From the time I was a kid, through my glorious 20s (thankfully no pun behind me) and early 30s (before I had a son), maintaining my weight was never a problem. . I always believed in the fact that if my weight trended upwards by watching what I ate, a little non-stressful exercise would be all I needed to get back to my ideal weight.
but things change
After my son was born (and gained 60 pounds while pregnant), my thyroid—which had always been rocky—decided to more or less give up the ghost. In fact when I was about 21 it was discovered that I had a hypothyroid problem (this is where you gain weight more easily and have other unpleasant symptoms). I was religiously taking annual blood tests and taking the little pill each day. However, that too changed after giving birth. A normal thyroid stays in the 0.4 to 0.6 range, mine was 10.0 – a sure sign that it had taken a dive and is no longer effectively controlling my body.
so enter the diet loop
Even at age 16, obsessed with maintaining a trim figure, I would “invent” my own diet. I remember one of them was nothing but boiled eggs, toast and something to drink. And I lost 18 pounds in two weeks doing it (eggs are the secret).
Later in life, I went on The Scarsdale Diet. I can tell you it really works, but over time you really start to hate tomatoes. Meat is definitely on the menu at Scarsdale, along with lots of vegetables and even fruits. It’s really balanced. You won’t find anything that smells “sweet”. Oh, and I can’t stand black coffee.
Then it was on to the “diet in a box” variations. Sure they work, but after about a week, the smell of the cardboard box with your food reduces appetite anyway… maybe that’s how it works. And of course, the real secret is having the right combination of carbs, proteins and fats.
Which led me to…the Atkins diet.
I didn’t just jump into Atkins. I read the book cover to cover and did some of my own research. Good, solid scientific facts – with an eye-opening look at the lobbyists who tell us what’s good to eat and what’s not (read High-Sugar Cereal Manufacturers Are Threatening Us That Eggs Aren’t Good For Us Only their products are the best).
Well, the research behind me and my strong The Atkins Diet, I purged my kitchen of all the nasty (but wonderful) goodies and started the 14-day portion of the diet.
Sure, the scale went (and still does), but more importantly and almost immediately, my clothes start to “feel right” again.
You stay on the 14 day induction diet for (duh) 14 days. However, if you’re really overweight you can continue with less than 20 grams of carbs for much longer. And yes, if seriously overweight, it is still healthy.
I won’t continue to go into the details of the different phases of this “Life Time, Change Your Eating Habits” diet. It’s all in the book, and I suggest you read it. So many people I meet say to me, “Oh, but that’s not a good diet. You eat too much of ___ or ____. And that’s not healthy.”
My first question to people who leave negative comments is, “Have you read the book?”
The answer, when something really ridiculous is thrown at me, is an emphatic… no. However, they maintain with an air of incredible authority that they are right. I just smile and keep walking. I’m skinny, so more often than not (and I don’t mean this harshly), they require some serious weight maintenance.
To give you a clue about Atkins, I started again (yes I know it’s the way to eat for a lifetime but have we, the American population, ever fully committed to anything?) previous At the end of the year (around August 2005) I had an unfortunate 30 pounds sitting on my butt that needed to be removed before I was 50 or so. Pretzels and high carb snacks (where you just grab a handful) are my downfall.
By February of 2006, I had lost 33 pounds (and kept on keeping it off). That’s seven months of eating the right combinations of protein, fat and carbs as outlined by the Atkins diet plan. At an average of only 5 pounds per month or 1.25 pounds a week (give or take), it’s a healthy way to lose weight while actually being able to keep it off.
I have also invented my own milkshake which works like a charm. Ice, Carb Hood chocolate drink (chocolate of course), some Splenda and/or Torani Sugar Free Hazelnuts, and a can of Atkins Chocolate Royal. Fills you up, is full of vitamins and minerals, and works best when you’re trying to lose weight.
So now you know my story about weight loss and losing weight. But before we go, I would like to draw your mind to this fascinating reality.
Why is it suddenly “order our diet in a box?” What’s the first thing they tell you? All about the glycemic ratio, of course, and, if done in the right proportions for you, “the pounds melt away in an instant!”
Yes, they are right. But these same people, along with all the amazing pill makers and the “health conscience” community, were recently yelling at you that the Atkins Diet was unhealthy!
Duh… Atkins wrote about and implemented the perfect carb combo diet decades ago. He has at least decades of research and true stories to back up what he always told.
Combine the right foods for a single person and anyone can lose weight. Throw in some walking to get your butt off the couch and moving, and you have a surefire recipe to lose weight, and keep it off for the rest of your life.
Find what works for you, do it, stick to it, and you can be healthy and trim and fit in a way that comes naturally to you.
(c) Theresa Cahill 2006 – All Rights Reserved
Source by Theresa Cahill
