I also tried the atkins diet. It was not for me! I love bread and fruit too much. Now I am on slim fast and I have lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. That might not be much but I feel much better about myself. I am also walking an hour each night and doing ab crunches to get rid of the belly. Slim fast has a great web page that helps you keep track of your weight, food you eat and your exercise program. It helps to keep track of what you eat. You don't realize how many calories you eat until you try to stay under 1200 a day.
Good luck with finding the right diet for you!
Anne Marie

I, too, like bread and fruit too much to do Atkins. I highly recommend Weight Watchers. It is very balanced and healthy. You can have a big variety of foods; you just have to count the points for what you eat. It's easy. I have lost 26 pounds since the first of the year. That sounds slow, but it is a plan that I can live with and not suffer. Getting a little more exercise helps as well. I feel a lot better and I can wear clothes that I couldn't wear this time last year.

You just have to find a program that you can live with. Sometimes it takes trying several before you find "the one."

OMG !!! I have No Idea how you could swallow those shakes. I was all excited about starting that diet once and one sip made me change my mind. I've seen lots of people get great results though.

I've also seen alot of folks do REALLY well on weight watchers point system, dropping dress sizes and inches in no time. I plan to start right AFTER the holidays. In Louisiana Holiday food is NO joke!!:o :D

I thought I would share my Adkins story with you. I have done a no carb diet before which is much more difficult than Adkins. But in April my father who is 50 found out he had some serious health issues. His Dr suggested Adkins. I took summer classes and didn't see him at all. I came home this week and my dad has lost 90 pounds, yes 90 pounds! It really is amazing and I know if my dad can do it, anyone can. I'm planning on starting Adkins once my cupboards are bare of carbs.

Don't get me wrong, any exercise is better than none, but working with weights is far more efficient.

Contrary to popular mythology, you will not turn into a She-Hulk if you touch a weight over five pounds. You would have to be a genetic mutant on steroids to even BEGIN to look like that.

Use some weights! The basic moves, squats, dead lifts, rows, curls are EASY to do and have great effect. There are numerous books on the subject for those just starting. Joyce Vedral has a couple hundred, lol.

FYI- situps and crunches will not tone up your stomach. We all start out with a six pack, it is just covered by body fat. A tight stomach is a result of losing body fat, i.e. cardio and careful diet (not necessarily caloric restriction, for a LOT of six-packers it involves eating protein, protein and more protein!). You will lose the tummy when you lose weight overall, point blank.

When you lose 10 pounds in two weeks most of that is water. You would gain it back the minute you went off the diet.

Also, the Slim Fast diet is really a waste of your money and can end up being unhealthy. If you want to lose weight and keep it off you have to modify your diet in ways that you can maintain. You have to be willing to change the way you eat permanently, not just have shakes for a month or two. It doesn't have to be Atkins, it can just be about eating healthy. The Slim Fast shakes are really low in protein and incredibly high in sugar. I know plenty of people who started the SLim Fast diet but none who kept weight off on it and most of them had digestive problems while they were on it! A better website that can be of use to those losing weight is www.fitday.com - they aren't trying to sell you any nasty, sugar-filled shakes, they just help you keep track of what you eat, your goals, and how you are doing in general.

Instead of wasting your money on a 2.00 shake, eat more whole-grain foods (less white rice and processed junk, more brown rice, whole grain wheat bread), healthier forms of protein (white meat chicken and fish) and fruits and vegetables. That's the only way to really go about losing weight in a healthy way and KEEP IT OFF.

The BEST way to lose weight in my experience (and I lost a good deal of weight two years ago and have kept it off) is to exercise. Walking is a good place to start, but you really want to concentrate on building muscle (which will cause your metabolism to increase since it burns faaaaaar more calories than fat and since most conventional diets result in a LOSS of muscle, which is why people who go off diets gain all the weight back- they lowered the amount of muscle they have and the amount of calories they burned on a daily basis).

I am NOT trying to pretend that it is easy. Losing weight can be anything but! Unfortunately, there are no quick answers. The only way it can be done healthfully and PERMANENTLY is NOT a quick one nor is it an easy one.

It DOES happen to be a cheap one though!

I know that people will end up doing what they want to do regardless of how many times you tell them what a good/healthy way is, but I just wanted to share.

good luck!

I'm currently reading Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution book, which is the updated version. I don't know if you have any of his books, but if you don't you must purchase and read this one. It explains the whole process in great detail and even comes with a lot of recipes and a carbohydrate gram counter that you can take with you to the supermarket. You can find more recipes on his website, www.atkinscenter.com.

Now that you are almost halfway through the Induction phase, how do you feel? Have you started to notice any changes in your body??

I lost 10 more lbs since the last time I posted on this thread. That makes me 28lbs lighter. I bought some pants that is my goal to get in. I coulnd't pull them on my butt whem i bought them, but I can get them up now. If only I could fasten them. My only problem is that I have a closet full of new clothes and I can't find reciepts to any of them. What should I do with them? Maybe once I know the weight is definantly off for good I will sell them on ebay and donate the rest to Goodwill or Salvation Army. :D

I've been out the loop for a while, but I see there's been a lot of action going on here. 1913CrimsonQT...girl you're workin' it out!!! Good job!

Lovelyivy, are you a personal trainer or something? You're giving GREAT tips!

I think I'm going to start Atkins one more time next week. I've been really working out and I need something to keep me in check. I love CARBS! I didn't know I was such an addict. But my booty is too big, y'all. I'll keep you posted and 1913Crimson, do the same for us please. Keep up the great work!

Good luck! I know I couldn't do Atkins, but I am over here rooting for you.

When I lost my weight I did it by doing hella research! I grew up with too many anorexics at school and even my Mom and her friends have tried just about every fad diet in the book! I didn't want that for myself so I did excessive research on how to do it right.

I should get certified in this or something, lol.

ok.. i have a question?
 

What is the ATKINS diet and what do i need to do to get on it? Someone give me some info please... I would love to loose 20 pounds and so on like some of u.

Thanks in advance.:eek: :D

Re: ok.. i have a question?
 

www.atkinscenter.com will give you all the information needed to partake in this program. Basically it's supposed to help people achieve permanent weight loss and a lifetime of well-being, mostly from a controlled carbohydrate diet.

Re: ok.. i have a question?
 

Monique, let me know if you do this! I am starting again next Monday (pray me for y'all!). It's good to have the support group.

I cheated I cheated! I ate a bread stick!:o :(

That's not TOO bad....you didn't have a big ole sammich. How many carbs can ONE breadstick have?