Journal de KThompson12, 26 mars 14

I had to think of it as a lifestyle change instead of a diet. Eating low carb can be forever if you make that choice. Once you reach your goal weight you can start adding more carbs to your diet in order to find the max carb limit at which you can maintain your weight. It's not easy but you can do it if your determined! Good luck. :) 

Any diet is temporary if you don't change your eating habits after you finish it. I plan to keep this woe after I lose the weight. I'll just have to find my max carb amount and keep it under that. You can do it. 

So, what is your next plan? You gotto to have a plan, stick to it, if it doesn't work change plans but NEVER GIVE UP!. 

I get that! I managed to lose 45lbs last year, and then put 15 of it back on! So now I've got 45 to lose before I'm at my healthy weight goal. It can be done, by both of us, regardless of weather it's 5lbs or 50! 

I'm struggling too, K. But like you, I won't give up! 

The fact that you gained weight only proves that low carb works... Yes. You will have to eat low carb for the rest of your life if you want to keep all the weight off. Actually, that's not 100% true. I lost about 35 pounds eating low carb, then I lost about 10 more doing fasting (even after introducing carbs back into my diet). But I remain a firm believer in low carb (even though I do not practice it in a strict manner anymore). 

Please read the Atkins book (if you haven't already). Yes, you are supposed to eat some version of lo carb your whole life. No matter what diet you do, you will always gain back weight that is lost if you go b ack to your old ways. Atkins wanted people to figure out what their daily carbs SHOULD be to maintain. That should be your ultimate goal. 

I agree with Libertino85, Low Carb definitely works, and is something that you can use effectively to control your weight. The problem with going off low carb isn't that we eat moderate carbs - we start that way, and then we seem to slide into more and more, adding sugar and a taste of this, or that won't hurt much. When I came back to Atkins and really looked at what I was eating, I was SHOCKED at how many actual carbs I consumed by some of the foods we ate! So at 50+, this is a life style change I am willing and know I am completely able to make this time. No more kids in the house, no social pressures. Just me and my supportive hubby. You have to be ready, or it will be disappointing. You CAN do it. *cheering you on* 

Question (from someone who does not know much about the Atkins' plan). Does it include regular exercise recommendations (or is it just a single dimensional diet style change ?) 

You don't have to be on a diet for the rest of your life, you just have to figure out how many calories you can eat to MAINTAIN your weight and STICK TO IT. I am on a 650 to 1,150 Calorie diet a day right now to lose weight and I found this out on Calculator.net http://www.calculator.net (IMPORTANT REMEMBER TO RECALCULATE CALORIES AS YOU LOSE WEIGHT) This is with my weight at 164, Height 5'6", Age 52 with little or NO exercise: you need 1645 Calories/day to maintain your weight you need 1145 Calories/day to lose 1 lb per week you need 645 Calories/day to lose 2 lb per week you need 2145 Calories/day to gain 1 lb per week you need 2645 Calories/day to gain 2 lb per week  

Hi clearwatermaillady, thanks for the information and reply.