ok, my roommate (male) has been LCing since about the same time as me. he has done atkins before and lost 35 pounds, but did not stick w/ it as a WOL or long term WOE. this time around he has lost about 12 pounds.
anyway, he didn't do much reading or research this time. he read the book the last time he started atkins, but that was about 2-3 years ago.
at my encouragement, he finally started upping his carbs - he stayed on induction way too long, IMHO.
so here's my question - he told me that the reason he was so successful on atkins last time was b/c he would occasionally "shock" his system. he would have beer and pizza one nite and would end up losing weight afterwards ....
this seems bizarre to me, and i've never heard anyone mention such a thing.
he intends to do this on 2/29 (following the 8th week of being on this WOE). he's telling me i should do it too ... but it sounds fishy.
any advice would be appreciated!!

Atkins since 1/6/04
152/143/130

I've heard of people losing weight this way. But do you want to take the chance that you may gain weight? At best it's hit and miss. At worst it's a formula for disaster. JMHO

Rob
310/228.5/180
Me, a skeptic? I trust you have proof.

yes, rob i agree. i am very skeptical (and scared) of doing something like this!
i thought perhaps there might be some truth to it though ...
have any of you ever tried it??

Atkins since 1/6/04
152/143/130

I have had success shoking my system as well. About once every couple of weeks I have pizza or mac and cheese and although I will gain a pound or two it breaks the stall that I am in. One bit of advice if you do this, do it at dinner. At least for me if I cheat at lunch you can count on me to cheat again at dinner.
Oh, yeah, i am male as well so maybe that is just another benefit we have lol lol

really? thanks for the info, BJG. this really interests me ... can any ladies comment? ever done this? w/ success?
did atkins ever address such a thing (shocking the system w/ carbs)?
thanks again...

Atkins since 1/6/04
152/143/130

As much as I can say I don't recommend doing it, I will tell you that I have "cheated" and it has brought me over stalls. For some reason certain foods do not react within ketosis (as well as they should..pizza!) and I remain at the same weight for the first few days and then BAM! I lose two pounds out of no where..Can't justify it, but be very very careful with it!
I work out four days a week so I am sure that may assist with the losses, but I am female and it has happend to me...

Lori, Spring Branch Texas
246/193/160
9/8/2003

C--I don't know about "shocking my system" but I have gone off plan 3 times so far in 7 weeks and (knock HARD on wood) I haven't gained and have continued to lose. Though, I haven't lost much since induction--about 5lbs--but I haven't gained either. I wouldn't go off plan just to "shock" the system. I think it's a slippery slope toward going back to the WOE that made us turn to LCing in the first place IMHO.

Cherub
304/281/160
5'9"
Started Atkins 01/04/04

I have heard of some on this site doing a more moderate "shock". The idea is to raise your carbs (legal) to a higher level for a day or two and then drop back to your CCLL. Supposedly it reassures the body that we are not in a famine and it can let go of the fat. As I recall there was some success with breaking stalls that way. Pizza and beer sound a bit "over the top". Tom Venuto in his ebook "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" mentions a similar thing. It was discussed some time ago on the exercise board. Maybe a search on BFFM would turn it up.

Rave
232/166/130
57yo. 5'2"
Started Atkins 6/1/02

I experienced this a couple of times earlier on with this WOL, but I don't make a habit of it. I have been VERY good the last few months and am very stalled. I think my body may have caught onto this strategy and I don't want to chance it now. This is also a slippery slope for people who have a hard time having "regular" carbs and not binging. This can be very dangerous. I prefer to up my carbs now with very legal stuff. I think my loss will start up again this spring when I am able to ride my bike again. I workout 3 days a week, but the rest of the time I am a couch fauxtato. So when the weather lightens up I plan on getting more active. I'm afraid to do the damage to my body with processed crap, because I know what it will do to my health. I'm on a better road now and don't want to overturn the apple cart.

Barb - 30 lbs gone FOREVER!
www.iwsgroupinc.com - website design and development

Atkins-3/14/03
174/144/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

My own personal experiance is that it has and does work for me. The reason behind this methode is because our body is very very smart. Like barb stated.. she thinks her body caught onto what she's doing. That is absoutly correct.

I think that if your not comfortable going off LC for a meal.. then perhaps doing a maintance level for a weekend will work well for you. How ever if you do go off LC .. beware.. it is hard to get back on the wagon! Be prepared for it! I have had times where I just couldn't get back on for a week!

I have also seen ppl just up there water intake to break stalls and pauses.

HTH




"No more looking back and saying "what if", now I look forward and see success!"

Tanya
Way of Life since Jan 2003!
102 LBS GONE.. NEVER TO RETURN!
272/170/150<--(next goal)

The first time I started Atkins I cheated after 3 weeks BUT I wouldn't recommend doing it, sometimes it's very difficult to get back on the wagon and you start having cravins.

Gavkins


218/207/110
210/207/195 easter challenge
207/207/177 1st day of summer challenge

A suggestion might be to go on the egg fast instead in order to break through a stall... for more info, just do a search for "egg fast" - basically you eat just eggs for 2-3 days and a bit of veggies - that's it - in any form you want - boiled, omelette, fried, devilled... this has worked very well for many.

Niki
162/185/190
Preggers since 11/10/03
Due 8/16/04
LCing since 10/21/03

The egg fast works VERY well, but is not recommended for people who have been stalled less than 3 weeks. It is also only recommended for only a couple of days. I can only stand it for 1 day!!!

Barb - 30 lbs gone FOREVER!
www.iwsgroupinc.com - website design and development

Atkins-3/14/03
174/144/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

ewww, the egg fast makes me wanna gag just thinking about it. has this worked for you, barb? doing it for just one day?
i'm not really looking to break the stall ... just trying to find out about more about intentionally shocking the system by eating restricted carbs.

Atkins since 1/6/04
152/143/130

A good way to shock the system is to increase one's level of intentional exercise.

If you don't do any, start. If you do, change it up or make it more intense.

I've started gently jogging for 30sec, wait a couple of min. then gently jog again for 30 sec until I've gone at least 20min.