Modifying Atkins - Can I still lose weight?

Squee

Full Member
Hi there. I decided to try to lose weight, and started on a diet on the 16th (last Wednesday) after reading Atkins Diabetes Revolution. It all sounds great, but I have modified it a bit, and I was wondering whether I can still lose weight?

First off, I haven't cut out caffeine. I drink a lot of diet cola, and occasionally tea with milk.
Secondly, I am not weighing my veg. I am choosing low-carb, mostly leafy greens and lettuce, but I am not restricting myself. I don't have massive amounts either, mind you, I'm just not making sure I only have one cup of cooked veg and two of salad.
Thirdly, while I am not worrying about frying with oil/butter, using cream etc, I am not trying to eat lots of fat.

I have a Collins Gem Carb Counter and I am trying to get rough estimates of how many carbs I'm consuming, and keeping it to 10-15g/day.

Can I still lose weight like this? It doesn't feel right, as I'm stuffed all the time, learning to cook and really enjoying myself!

Help? :confused:
 
if you're at a calorie deficit you will lose weight, it doesn't matter where the calories come from,

it's easy to get to a calorie deficit when eating low carb (as you're not battling with raging blood sugar levels) and easier when eating higher fat (the fat satisfies you, you eat less..)

though it sounds like you're not having troubles in that department as you're feeling stuffed :)

of course, it is still possible to lose weight eating lower levels of fat, but watch out for eating too much protein, as in the absence of carbs, the body can convert excess protein into glucose, which, you want to avoid.

good luck with your diet plan, sounds like you've put a lot of thought into it, whatever you find you're able to stick to is always best
 
Well I suppose the proof of the pudding is in the tasting - so I will have an idea on Wednesday whether this is working!
Thanks! :)
 
All sounds reasonable - especially the veg:). You may be unlucky and find the diet coke is a staller - just keep as possible thought if doesnt go as you think. In terms of fat, that is one of the ways the diet works - dont have to push it necessarily but do change mindset from avoiding it:D
 
I used to think diet zero was a safer option - but sadly I think it contains exactly the same things as diet coke :-(
 
Well, the coke thing doesn't seem to be affecting me so far - so I'll have a rethink if the weight-loss stalls, but so far so good!
 
Good news Squee :)
 
You should check the diet zero label ... It might be the same as diet coke ... :)
 
if you're at a calorie deficit you will lose weight, it doesn't matter where the calories come from,

it's easy to get to a calorie deficit when eating low carb (as you're not battling with raging blood sugar levels) and easier when eating higher fat (the fat satisfies you, you eat less..)

though it sounds like you're not having troubles in that department as you're feeling stuffed :)

of course, it is still possible to lose weight eating lower levels of fat, but watch out for eating too much protein, as in the absence of carbs, the body can convert excess protein into glucose, which, you want to avoid.

good luck with your diet plan, sounds like you've put a lot of thought into it, whatever you find you're able to stick to is always best

So you think it is important to have a calorie deficit? If I follow MFP they say my calorie allowance is 1300, yet many low carbers advocate eating more fat - I can't do both.
I'd love someone to clear this up.
 
You should check the diet zero label ... It might be the same as diet coke ... :)

On one hand I so hope you are wrong - Coke Zero being allowed was good!

On the other hand - I so hope you are right! - It's about time I stopped drinking so much of the stuff!!

The next time I actually manage to find some - I shall check and report back!!
:cool:
 
I SO hope I'm wrong!! Lol :) xx
 
So you think it is important to have a calorie deficit? If I follow MFP they say my calorie allowance is 1300, yet many low carbers advocate eating more fat - I can't do both.
I'd love someone to clear this up.

This one foxed me for a while too. For what it's worth, my experience was this:

I started on a low-fat low-calorie diet, got down to eating around 1300kcal a day. Weight loss was fine for 2 months, then started to slow down. More worryingly, my pulse slowed to 45bpm. I was jogging 5k (slowly!) 3 times a week and losing less than a pound a week.

Looking for answers, I fell down the low carb/Fat Head/Gary Taubes rabbit hole. At that point I started eating fewer than 20g carbs a day. I initially tried to limit myself to 1700kcal per day, but went over so regularly I stopped counting calories. Same issue as you- the fat content just made the calories shoot right up. I was eating over 2000kcal a day, and losing weight at around 3lb a week, for a good 3 months. The jogging went out the window completely! For the first week of low carb I did nothing at all, I took the week off and lay in bed- still lost several pounds.

For that reason I am not convinced that the calorie deficit thing is entirely true in all cases. I do think it depends on your metabolism. Some people may find it hard to lose fat without restricting total calories just because they're made that way, or because years of on/off dieting has affected their metabolism. And as you approach goal weight we all know it slows down and gets harder to lose, and total calories may have a greater part to play.

So I think, unfortunately, the answer is that you have to experiment and find out if you can lose fat without counting kcals, and, if you can, don't assume you will always be able to- at some point things may change. Not a very satisfying answer, I know. Sorry!
 
My experience is it all depends:eek: !

If i eat clean and green (meat and veg) getting most of 20g from veg then i can have far more calories (2000+) and still lose weight. As i go up to 40g carbs then i have to be far more careful on calories (1600ish). Frankly at 40g i am usually including wine and sf goodies so they are probably the problem;)

The rule dont count calories holds in induction - but that doesn't mean calories dont count - if you pig out long enough it will haunt you!

Good luck!
 
First of all, thank you Boggins and Katie for very honest & helpful answers. I think that perhaps because I'm not 'pure' Atkins but low carb, I'm still eating too many carbs. Yesterday I had 35 carbs and 1625 calories but included in that were two gin & slimline tonics.


My Gary Taubes book hasn't arrived yet but his talks on Youtube are pretty convincing. Eating clean and green seems really to be the way he advocates.

I am old so my metabolism has been confused (to say the least) over the years. :)
 
Really helpful posts! :)
 
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