Beginner
 

Hello everybody. I am new to the Atkins diet (i.e have not actually started it yet) (:
I am so worried as i have tried things in the past that have just failed. I feel at the moment like it is impossible to lose weight! Can anybody give me any tips or tell me how easy the Atkins diet is to follow ...

By the way i brought the book 'Dr. Atkins new diet revolution' is this a good thing to start with

Will i ever lose weight!!?? :help:

Hi, Molly!
Sounds like you are on the right track! Reading (memorizing??) the book is the best way to start things off, I think. The book really helped me stay focused when I was getting started.

IMHO, Atkins is easy and not-so-easy. Personally, it's the best thing I've ever tried for losing weight (and tummy issues I had before Atkins went away when I started, so that was a nice bonus). But at first, it was weird not to be eating the grains, sugars, and starchy veggies. Now when I eat those things, it feels like a massive indulgence.

Best of luck to you on your journey! There is lots of super helpful info on this forum (and a ton of amazing recipes, too).

Ferrygirl how much have you lost, and how long did it take you? (:

I've lost about 25 lbs so far in 11 months - I'm one of the slow ones around here! But, slow is better than nothing which is better than gaining, I guess! :)

Welcome to the board, Molly! :wave:

I agree with Ferrygirl, reading your DANDR is a good way to start your Atkins journey. :thup:

Have you started with the way of eating yet?

No i have not if i am being honest. I was waiting for the book to arrive (i have ordered it off ebay)

I am just a bit worried firstly i am fully aware of all the successes there have been using Atkins. However i have also read articles that say, i am putting on weight and other worrying articles. And thanks Ferry girl. That is quite slow though, is there not a way of speeding it up?

hey Molly....Atkins IS a proven weight loss program....BUT....you didn't put ON excess weight over a day, or a month or a year or two....why do you think it will be gone so much more quickly? WE might be idiot's when it comes to getting rid of 'our excesses' but our body is not. If you stick to a weight loss program and do , at least, the minimum amount of exercise [for some this will be as little as just moving your body a bit more, for others it will be much more] you will lose the excess fat....but only as your body sees fit...it will not endanger itself [health] just because YOU want it gone NOW...and if you force it too you will just get ill. Be in it for life, or not at all.

Hey, researching before jumping in sounds like a wise idea. I know I had a lot of misconceptions about Atkins before I actually read the book.

I'm sure that if I would stop having off-plan moments, things would go a little faster. :). Living in Japan, I have some unique challenges. Probably my diet overall is much closer to maintenance than OWL.

If you are feeling worried, you can always tell yourself that you are going to give it a go for about a month or so and then take stock and see how you feel.

Fantastic that is what i will do then. I was speaking to another Atkins user and he insisted that to really get the results you wanted, it was important to stick to eating foods that were only acceptable in the induction phase of the program. He said that this is how he lost 120 pounds, and he has managed to keep it off.

If i stick to this plan vigorously, and exercise a lot, will the weight loss be more noticeable, as i have found previously when i have lost weight it is not noticeable AT ALL! I did actually lose around 30 and it appears i did not lose any weight!!

freeform I actually completely agree with you, it is just that i am so worried about weight loss, it has become a mental issue with me - something that literally consumes my entire life. But i definitely appreciate where you are coming from.

Are you feeling that you MUST LOSE WEIGHT!!!!!!!??

That alone can cause undue stress.

"I love me... I am worthy of my best efforts... I am capable of becoming my best... I will do what it takes, carefully and deliberately, to make myself a better me... because I matter to me, very, very much..."

"I will treat my body carefully, with diligence towards feeding myself quality, nourishing foods, in the proper amounts, making sure I stay well hydrated and that I get enough sleep and the proper nutritional supplements for my maximum health."

"Starting TODAY, I will love myself as I love others..."

"I will learn to appreciate me, just exactly as I am, whether or not I am making changes to create a healthier me. I AM WORTH MY BEST EFFORTS, and I am a worthwhile human being... JUST BECAUSE I EXIST. Period."

I wish i could think all of that, but i really do not. I am 17 and for the last 9 years I have honestly not been able to look into a mirror, have not had a single picture taken of me. I genuinely have not worn anything but tracksuit bottoms and hoodies.
But i will give this my all - i swear. I really need to learn to accept myself (but at a slenderer size) (:
Induction is worrying me, it seems confusing - can anyone help me out?

Mollys21 Why can you only accept yourself at a slender size? Do you realise that when you do not accept yourself as you are now you are focusing very much on the overweight you. When you keep focusing on your overweight body you will lock this image into your mind. Just let go and accept every little part of you exactly as you are NOW. Love every little part of you NOW. If you do this you will let go a lot of stress surrounding your body. This does not mean that you cannot love and approve of yourself when you are slender. If you want to do this imagine yourself slender, fit and healthy and love and accept yourself that way too. By letting go of the condemnation, criticism, hate and the continual pounding you give to your overweight self, you will be able to move on. Welcome. Good luck.

Molly take a deep breath lol =)

Induction is very simple. Eat as much as you like so long as you are eating less than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. You don't digest fiber although it comes in the form of a carbohydrate so if you look at a package (broccolli for instance) and it says 5 grams of carbs below that it should say something like 3 grams of fiber. To you that means that that serving of broccolli has only 2 grams of carbs.

Other than that just eat foods with really really high fat contents, eggs, bacon, butter, sausages, steak etc. If you have something like ham you can put mayo on it to increase the fat content of your meal. It is best you stay above 70% fat calories, I am probably around 80% to be safe.

I like grilled chicken for instance, but the fat content isn't high enough so I will drink a pint of heavy cream with the meal (it is really quite good once you get use to very rich foods lol).

A few days in you might feel sick when your body runs out of carbs and decides it needs to start burning fat. It lasted about 2 days for me and it hit me like a fucking freight train. I had bad headaches and barely had enough energy to walk, basically I stayed in my bed for 2 days. After that it immediately gets better.

I personally have stayed on the induction phase for a little over 3 months now. A few days a week I probably hit 30 grams a day but its whatever.

Also one of my favorite meals is a pound of bacon pan-fried, pour out about half the bacon grease and throw in 4 or 5 eggs. Easy easy easy - good induction food. I put some cheese on top of course.

Molly, you are SEVENTEEN.
You are beautiful, honey.
You have young hair, and young skin, and young teeth and nails, and vigor and collagen and all those things that disappear in thirty years.

The question is... why do you not feel like you deserve love just exactly the way you are? Because YOU DO. Just because. NO OTHER REASON.

Honey, you have to love you. YOU set the example for the rest of the world.

Please understand that accepting you is a really important step.
And please don't go down that self-hatred road. It's a bad road.

You deserve just as much love at 180 as at 150 as at 120. PERIOD.

Hi Molly. It's nice to meet you. Best of luck.