I need a jump start, is the Atkins Diet the answer?

Question

I am an obese woman for the first time in my life...I would love to hear from others who have tried the Atkins Diet as a way to jump start the process of losing weight. Intensive excersise or a gym program is not an option due to the climate/country in which I live as well as time and finances. Need a program that I can do at home on my own. My job requires that I sit for 9 hours a day which does not help the weight situation...Any and all input appreciated

Answer 1

I was on an Atkins-like diet called "The Woman Doctor's Diet." Yes, I lost about 30 pounds in three months, but then I started cheating, and gained it all back, plus.

If you are obese for the first time in your life, what changed so much?

I really think the key is exercise. You don't have to block out an hour or two a day -- you can split it up. Take a five-minute walk at every meal, and one at each break time (about 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.) -- it will help your productivity, and you will have 25 minutes of activity just like that.

Take the stairs. If you are really obese, take the stairs going down, and the elevator going up.

It's not healthy to just sit for 9 hours. There are desk exercises you can do (and should do!) every half hour to get the blood moving. It will help your productivity, too.

Be careful about snacking -- make sure it's healthy stuff.

And, yeah, do Atkins or something like it for six weeks. You WILL lose weight. But the first time you cheat, the FIRST time -- get off of it. Get onto a normal, healthy eating plan that you can follow the rest of your life.

BTW, if you can't find desk exercises, try looking up exercises for the plane for DVT (deep vein thrombosis). They will be useful. You MUST move your body. I've had so many problems from a sedentary lifestyle that are so much better when I take the time to move every hour. I also ride an exercise bike while reading for 30 to 45 minutes a day (when I don't have other exercise like shopping or lawn-mowing).

Don't be a perfectionist, but find what works and stick with it.

BTW, the Potatoes, Not Prozac diet is also very interesting. (-: Not very effective, but some things will make you say "A-ha!" and understand why you do the things you do.

Answer 2

I have not tried the Atkins diet but I have done the Curves low carb thing. I would not recomend it. It is not a healthy diet at all. Anything promoting such a low carb intake is not good for you, It is rediculous to tell some one they should not eat Bananas because they are high in carbs. Atkins or any other diet will not give you a kick start if you do not intend to follow through with some kind of exercise program and sensible eating.
It sounds like you are afraid of exercise, that is ok, you can start with something very simple and then build up from there.
When you grocery shop park further from the shop entrance. Carry your grocery bags inside once you are home, only one or two at a time, this means you will have to do more trips to the car = more moving = more calories burnt. Where you can use stairs nstead of lifts or walk up the travelators, also include housework as part of your daily activity. Perhaps invest in a pedometer and try to work toward the 10000 steps per day, this might mean walking up and down your hallway during the ad breaks of your fave tv show etc, do not aim to get the 10000 straight away, just wear the pedometer one day, if your total steps for the day come to 4000 then tomorrow aim for 4100, then the next day a few more and so on, until you reach your goal. As for diet just mke sure you eat plenty of fresh fruit and veg, include lean meat fish and poultry and wholegrains. Set some small acheivable goals and work toward acheiving them one at a time, you will get there.

Answer 3

Congratulations on starting. If you have not read the sourced books, I implore you to do so. Very fast reads. Aside from that, keep in mind that exercise can actually prevent some weight loss and may stall you. Best to hold off on the exercise until after you've lost the weight you want to lose. Exercise is not good for weight loss. @Nudge: Atkins (based on low-carbohydrate eating) is not a fad diet. Low-carbohydrate eating has been around for millions of years, long before wheat was processed into flour for healthywholegrains. Low-fat is an example of a fad diet that began in the 1970s by the US government. This fad diet has caused irreparable harm to the world. Atkins is suited for long-term and anyone who has actually read into the diet will know this. So please don't claim something is short term when it is not - it further validates your ignorance.

Answer 4

The Atkins diet is a very extreme diet, going against what Registered Dietitians have been saying for years. I would highly recommend searching information about it on yahoo or google about what doctors have said about it, make sure to see who is also saying the good or bad and whether they have anything to gain from saying it's good for you.

I've recently graduated from college with a biology degree, and I've also had a lot of interest in the human body and physical fitness so I personally think the diet is a bunch of bull due to how it works and what it does to your body. To make a long story short it tricks your body into using a process to burn fat that your body only uses when it is starving (your brain only uses glucose to function, but since you can't eat carbohydrates, you burn fat to make ketones which it converts to glucose for your brain to use). I personally don't see how making your body think it is starving is the way to lose weight, it also has potential dangers to your kidney's due to the high protein load. But I've heard lots of success stories so it pretty much does work, but at what cost? Currently there aren't too many long term users of the diet so we don't know what impact that kind of stress can have on your body 20 years later. But this is just my opinion and what I've researched myself.

Another diet I've researched that I believe is safer is the South Beach Diet.

The main thing is that you will need to exercise. Most diets can only take you so far before exercising has to be a part for them to be effective. If possible just walking for 30 minutes a day or swimming/swimming aerobics are good to start with. Good luck.

Answer 5

once you're on it you have to stay on it or else you gain the weight all back