I usually cope with boredom, loneliness, and stress by eating. Even while on Atkins, I haven't changed this habit. In the beginning, I truly felt that I wasn't hungry, but every few days, my appetite switches back up a notch. I was under the impression that Atkins encourages people to eat liberally on his diet, so I don't limit myself; but I find that many people on this board eat much less than I do. Some even count calories.

My question is as follows: Are there any others here who eat a lot (and I mean a lot) of food on Atkins, and still lose weight? I was losing weight nicely in the beginning, but it doesn't look as positive now. Am I very wrong for not limiting myself?

A calorie is a calorie and you should try to stay within a certain number (based on your weight, height, etc....there are calculations for this). You need to expend more than you take in. That is the obvious rule. However, on Atkins, you are stressed to focus on carbs instead of fats. USDA has been teaching us to focus on low fat/low cal diets. The recommended grain serving is around 11 or so. To me, and to quite a few people, that is too much unless you compete in triathalons on a regular basis.
Sometime last month, I ate roughly 2,500 calories in one day and I stayed at 9 grams of carbs for the entire day because of what I ate. The next day, the scale dove 3 pounds. I don't eat that much on a regular basis, however, and I try to keep my calories around 1,800 or so. Even less if I do not plan any cardio activity.
If you find yourself reaching for food when you aren't sure if you want it, take a brisk walk around the block, drink a glass of water, or log onto the web for fitness programs (even if you don't partake, reading and looking at photos is enough to keep that cookie out of your mouth).
My biggest helper is brushing my teeth. The desire to eat goes away with a clean mouth.

During the first severals weeks on Atkins I ate way too much. For example an entire chicken for one meal, but I still lost alot of weight very quickly. But, eventually my weight loss stopped. I reduced my calories to more reasonable levels and my weight loss continued.

I no longer have any desire to overeat.

Cookie?! Goodness, no. I'm talking chicken...fish...tofu...with mayo, or macadamia nuts at worst.

I thought that fat needs carbohydrate in order to be stored - otherwise, it is flushed out with the water you drink? Didn't the USDA go crazy over Dr. Atkins' "outlandish idea" that a calorie is NOT a calorie is NOT a calorie?

I eat alot of food. Sometimes as much as 4-6 cheeseburger patties, lots of bacon, over a pound uncooked, huge salads, and my new snack of choice is thin sliced turkey form the deli that has some lemon and paprika or something.. it tastes incredible and I can usually polish off a lb along with all the other food i just listed on a "hungry" day.

But this isn't every day. Some days I don't feel like eating as much or I found something to do that takes my mind off food.

This morning i was down to 244 from 267, (right now I am at 246 after polishing of a gang of bacon and cheeseburgers).

I think I have been on the diet for 5 or 6 weeks now..my weight can fluctuate over the day and week but I have been losing about 1-3 lbs a week after induction.
I also heard that if you don't get enough of the fat and high cal your body will go into starvation mode and not want to shed fat..

I probably would have lost more but one day I went on binge and had a large xtra cheese pizza the the begining of my 3rd week. he he

Thanks, Caveman and Tubby. It helps to know I'm not the only one who EATS! I'll keep watching the scale, and I'll try to make sure to have my days when I'm too busy to eat. Unfortunately, I think that being short gives me a disadvantage...

Does anybody else have an experience to share?

I'm a major food addict and have been through cycles of LC pigging out. While I'm eating it feels great, then afterwards I feel mentally and physically drained. Overeating legal stuff sucks my will to live, the same way eating carbs did. I used to justify it to myself by saying it's all LC, isn't it? So no problem.

I lost very quickly in the beginning - about 50 pounds in six months. It was all so new and exciting and refreshing to feel like I finally had control and it was simply by eating LC. I was wrong. I had to eat LC because I discovered that eating carbs for me is heroin so I started seeking out LC methadone. Slowly, all my damaging thought processes and behaviors started to creep back in because they had never really left in the first place. I am really grateful that I had been given a good head start and was shown the path to walk but I had to walk it myself. LC was not going to do the walking for me. When I eat compulsively, I'm behaving like my fat self so fat I shall remain.

My whole LC journey has been one of developing a sane relationship to food and just to be sane, period. So my efforts go towards changing my behavior. When I'm thinking to myself, "Gee that was good! Think I'll have another piece of X", I stop and remind myself that a truly sane person would not have more of X if they were already full. Why would they? And I am becoming that sane person. If I don't, I'll be forever addicted. The more I resist, the saner I get. It's a good feeling.

Why do you think that being short puts you at a disadvantage?

Karen

I was like you at the beginning and I ate a lot. I have always used food as a comfort or when I am bored, etc. and Atkins gave me free reign to eat all I wanted, whenever I wanted without then feeling guilty about it. Interestingly, after about 3 weeks I just wasn't that interested in eating all the time anymore. Perhaps because it is guilt free it doesn't fill the same unhealthy emotional need anymore. I am not sure, but I am not eating everything in the fridge anymore.

KAREN: I totally understand what you are saying. I too want to be sane. I think, though, that it will be much easier for me to try to be sane when I get a job (I am out of one now) and am around people (other than my parents, whom I only see at night). Right now, though, the challenge is far greater. I am alone and bored all the time, with the stress of not being able to find a suitable job.

What I meant by a disadvantage in being short, is that tall people need to eat more calories to live. So, if I eat the same amount as someone who's 6'3", I will gain more weight, and my body will also show it faster!

JENNIFER7: Thank you for sharing. Do you stay away from Splenda, by the way?

Oh, and one more thing: It seems to me that the people who ate too much and still lost weight in the beginning, started off at heavier weights than I am. Oh, well...

Good post Karen...Thanks!

Lonely: I used to eat and eat and yes...eat! Then, I simply stopped one day and took a good, long, look at just what the hell I was doing. I did not like what I saw; a compulsive person eating for recreation, for emotion, for all the wrong reasons.

I had to learn to eat to live. NOT to live to eat.
So, I began Atkins and Lc-ing. This has helped me so very much. I now consume around 1800 calories per day...I should be much higher, but most days I simply have to force myself to even get to 1800.

Other days, I could eat a house! I have , on those days, non-stop hunger! However, on those "hungry days"...I eat the same..maybe up it to 2200 calories (not exactly pigging-out)...and I find things to do that will keep me mentally busy, which helps take my mind off it. Gardening is great for this...you get fresh air, exercise, sweat and sweat...and drink loads more water...and before you know it, the day is gone and its time for dinner, which by then, I don't even want!

Try to find something like this...try to set limites for yourself after those first two atkins weeks...it helps to learn the discipline...it gives YOU control over the foods and the eating...and if you falter along the way, NOT TO WORRY...we ALL do!

You can do this, you simply need to just "begin"!
VERY best wishes;
Jake

I know where you're coming from. You're sitting on the couch, at the computer, or what have you and suddenly, you're bored with what you're doing. What's the quickest way to break up the boredom? Staring into the refridgerator, right? That is certainly me. I figured this out the other day. I don't really have the munchies. I just don't have anything else to do at the moment except maybe eat something.

So here's what I started doing: I get a tiny juice glass to drink my water from. This way, my water is running out quickly and I have to keep getting more. This accomplishes three things...

1. I'm drinking my water
2. I have to keep getting up, therefore, I'm getting in a little extra excercise.
3. It's breaking up the boredom that I have during my down time.

An added bonus is that I'm still in and out of the kitchen which satisfies some subconcious need that I have to do that.

Give that a try and let me know how it works for you.

~Angi~

Hi Lonely! (I hope our responses will help you feel less lonely!)

I too am an emotional eater and turned to Atkins in desperation. I have been a very slow loser throughout (it's taken me 7 months to lose the 22 pounds so far with a 3 month stall in between). I've lowered my total legal calories and went back to the induction limit on carbs (I was pushing 30-35 carbs/day on some days) and I've finally started losing again. Maybe calories don't count as much for everyone -- some people on this board eat way more than I do and still manage to lose weight, but it seems that most people eat far less than me and are definitely losing faster.

My next step is to try strength training in the hopes that building more lean muscle mass will raise my metabolism. I've heard it works wonders. I've been doing regular cardio, but it hasn't helped me to lose more pounds in the past three months.

Pam

Yeah me too. Sometimes I am starved and other days I'm not hungry at all. I guess it all balances out.

Yes, I'm an emotional eater, too. I too had to find ways to cope with stress, etc, without binge eating! Exercise, water, prayer-they all help, and have no calories!!

And remember the cardinal rule of Atkins-eat only until comfortable, then STOP! A tough one, but doable.

Hang in there!