I lost FOURTEEN POUNDS on Atkins in ONE WEEK!

[Maddy McCall]

and I had only intended to lose 10 in all. There are side effects, though.

I've had leg cramps from lack of potassium. I CRAVE A PIECE OF BREAD.

I gave up regular Mountain Dew at the same time--I was drinking more than a two litre bottle daily--and switched to Diet Mountain Dew and WATER. I drink a gallon of water daily instead.

Also, I have eaten lots the past week--eggs, bacon, salads, grilled salmon, steak, and pork. (I'm not a chicken fan.)

Anyway, it works. I need to get some good multivitamins though.

[Skittles]

1. that is NOT good

it is not healthy to lose that much weight that fast. Also, lack of potassium is VERY SERIOUS.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

2. you're only supposed to lose 2-4 pounds a week

for safe weight loss.

[shockandawed]

3. Be careful

The way you lost the weight and the speed with which you lost it is likely at the expense of your muscle mass, your electrolytes and potentially your health. Be sure to drink gallons of water. If you were having leg cramps, you went about things a little too agressively. By the way, you can experience sudden death by doing this, either by electrolyte seisure or aggrevating an undetected irrhythmia. You should be a little more careful. 2 pounds a day for 7 consecutive is dangerous.

Best of luck to you.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

4. A good way to replace electrolytes

Is through sports drinks, actually. But don't drink those too often or you'll get kidney stones.

[molly]

8. Try Propel Fitness Water made by Gatorade

it's delicious and it has a total of 3g of carbs.

[maggrwaggr]

10. what Atkins doesn't tell you ....

Is that by burning carbs you supply a lot of your own metabolic water. On atkins, you don't get this, so you need to drink a HELL of a lot more water.

I figured this out myself the hard way. You can get really dehydrated on the Atkins diet.

If you don't know what I'm talking about it's this: The two main byproducts of the combustin of any carbohydrate (whether it's gas in your food or sugar in your body) is carbon dioxide and water.

Kangaroo rats can live thier whole life without ever actually drinking water, they get all they need from this byproduct of metabolism. Humans, of course, need to drink water, but we also make quite a lot from the burning of sugars.

[DoNotRefill]

23. Atkins recommends 8 glasses of water a day minimum.

That's in line with what most other diets recommend.

[_Wayne_]

5. 14 pounds the first week is normal if you're really big, and exercised

Otherwise, it's a bad sign-usually you'll gain it all right back. You're supposed to get complex carbohydrates (whole grain bread, etc.) on the Atkins diet, just no white flour, white sugar, white rice, and alcohol. Everything else is fair game.

[Maddy McCall]

7. I had only intended to lose 10...

and I did exercise...but I have always exercised.

I am in the first two weeks, where no carbs are allowed. After a week from today, I'll start adding complex carbs slowly to my diet.

I have actually eaten more on Atkins than I ate before I started. I used to live off a diet of Mt. Dew and fast food or home-cooked southern meals which consisted of lots of fried foods, etc.

I am eating healthier than I have ever eaten...and more than I have ever eaten. I quit the cheez-its and started eating huge salads late at night instead. I quit chicken-fried steaks and mashed potatoes and started eating grilled salmon and zuchini instead.

I just can't see how this can be unhealthy. Honestly, I beleive the weight drop--as drastic as it is--can be attributed to the change from sugar-laden Mt. Dew to water. And I am guzzling water.

I won't be as aggressive on this thing after next Saturday. I needed a healthy lifestyle change--right now I guess I consider this two weeks as weaning me from the unhealthy way I ate before. I am taking time to care for myself that, as a doctoral student and single mother, I had never taken before.

Everyone, THANKS FOR THE CONCERN AND THE ADVICE!! I see how important it is for me to get the vitamins now, which I will do today.

[DoNotRefill]

21. Carbs ARE allowed during induction.

to the tune of 20 grams a day. That works out to three cups of lettuce, or two cups of lettuce and one cup of another approved vegetable, like green beans, water chestnuts, green pepper, uncooked tomato, or broccoli. For salad dressing, I've been doing olive oil and real (not balsamic) vinegar, on top of 2 cups of lettuce and one cup of mixed raw veggies (generally tomatos, green pepper, raw onion, and a few slices of cucumber.) Sometimes I throw some feta cheese or some hard-boiled egg in.

I've been doing Atkins Induction for almost a month now. I feel a whole lot better, and am eating more raw vegetables than I did before starting it. The things I had to cut out of my normal diet are milk (not cream) breads, anything with flour, and sugar, which was a big thing for me. BTW, I was surprised how much potassium cream has in it. We've been making decaf Iced coffee and cream, sweetened with Splenda, and it's worked well (after 3 weeks of drinking only water, we got tired of it ALL the time.)

I'm doing the measuring thing instead of the weighing in bit, and have lost 6 inches around my middle, and more from other parts.

[Deja Q]

6. And ketosis?!!!!!

http://www.ilpi.com/msds/ref/ketosis.html

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/en.asp?TopicID=274

Let alone cholestrol concerns.

I'd rather consume a bottle of raw ephedra and two bottles of guggulsterones (compound which alters thyroid function) than do the Atkins diet. Assuming they don't cause a ketone reaction either...

Atkins made ketosis sound like a good thing. I'm tempted to disagree.

And vegetables are a better way to get nutrients than pills.

In the end, I'm a partial hypocrite as I'm doing a cheater's diet as well. I just started taking Xenadrine EFX and am contemplating a guggulsterone pill (which fiddles with the thyroid to speed up fat burning, it's probably similar to what atkins' does but doesn't require me to eat all that high cholesterol heart-endangering nonsense). You've every right to tell me to stop what I'm doing too! :-) But I can't do Atkins; with hypoglycemia I do need to keep my blood sugar at a reasonable level.

[graywarrior]

11. Who knows what the long term effects of this diet will be

It's unhealthy, totally unbalanced, and dangerous. Just think what the lack of carbs is doing to your thinking process. Nearly everyone I know is on this diet, all thinking their doing great losing pounds by the minute. But it's a BAD DIET!!!! It stresses your kidneys and brain function.
Go ahead, follow a diet that probably killed it's inventor. Poor bastid couldn't get his brain in gear in order to avoid slipping and cracking his head open.
My rule is, if you c-r-a-v-e anything due to a diet, it's unbalanced and you'll pay for it in the end.
Mark my words. I'm right about this one.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

16. oooh, unfair... 14" of snow and ice in Manhattan had more to

do with his death than his diet.

Come on, that is a low blow. I agree the diet is full of shit, but to slam the man because he slipped on ice, well that, sir, is low. Very low.

[DoNotRefill]

18. Lots of people who eat balanced diets...

fall and break their noggins. It's a risk that comes with ageing. My Great Aunt fell and broke her hip, and it killed her. She never tried Atkins.

Your statement that it probably killed it's inventor is irresponsible. Of course, you'd probably say the same thing if he died in a car crash. :eyes:

[DoNotRefill]

22. Before I started Atkins...

I spoke with my endocrinologist. He's a specialist with over 20 years experience, and that's ALL he does (no GP stuff at all). He told me to go ahead.

BTW, Atkins was MY idea, he didn't suggest it. He did say "OK" to it though.

[maggrwaggr]

9. don't worry you'll gain it right back. :)

I lost ten pounds a week on Atkins, as soon as I went off it I gained it all right back and then some.

I couldn't stay on it. The lack of carbs really affected my ability to think. The only thing I liked about it was I didn't have the blood-sugar crashes like I have normally when I wouldn't eat. But my brain felt deprived the whole time. My back hurt. My knees hurt. Never felt "good".

When I finally had a big bowl of granola I felt this rush of warmth spread through my body. It was awesome.

[Mal]

14. I'd reckon so.

Best opinion I heard is that when you're on a rapid weight-loss diet, the body assumes a famine has struck, shuts down as much as it can, and then when food is available again puts all the weight it can back on as fast as possible in case there's another 'famine'.
And the savage down-UP-down-UP... of weight can NOT be good for you.

[DoNotRefill]

25. That's a result...

of getting too few calories. Atkins is NOT a low calorie diet.

[patdem]

12. I just read on DU about a woman who's heart stopped because of

potassium imbalance...the husband wanted the feeding tubes stopped ... the parents were fighting it... I was SHOCKED that a potassium imbalance could KILL!!!

[MaineDem]

13. I don't like Atkins

But that's not why I'm responding to your post. I'm concerned about you losing too much too fast.

The water is an excellent thing. Chances are, what you lost was a lot of water weight. I've found 1-2 pounds a week is good to lose. I know it's more fun to see a bigger loss but health-wise a slower drop is preferable.

Gatorade and the like aren't bad, but I ws told to cut them 50-50 with water.

Believe it or not, if you eat more of the right things your body is able to lose fat weight easier. If you starve, or cut down on vital food, your body thinks it's starving and retains fat.

Congrats on sticking to a program for the first week! And the loss on the scale just serves to inspire another good week. Just make sure you stay healthy. I've known a lot of people who "can't do" Atkins for any number of reasons and just give up completely. Keep up the good work...but don't give up your health. :)

(Voice of experience here...I've lost 128 pounds since March of '02) Keep us informed of your progress! :)

[Kathy in Cambridge]

15. Atkins works if done correctly

Smart Water: Electolyte-infused water with no sugar helped me during the first two weeks of Atkins.

That weight loss is too quick-you should be taking vitamins and constantly drinking water so your kidneys remain healthy. Also, once you start reintroducing sugar into your diet, you will probably gain some back.

ATkins can be done healthily, especially the maintenance/lifestyle plan. I have lost 23 lbs. on Atkins, and have never felt better. Diabetes runs in my family and I crave carbs (sugar, pizza, pasta). I no longer crave these things on Atkins after 2 months.

[Nikia]

17. My dad has done well on it

Aren't you suppose to eat vegtables with it though? My dad eats vegtables lie carrots and broccoli and peas. I would think that this would help you with your vitamins and potassium. I don't know how your doctor and health insurance are but if you are concerned that you may be potassium deficient, they can do a blood test to see if you are and how bad it is. If you are more than slightly deficient, screw the diet and eat lots of bananas.

[DoNotRefill]

26. Or, take a good wide-spectrum multivitamin.

it works.

[Julien Sorel]

19. You dropped a lot of water.

Glucose in your body binds to water and holds it; when you cut out the carbs, you reduced the amount of glucose in your body, which in turn, allowed your body to shed water. Keep drinking a lot, and I hope you saw a doctor before going on it, and see a doctor once in a while.

The cramps are normal, by the way, as a result of the water loss. Your body adjusts after about two weeks to lower levels of water, and the cramps go away.

[DS1]

20. I did the same thing when I was 18

Jarhead recruiter put me on a similar diet, one slice of toast later (it seemed) and it was coming back, but by then I was in bootcamp where I lost 7 pounds one week via exercise and decent diet.

[DoNotRefill]

24. One thing...

If you're not using the keto-sticks, GET THEM. You can find them on E-bay CHEAP (~$7.50 for 100 strips delivered, compared to $12 for 50 at the local pharmacy) They provide IMMEDIATE positive reinforcement, and can help you to identify if sugar is slipping into your diet somehow and spoiling the desired reaction.

Also, stay FAR away from sliced deli meats. I thought they were OK if nitrate-free, but found out that many contain sugar. Check the label!!!

[populistmom]

27. I've been doing Atkins for 7 months

My cholesteral dropped 80 points as well as a massive drop in triglycerides. Many recent studies have shown that low carb diets improve heart health better than low fat diets including a recent study by Duke University. The French and Mediteranean diets are actually pretty similar to this. I lost 10 pounds the first week, but slowed down after that. The most I ever lost in a week other than the first is 2 pounds. I'm now losing at the rate of a 1/2 pound a week.
I eat tons of vegatables, fish and chicken (cooked in olive oil), some red meat and for carbs I get it from low carb bread, nuts and certain fruits (strawberries, cantalope, and peaches). I avoid nitrite laiden meat such as bacon and sausage. I drink tons of water and take a multivitamin daily along with extra vitamin C and calcium (I can't drink milk anyway because it makes me sick).
I've lost 35 pounds and I'm about halfway to my goal. Just like anything, this can be done healthily or not.