Despite my (excessivly?) strong opinons on the subject I am NOT an expert
Atkins sucks. I don't know anybody with a serious weight problem who's made it more than a year. Its hell going on, its hell going off and when you boomarang you pick up a lot more.
The first few months ALWAYS go great but it rarely lasts. Then after a few months when you start to gain weight back (or you start to miss your targets) your self-respect takes a pounding. Nothing is harder than feeling like a failure and the cycle that Atkins puts people on leads very strongly toward that.
If your devoted enough to do Atkins, you would have lost it anyway.
You can't eat most of what Americans eat
1. no sugar -- no ice cream, no chocolate/sweets, no sweet ceral (includs granola), no juice, no soda
1.1 no low-fat food -- a low fat muffin is just a muffin with lots of simple carbs (sugar) instead of complex carbs.
2. no fried foods, oily foods -- no pizza, no macdonalds, nothing fried,
3. no beer*
* = this is probably impossible do this instead: a beer is equal to a plate of food. So two beers and a small salad and you're done. Three beers and no dinner.
Like somebody said above: Run. Going to the gym will, at best, build muscle, in actuality what happens is you work out more you think you're hungrier your body gets wonky and stressed out and its hard to control yourself.
Running 3 days a week for an hour is enough. I lost around 40 points (almost 20 kilos so maybe more like 50 this way once I got the diet under control). This will also keep your skin tight and less saggy.
Moderation:
This means 21/2 meals a day. Save yourself a solid meal for dinner, you'll probably eat big no matter what happens. Have something light for breakfast.
You may (probably) eat too much at a sitting. This is a tough one. Realize that most people in western cultures consume too much. Counting calories actually works for some people. 1500 is sufficent unless you're a tri-athlete in full training.
If you're overweight your body's basically wrecked as far as your appetite goes. Being hungry, unfortunately, has no meaning. Just because you feel like you're hungry don't eat. Keep a specified schedual.
not an expert, so this is all personal experience, either myself, people I love or people I know well. My father flubbed atkins, I'm watching my boss do the same. People who suceeded that I know of generally had just gotten overweight for the first time in their lives, freaked out, went on whatever diet was in vogue and took the weight off. They would have lost it anyway and they didn't have time to boomerang (or those habits that people who have weight problems have developed and the pyscholgical defense mechanisms that keep them from coming to grips with the problem).
Also, and I realize this really isn't my business and I'm not asking you to share but you should probably think about your relationship with food. I know food was a comfort for me. Which is fine but (assuming you're like me) even when you want to be comfortable you need to have the self-discipline to do something else to get your center back.
Last thing: Don't linger or do something else while you eat. Sit down, have your meal, then finish and do something else. Eating while watching TV, surfing the 'net, etc. Is pretty bad.
Sorry if I spazzed on this one. Its a tough nut to crack. good luck.
nothing like being a lean, mean gaming machine!
