Colette's Blog

Make Atkins a Lifestyle, Not a Quick Fix

November 20, 2014

Want to lose weight and keep it off?

It’s a fact. People who have the most success with Atkins complete all the phases. The phases allow you to discover your own personal number of carbohydrate tolerance. It could be 30 or 100, whatever it is, it will be your guidance to get the weight off and keep it off.

What a relief it is when I see people saying they are “doing Atkins.” It is so much better than that hideous alternative: “I’m on a diet.” After all, reaching your goal weight is not—or should not be—about dieting. It’s about changing your body, and your mind-set, permanently and for the better. It is—or should be—actually just the opposite of the start-and-stop process that most people consider a diet.

It’s when you fall prey to the lure of a quick fix solution that you may end up failing. It’s a vicious trap. You lose weight quickly at first, and the thought of moving past Induction (and slowing the weight loss down) does not sound appealing. So you continue with Induction, instead of learning how to make Atkins a lifestyle.

You never learn what your tolerance for carbs is, or how to incorporate the fundamentals of Atkins into a way of living. Instead, you struggle through Induction (which is not supposed to be the phase you stay on for life), and eventually your weight loss stalls. You become frustrated and you eventually quit. The pounds start to pile back on, and six months later, you remember all the weight you lost with Atkins at first, and you start again in Induction. Quite often with the same results.

It’s important to realize that Atkins was never intended to be a quick fix yo-yo diet. The only way to reverse this weight-loss roller coaster is to follow Atkins the way it was intended. You’ll make it possible for your body to function at its highest level, for a lifetime. You’ll be able to enjoy a fulfilling and healthy diet of fish, fowl, meat, vegetables, natural fats, nuts, seeds, berries, Greek yogurt, and, eventually, other low-glycemic fruit, legumes and whole grains.

Avoid refined, sugar-laden junk food, and you’ll be eating the way nature intended. By following this approach, you’ll be that much closer to your goal weight by following a method you can live with. You’ll have more energy and feel better. You’ll sleep better, your clothes will fit better, and you’ll naturally want to be more active without those excess pounds weighing you down.

Want to lower your triglycerides, your cholesterol and your blood pressure? This is the program that does it. Want to protect yourself against diabetes, an increasingly epidemic health risk in this country? Atkins is the gold standard.

I hope I’ve convinced you. If I have, you won’t ever want to stop doing Atkins once you start. Forget about dieting; this will be a whole new way of life. And take my word for it: The difference between just living and living when you’re really on your game is dramatic.

Share and Share Alike

When was the point you truly embraced Atkins as a lifestyle? How many times did you start and stop before? I’d love to hear! Please share your thoughts with the Atkins Community and also let me know what you’d like to hear about in the future. 

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