Atkins rebound?

October 29, 2006 11:22 PM

Is the Atkins diet worthwhile as a temporary diet for dropping about 10 lbs, or does this type of diet have a higher rate of rebound compared to the same weight loss from portion control, Weight Watchers, etc? I'm aware Atkins is intended to be a lifestyle change, but I tend to keep a constant weight just fine and simply want to take 'er down a notch.
posted by rolypolyman to health & fitness (9 comments total)

No. The Atkins diet is especially bad at this kind of thing. The idea of the Atkins diet is to keep your glycogen levels low, which makes you less hungry and makes your body store less fat. When your glycogen levels start dropping you'll shed off some pounds of water, to the tune of five or ten pounds, without having lost any fat at all. If you go back to eating normally your glycogen levels, and water levels, will return to their normal level.
posted by aubilenon at 1:07 AM on October 30, 2006

Atkins is probably not worth it for a quick ten pound loss. You will lose ten pounds very quickly in the first stage of the diet - making you happy and confident - and then after about three weeks you will lose about a pound a week, slowly but surely. Those later pounds are the ones you are losing through fat loss. The first period of weight loss is mostly water weight, and you gain it back very fast when you start eating normal carbohydrates again.

When your body starts to respond to the psuedo-starvation of Atkins, you drop a lot of water as your body turns to stored fat for energy. You lose appetite after a while, and don't feel as hungry. I have done atkins a few times - it isn't my lifestyle, but every couple of years I go on it for three to six months. Burning off the actual fat - by diet and excersize - takes months.

A few years ago I lost 40 pounds in five month on Atkins. I was playing a gig in Italy and decided that would be the date I went off it. So I had a pizza at about noon for lunch... damn, it was good... and then took a nap before the concert. I was really proud that I could fit into my old gig clothes, especially my old vest. The carbo rush from the pizza, however, made me incredibly thirsty - I couldn't really nap, because I felt compelled to drink liters of water. By nine pm I could no longer fit into my old vest - I had re-absorbed that much water. It wasn't like I had gained everything back, but it really made me realize how much of one's extra weight is simply H2O.
posted by zaelic at 1:41 AM on October 30, 2006

using a normal calorie cutting diet you should be able to shed 10lbs pretty easily tbh.

check out www.fitday.com and use it to log how many cals you are eating on a daily basis. i recommend you buy the fitday application as its fantastic i always use it when cutting.

to find your base calories multiply your weight in pounds by 11 or 12.

then if you wanna cut minus about 4-500 off the total cals and thats ya ballpark figure. if you aint losing in a week or so change ya calorie intake around.
posted by moochoo at 1:43 AM on October 30, 2006 [1 favorite]

Low/no carb (ie the atkins early stages) will drop 10lbs off you very quick, like 2 or 3 days, but most of it will be water. You'll have to stick with it longer and continue to lose weight to actually drop 10 real pounds.

I think if you actually plan on keeping the weight off, you should eat a healthy, normal diet with just vastly lower calorie levels, like moochoo said. Cut calories, dropping carb and bad fats first, keeping protein, veggies and whole grains.

In the end if you really want to lose weight fast, you will end up with at least a "low carb" diet, as the calories are easy to cut from carb heavy foods. If you get there via your normal diet instead of crashing into atkins, you will probably learn better habits and have a better chance of maintaining them.
posted by rsanheim at 5:56 AM on October 30, 2006

I do not know much about Atkins, but if you just want to lose a few pounds, I recommend doing what I did (and am still doing to maintain current weight). I took some Weight Watchers books from a friend and downloaded a points calculator for my phone. For five days each week, I strictly follow the diet, but for two days a week, I eat and drink anything and everything I want. There is no way I could do the full-fledged Weight Watchers since I like food and drinks way too much. Also, all I wanted to was go from 170 to 145. I also exercise for 40 to 60 minutes three times a week. If you live with someone, try and get him/her to join you on the diet since it makes it a lot easier to follow...
posted by toddst at 7:19 AM on October 30, 2006

I did Atkins for about 5 months and lost about 40 pounds. At the time, it was a good choice for me because I needed the emotional crutch that came from losing so much weight so fast, especially since the usual dieting thing never worked quickly enough for me to keep me motivated. I was very, very strict while I was doing it and had great results, but I burned out. I've since gained back all the weight I lost and then some, but now I've become a vegetarian (which shocks people who knew me during my low-carb days) and discovered that helps me shed weight much more healthily.

Yes, Atkins *will* take the initial weight off quickly, especially if you do Induction, but it is *very* boring and you will gain the weight back quickly once you revert to your previous eating lifestyle. I'd say 95% of people to do Atkins or other strict low-carb do the same thing. I did manage to make some positive long-term changes in my diet during my Atkins experience, however, like no more non-diet soda, white sugar and limiting simple carbs, so it wasn't a total loss.
posted by jennaba at 7:34 AM on October 30, 2006

I totally agree that a reduced calorie diet can lead to a quick 10 pound loss. I find that a day semi-fast helps to clear my system and reduce my appetite. By semi fast, I mean something like a small bowl of oatmeal early in the morning, plenty of liquids all day, one piece of fruit around lunchtime, and a very small bowl of plain rice for dinner. After a day or two of that, your appetite will be much lower, and eating much smaller portions will be much easier. Also, it helps to clear your system of the simple sugars that are so addictive. Then you can start eating whole grains and fruits and vegetables in small (reasonable) portions. No eating out for awhile! It's much better to cook for yourself so you get the right ingredients in the right proportions. Especially if you can fit in an hour walk three or four times a week, a week or two of this can really drop some pounds. Whenever I do this, I'm always amazed at how little food I really need (restaurant portions are HUGE these days!) and how healthy and satisfied I am when I'm eating whole grains and fruits/veggies. I also find that, even if you don't stay on that diet for the rest of your life, it takes a long time to build up back to the level of eating that you were at previously. I feel like my stomach shrinks capacity a little bit and I don't need to eat as much to feel full. Of course, IANAD. But this has worked for me numerous times. And it seems more like eating a very healthy diet for a little bit instead of depriving your body of essential things like all carbohydrates.
posted by mosessis at 7:43 AM on October 30, 2006 [1 favorite]

No temporary diet works at all for any long term purpose.

A true fact about diet is that your current weight is the result of your current metabolism and dietary habits. Sure, you can change your habits and lose weight, but if you return to your old habits, you will inevitably gain it all back. This is true regardless of what weight loss plan you use. I do not like any diet plan that involves giving a company money every day for the duration, whether it is Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, or anything else. You will have a hard time convincing me that these plans are about anything other than making your wallet lighter.

That being said, any weight loss regimen needs to include adequate protein (because otherwise your body will suck the protein it needs to function out of your muscles, making you less fit), and a decent multivitamin (because chances are you weren't exactly eating balanced meals before and now you are taking in *less* food).

I did lose about 30 pounds on Atkins and have kept almost all of it off for 7 years now. Yeah 5 pounds crept back in, but I'm still in normal BMI so there you go. I did not experience that "it's all water weight" thing that has been expressed upstream. At the risk of starting diet jihad here, I will point out that nutritionists will tell you that "carbs provide energy," but strangely enough that's what *calories* do.

It sounds like you might be better off with a NoS approach or just simply "eating smaller portions and taking daily brisk walks." It doesn't sound like you are in a hurry, but if you are you might consider green tea and hoodia supplements.
posted by ilsa at 10:10 AM on October 30, 2006 [1 favorite]

If you go back to eating like you were, you'll regain everything, regardless of what diet you were on. You have to change your metabolism to make a permanent change in weight, which requires Atkins/South Beach, exercise and healthy eating.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 7:44 AM on October 31, 2006