Whenever I receive an e-mail from someone who talks about their long-term success on the low-carb lifestyle, I am beaming with pride. From a decade-long Atkins dieter to these two prime examples of livin’ la vida low-carb, the truth is clear whether you hear about it from the media or not–lots of people are losing weight and getting healthy eating a low-carb diet.
And it ain’t just temporary either! Why?
Well, this study explains that when you decide to begin implementing a long-term lifestyle change over at least an 18-month period rather than simply beginning a diet (which means you’ll “die” to a “t”!), you are more likely to succeed at weight loss.
It’s like I always say–find a plan that works for you, follow that plan until you reach your weight loss goal, and then keep doing that plan FOREVER! It really works if you make it work for you. Weight management is not easy, but it IS possible.
Take it from a 65-year old reader of the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog who has been on the Atkins diet since 1998. This gentleman had tried the highly-recommended low-calorie diets and they just didn’t work for him.
“The reason reduced calories wasn’t even an option for me is that even when my calorie intake was far too high, I was still starving,” he explained. “There was no way that I would be able to reduce my calories for any length of time.”
He added: “I tried many times and failed badly!”
Man, is he ever right?! One of the things that attracted me to the Atkins diet is the fact that you don’t have to count calories like those food-obsessed low-fatties would have you believe! Calories do count, but you don’t have to count them if you are eating proper amounts of protein and fat when you are livin’ la vida low-carb.
This doesn’t mean low-carbers are gorging themselves on these macronutrients, but rather consuming enough protein and fat to satiate their hunger and provide them with the energy to live their life. And if you look up the definition of “diet,” then this will close resemble what that word REALLY means.
My reader was spot-on when he commented how utterly clueless most people are about helping someone overcome their addition to carbs.
“The reason well-meaning people will never help anyone regain control of their eating over the long-term is that they know absolutely nothing about addictions,” he contended. “I’m not being disrespectful when saying this, but simply stating the obvious!”
It’s so obvious to those of us who are living it, that’s for sure. I can’t tell you how many people just assume I’m keeping my weight off easily now that it’s been a few years since I shed 180 pounds in one year. Not hardly. I tell them it is still a daily battle to keep myself focused on eating healthy.
My reader says these people need to walk a mile in our shoes which they cannot do unless they’ve been obese and then beat it.
“They do not understand the mind of an overeater and I will prove it,” he said. “Unless they can personally relate to the following story, they are NOT qualified (even a little) in the area of eating disorders.”
Here’s his story:
“We had a birthday party recently and were served pizza. Under normal circumstances I would never eat a grain product of any kind. Grains, whether fully processed or not, set off my eating disorder just as badly!
But my lovely wife assured me that after being on Atkins for almost eight years at the time, I should now have complete control over my eating addiction. She suggested that I have two large slices and walk away.
Well, guess what? Ten slices of pizza later (and they were very large pieces, too, I might add!), I walked away from that party even hungrier than before I even started eating!”
Whoa! Now that is one powerful example of the strong grip that food can have even on those of us who have been low-carbing for a while. If somebody can’t relate to that experience even in the slightest, then they DEFINITELY don’t know how to help someone who is fighting food addiction.
Sadly, my reader concluded, most of the so-called “experts” and even semi-educated lay people would say to him that he need “more willpower” to stop at two slices. But…
“This would be the exact same thing as telling an alcoholic to walk away after only six drinks,” he contended. “And Dr. Atkins understood this!”
Yes he did which is why people like me and you have been able to confront our addiction to carbs directly and win that battle. If more people could just realize that effective weight control is about eating low-carb, then perhaps obesity could become a thing of the past.
I’ve said it before that there is no “after” with low-carb living, this way of eating is not just a temporary “crash” diet, and that maintaining once you lose the weight is the real key to long-term success.
That’s what has made my weight loss success long-term because it is my permanent solution to obesity. Never again will I have to worry about my weight.
Why? Because I’m livin’ la vida low-carb, baby! 
