Note: I’ve asked Megamas, a frequent poster to this site as of late, to contribute to Low Carb Confidential, and he has generously agreed. I think he has something worthwhile to say on the subject of low carb, and I hope you’ll provide him the same feedback and encouragement I’ve gotten from the readers who’ve visited this site. – LCC
About Megamas
Having struggled with being overweight my whole life, I discovered the Atkins Nutritional Approach (aka the Atkins Diet) in 2003 during the low-carb diet craze of that time. My wife and I followed the plan and each lost 20 pounds in three months and another 10 over the next half year. This was all without anxiety, and without frustration. More importantly, we changed our lifestyle patterns regarding food. For the first time in my life, after all the “yo-yo” dieting, I was able to lose weight and maintain the loss for a considerable time by eating food that was satisfying and good for me.
So why am I back on Atkins Phase 1 (Induction)? I went through three periods where I regained weight over the past four years:
Regain Period 1 – I’ve had high blood pressure since being diagnosed in 1992 and have been on medication for it ever since, but nothing I took got the results my doctor and I would be happy with. After six months of maintaining my goal weight on low carb, my doctor changed my high blood pressure medication to something that put my metabolism in the basement, and within two months I’d gained back 12 pounds. I stopped gaining after switching to a new medication that didn’t affect my metabolism, but couldn’t lose more than a couple of the 12 new pounds.
Regain Period 2 – I like popcorn. After my initial loss, I would treat myself to a small bag of popcorn when seeing a movie out (maybe once every three months), without an effect on my weight. After maintaining my “new” weight for six months following Regain Period 1, I foolishly rationalized that if eating popcorn occasionally didn’t affect my weight, then I could eat popcorn as a regular snack. Disregarding the nutrition information on the box, I began having a full bag of microwave popcorn for my snack EVERY NIGHT. I’d stopped weighing myself daily, confident in my long term stability. Two months later, when my pants became uncomfortably snug, I somehow got the courage to step on the scale and found I’d gained 9 more pounds, all from popcorn.
Regain Period 3 – Through a series of what I call “mini-inductions” over the next year, I was able to lose most of the popcorn weight. Then, in June 2007, a new burger joint opened near my home that served dynamite steak fries, all you can eat, and that was the start of my downfall. I threw caution to the wind and started eating carbs again; burgers with the bun, bread appetizers and pasta at restaurants. We’d order take out once a week where we never did while on low carb. Some nights it would be burgers and fries, others would be a buffet of high carb “fun” appetizers that would have fed four people, and we’d both eat it in one sitting (I ate three people’s worth). By the start of 2008, I was back up another 10 pounds, two pounds more than I said would be my “limit.”
So, on January 2, 2008, I returned to Induction (re-induction, if you will), with the intention of repeating my initial success and maybe more. Like Low Carb Confidential, I’m here to share my story and insights with anyone interested in weight loss and the low carb lifestyle. Maybe some of what I have to say will make a difference in someone’s life.
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Filed under: Atkins, Megamas, Mindset, Personal Journal
[...] to say on the subject of low carb, and I hope you’ll provide …article continues at lowcarbconfidential brought to you by diet.medtrials.info and [...]
Super news! So good to see Megamas posting articles with you, LCC! Double our pleasure!
Megamas – like LCC you are quite inspiring. I’m two and a half weeks into re-Atkinsing (like my new word?) and I’m very encouraged. Six pounds down, and I know more will be melting off. Looking forward to reading and responding to you.
Trish
[...] and I did, 30 pounds of it, and I kept most of it off for a good long time (see what went wrong here). Now I’m back in full force, and it’s not going quite as well as the first time. [...]