Tag Archives: maintenance

The Atkins Diet is probably the most well known low-carb plan in existence. Dr. Robert Atkins devoted his life to teaching people about healthy living and weight loss. Despite his success with a myriad of patients, his efforts were scoffed at and deemed dangerous by so-called experts in the health field. Thankfully the medical community is starting to realize the benefits of low-carb living and are finally showing Dr. Atkins the respect he deserved while he was still alive.

It's been nearly a year since we have checked in on Suzy to see how she is doing after reaching her goal and maintaining it. I recently caught up with her, still cheering others on at her favorite low carb newsgroup, and asked her to bring us up to date on how things are going.

You've lost the weight. You got on the scales one morning and there it was, your goal weight. Or you went to the gym and had your body fat percentage checked and found out that you were already below your goal body fat percentage, even though you hadn't gotten to goal weight. Or you finally got into that goal outfit, that goal dress or pant size.

In 1996 I weighed 208 (or maybe more) and wore size 22 jeans. Two years ago this month I hit a body fat percentage of 24% and realized that at 137 I had reached goal. At 5'-4", I wore sizes 8 and 10.

In the movie Cast Away, Tom Hanks character is marooned on a deserted island where for four years he consumes a nearly perfect low carbohydrate diet of crab and coconut. On this Paleolithic diet it is no surprise that his body becomes sculpted, lean and strong. Of course, we could all do that if we were in such a situation. If the only foods available to us were the healthiest of low carb foods we would never be tempted, would we?