it seems from the outside, like more of a low cal/starvation diet combined with almost, dare I say manic  exercise... I mean- on the one hand I think it's brilliant that you rigged your computer to a stationary bike- maybe ALL computers should come that way!!  but, on the other hand--- 2 -2 1/2 hours before school and after? that's a lot of exercise. |
I don’t personally feel that my exercising is “manic” in the sense that I would still be at my computer doing my school stuff (lesson plans, etc), I just found a healthier way to do all that computer stuff... In all honesty I am not sweating bullets when I’m peddling my stationary bike, but I am peddling... I do it mainly because I suffer from varicose veins real bad and the movement seems to relieve the pain. I’ve lost tons of weight before doing A ’72 without literally breaking a sweat...
As for the “low cal/starvation diet” comment, I also suffer from what I like to call “I’m only hunger when I put food in my mouth” syndrome. I also have portion and self-control issues... boy I got so many ISSUES related to my old self-destructive way of eating...
The only explanation I have for why my low cal ultra-low carb WOE works for me is because I need very little “extra” to sustain me and any extra I have turns into fat...
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Anyway, everyone is of course free to eat and move and live the way they want, but as a couple other posters have said, I too have done the extreme low cal/low fat/ Low everything! (basically) Diet, combined with extreme exercise and FOR ME it was just not sustainable. I absolutely reached my goal weight in record time (about 28 pounds in 3 months), but had no clue what to do once there and I'm pretty sure I lost muscle too...
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Time will tell if what I am doing is sustainable for me. So far so good. My biggest fear is regaining the weight, so this may seem extreme to some or most, it’s what’s working for me.
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I applaud your next goal of finding your CCL for maintenance. And of course, wish you the very best in health and life. I was just curious if you would agree with the observation that you aren't really doing Atkins '72 exactly...more of a low fat/lowcal/low carb diet? Dr A devotes no less than 17 pages to the discussion of "low calorie" dieting (which, I would def say 750 calls is) ... so... would you agree that you are doing a VERY restricted version of Atkins? May I ask why you chose to do this, instead of what , I think. many of us are doing (higher fat levels =, more butter, cheese, fatty meats..)?
I am really just curious (and kind of worried about a complete stranger- now, that's strange...  ) and I hope you don't feel attacked by me. I admire your efforts and your results... just trying to figure it all out. Also, (and I am admittedly still very new to HFLC).
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Right off the bat, I wanted to know how many kcals I could have a day so that when it came to the most important step in this journey, I would have the data. And I have lost weight and plenty (100s of lbs over the decades) on A ’72 without a worry in the world about kcals... but I wanted to do something a little more scientific especially since this time around I was going to go all the way and not pretend I was a carb eater like I did with all my other failed-mock attempts at maintenance...anyways
I did a little research on weight loss surgery when I first started A ’72 again this time around for the ga-zillionth time. Did you know wls patients are put on a low carb diet 6-8 months before surgery? I could NEVER find out how many carbs and I am still trying to find that one out. After surgery they are still low carbing with no more than 600-800 kcals a day for the duration of their “diet” (i.e., when they reach their goal weight).
I talked to my doctor about that and since I was in perfect health (all medical/blood 100% textbook) except for being morbidly obese, she gave the green light for me to do A ’72 with the low kcal twist. I know I’m a recovering morbidly obese carb addict, I know I have portion control issues, but I also like to be FULL when I eat or I am not sated. That’s why a regular low kcal diet does not work for me and why A ’72 is brilliant and eating only once a day works for me too. It’s not like I was eating 3 squares a day whilst I was “Fat Jo” (my self-destructive carb loving alter ego). I haven’t eaten breakfast since elementary school. So I was only giving up lunch which was those addictive, insidiously toxic, poisonous killer carbs ~ I wouldn’t be morbidly obese if I ate healthy food, right? So I gave up the toxic foods at lunch.
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I feel a bit worried that some people will read your story and think that drastic calorie cutting or restriction, and hours and hours of exercise each day are required to see success. Obviously, that's one way to go.. just not sure it is what most here are doing...or should do...or need to do to be successful and healthy...
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So is this A ’72? Not in it’s purest form, but I’m doing it my way and with the results I can live with. I never advocate for people to do it my way, I was just sharing what I did to get where I am. I know others on here who are doing the exact same thing with their LC WOE by adding the low kcal side to it and they don’t advertise it because they are afraid of the backlash and criticism they will get. Obviously, I don’t suffer from that problem!
I hope this answered your questions...
Onward and DOWNARD, Jammie!!
Jo