After struggling with my weight for the last ten years, I just discovered Atkins. I feel like I landed on a different planet. I have been doing Induction for two weeks, and I feel fantastic. I've only had one episode of cravings. I can't believe it. I have so much energy! I used to be dead tired by dinnertime. Last night, I actually went shopping at the mall. And, best of all, the weight truly is melting off ... and right now, I'm wondering, is it for real? I just don't want to be disappointed again. I don't want to get my hopes up. In the last decade, I had tried everything: Weight Watchers, 1000 calories-a-day diets, fasting, running five miles every morning, daily aerobics classes, vegetarianism... And, still, I was forty pounds overweight. Oh, I'd lost five or six pounds, but I was always hungry! And after a couple of weeks or months, it just didn't seem worth the effort. Now, on Atkins, I am very satisfied with my three moderate meals every day, and my weight is dropping daily. Please, someone, tell me: is this really going to work? Or will I be just as fat come summertime?

You are doing great so far!

If you follow the plan (and no, that doesn't necessarily mean staying on induction the entire time), you should continue to lose. I do stress staying on the plan, though. For me, I did great on Atkins, then got sloppy with carb counts and measuring and let myself go a bit. I didn't gain back everything I'd lost, but I would have been much better off to follow the plan into OWL and Maintenance instead of staying on induction for a long time then increasing carb levels quickly.

This is also your best opportunity to keep the weight loss going - so don't quit and go back to what got you overweight in the first place! It tends to come off much slower if you go off for any real length of time and then start again. (Voice of experience, here)

What is great about this eating plan is that is a way of life, not a diet. There's a lot more that's improving inside than the weight. You can expect improvement in blood pressure, blood lipids, and perhaps some other things.

You have found a way of eating that is obviously working for you! Do some research into the science behind the eating plan, get creative with LC foods so you don't get bored, keep drinking a lot of water and taking your vitamins, and stay motivated. You're already off to a great start!

You might also look into starting a journal. There will come a time when you don't lose anything for a while. This happens to almost everybody at one point or another. Your body needs time to adjust to the loss it's gone through, so think of stall times as adjustment time. Have you taken measurements? Often people will stay the same weight but lose inches. It can be reassuring to have concrete evidence that you're getting smaller even when the scale hasn't budged.

patience is certainly a virtue.

Man, I wrote a lot. Sorry.

It's incredible, isn't it? For me it was like finally seeing the light!

Congratulations, don't micro-manage and spread the word!

Karen

Welcome to the World of Low Carb!

Congrats on your loss! Keep up the good work...I think it only gets better!

Best Wishes
Julie

PS
I too can't believe the difference in ME! People I know are just in amazement over the energy that I have and my newly gained will power!

Farmgirl, you have been SAVED! Do you SEE the LIGHT?

It makes me happy every time someone new is saved from the madness of low-fat dieting. Every life gained is a miracle to me.

Low-carbing is my new religion and I proselytize daily.

(no disrespect meant toward any religion or truly religious people)

Isnt' it AMAZING??? What an incredible collection of myths are out there about fat and calories. The good news (and there's lots of it) is that lo-carbing is the REAL thing: it works. The advice from others before me is right on target - stick to it, don't get discouraged with stalls, and know that you've found a way to be healthier, happier, thinner and more energetic for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Best of luck,
Pat

excellent message in these posts. when I've gotten into stall even slight gain in weight, it helps to focus on the other benefits of this plan..the energy, the healthier feeling and knowlege that your doing something good for yourself that will pay off in the long run.

Thanks to all of you for the support! It is a real boost to me. When I posted my message, I just couldn't believe that an intelligent person who diligently dieted (WW, etc.) and exercised vigorously every day could make such a mess of things! I have been so ashamed of myself for being overweight for so many years! I live in a town and work in a profession where everyone is thin and beautiful ... I guess I feel very angry at the media and the medical profession for all the years and years of wrong advice ... I used to forego the meat and eat a huge plateful of pasta with loads and loads of vegetables (i.e. butternut squash, of course!) ... and I'd be starving an hour or so later! For breakfast -- after my five-mile-run -- I'd eat an enormous bowl of raisin bran flakes and grapefruits and pineapples etc. etc. etc. and then, by 10 a.m., I'd be shaky with hunger. Now, I know that I was on a blood-suger roller coaster all day every day ... how sad it took me so long to discover a way of eating that is so satisfying and healthy -- for me. Anyway, I am grateful for this board as it really gives me hope!!!!

You ain't seen nothin' yet!! Just wait 'til you figure out how easy it is to CONTROL your weight!! Weight goes up 2-3#? Just cut back on carbs for awhile! Cool!!

Hey farmgirl

After a few months you may find the weight loss slowing or stalling altogether. You may get bored with the food, or just sick of watching what you eat all the time.

Whatever your reason this will be your true test period. Whatever you do, STAY OFF CARBS! Switch to a different LC program if you wish, change your exercise strategy, try something new, but DON"T GIVE UP.

This is no magic pill, like most diet programs it starts off great and then slows down, prepare yourself to hang in there and tough it out. It works!

..Max..

Farmgirl,

I too, after induction, asked the same questions: will it last? Is this for real? I have been trying to lose weight I gained over the last 3 years doing every kind of diet - including doing just shakes/bars. I was always starving, telling my co-workers that I was so hungry I was ready to eat my own hand. The lowest I ever got was from 195 down to 181 lbs. I started 1/1/03 on Atkins, and I said I wouldn't believe it was working until I broke 180. I am proud to say that today I weighed in at 178! My measurements have also gone down 2.5 inches in each place (bust, waist and hips)! This week I fit into size 12s - and my 14s are almost embarrassing to wear! Yesterday my co-worker said that she doesn't ever notice me saying I am hungry anymore - that is because I am NOT!!!

It works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep at it!

Meg - finally a believer.

Way to go, Meg!

Don't for get to update your stats!

I agree with all the posts here and, after 6 months, just want to pass on that weight loss usually slows up and there are stalls on the way. Stick to this way of eating and the weight will come off. The rate of loss in the first couple of weeks of induction is not sustainable though. Once you get past that mentally this is easily the best weight loss program and way of living program I have ever found.

To all the Atkins veterans: How long can I stay on Induction? Is there any downside to staying on it longer than two weeks ... a month ... three months? I am perfectly content with the food I am eating and, being a true carb addict, going "cold turkey" is easiest for me to sustain. Thanks for all the help!