Is Atkins for me?

[Lil_Mrs_Sunshine]

Some of you may have seen me pottering about the forum, healthy eating section mainly o perhaps the VLCD section. I am looking to loose 35lbs - ideally as quick as possible but as long as it goes gradually I will be pleased.

When I get motivated I can go for days on low amounts of food. Combining this with exercise 50-60 mins 4 times a week. I am trying to avoid things like chocolate and sweets as I know these are really big triggers for me.

Do you think Aktins could be a way of life for me? Could I use a meal replacement porridge for breakfast (that is low in carbs) and base the rest of the day on low carbs and foods allowed on the plan?

How much could I be expected to loose in phase one - if I made it last 203 weeks?

 

[mustdoit]

oh heck that s too early in the morning for me to sort out ............ just wanted someone to reply to you .......... where do you find a low carb porridge ? you could easily loose that 35 lbs read the above threads and jump abroad xx

 

[rosebug]

Atkins isn't a mega speedy weight loss plan. You wouldn't need the meal replacement porridge & most meal replacements are too high carb to be used on Atkins anyway - 15g of the 20g carbs you get per day should come from veg and the rest will be cheese, cream, mims etc.

You restrict carb intake on Atkins, not calorie or food intake. One of the themes is 'eat to lose' so you should have three decent sized meals based mainly around proteins and fats.

If you've already been doing a vlcd, you're unlikely to have a big initial loss on Atkins, in fact you may see a gain. If you haven't been on a diet until now you could expect a big loss in your first week - anything between 4 and 11lbs have been mentioned here lately. After that you can expect to lose on average 2-3lb a week. By on average I mean some weeks you might lose 1lb and the next lose 4. People with a lot to lose may lose faster at first, but that's not guaranteed. Sine people naturally lose slower at about 1lb per week.

It's not a quick fix but it is a good, sustainable diet.

 

[rosebug]

Woah woah woah - just seen the weight you want to get to. You'll almost certainly lose slower as you're already a healthy weight, and you really shouldn't do induction at all - you should start in owl. Why on earth would you want to be on induction for 203 weeks? Typo?

 

[Lil_Mrs_Sunshine]

Yes it was meant to read 2-3. How much exercise is recommended?

I was looking at a meal replacement porridge as I love my cereals and these seem to have the lowest carb content? about 5-8g per sachet?

 

[rosebug]

Dietimeal? They're not the worst you could have but you shouldn't have them on induction. They don't taste much like porridge, either, and it's a very small, very low calorie helping. You'd need to add some fat to it at least.

In 2-3 weeks ... It's very hard to say as everyone is different. If you've been eating lots of carbs then maybe 9 -11lbs but I'd say around 7lbs would be more likely. Bear in mind some of that is water weight which would go back on if you didnt follow owl and reintroduce carbs gradually. Everyone is different though.

 

[Lil_Mrs_Sunshine]

So ur saying a low calorie diet could be a better option?

 

[MandyMoo77]

I think low cal would be better for you. Most Low Carb plans say you must have a minimum of 1 stone to lose but in my experience (and my opinion) I'd say 2 as a minimum to get max benefit and to stay healthy (and for weight to bit go straight back on).

Drop yourself to about 1200 kcal drink lots of water 4 pints a day) and you'll see a difference.

 

[Lil_Mrs_Sunshine]

Thanks for all your help guys. ~I'm going to have a chilled day today and start a fresh chapter tomorrow.

 

[Jools]

Good luck with whatever you decide

xx