Atkins diet questions....

[LadyP]

I only want to lose about half a stone but am too lazy to do it the conventional way.

SamboM asked a question on the 'diet starts tomorrow' thread re breakfast alternatives so I will look at the responses to that but my main concern is the bad breath and constipation.

Can they be avoided? Can drinking lots of water help?

Also, is this just a diet where you eat yourself slimmer or do you have to undertake excersise as well (if so, I'll go to WW as I can defo avoid the bad breath/constipation thing with that ).

Finally, how realistic is it a weight-loss to maintain once a 'normal' diet is resumed?

Thanks

You need lots of chewing gum and lots of water to avoid the bad breath and constipation !!

I lost 6lbs in just over a week .... then went back to normal eating ( not being too greedy ). Within 3 weeks I had gained 10lbs ....

Now I'm doing WW and I have my first weigh in tomorrow !!

Hi LadyP

Yes, drinking water (Atkins recommends at least 8 glasses a day) will help prevent constipation and bad breath. When dp and I were on Atkins we did notice a change in our breath, but it wasn't like bad bad - there was a bit of a funny metallic taste/smell, but worth it for losing the weight!

You don't have to exercise necessarily, but Atkins does say that you tend to have much more energy on this diet, therefore are more likely to want to exercise. Also Atkins is supposed to promote building lean muscle.

Atkins isn't really about just dieting for a couple of weeks then resuming your normal eating habits. The idea is to gradually reintroduce carbohydrates once the whole ketosis thing has kicked in, but you still cut out refined sugar and carbs.

I'd recommend looking up some info on the internet (Atkins website ) and/or buy the book - it's very good.

The thing I found hardest was cutting out fruit and fruit juice though, especially in summer this is really hard!

Good luck

Brilliant, an Atkins thread! Just what i need!

Well done LadyP

My q on the other thread in case anyone can't be bothered to look was what can you eat for breakfast other than bacon/eggs etc.

I must say I am definitely not feeling hungry on this diet and seem to be losing weight already. I also love having a plate with about 5 different sorts of cheese on it after dinner, something I haven't done for years! Only tiny bits though.

Oh and just to say that I am cheating already, had two large Vodka and slimline tonics last night. Well, you can't stick to it rigidly can you?

Don't feel bad SamboM - vodka contains zero carbs!

I know but it says that your body burns that before fat. Still who cares, I refuse to be a monk.

Does anyone else find the american aspect of the book hard, I mean what does it mean when it says you can have 9oz salad, loosely packed? 9oz is 9oz for gods sake, whether you put it in a bin bag or a matchbox! Also all the recipies are aimed at americans and people who like rich sauces etc. Is there an English version of the book?

Yeah, breakfast was hard, I just haven't got time to make bacon and eggs in the morning. I'm not on Atkins now, but when I was I got through a lot of pepperamis for breakfast!

i'm a crap person to give atkins advice as i didn't manage to stick to induction for more than a week - i'm now on a low fat diet, but have carried on avoiding too many carbs as well.

So vodka and coke is now just an occasional treat

I think it depends what your favourite foods are - if you like meat, cheese and rich sauces, Atkins is great, but I can't live without fruit!

Well I haven't had any breakfast yet cos I just can't face another egg or any meat!

Someone please tell me that there is an alternative or I can see myself failing quickly on this one! Does it get better once you are off the induction? I looked on the box and it said that a bowl of shreddies and milk is only 12g carbs so can I have that once I am finished induction if I count it in my daily allowance?

I lost 7lbs in 2 weeks following a variation of the Atkins diet - I cut out cakes altogether, allowed myself one helping of potatoes and one helping of pasta per week, cut down on dairy, but ate as much fruit as I wanted. I think you just have to be sensible. It still worked. But I didn't get any further than that, because I found out I was pregnant again, and felt so sick I couldn't face any more green salad for lunch!

I did the Atkins before I got married a few years ago. Worked a dream and i actually found it pretty easy. Missed fruit juice the most - sugar free vit c fizzy tabs were an ok substitute. Lost 1 and a half stone pretty steadily had bags of energy and looked great for the wedding but a BIG word of warning as soon as I started eating normally again - and i mean normally - not huge plates of pie and mash just sensible portions of healthy fare - I put all the the weight back on again and more.

I have just been nosing around in Waitrose cos I'm missing crunchy things!

Discovered that water biscuits and oatcakes have none or 0.1g carb sugars (which is what the book says you should be counting) Does that mean you can eat them after induction?

Thanks for all the responses.

I think I will give the Atkins diet a miss, as I really want to keep anything off that I lose.

I lost a stone with WW after DS' birth and have kept if off completely, so I will probably go back to that.

Thanks again.

LadyP - I think Atkins works if you change your eating plan for life really. I don't think that it's the kind of diet that you do for a bit and then go back to eating as you did before - it won't work. You have to find the level of carbs that suit you in order for your weight to remain stable. I have been toying with it, but not at all strictly, for a few weeks now and have lost some weight - not sure how much since don't really know what I weigh anyway, but jeans are looser, stomach is a bit flatter (that could be all those sit-ups I'm doing ) I do think it makes sense once you've read the book. When I've ever tried to lose some weight by eating low-fat foods, I've just felt starving all the time.

I wouldn't dismiss it, but you do need to think about changing your eating habits long term if you try it. You can eat carbohydrates, it's not as drastic as it seems, you just have to not pig out on them

Sambom - i ended up having egg mayonnaise and celery sticks for breakfast in a desperate attempt to break the monotony. Very crumchy!

That sounds good! I did have some cruncy lettuce wraps yesterday with ham and cheese in some and crab pate in others which were great.

crunchy even

Wish I could have a crunchie. mmmmmmm.

I'm not going to diss Atkins as I think it does work, but purely make a suggestion for those who find it hard to keep the weight off after, or who want some more carbs. Try Slimming World. This has red and green days, the red days are meat, fish, chicken etc, plus veggies and fruit. The green days are pasta, rice and potatoes, plus veggies and fruit. This is simplifying things a bit, but it menas you can eat carbs when you don't eat loads of protien and vice-versa. It is not quite like food combining as you can actually have measured amounts of the 'other' food so can still have a roast dinner with meat and potatoes. I am nothing t do with SW, but I found it works so well for me, and I can keep the weight off easily.

Crunchie, how does slimming world work for veggies?

sorry I know its not an Atkins question.

I joined Slimming World a couple of weeks ago. I find it a really good diet. It's especially good if you are a vegetarian (I'm not) as you have 'Original' days and 'Green' days. You choose what 'day' you'll be having that day. So if you are a vegetarian you'll have Green days. Basically orginal days you are allowed unlimited meat and measured potato or pasta etc and green days you have unlimited potatoes, pasta, rice, cous cous etc. with measured meat (which obviously doesn't affect you.) On both days you can eat unlimited amounts of fruit and veg.

On both you have whats called healthy extras, like milk or cheese and cereally type stuff for fibre.

Oh and then you are allowed so many 'sins' usually about 10. So anything else you fancy, maybe a dollop of something or a chocolate bar something like that, you just look up how many sins it has and deduct it from you daily allowance.

They have a website Here

Thanks, How do you go on with alcohol?

A friend of mine lost over 4 stone at Slimming World. I tried it and lost a stone but I found it quite difficult to know what to eat with what. She, on the other hand, studied what the 'rules' were and knew them off by heart at all times.

Good website though so perhaps it will inspire me!

lillibet, I am a veggie, so I know SW inside out for them! I do green days and eat loads of pasta, rice, potatoes, couscous and other grains. I can have quorn, eggs and low fat cottage cheese, natural yoghurt. All veggies, and all fruit. I can then eat measured amounts of milk/cheese/bread/breakfast cereals etc.

Alcohol is part of the sins allowence, and with 10 sins a day, you can have 2 glasses of wine (measured!) I usually add together sins for the week, 70 in total and have a bottle of wine, 30 sins in the week. Therefore if I do the whole bottle in one night, I can't have more that week! But I can have a good night out

Jumping in here after a bit of a Mumsnet break - I have a friend who is well on the way to losing her second stone on the Atkins diet but I just couldn't do without fruit so it was useless for me. Slimming World looks quite a good idea but isn't it a bit disturbing that the brains behind the outfit (Margaret Miles Bramwell, pic on the website) is rather, er, rounded at the edges Not the best advert!