anyone interested in trying a low carb/atkins style diet???

So I'm new to this but I would like to lose about 30 pounds rather quickly (who doesn't? ha) and perferably by summer.  I know that the atkins diet isn't the healthiest but almost everyone I know who has tried it has gotten great, fast results.  Even though I don't like the basic premise (no fruit, only low carb veggies ect.) I think I could do realtively healthy version with lean meat, tuna, low carb veggies ect.  Does anyone have any thoughts, advice, or have similar goals and want to attempt this with me????

I'm using a low carb plan to help me with my weight loss.  I've tried it before and it does work.

I do find, though, that after the induction phase, and the intitial large weight loss, I must also be aware of the calorie count of my food as well.

I would recommend reading Gary Taubes book (or a summary of it), before trying this diet... I think you'll be very encouraged.

Let me know how it goes.  I'm online almost everyday, but I don't usually respond to posts.  It would be nice to be in contact with someone else who is losing weight this way.

(In my experience, you can expect to lose about 10 pounds in the first two weeks, but it slows drastically after that). 

Have you tried it?  How's it going?

It CAN be healthy, it just depends on how you do it. You need to eat a variety of vegetables - corn and potatoes don't make the list - and get as much of your food fresh and minimally processed as possible. And if you return to a high-carb diet when you're done, the weight will come back on. But how many carbs you can have after reaching your goal weight without gaining back is going to vary from person to person.

I ended up stumbling into it by accident because I had some gastrointestinal problems and could only have liquids for about a week and limited solids for another couple of weeks. I bought some nutritional drinks so I didn't end up fasting, whichever ones were on sale, and my carb intake ended up slashed to about 50g a day. I was surprised to find I was feeling better that way than I did even before I got sick (I'm OK now). Cutting to about half of that has me feeling great. For the first time in my life I have enough energy that I actually want to exercise and am not constantly struggling with food cravings.

I'm no longer losing weight but am keeping my carb intake low and vegetable, meat, and other low-carb natural food intake high because I like it and I feel good. I don't count carbs, but estimate them, and avoid anything that has a lot or an unknown quantity.

Initial weight loss is partly water, but that's not all of it. I dropped two pants sizes and lost almost nothing from my leaner parts. It's actually gotten annoying in that I had loads of work clothes and now I'm down to two pairs of pants, one of which I hate because it's pleated-front, but they fit so I don't have a choice until I go buying new ones this week.

Hi!  I am in the same situation as you, shellk08, with about 30 pounds to lose by summer and just starting an atkins diet.  I did some atkins research last week, had a "farewell to carbs" this past weekend (indulging in my favorites one last time), and started yesterday on the induction phase of atkins.  I am going to try to make my diet as simple as possible, because it is easier for me to stick with a diet if it is routine.  I am going to use CC to count my calories also, and make sure I don't go over 1200/day. 

As I said, yesterday was my first day...I ate 2 hard boiled eggs (breakfast), 2.5 cups romaine lettuce with 1 small can of solid white tuna and 2T Ken's light Italian dressing (lunch), and about 9oz chicken breast with 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms sauteed in 1T EVOO and topped with 1-2T grated parmesan/romano cheese (delicious dinner), and a snack of about 2oz baby swiss cheese...I think my total calorie count for the day was between 1100-1200, and I was satisfied all day...and I felt good when I woke up this morning!

I will probably end up eating the same breakfast (1-2 hard boiled eggs) and lunch (2-3 cups lettuce, tuna, maybe a little cheese, with oil & vinegar) every day, and then for dinner have chicken with salad or other low-carb veggies.  I have read a lot of negative posts about atkins, but I think if I stick to salads and lean proteins, and monitor my calorie intake,  it is a fairly balanced diet. 

Keep me posted if you choose to go this route!

Hi everyone. I am also new here and new to the "low carb" lifestyle. I recently had blood work done and my fasting blood sugar was pre-diabetic and my triglycerides were way too high. I started looking at my everyday eating, and realized that I have been so worried about fat and cholesterol that all I was eating was breads/rice/pasta etc... After researching on the internet I found out that the extra carbs are turning to triglycerides and affecting my blood sugar.

Anyway, about 1 month ago I decided to avoid refined sugar foods, breads, pasta, potatoes, corn, rice etc.. So far I have lost 18 pounds!!! I still have a long way to go, but so far so good. I find that without all the carbs, I don't crave them anymore. I am finding it hard to even get enough calories in a day. I am so full of different veggies that I am not even hungry.

I am not on any particular Atkins or South Beach diet, I am trying to use common sense and keep my total carbs under 100 and keep somewhat low in fat also. Any ideas, comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Also, my friends don't help ANY!! They are always offering me chips, candy, popcorn etc.. and seem offended when I refuse. I find it impossible to go under 50 carbs for the day. EVERYTHING has carbs in it that is good for you. I refuse to go on the "eat all the meat and cheese" diet. So I trade diabetes for clogged arteries?!@#$

My boyfriend was on the atkins diet for a few months and lost 50lbs but it came at a major price. He has extremly high blood pressure and cholesterol and has to take blood pressure medicine now and he's only 30 years old! He took it a bit to the extreme though, he only ate meat and eggs with no cheat days and no breaks for 3 months, it realy wasn't worth putting himself at such a great risk for a heart attack. I definetly recomend well rounded balanced meals low in fat.

Been there done that! Don;t want to go back!!! LOL I lost 35 pounds in about 11 months once - but gained back 50 pounds.  I craved sugar like crazy when I was on it but on a low calorie and exercise plan I haven't really had any sugar cravings.  As far as low calorie - I am eating 1600 to 1900 daily - I eat all the time!!!

I am excited about what I am doing now because I am learning a new lifestyle that I think will be with me for a - long time.  Once the weight is gone I believe I will easily be able to manage and control my weight. 

I completely agree. I don't know how anybody with any sense thinks you can be healthy eating only meats, cheese and whole eggs. I believe all things in moderation. I try and eat 5 or six smaller meals a day and nothing within a few hours of bed. Also I try and get a minimum of 15 minutes of continuous walking every day, and most days I get way more than that. I have always been full of energy, I just ate more calories than I burn~ya know~always looking for the closer parking spot and riding elevators!!!

well im a vegetarian so low carb and atkins is totally impossible for me. My weight loss came from cutting out fats and bad carbs....a couple years ago before going veg....i tried it for a week and was so weak and tired that i realized there was no way it was something i could keep up with forever.

if any of you actually READ about the atkins diet you would know that it is not just meat, cheese, and eggs.  they recommend 12-15 net carbs a day from vegetables (mainly green leafy ones)...which means you could have several cups of salad each day.  paired up with grilled chicken, or seafood, this is actually a very healthy diet.

That's exactly what I am trying to do, without paying for the books.  We are trying to get advice from other people that are going through the same thing. How do I figure net carbs? I am eating lots of vegetables, does the fiber take away carbs? Not sure, thanks for any advice.

Yes, you count net carbs. Carbs-fiber=net carbs. I do recommend you buy the book though. I found it very helpful to learn how the body works, supplements that are helpful, etc.

At the expense of sounding flippant to people struggling to lose weight, 30 pounds by June 1 would be very easy.  You can do it, so get started!

I recommend low carb, Atkins or South Beach - both of these diets contain more carbs than I normally eat.  Obviously, do your homework regarding calories in / calories out.  Find calorie burn rate tools for your weight/height/age here and everywhere on the internet.  As you know, for every -3500 calorie deficit you theoretically lose a pound of body weight.  Results vary, these figures work for me, I'm in week five and when averaged out I'm losing 2 pounds a week simply by counting calories.

Keep a daily calorie log.  Make it simple or complex.  I made 3 custom spreadsheets - for calories, weight and calorie/weight loss.  I log each day and use Friday morning as the "official" weekly weigh in day - Friday is perfect because carb cheating (beer, potato chips) happens on the weekend, yeah baby!  LOL, but that's what I do.

One or two pounds a week is easy, and if you cut the carbs you'll do it effortlessly.  Good luck!

PS - Exercise really does help, I walk/jog nearly every day - it burns a few calories but more importantly you simply feel better with any type of exercise.

I started Atkins/low carb last monday and have lost 5 pounds so far (I have also been going to the gym almost every day)...I also feel a lot healthier, and I feel like I have converted some muscle to fat.  I expect an average 2lb/week loss if I continue this, which means I will meet my goal by summer!

Thanks all of you who are commenting. I really love hearing your experiences. I don't feel all alone. I am loving the results from my low carb lifestyle. I LOVE that I can drive by the sonic and not want to stop for a double bacon cheeseburger!!! I think different about every thing that I put in my body.

I started back on a low carb lifestyle on the 15th. Don't listen to the nay sayers. Eating low carb is the healthiest way of eating.

Of course it is not just meat, eggs and more meat. If anyone read the Atkins books you would see that he was an expert on vitamins, and encourages salads with lunch and dinner (except for induction--14 days out of your life--where you have only one salad per day plus non-starchy veggies).

The old standard nutrition books that doctors refer to, have not yet caught up with the times, with the latest research...and the studies in those books saying low fat was best, were faulty in the first place.

Even on Oprah, I saw Dr. Oz say to reduce cardiac disease (hardening of the arteries) eliminate sugar and processed foods. He did not mention eliminating saturated fat. So things are starting to change.

Down another 5 lbs.!! Hooray for the low carb way of eating. I am finding so many fun ways to prepare healthy foods. My latest is taking Mission carb balance whole wheat tortillas and cutting them up and baking them for some high fiber, low carb chips for dipping hummus, picante sauce, sour cream dip etc.. Also All-Bran has a garlic herb cracker which is high in fiber and pretty low in net carbs. They are wonderful for snacking. I also found that Walden Farms has salad dressing, ranch dips, jelly, chocolate sauce and much more that is completely free of calories, fat, carbs, gluten, cholesterol with no preservatives. They are pretty good too. I don't know about you all, but a salad or veggies can be pretty low cal until I douse it or dip it with all that fattening dressing!! I don't think I will ever go back to eating most of the junk I grew up or OUT on. LOL!!

im a complete low carb believer.  its freakin' amazing how much less i crave food and how much clearer i think and feel while cutting my carbs.  also, atkins is not about eating just meat, eggs, and cheese.  if you want to buy the book you can go on amazon.com and get it for probably 1 penny from a seller selling it used.  the shipping will still be 3.99, but used books are incredibly cheap on amazon usually.   also, if you want a low carb cookbook, my mom has been using george stella's low carb book.  its pretty good.

lots of people on this site will laugh at you or look down on you for doing low carb, but i know from personal experience that carbs matter to some people.  plain and simple.  good luck to everybody.  we should start some kind of low carb group or at least keep eachother updated on this thread.  i like having other low carb people to talk to.

So very glad to have you on this site. My family thinks I am taking my new low carb lifestyle too seriously, but I just can't brag enough about my lack of cravings for all the bad stuff I didn't think I could live without before. I truly don't crave Dr. Pepper, chips and burgers. If I do crave chocolate(Valentine's Day), I let myself eat a little and just make sure it is part of my daily allowance for calories, carbs etc..

You may want to try South Beach instead.  It allows milk and some complex carbs with the same results.

Just wanted to apologize for my previous post, I forgot that Atkins went healthy.  I'm basically doing what cherylknox is doing.  I eat in the morning a bowl of oat meal, my next small meal is a low carb wrap eggs or meat and mostly lean meat and vegis for the rest of the day.  Lots of vegis, maybe an occasional fruit instead of the wrap, its working great for me.