Thursday, April 7, 2011

Atkins Is Over...and So is the biggest loser challenge!

The BL challenge was 3 months long. We will not know the winner until this afternoon...

My starting weight:  176.5  
Ending weight: 159.5
Difference: 17
Body percentage lost:  9.63

My partners starting weight: 174
Ending weight: 141
Difference:  33 pounds
Body percentage lost: 19.20

I will take it!  It was tough.  Atkins helped me lose 15 of those 17 pounds over the last 2 weeks and four days.  I am sooo looking forward to maintaining again...to not being obsessed or crazy.  To just being healthy and fit.

I thought I would do a little recap of my thoughts on Atkins for your guys.

Pro's: 
  • I was really on a sweet kick.  Starting Atkins was a real eye-opener for me.  It took less than a day for me to realize that practically everything I was putting in my mouth was sugar loaded.  I was eating a lot of candy, drinking regular soda, and tons of other carbs.
  • I have always thought that the idea of restricting carbs was a load of whooey.  But it is interesting, after the first 4 days off of sugar and carbs, how I do crave them less.
  • Seeing how 98% of the things I enjoy do have carbs, I have found some new products and alternatives out there to high carb or high sugar options...ones that I will continue to buy and eat regardless of whether or not I am doing Atkins.
  • The idea of how we burn fat based on what we are eating is very cool train of thought. I would like to continue to explore this topic.
  • I have realized I do not need or require the immense amount of carbs and sugar-shit I was eating.  I just don't. 
  • It helped me lose some weight!  Whether or not it was really because of ketosis, or just because it was a change to my normal routine...it definitely helped me shed over 10 ell-bees!
  • It was fun and a crazy feeling relief not to have to add my calories up in my  head all.day.long.
Cons:
  • I went and gave blood last week and they get your cholesterol read.  Remember that I have been trying for over a year to find my genetics and bring my number (usually around 213 and my doctor wants it under 200) down.  Last month at my doctor visit, it was 197!  Last week, not even two weeks into Atkins...it was 237.  The highest it has ever been.  Even higher than presurgery.
  • Lack of energy.  Atkins says that by week 2, you should have more energy.  Not so much for me.
  • The social aspect of Atkins blows.  Its hard to low-carb/no -carb around others without making them aware of it.
  • It's expensive!  Even if I didnt by the bars...bacon, meat, eggs...aint none of that cheap my friends!
  • Less poop action.  You know I love a good movement.
  • While I never got full fledged ketosis breath, I had dry mouth a lot and just a weird taste in my mouth.

Where do I go from here?
  • I intend to continue to be aware of my carbs.  I will not move on to the official stage 2 of Atkins (called OWL), which allows you 5 more carbs a day (for a total of 25)....although I will try on most days to stay around that goal.
  • I want to limit my beer drinking. I don't actual enjoy beer.  It doesnt satisfy any thirst.  If I am going to drink calories, I would rather drink a nice cold pepsi. 
  • When I do have breads and pastas, I will have 100% whole wheat.  But that it nothing new.
  • The occasional candy bar is not the end of the world....but it adds no value to my nutrition.
  • And while I joke about oreo's and ice cream, what I want even more than that is some cereal/granola!  Man...I am going to eat a little of that this weekend.
  • I am nervous that when I do eat some sugar, I will go crazy.  I am interested to see if I can feel a physical or mental urge to consume more non-stop.
  • For the challenge at work, I have upped my working out.  I remember when I used to work out 3 days a week.  And then it became 5 days a week.  Now it is 5 days a week, and sometimes it is 2 times a day.  It is very easy to slip into crazy...regardless of what it is.  And while I hate to say it, I think my body is a little tired.  I don't want to run myself into the ground.  SO, I may cut back....maybe....:)
Would I recommend it?
  • Yes.  At least to jump start a stall, or to get some sugar out of your system.  If you do decide to do it, would recommend following the guidelines to the letter.  You don't need the book. Atkins official website has all the phases, foods, etc. you will need.
Final thoughts:
  • We all have to find what works for us. This helped me for sure.
  • I am actually super afraid of eating "bad" sugar again.  I am afraid there will be some chemical reaction in my brain and I will go nuts.
  • It's crazy to say it...but my band didn't have much to do with this weight loss.  And from here on out, with my level of restriction...my band won't really have much to do with whether I lose more or not.  That will be solely up to me.  What my band WILL do is keep me in check and prevent me from pigging out and gaining all my weight back. 

17 comments:

  1. Wow! Very informative and insightful post. I am 5 days in (today is my 6th day) and I do know the dry/weird taste in your mouth. It's....well weird. I'm am going to keep going with it. Thanks so much for sharing your journey with us, because I know for me I was going crazy with the carbs. Like I said in my blog I just didn't know how to stop. I did think about that cholesterol thing cause man am I hooked on BACON!! I love it. I haven't had bacon in so long so when I ate a piece, it was like crack (not that I have ever done crack, but....), dang it was good.

    Good Job Amy!! I hope you get back to the Amy you know

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  2. Great job with your weight loss! I wonder if doing The South Beach Diet would not cause a jump in cholesterol. I was thinking of giving it a try. Thanks for the info!

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  3. thanks for the insight. I have been waiting to see your end results and opinion. Thx :)

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  4. I can't wait to see how you do. I am crossing my fingers that you win!!! I can't remember--is there a prize for the winners?

    And I would love to hear more about these three points you mentioned:
    "•Seeing how 98% of the things I enjoy do have carbs, I have found some new products and alternatives out there to high carb or high sugar options...ones that I will continue to buy and eat regardless of whether or not I am doing Atkins.
    •The idea of how we burn fat based on what we are eating is very cool train of thought. I would like to continue to explore this topic.
    •I am nervous that when I do eat some sugar, I will go crazy. I am interested to see if I can feel a physical or mental urge to consume more non-stop."

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  5. Congratulations on losing weight and finishing strong in the challenge! I am doing low-carb (trying to stay around 30g/day) and it is working for sure. I hope I can do as well as you have in Maintenanceland.

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  6. It's amazing how much pull you have girlfriend--------since you started Atkins half the blogging world has joined in and half of everyone I meet out here-talks Atkins too----including myself!! I think the message is trying to get through my dense brain! Thank You for that!

    Good Luck--I hope you win!

    XO

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  7. I love the shit out of you. Does that count as a good moovement?

    You had me at PEPSI. mmmmmmmmmmm

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  8. Wow! You and your partner kicked ass! That's awesome. I am still reading up on the paleolithic diet and I think it's very similar to Atkins in most aspects. I am just so NOT a big meat eater so high protein diets just make me gag a little. I know it's what I need to do though, especially with having insulin resistance and PCOS. That's the recommended diet for those issues.

    Glad this was an eye-opener for you. Hopefully my eyes are opened shortly.

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  9. That was a great update and summary of your experience. I decided to try Atkins for two weeks (day 3 today) to just boost my weight loss before my trip to Mexico. It really is hard to get my head around the fat concept...but it's freeing not to count calories.

    I have really enjoyed reading your posts! Keep up the great work and I hope you win!

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  10. GREAT POST!
    You rock sista!
    I love my poops as well...my whole day is based on whether it was good or not! Hilarious!

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  11. Great post! I think the most important thing you got from this experience was a different perspective. Found a different way of eating and while you coudln't do it all the time (I don't think anyone really can), there are certain things about it that just make a lot of sense. I hope you win!

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  12. Amen to it being easy to slip into crazy. I set some exercise goals for the Lent season and I'm so in the middle of crazy. :) Only two more weeks. I'm so tired. Heh.

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  13. Great information! I can't wait to hear how you did in the BL challenge!

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  14. Oh, how you rock! You seriously do.

    One small point of clarification for anyone reading, in Atkins next phase (Ongoing Weight Loss), you up your carbs by 5 per day every week until you are comfortable with your weight loss. So first week after induction, you eat 25 g per day. If you continue to lose fine, the next week, you up it to 30 g per day. And so on. Last time I did Atkins (eons ago), I still lost at about 60 g of carb per day.

    Anyhow, you certainly inspired me! Thanks for that. Smooches. xoxoxoxo

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  15. fabulous post!!

    I started a week long atkins on Wednesday with inspiration from you!

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  16. I'm an Atkins believer from way back. I have to admit that right now, I'm eating carbs like a mad woman. I think I might need to commit to a month or so of Atkins to get myself out of this cycle I've gotten myself into.

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