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  #1   ^
Old Sat, Mar-09-19, 17:37
SheilaQ's Avatar
SheilaQ SheilaQ is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 123
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 212.5/156.5/160 Female 5’6”
BF:
Progress: 107%
Location: New England
Default Atkins but not for life?

So what would happen if a person lost a bunch of weight on Atkins and then decided to go back to eating carbs but did so in a calorie-controlled manner? Would all the weight come back, some, none? I know a diet can’t be just a diet, has to be accompanied by a long-term change in WOE, but could one make the journey one way and then use another for maintenance?

Grateful to hear thoughts on this one, thanks.
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  #2   ^
Old Sat, Mar-09-19, 20:14
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 19,169
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Atkins is a four step process, with the last rung the amount of food and carbs to maintain weight.

To go back to the old way if eating, which put on the pounds, will put on the pounds again.

The journey of weight loss help each learn what works for each person.

Highly suggest get a used copy of DANDR and read cover to cover.

Last edited by Ms Arielle : Sun, Mar-10-19 at 08:33.
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  #3   ^
Old Sat, Mar-09-19, 22:01
SheilaQ's Avatar
SheilaQ SheilaQ is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 123
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 212.5/156.5/160 Female 5’6”
BF:
Progress: 107%
Location: New England
Default

Thank you for your reply. I have the book and have read it. I was talking about doing say 6 mo or a year on the plan, then going forward to a calorie counting approach focused on healthy foods but with no carb restriction, not back to the way I ate before which was a lot of unhealthy choices and quantity. Any thoughts on the ramifications of such an approach?
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  #4   ^
Old Sat, Mar-09-19, 23:47
bevangel's Avatar
bevangel bevangel is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,312
 
Plan: modified adkins (sort of)
Stats: 265/176/167 Female 68.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 91%
Location: Austin, TX
Default

My experience is that when I let my carb count drift up (above about 30g net carbs/day) I start gaining weight, even if I'm deliberately trying to eat fewer calories by cutting back on fat to balance out the extra carbs.

I emphasize "trying" because the other thing that happens when I eat more carbs is that I find myself getting hungrier more quickly, so it's really HARD to keep my calories down. I usually wind up eating as much or more protein and fat as I would have had I eaten fewer carbs.

Doesn't matter that the excess carbs came from something "healthy" like a bowl of split pea soup or a baked sweet potato. If I eat more than about 15g of carbs in a meal, then 2 hours later, I'll be STARVING. And since I usually eat only two meals per day, if I stay under 15 g carbs per meal, it would be hard for me to manage a higher carb, low calorie diet.

But, if your metabolism isn't all screwed up - like mine clearly is, your results could be very different. If you don't find yourself STARVING 2 hours after a high carb (or highish carb) calorie-restricted meal, then calorie counting might work well for you for maintenance.

Every BODY is different. Ultimately you'll have to experiment to find what works for you. The nice thing about this forum is that nobody will slam you for trying something a bit different from the ordinary/standard LC WOEs. Good luck!
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  #5   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 04:14
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,341
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

There is an old book titled Atkins for Life I see it in thrift stores, can find used on Amazon or in library. It explains how to find a carb level appropriate to your metabolism. Depending on your age, hormonal status, history with obesity, etc. a "calorie counting approach focused on healthy foods but with no carb restriction" could be a slippery slope. I followed a mostly vegetarian plan focused on high quality grains, breads, beans, no soy, anti-cancer diet and gained 60 pounds, so that didn’t work for me at all. We are all different but I would caution adding carbs without restriction, and counting calories is plain tedious and inaccurate.
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  #6   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 07:40
barb712's Avatar
barb712 barb712 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,435
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 240/188/185 Female 5'11"
BF:
Progress: 95%
Default

I have to answer the OP's question about switching to a calorie-restricted diet with a question: Why would you want to? If you follow Atkins as it was designed, you will (re) discover the joys of feeling full and satisfied and eating a wide variety of foods in the right amounts for your body. You just need to count carb grams, which is so much simpler than counting calories. At the same time you train yourself to stay within a certain carb range, you also train yourself to stay in a certain calorie range. So if you embrace a low-carb lifestyle for life, it's a different path to the same goal - only more sustainable IMO.

I had a similar experience to Janet's, several times over: Weight Watchers, McDougall/Ornish, "whole foods plant based," "Mediterranean" - all with ample weight gain and failing health. Every body's different, but high carb low fat (automatically very low calorie) has proven to be an epic fail for me many times over.

Simply put, to paraphrase Dr. Atkins himself, the only way to keep the weight off is to keep doing what you did to lose the weight in the first place.

There is one food movement I've tried and like very much which you could switch to or incorporate into Atkins: paleo or primal. You can eat higher carb but whole foods in more abundance and maintain your weight and health with the right balance for you. Atkins is now marketing "Atkins 100" which is essentially the same thing provided you choose whole foods.

Of course, you could try Weight Watchers if you think that suits you better as it encourages whole foods and watching your fat and calories. Different strokes for different folks ... I can think of a couple of people who are lifetime members of Weight Watchers, and both were always naturally thin to begin with.

Last edited by barb712 : Sun, Mar-10-19 at 08:13.
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  #7   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 08:37
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 19,169
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by SheilaQ
Thank you for your reply. I have the book and have read it. I was talking about doing say 6 mo or a year on the plan, then going forward to a calorie counting approach focused on healthy foods but with no carb restriction, not back to the way I ate before which was a lot of unhealthy choices and quantity. Any thoughts on the ramifications of such an approach?


Why would you want to go back to counting if you dont need to???

The counting calories and not carbs is a method that has been proven to be less successful than counting carbs.

Calorie restriction is not as effective as carb restriction.

Maybe read the book again... and there is TONS of studies since that book. Hang around here on the forum and read thru the area where the studies are posted. Find Dr Fungs work. ANd Westman, and Volek, and the list goes on.

Read thru DIet Doctors web site, too.
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  #8   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 08:49
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 19,169
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Adding this for understanding.

Calories are tested by a machine for each food. It is based on buring the food and measureing the increase in temperature of water. It is the burning of fats, carbs and proteins. All of these are in the calorie counts.

While anyone can gain weight eating fats and proteins, the ability to cope with the foodstuff is different than eating carbs. Fats are more satiating and when i am in ketosis, food is not an obsession; too much protein can act like carbs, so high consumption of protein can be a problem too. Like a big steak three times a day is not giving me the control I need to decrease weight. ( That amount of food is weight gain, not loss for me. )

Carbs send me completely out of control. An addict looking for more, an planning the next baked good,. Carbs have a direct effect on the brain and this has been proven in recent years to be more addicted than , I cant remember which was used in the study, I think cocaine.

Doesn't matter the source of the carbs-- carbs are carbs.

Atkins allow you to learn what amounts of proteins , fats and carbs will work for your individual body based on the foods YOU like to eat. The only limit is the number of carbs.

I learned new recipes, especially sweets. But now I dont have such a fondness for sweets, and dont need the sweets. Just by limiting the consumption of carbs as a whole group.

( To drop weight, I do have to also limit proteins and fats.)
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  #9   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 09:25
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
Default

To me, fats and protein is self limiting. I could have a big steak for every meal but couldn't come close to eating half. I have never gained weight on that alone.
Now, add a cup of rice here and a slice of cake there and a bowl of ice cream and there you have the slippery slope to weight gain.

Last edited by Meme#1 : Sun, Mar-10-19 at 09:49.
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  #10   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 09:41
cotonpal's Avatar
cotonpal cotonpal is online now
Senior Member
Posts: 5,270
 
Plan: very low carb real food
Stats: 245/125/135 Female 62
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: Vermont
Default

I cannot control my weight unless I keep my carbs very low. For me it's that simple, controlling my weight and my general health is my priority. Eating carbs much above 20 total puts that in jeopardy so I don't. Ask yourself what your goals are and then experiment to figure out how you can meet them. I look at food as medicine first. Enjoyment of my food is secondary to maintaining the best health possible so I continue to keep my carbs low, net carbs no more than 10 gms.
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  #11   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 10:40
SheilaQ's Avatar
SheilaQ SheilaQ is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 123
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 212.5/156.5/160 Female 5’6”
BF:
Progress: 107%
Location: New England
Default

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am on day 6 of Atkins and am feeling good, but struggling with the mental concept of never having bread, beer, ice cream again. I am hoping once a hit fat adaption I can have these treats very rarely and get back on track. This would be far in the future, but i need to believe that the plan would be workable for me long term.
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  #12   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 11:06
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
Default

If you are eating real foods with fresh meat, eggs and veggies, you might find as time goes on that you no longer want those things. Knowing that what we eat has nutritional value and seeing the results is the reward. Now, it makes me feel sad for those who are trying to survive on medicines because I know that they will only get sicker and sicker as time goes on.
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  #13   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 11:28
barb712's Avatar
barb712 barb712 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,435
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 240/188/185 Female 5'11"
BF:
Progress: 95%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by SheilaQ
Thanks for the replies everyone. I am on day 6 of Atkins and am feeling good, but struggling with the mental concept of never having bread, beer, ice cream again. I am hoping once a hit fat adaption I can have these treats very rarely and get back on track. This would be far in the future, but i need to believe that the plan would be workable for me long term.



Sheila, I don't want to lead you astray, I just want to give you hope. There is a light farther down the tunnel. After you have acclimated yourself to eating naturally the Atkins/low carb way and are in pre-maintenance or maintenance aka/Atkins for life, and your weight and health are at comfortable and stable levels for you, yes! You can have a can of light beer or a slice of bread or a couple of slices of crispbread or some controlled-carb ice cream like Breyer's CarbSmart as long as you can have just a normal portion once in a while and it doesn't cause weight gain, cravings/binges or any other ill effect. You need to be honest with yourself about that.

Last edited by barb712 : Sun, Mar-10-19 at 13:20.
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  #14   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 11:31
CityGirl8 CityGirl8 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 856
 
Plan: Protein Power, IF
Stats: 238/204/145 Female 5'8"
BF:53.75%/46.6%/25%
Progress: 37%
Location: PNW
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by SheilaQ
Thanks for the replies everyone. I am on day 6 of Atkins and am feeling good, but struggling with the mental concept of never having bread, beer, ice cream again. I am hoping once a hit fat adaption I can have these treats very rarely and get back on track. This would be far in the future, but i need to believe that the plan would be workable for me long term.
For some people it is possible. Once you lose the weight you want AND you repair any metabolic damage from your old diet, then maybe. I think plenty of people who are in the "average" messed up category, rather than the severely messed up range, can eat a moderate carb diet (say 100g to 150g of carbs/day) and be just fine. In fact, people without messed up metabolisms can lose weight on that range of carbs (like the Zone diet). Whether you're one of those people is hard to say. And I think in that range there's plenty of room for occasional desserts and treats like bread.

One thing you should be aware of is that when we eat a higher carb diet, we store a lot of water in our muscles. When people see an initial weight drop when they start low carbs, it's that water dropping out. As you increase your carbs, you'll see some or all of that water weight come back.

For me, I'm hoping that I'll eventually be able to increase my carbs that high. There are definitely some foods that I miss, and like you, I'd like to have them occasionally without my system freaking out. But I have no idea if that's going to be the case and I try not to worry about it too much. Experimenting with that is pretty far in my future, so I focus on all the variety I can have right now.
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  #15   ^
Old Sun, Mar-10-19, 14:12
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
Default

Quote:
can eat a moderate carb diet (say 100g to 150g of carbs/day) and be just fine.


Sorry but my thought is no way, no how...........
Ask some who is at goal or close to it and you will find out that going back to that level of carbs will pack the weight right back on.
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