I agree completely with you, Val. I wouldn't say that what I eat is low carb in the way that Atkins is low carb, but it is definitely low "junky" carb, at least when I'm eating properly. And I do better with a fairly high protein intake, and a fairly low fat intake. I don't lose as well when I allow myself too many nuts, cheese servings, etc. While I really enjoy bacon, I limit it because it is usually highly processed and doesn't fit my tenets of eating fresh, whole foods.

I've read Atkins a number of times, and I followed the diet to the letter, but I felt poorly and didn't lose much weight. I've also tweaked the way I eat over this 135 pound weight loss period. In the beginning, just cutting back a little was enough. Now, I have to think about what I eat, when I eat it, and whether I am optimizing things by eating the highest quality foods. I get bored easily, so I am always trying new approaches, but overall, it's the clean eating that works best, and makes me feel the best. I do eat some fats -- a few tsps of olive oil each day -- but not much above and beyond that.

Oops -- I said I was gonna stop talking, and here I am, yammering on...sorry!

i think i get it joanie. clean foods are whole, unprocessed, foods. so high-fat foods can be "clean", but you choose not to eat them. how do you get your essential fats?

Eepobee, I supplement my diet with some olive oil, as mentioned above. I also get fat in the meats/nuts that I eat. While I don't seek out high fat meats, I eat the dark meat of chicken, and I eat some pork, beef, etc. (Nuts are a trigger food for me, though, so I limit my intake, or I'll overeat them...) And yes, there are high fat foods that I consider "clean", like yummy cheeses, but again, eating a lot of that stuff really slowed down my progress. I sort of tweaked my program so that I get enough fat to keep things moving (I get constipated if I don't eat enough fat) but not so much that my weight loss stops. Admittedly, it's an imperfect approach... I do supplement with multivitamins and cal/D. I use protein shakes to supplement my protein intake when I don't get enough meat or eggs in. These probably wouldn't be considered "clean", but they are easy when I'm on the go or stuck in back-to-back classes. Like I said, it's an imperfect approach, but in general, it has served me well. I realize that others have different dietary needs (like those who have diabetes, etc) and my program might not work for them. And I'm not all the way to goal yet, so you won't see my face in the "success story" forum for awhile!!

The other thing is that after losing a lot of weight, things have slowed down. In the beginning, I could count on easily losing 10+ pounds/month without a tremendous amount of effort. Now that I'm no longer obese or overweight (I think my BMI is hovering at or just above 25) it's much harder. And I'm impatient, and would like to reach my goal weight. I've set it at 120, which may be too ambitious...we'll see how things go over the next few months.

That's it...the good, bad, and ugly! My biggest concern is keeping the weight off (I've been a yo-yo dieter in the past), and time will tell if my new ways of eating serve me well in maintenance.

Take care!