Zero Added Sugar BUT Zero Weight Loss

If you've been following this blog lately, you know that as of March 1st, I removed all added sugars from my diet. I had hoped to see some excellent results, like less joint pain and a little weight loss. I'm not trying lose much, but I thought 5 pounds would be nice!

However, after almost 3 weeks of zero added sugar, I had lost exactly zero pounds. I decided the program was not working for me. I needed to tweak it. 

So I went on Atkins.

I've tried Atkins before. I had always started with Induction, which is the most extreme form of Atkins, where you eat 20 grams of carbs or less per day. After 2 weeks, you can start gradually adding the carbs back, a little at a time, and see if you continue to lose. Some people are very carb-sensitive and need to keep them extremely low in order to lose weight.

This time, I discovered Atkins has a new program for people who want to lost less than 40 pounds. This includes me! It's called Atkins 40 and includes 40 grams of net carbs per day. (Net carbs are calculated by determining the total carbs per serving and subtracting the fiber. Grams of fiber are not counted as they simply pass through the system without raising the blood sugar.)

When you visit www.Atkins.com, you are invited to enter your details--gender, height, weight, waist circumference, and age--and you will be guided to the program that will work best for you. You will also discover some very useful tools, like the food tracker app which keeps track of everything you eat or drink and the nutritional data. And yes, all of this is FREE.

The bottom line: Atkins WORKS. It's been less than a week since I started and I have already lost 4 pounds! Sure, it's probably mostly water. But that's fine. That's how the process starts. Once I begin losing mostly fat, I'm sure things will slow down quite a bit. But in the meantime, I'm eating foods that I like. I can have a slice of bread, a half of a sweet potato, a handful of berries. So low carb doesn't mean zero carbs!

I have cut out the wine for now. I will probably try adding a glass of wine once or twice a week in April and see what happens. Right now, I'm losing weight and not feeling like I need it. According to the Atkins website, whenever you have alcohol in your system, your body will burn off the alcohol first. So that means you will not be burning fat. But once the alcohol is out of your system, you will return to burning fat. Good to know!

Are you frustrated with your weight loss? Looking for a program that is easy to follow, lets you eat your own food, and costs absolutely nothing to join? Atkins might be for you!