losin the pounds, losin the pounds

[Maja]

First, the title of this thread should be sung to the melody of "Breakin the Law, Breakin the Law"......
Anyhow, I just wanted to share my positive news on a positive board....I started the Atkins Diet 5 days ago and I've lost 4 & 1/2 kg. This diet is just nasty, but it's working, and I'm so glad! Now I just have to find out how to switch from low carb over to low fat without adding back the weight- I want to do this after I lose about 10 more kilos. Is there anything to worry about there?
I'm so happy!!! ;D

[Carolyn]

That is SO cool, grattis! But why is it nasty? Any diet that tells me to eat cheese, butter and meat with cream in my decaf (ICK) can't be all bad.

I've been doing a modified Atkins, just because I'm stuck here in an impossible situation in the States, and in 2 weeks, I was down to a 14/16 slacks, which I haven't worn for maybe 10 years? Can't wait to get home and really concentrate on it.

I know several people here have done incredibly well with Atkins.

[crankody]

congrats!! i have heard that diet is nasty but the results are great. i have thought of doing it but don't know if i have the will power. I have lost 9k now in the last 3 months and by not doing anything special but cutting out the ¨good¨stuff a bit. and also i have joined the gym and that gives me good motivation. maybe we should have a section here called the dieters section or something?

[Suzanne]

Congrats all! I've struggled with my weight all my life and found the perfect diet for me last December. I found out that I was diabetic. It scared me so much that I cut my carbohydrates down to no more than 60 per meal and 15 for each snack (3 times a day) and added a little more exercise. I have lost over 36 kg since then and I'm not completely miserable. I can't do Atkins as the lack of carbohydrates in that diet would actually make my body produce more sugar.

It's not as fast as Atkins but it really is manageable. If I want to use up my lunch carbohydrates eating candy, I can do it without worrying about my sugar or gaining weight.

I actually got my Cholesterol down from 249 to 193, my blood pressure from 150/90 to 120/72 and my blood sugar in the normal ranges (taking half the meds I started with). Apparently the the diet changes made a lot of difference all the way around.

I still have a lot more to go but reducing the carbohydrates is a great way to go and for a lot of people, that's the best way to go. My motivation of course is keeping my blood sugar down but the added benefit of losing weight is very appealing as well.

[Sandy]

I've been counting calories since mid-May and have lost 13 kg. I eat what I want, just count it all and do my very best to stay within the limits. The best part is that I keep track of my motion, too, and can eat the amount of the calories I burn in addition to my regular allotment. Today I was painting the house for 1 ½ hours, so I had 475 calories more than normal. I splurged on waffles and maple syrup! So, there are no worries about changing food types later.

If you can muddle your way through the Swedish, check out Hälsovakten.

[Maja]

I've been struggling with my weight on and off since I graduated high school (96), but before that I was really pretty small. Now I'm at 91 and I'm not ashamed to say that this past January I was 102kg. So in January I dieted for a couple months and lost some weight very slowly. I get really discouraged. But with the winter coming, being this far north, I looked in my closet, and I saw 8 pairs of jeans that don't fit me, and I have none that do! So, I was like, "Spend my hard earned money on more pants?" or "Lose that arse, girlfriend!" I just couldn't stand the thought of trying to find pants here and having absolutely no luck.
One thing I would like to say though is that I truly believe size doesn't matter. I feel just as wonderful large as I do small (well, maybe not JUST AS WONDERFUL, but I really feel that curves and a little chub here and there is natural, and I really think that those curves can be beautiful.) So right now I'd like to salute the female body, no matter the size or shape! Amen! (wow, I must be in a really good mood tonight!) I think it's wonderful to be a woman. (no, I'm not a feminist!)
-Maja

[Carolyn]

Well, also thank god that we have wonderful men who fell in love with us the way we are/were.

I have met several of the regulars on this site (you know who you are), and a LOT of us range all the way from "pleasingly plumb" (whatever that may be) up to OY! But we still found ourselves lovely men who looked beyond the Hollywood/Playboy dream and saw the style and character and whatever else beneath, and without ordering us to lose X number of pounds or whatever, saw that what was there was beautiful and worth while and WANTED US, the whole package, not just a Barbie doll.

I've also met some of the SO's on this site, and I can say pretty much that hey, ladies, we've got some pretty fine-looking, intelligent, SPECIAL men too.

[crankody]

my dh is quite happy with my ¨curves¨ i guess we could call them, but its me who is no not so happy with them. well i guess really its my belly. and being short (148cm) 72kg just makes me look like im 122kg! if i could loose the belly then i would be happier ( i think). i use to be 40kg but will never want to be that. im going for 56 or so.

[Maja]

I'm 160cm and going for 70kg. I don't want to get too skinny, because when I look at old photos I actually look sick. As long as I can fit into all my clothes that I can't wear anymore, I'll be happy. I wouldn't mind keeping my curvy greek butt, as long as it's not too outa control. ;D

[SlyandKami]

HI!
I am not going to say what anybody should look like, because I am overweight too...and like you my biggest problem is the belly. But how do you get rid of a belly after 5 kids ...I gained a lot of weight with the first 3 one's, lost some on the 4th and when I was expecting the last one, I all of a sudden went down to what I weighed before I had any kids...I was lucky, but the belly I guess needs some plastic sugery...lol...like that fits in finances and time with kids...enjoy your bodies as they are, and remember that it's still just the outside and that's not why we are loved...

BUT... if anyone comes up with a great diet, where you actually loose weight and stay down and still can enjoy food, let me know!

Hugs everyone! Kami!

[Kitty Sue]

Congratulations on the weight loss Maja! I have been doing atkins for 6 weeks now and am enjoying the plan. At this point I have lost 12 kg and I do eat the occasional treat food if I want. One of the other members on the forum tried switching from low carb to low fat but found she did gain weight, perhaps though if you make it is a slow transition, it will work for you. Good luck and great job!

[Carolyn]

If you read the Atkins book through, you'll see Dr. Atkins' explanation for why the low fat diet actually makes most people gain the weight back and it makes sense to me.

You know, I had a can yesterday of my favorite root beer, which I don't do that often, and for the first time, I looked at the ingredients and such, and in ONE CAN there is 46 grams of carbs. Jeeze!

My husband too likes a woman with some "meat" on her bones, but with me, it's not only a health factor (overweight as you age really affects the knees, back and hip joints), but the belly that I have developed really changes my sizing in a lot of things. If I buy a pair of trousers that fits around the belly, I get the dreaded baggy butt and thighs syndrome.

I think that having children, you get some stretching anyway that you will never lose, but I think if you do drop some weight, that will reduce the fat layers underneath, and I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH about the wonders of exercises like belly-dancing for isolating and working muscle groups and tightening up butt, thighs and belly. Not to mention the whole rest of the body, since it's an over-all dance that involves even the neck and facial muscles, and it can do incredible things for those "unseen" muscles too.

[Maja]

So are you saying that going off the atkins diet will totally make one gain the weight back? There has to be something you can do! The fear is setting in!

[Carolyn]

What Atkins and others say is that when you start with low fat and really cutting the fat, the body goes into a defense type mechanism where it gets scared that you're going to starve yourself to death, so it immediately starts storing away fat and instead of burning the fat, it starts burning the muscle type stuff, which you do NOT need to get rid of.

Basically, the most important thing to sustain a steady and long-term weight loss is to be very concerned with the number of carbs you are putting into the body, not so much the fat. From what I was reading last night, Atkins said that even going on a diet where you restricted carbs to 60 per meal would still continue a weight loss, although not so dramatic as on his program. But where people really started having problems was when they started worrying about the fat and cutting that, and that was where people started to put the weight back ON, which is not the idea.

I'll see if later I can post from his book what he actually said about that.

But just think about one thing, in the US at least, we are now looking at about serious, critical obesity problems in a population that has been told for the last 20 years, CUT that FAT. We have low fat everything, and not only has it destroyed the taste of most food, but it's NOT WORKING, FOLKS.

[Pam]

I haven't done the Atkins diet but for those who have and it's time to start adding fats try adding more "healthy" ones. That's right, some fats are actually needed by the body. Some I can think of are the fat in nuts, peanut butter, lindseed oil, and fish oil. Worth a try, maybe?
My biggest weight encouragement is getting to weigh in Kilos instead of pounds. I lose half right away!! ;D