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My 3 week experiment with Atkins



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 9th, 2009, 01:41 AM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
doug lerner
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 205
Default My 3 week experiment with Atkins

Hi, people. As you know I've been struggling getting back on my
healthy low-calorie, WW-like diet again but wanted to do SOMETHING. So
for the last 3 weeks I have been trying Atkins. I know, know. But I
figured I needed to do something, and Atkins does at least curb
cravings and help with blood sugar. So "in the meantime" I thought I
would do that rather than continue to overeat myself into oblivion.

I have been following Atkins to the letter. I even gave up all
artificially sweetened zero calorie drinks just in case they were
having an impact. I followed all their rules about getting 12 gm of
veggie carbs in, drinking enough water, getting moderate exercise
(walking) in, etc.

And there have been some positive benefits, including no hunger or
cravings problems, better blood sugar, slight improvement in
cholesterol, more energy, easier concentration, and good digestion. My
blood sugar in particular dramatically improved - dropping about 60
points.

But the fact is I am gaining weight and it is absolutely, positively
critical that I lose weight at a reasonable pace. I weigh TWICE what I
should and I simply have to lose weight. My stomach fat is pushing up
at my heart (you can see it in an X-ray) which is pushing up at my
lungs which is giving me shortness of breath and the only way to
resolve this is to lose weight at a reasonable pace.

I'm not asking for miracles here, just a normal 2 lb or so a week
weight loss, which is a perfectly safe and sane expectation for
somebody who weighs as much as I do.

Here are my first 22 day weights (in kg) on Atkins so you can see my
concern:

1. 127.0
2. 126.4
3. 125.8
4. 126.0
5. 125.6
6. 125.4
7. 125.4
8. 124.2
9. 124.2
10. 124.4
11. 124.4
12. 124.2
13. 124.4
14. 125.0
15. 124.6
16. 124.8
17. 125.8
18. 125.6
19. 125.6
20. 125.4
21. 125.8
22. 126.2

The trend is clear. After a few days of relatively rapid weight loss,
probably due to the dehydrating effect of a low-car diet, my weight
is creeping up again.

I also think the reason is clear. I am simply eating too many
calories. All the butter, mayo, fried chicken skin, thin slices of
fried pork (zero sugar bacon essentially) and all those things simply
have lots and lots of calories and so I'm gaining weight.

What other reasonable conclusion can I reach at this point?

So I am now gearing up to doing something else. I still don't know if
I can deal with the daily "points or calories" limit yet. And I didn't
lose weight in the past on Core (renamed Filling Foods). So I am
thinking right now of what my next step should be...


doug

  #2  
Old April 9th, 2009, 02:44 AM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
Stormmee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,513
Default My 3 week experiment with Atkins

at least you have your blood sugar down, and cravings have stopped. maybe
instead of freaking out think of "reasonable" protions, and start
eliminating things like mayo, chicken skin, do that for a bit and see what
happens, increase water when you start reducing these other things, and also
maybe start journalling now so you are in the habit if you decide to return
to calries, truth is doug, anything you do no matter how small in the right
direction is an improvement, i mean, while you prefer to lose, not gaining
is better than gaining, good luck and please post often, Lee
"doug lerner" wrote in message
...
Hi, people. As you know I've been struggling getting back on my
healthy low-calorie, WW-like diet again but wanted to do SOMETHING. So
for the last 3 weeks I have been trying Atkins. I know, know. But I
figured I needed to do something, and Atkins does at least curb
cravings and help with blood sugar. So "in the meantime" I thought I
would do that rather than continue to overeat myself into oblivion.

I have been following Atkins to the letter. I even gave up all
artificially sweetened zero calorie drinks just in case they were
having an impact. I followed all their rules about getting 12 gm of
veggie carbs in, drinking enough water, getting moderate exercise
(walking) in, etc.

And there have been some positive benefits, including no hunger or
cravings problems, better blood sugar, slight improvement in
cholesterol, more energy, easier concentration, and good digestion. My
blood sugar in particular dramatically improved - dropping about 60
points.

But the fact is I am gaining weight and it is absolutely, positively
critical that I lose weight at a reasonable pace. I weigh TWICE what I
should and I simply have to lose weight. My stomach fat is pushing up
at my heart (you can see it in an X-ray) which is pushing up at my
lungs which is giving me shortness of breath and the only way to
resolve this is to lose weight at a reasonable pace.

I'm not asking for miracles here, just a normal 2 lb or so a week
weight loss, which is a perfectly safe and sane expectation for
somebody who weighs as much as I do.

Here are my first 22 day weights (in kg) on Atkins so you can see my
concern:

1. 127.0
2. 126.4
3. 125.8
4. 126.0
5. 125.6
6. 125.4
7. 125.4
8. 124.2
9. 124.2
10. 124.4
11. 124.4
12. 124.2
13. 124.4
14. 125.0
15. 124.6
16. 124.8
17. 125.8
18. 125.6
19. 125.6
20. 125.4
21. 125.8
22. 126.2

The trend is clear. After a few days of relatively rapid weight loss,
probably due to the dehydrating effect of a low-car diet, my weight
is creeping up again.

I also think the reason is clear. I am simply eating too many
calories. All the butter, mayo, fried chicken skin, thin slices of
fried pork (zero sugar bacon essentially) and all those things simply
have lots and lots of calories and so I'm gaining weight.

What other reasonable conclusion can I reach at this point?

So I am now gearing up to doing something else. I still don't know if
I can deal with the daily "points or calories" limit yet. And I didn't
lose weight in the past on Core (renamed Filling Foods). So I am
thinking right now of what my next step should be...


doug



  #3  
Old April 9th, 2009, 04:13 AM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
douglerner
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 28
Default My 3 week experiment with Atkins

On Apr 9, 10:44*am, "Stormmee" wrote:
at least you have your blood sugar down, and cravings have stopped. maybe
instead of freaking out think of "reasonable" protions, and start
eliminating things like mayo, chicken skin, do that for a bit and see what
happens, increase water when you start reducing these other things, and also
maybe start journalling now so you are in the habit if you decide to return
to calries, truth is doug, anything you do no matter how small in the right
direction is an improvement, i mean, while you prefer to lose, not gaining
is better than gaining, good luck and please post often, Lee


Thanks, Lee. Yes, getting back to journaling - which I've been doing
the last 3 weeks - is an important step for me.

And what you say about cutting out the most outrageous things on
Atkins, such as mayo, chicken skin, etc., might not only be helpful,
but be sort of like WW "Filling Foods" but avoiding all the high-
glycemic trigger foods on the WW list.

Maybe the WW list needs to be poured over and some things removed (for
me). I think they just tried to keep it simple by saying "all fruits"
and "all veggies" even though some fruits and veggies clearly have
different "sugar load" effects than others, and some can be very high
calorie.

If you eat strawberries, broccoli and spinach you are going to eat
less calories and less carbs than if you eat bananas, corn and mashed
pumpkin. But the "filling foods" lis treats them all the same way,
which I think is odd.


doug

  #4  
Old April 9th, 2009, 04:19 AM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
Dee Flint
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 122
Default My 3 week experiment with Atkins


"douglerner" wrote in message
...
On Apr 9, 10:44 am, "Stormmee" wrote:
at least you have your blood sugar down, and cravings have stopped. maybe
instead of freaking out think of "reasonable" protions, and start
eliminating things like mayo, chicken skin, do that for a bit and see what
happens, increase water when you start reducing these other things, and
also
maybe start journalling now so you are in the habit if you decide to
return
to calries, truth is doug, anything you do no matter how small in the
right
direction is an improvement, i mean, while you prefer to lose, not gaining
is better than gaining, good luck and please post often, Lee


Thanks, Lee. Yes, getting back to journaling - which I've been doing
the last 3 weeks - is an important step for me.

And what you say about cutting out the most outrageous things on
Atkins, such as mayo, chicken skin, etc., might not only be helpful,
but be sort of like WW "Filling Foods" but avoiding all the high-
glycemic trigger foods on the WW list.

Maybe the WW list needs to be poured over and some things removed (for
me). I think they just tried to keep it simple by saying "all fruits"
and "all veggies" even though some fruits and veggies clearly have
different "sugar load" effects than others, and some can be very high
calorie.

If you eat strawberries, broccoli and spinach you are going to eat
less calories and less carbs than if you eat bananas, corn and mashed
pumpkin. But the "filling foods" lis treats them all the same way,
which I think is odd.

doug

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well bananas, corn & mashed pumpkin, even though higehr than strawberries,
broccoli and spinach are still a good ratio of nutrition to calories for
most people. Those of us who count points find that the points keeps us
from going overboard on the bananas, corn & mashed pumpkin.


  #5  
Old April 9th, 2009, 05:40 AM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
Willow Herself
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,887
Default My 3 week experiment with Atkins


"douglerner" wrote in message
...
On Apr 9, 10:44 am, "Stormmee" wrote:
at least you have your blood sugar down, and cravings have stopped. maybe
instead of freaking out think of "reasonable" protions, and start
eliminating things like mayo, chicken skin, do that for a bit and see what
happens, increase water when you start reducing these other things, and
also
maybe start journalling now so you are in the habit if you decide to
return
to calries, truth is doug, anything you do no matter how small in the
right
direction is an improvement, i mean, while you prefer to lose, not gaining
is better than gaining, good luck and please post often, Lee

****
"Thanks, Lee. Yes, getting back to journaling - which I've been doing
the last 3 weeks - is an important step for me.

And what you say about cutting out the most outrageous things on
Atkins, such as mayo, chicken skin, etc., might not only be helpful,
but be sort of like WW "Filling Foods" but avoiding all the high-
glycemic trigger foods on the WW list."
****
** What are the high glycemic trigger food on the WW list? I'm really
curious to know.
****
Maybe the WW list needs to be poured over and some things removed (for
me). I think they just tried to keep it simple by saying "all fruits"
and "all veggies" even though some fruits and veggies clearly have
different "sugar load" effects than others, and some can be very high
calorie.
*****
**You ate: "All the butter, mayo, fried chicken skin, thin slices of
fried pork (zero sugar bacon essentially) and all those things..." (quoted
from your post)
while trying to get back on track, but won't eat some fruits and veggies
because they have
too many calories?Bacon has high calories, no nutrition, no staying power.
Avocado
are high -ish calories, lots of staying power, full of nutrition...
****
If you eat strawberries, broccoli and spinach you are going to eat
less calories and less carbs than if you eat bananas, corn and mashed
pumpkin. But the "filling foods" lis treats them all the same way,
which I think is odd.
*****
**Because they are worth the calories. They are full of nutritional values
will keep you from getting hungry quickly. That's the whole point, eating
the
right foods in the right quantities. If I eat pumkin, I'll be filled with
less than
if I eat let say chips.

To come back to the avocado, compared to the strawberries it takes a lot
more
strawberries to be satisfied (as in not hungry anymore) than it does
avocado. I'll
sit and eat 1+ cups of strawberries. a serving of avocado is 1/4 of an
avocado.

Again Doug, it's all or nothing, bacon, fried chicken, butter and mayo...
or no pumpkin, banana, avocado because they have too many calories.. that
doens't make sense to me.

Maybe if you let yourself eat bananas, and pumpkin, and grains, the fatty
stuff won't be calling your name so much.



  #6  
Old April 9th, 2009, 06:05 AM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
Stormmee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,513
Default My 3 week experiment with Atkins

only you know your body, i have no problem with corn, peas or bananas, but
if i eat potatoes the starch crave is on, Lee
"douglerner" wrote in message
...
On Apr 9, 10:44 am, "Stormmee" wrote:
at least you have your blood sugar down, and cravings have stopped. maybe
instead of freaking out think of "reasonable" protions, and start
eliminating things like mayo, chicken skin, do that for a bit and see what
happens, increase water when you start reducing these other things, and
also
maybe start journalling now so you are in the habit if you decide to
return
to calries, truth is doug, anything you do no matter how small in the
right
direction is an improvement, i mean, while you prefer to lose, not gaining
is better than gaining, good luck and please post often, Lee


Thanks, Lee. Yes, getting back to journaling - which I've been doing
the last 3 weeks - is an important step for me.

And what you say about cutting out the most outrageous things on
Atkins, such as mayo, chicken skin, etc., might not only be helpful,
but be sort of like WW "Filling Foods" but avoiding all the high-
glycemic trigger foods on the WW list.

Maybe the WW list needs to be poured over and some things removed (for
me). I think they just tried to keep it simple by saying "all fruits"
and "all veggies" even though some fruits and veggies clearly have
different "sugar load" effects than others, and some can be very high
calorie.

If you eat strawberries, broccoli and spinach you are going to eat
less calories and less carbs than if you eat bananas, corn and mashed
pumpkin. But the "filling foods" lis treats them all the same way,
which I think is odd.


doug


  #7  
Old April 9th, 2009, 11:21 AM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
douglerner
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 28
Default My 3 week experiment with Atkins



Maybe if you let yourself eat bananas, and pumpkin, and grains, the fatty
stuff won't be calling your name so much.


The fatty stuff isn't calling my name so much as they satisfy in a way
that stops cravings.

Bananas, for example, are only about 80 calories each (don't know how
many Flex points they are). The problem with the Filling Foods list
though it doesn't take into account that bananas have a very high
glycemic index.

So while a banana or two aren't bad for a diet, for a person with high
blood sugar it means the sudden introduction of so much sugar in a
short amount of time releases a lot of insulin and then sparks
cravings for other foods.

In other words, for people in the situation I'm in, bananas aren't so
much filling and satisfying as they are appetite triggers.

All I'm saying is that the WW list doesn't distinguish well between
high glycemic trigger foods and foods that aren't trigger foods. And
I'm also saying that "one size doesn't fit all." Different people have
different trigger foods.

doug

  #8  
Old April 9th, 2009, 11:40 AM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
Kate XXXXXX Kate XXXXXX is offline
Banned
 
First recorded activity by WeightlossBanter: Feb 2007
Posts: 572
Default My 3 week experiment with Atkins

douglerner wrote:
Maybe if you let yourself eat bananas, and pumpkin, and grains, the fatty
stuff won't be calling your name so much.


The fatty stuff isn't calling my name so much as they satisfy in a way
that stops cravings.

Bananas, for example, are only about 80 calories each (don't know how
many Flex points they are). The problem with the Filling Foods list
though it doesn't take into account that bananas have a very high
glycemic index.

So while a banana or two aren't bad for a diet, for a person with high
blood sugar it means the sudden introduction of so much sugar in a
short amount of time releases a lot of insulin and then sparks
cravings for other foods.

In other words, for people in the situation I'm in, bananas aren't so
much filling and satisfying as they are appetite triggers.

All I'm saying is that the WW list doesn't distinguish well between
high glycemic trigger foods and foods that aren't trigger foods. And
I'm also saying that "one size doesn't fit all." Different people have
different trigger foods.

doug

The good thing with WW is that it's easy to tickle it to fit when you
have special dietry needs. DH is Type 1 (insulin dependant), and our WW
food style suits his need for complex carbs very well. Some recipes and
menus lack sufficient complex carbs for his needs, but as he's a bloke
and has more points available, I just serve him a slightly larger
portion. Same for the growing lad (now Giant Mutant Ninja Teenager, at
5'11" with 40" chest and 36" waist! 14 and still growing, God help
us!). The low fat and lots of veg suits us too, and I can also tweak to
let me have a low wheat diet.

Hm... Why do BOILED spuds have a lower GI than baked spuds? Is it to
do with the length of cooking time, the lower water content due to
cooking dry, a combination, or summat else entirely? And what about
potato wedges, oven baked with very little oil? They get a far shorter
oven time than whole jacket spuds.

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
  #9  
Old April 9th, 2009, 02:15 PM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
Stephanie[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 118
Default My 3 week experiment with Atkins

douglerner wrote:
Maybe if you let yourself eat bananas, and pumpkin, and grains, the
fatty stuff won't be calling your name so much.


The fatty stuff isn't calling my name so much as they satisfy in a way
that stops cravings.

Bananas, for example, are only about 80 calories each (don't know how
many Flex points they are). The problem with the Filling Foods list
though it doesn't take into account that bananas have a very high
glycemic index.



Have you looked at Zone? It may suit your needs very well. The balance of
lean protein, low glycemic index carbs and small amount of good fat is
supposed to leave you satisfied and feeling fantastic.


So while a banana or two aren't bad for a diet, for a person with high
blood sugar it means the sudden introduction of so much sugar in a
short amount of time releases a lot of insulin and then sparks
cravings for other foods.

In other words, for people in the situation I'm in, bananas aren't so
much filling and satisfying as they are appetite triggers.

All I'm saying is that the WW list doesn't distinguish well between
high glycemic trigger foods and foods that aren't trigger foods. And
I'm also saying that "one size doesn't fit all." Different people have
different trigger foods.

doug




  #10  
Old April 9th, 2009, 09:42 PM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
Stormmee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,513
Default My 3 week experiment with Atkins

no expert here but i think the boiled removes some of the starch, Lee
"Kate XXXXXX" wrote in message
et...
douglerner wrote:
Maybe if you let yourself eat bananas, and pumpkin, and grains, the
fatty
stuff won't be calling your name so much.


The fatty stuff isn't calling my name so much as they satisfy in a way
that stops cravings.

Bananas, for example, are only about 80 calories each (don't know how
many Flex points they are). The problem with the Filling Foods list
though it doesn't take into account that bananas have a very high
glycemic index.

So while a banana or two aren't bad for a diet, for a person with high
blood sugar it means the sudden introduction of so much sugar in a
short amount of time releases a lot of insulin and then sparks
cravings for other foods.

In other words, for people in the situation I'm in, bananas aren't so
much filling and satisfying as they are appetite triggers.

All I'm saying is that the WW list doesn't distinguish well between
high glycemic trigger foods and foods that aren't trigger foods. And
I'm also saying that "one size doesn't fit all." Different people have
different trigger foods.

doug

The good thing with WW is that it's easy to tickle it to fit when you have
special dietry needs. DH is Type 1 (insulin dependant), and our WW food
style suits his need for complex carbs very well. Some recipes and menus
lack sufficient complex carbs for his needs, but as he's a bloke and has
more points available, I just serve him a slightly larger portion. Same
for the growing lad (now Giant Mutant Ninja Teenager, at 5'11" with 40"
chest and 36" waist! 14 and still growing, God help us!). The low fat
and lots of veg suits us too, and I can also tweak to let me have a low
wheat diet.

Hm... Why do BOILED spuds have a lower GI than baked spuds? Is it to do
with the length of cooking time, the lower water content due to cooking
dry, a combination, or summat else entirely? And what about potato
wedges, oven baked with very little oil? They get a far shorter oven time
than whole jacket spuds.

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!



 




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