ATKINS DIET - PRE-MAINTENANCE (PM)

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| Atkins Introduction | Induction | Ongoing Weight Loss | Lifetime Maintenance | Fibre/Psyllium Husks | Vitamins/Minerals |

PRE-MAINTENANCE
These are my journal entries for the period I remained on the 'PM' phase of the Atkins weight loss, and diet re-education, programme:

Thursday, December 18, 2003 Atkins Low Carbohydrate Diet - Week 26
Now in week 27. Measurements last Sunday are at the foot of the message.
Last week (week 1 on Pre-maintenance [PRM], since 10Dec03), I upped my intake to around 50g carb level a day. During the week as a whole I lost a further 0.4 kg (0.9 lb), although almost all of this was before I moved from OWL to PRM, indicating that perhaps 50g carb a day is a little too high for me. From about Saturday last I therefore eased back to around 45g carb a day. Chest, waist and hips showed small reductions - 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 inches respectively – overall losses so far are 5.4, 12.9 and 9.3 inches respectively. Since last Sunday, I seem to have dropped a further 0.2 kg (0.4 lb) – indicating that perhaps 45g carb a day is where I’ll remain for most of my time on PRM, but I won’t know this for sure for a few weeks yet. To get the additional 5g carb a day, I’ve been adding a few more nuts and small additional amounts of vegetables.
Supplements – no change.
Cheating this week – none.
Diet stage – Pre-maintenance (45g carbs a day) from 10 Dec.

I’m now in final preparation for Christmas. I had been promising myself a small roast potato with my main meal on Christmas Day (which will be Venison), but I’ve more or less lost interest in this, so may not bother, but I shall certainly be having things such as Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli, which I adore, in larger quantities than a strict ‘Atkins’ portion would allow. I also plan to allow myself a poached fresh fig (poached in a syrup of Splenda with some Cointreau). I always make special chocolates at Christmas (‘mendiants’ using plain 70% cocoa chocolate in some and white chocolate in others) and will have one of each myself, although not on the same day. I think these ‘mendiants’, which are topped with nuts and dried fruit, are much nicer than most commercially-produced chocolates, except good quality Belgian, and I use them for my Christmas Eve drinks party. I won’t be buying any Belgian chocolates this year, except to give as gifts.
Future reports here: Now that I’m on PRM, I plan to put a report on my progress here only every two or three weeks, so my next report is not likely to be until around 6 – 8 January 2004. Meantime, a Joyous Christmas and a Peaceful and Happy New Year to anyone who reads this.
Age 51 - 1m69 (5'7") Start - 98kg (216.1 lb) BMI/34 15JUN03
Target - 65kg (143.3 lb) BMI/22.5
Current – 68.0kg (149.9lb) BMI/23.5 14DEC03 - last Sunday
Loss to date – 30.0kg (66.2lb)

Monday, January 12, 2004 Atkins Low Carbohydrate Diet - Weeks 27 to 30
Now in week 31. Measurements last Sunday are at the foot of the message.
In the past 4 weeks (weeks 2 to 5 on Pre-maintenance [PRM]), I have remained broadly on around 45g carb a day. I seem successfully to have slowed my rate of weight loss down so that over the 4 weeks I lost a further 1.5kg (3.3lb). The results each week were not precisely even - it would have been surprising if they had been - but I am very happy I managed to negotiate Christmas and New Year without major dietary mishap, even though I did allow myself some latitude with a few chocolates and candied fruit.
My weight is now (as at Sunday 11th January) 66.5kg, a reduction of 31.5kg since I began (or 69.5lb) - I now have 1.5kg (3.3lb) to reach my target of 65kg. Measurement indicators for the 4 weeks: - chest down a further 0.4 inches to 35.7 inches ( total reduction so far 5,8 inches); - waist down a further 0.6 inches to 31.5 inches (total reduction so far 13.5 inches); - hips down 0.6 inches to 38.6 inches (total reduction so far 9.9 inches).
Supplements – no change.
Cheating this week – none.
Diet stage – Pre-maintenance (45g carbs a day) from 10 Dec.

I mentioned above that I had allowed myself some latitude over the festive period. As well as some of my own home made chocolates (I make 'mendiants' using dark and white chocolate, topped with nuts and candied fruit - much better than anything you can buy, with the exception of good quality Belgian chocolates such as 'Godiva' or 'Hediard' in my opinion), I also allowed myself one medium roasted potato on Christmas Day with my main meal. I also had a certain amount of champagne - maybe a couple of glasses each day over a three-day period - and a very few glasses of wine. It was all very enjoyable, but I did notice some cravings beginning to creep back in, which led to a couple of illicit, but fortunately minor, 'transgressions' in the form of a few too many of my 'mendiants'. Luckily I recognised what was happening and took myself off them completely and about 2 days later (by about 29th December) the cravings had disappeared completely again. Quite obviously this is something I will have to watch out for next year and be aware of the very real physical correlation between consumption of certain things leading to a desire for more. This is one very valuable thing that the 'Atkins' way of eating is teaching me.
Future reports here: Now that I’m on PRM, I plan to put a report on my progress here only every three weeks or so, so my next report is not likely to be until around 2 – 3 February 2004.
Age 51 - 1m69 (5'7")
Start - 98kg (216.1 lb) BMI/34 15JUN03
Target - 65kg (143.3 lb) BMI/22.5
Current – 66.5kg (146.6lb) BMI/23.1 11JAN04
Loss to date – 31.5kg (69.5lb)
Remaining to target – 1.5kg (3.3lb) – est end-Feb/mid-Mar 2004

Wednesday, February 4, 2004 Atkins Low Carbohydrate Diet - Weeks 31 to 33
Now in week 34. Measurements last Sunday are at the foot of the message.
In the past 3 weeks (weeks 6 to 8 on Pre-maintenance [PRM]), I have been trying to assess exactly where my CCLM (Criticial Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance) will turn out to be. Latest estimate is that it will turn out to be somewhere around 47g or 48g carb a day, although I suspect that it might be as high as 52g assuming I increase slightly the regular jogging I am now doing – this will become increasingly easy as the Spring approaches. However for the remainder of PRM I am remaining on around 46g carb a day.
During the 3 weeks I lost a further 0.9kg (2.0lb), representing a somewhat slower rate than the last time I posted. My weight is now (as at Sunday 1st February) 65.6kg, a reduction of 32.4kg since I began (or 71.4lb) - I now have 0.6kg (1.4lb) to reach my target of 65kg. Measurement indicators for the 3 weeks: - chest down a further 0.3 inches to 35.4 inches ( total reduction so far 6.1 inches); - waist down a further 0.5 inches to 31.0 inches (total reduction so far 14.0 inches); - hips down 0.3 inches to 38.3 inches (total reduction so far 10.2 inches).
Supplements – no change (but see below).
Cheating this week – none.
Diet stage – Pre-maintenance from 10 Dec. – now on 46g carb a day.

I suspect that I will reach target over the next 2 weeks and, assuming I am successful, will post here again about a week after that. During this additional week my aim is neither to gain nor lose a measurable amount so confirming, I hope, that I really have established my CCLM. After that my aim will be to gain/lose no more than 1kg (2.2lb) over a ‘prolonged’ period – initial target for that is 3 months.
Although I have mentioned ‘no change’ for supplements, that is in fact not quite true. Following an early New Year severe attack of gout (a malady I have occasionally experienced since my early 20s, when I lived in East Africa) which, after a lot of analysis and careful multiple re-reading of Dr Atkins vita-nutrient solutions book, I have attributed to excessive magnesium intake (which he cautions against in his book). So I cut out the 2 magnesium caplets a day I had been taking, so now only get the minor amount included in my daily multi-vitamin tablet. In conjunction with this, I have dramatically (and temporarily) increased my vitamin C intake (as suggested by him as a remedy for gout) from 500mg to upto 6g a day and doubled my daily dose of pantothenic acid, as well as upping my daily water intake to at least 3 ½ litres. These changes have, I am very glad to say, effectively reduced the swelling of the affected toe so I am now again gradually reducing my daily vitamin C intake back to 500mg and will probably also in the next week revert to the standard dose of pantothenic acid.
Planned supplement changes over the next couple of weeks will involve a change over from my current multi-vitamin to Atkins Basic 3, which is now readily available in the UK. This will happen when the multi-vitamin I use at present runs out – I see no need to make the change until then, although I have already bought a supply of Basic 3. Because of the slightly different composition, I may make minor changes to other supplements I take, but I will mention these the next time I write.
Future reports here: With luck my next report here will be a week after I reach my target, and will probably be around 24 – 25 February 2004.
Age 51 - 1m69 (5'7")
Start - 98kg (216.1 lb) BMI/34 15JUN03
Target - 65kg (143.3 lb) BMI/22.5
Current – 65.6kg (144.6lb) BMI/22.8 1FEB04
Loss to date – 32.4kg (71.4lb)
Remaining to target – 0.6kg (1.4lb) – est mid-end Feb 2004

Thursday, February 26, 2004 Atkins Low Carbohydrate Diet - Weeks 34 to 36
Now in week 37.
I reached target!!
I reached target on Thursday 12th February 2004 and confirmed this on my next Sunday ‘reference date’ which was 15th February, when my weight was 64.8 Kg (142.9 Lb). This is a slightly greater loss than my original target of 65 Kg (143.3 Lb) and I did this quite deliberately to make sure I really had done it. My CCLM ('Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance') is 48g carb a day. The following Sunday (22nd February) my weight was almost the same, having varied only by about 0.1 Kg (0.2 Lb) so far as I could see.
Overall I have reduced my weight since I started this WOE on 15th June 2003 by 33.3 Kg (73.4 Lb) - that's a few pounds in excess of 5 stones!! Measurement indicators for the last 3 weeks: - waist down a further 0.1 inches to 30.9 inches (total reduction 14.1 inches); - hips down 0.3 inches to 38.0 inches (total reduction 10.5 inches); - thighs down 0.2 inches to 21.7 inches (total reduction 6.8 inches); and if I can stay at these levels for the foreseeable future I will be perfectly contented.
A few weeks back I got myself a couple of pairs of 31 inch waist jeans and they are extremely comfortable, although at the same time I also got a few pairs of 32 inch waist chinos as I didn't quite yet have the courage to go for 31 inch for those, too, but whilst they fit very well I think that the next lot I purchase in a little while will very probably be 31 inchers as well (assuming I haven't allowed myself to 'balloon' meantime - fat chance!!)
I won't write here again about my 'Atkins' experiences for roughly another 3 months (toward the end of May 2004) - that's my initial significant target period to remain roughly the same weight as I am now.

Age 51 - 1m69 (5'7") Start - 98kg (216.1 lb) BMI/34 15JUN03
Target - 65kg (143.3 lb) BMI/22.5
Current – 64.7kg (142.7lb) BMI/22.5 22FEB04
Loss to date – 33.3kg (73.4lb)
Target reached!

Future entries are in the 'Lifetime Maintenance (LM)' page.

| Atkins Introduction | Induction | Ongoing Weight Loss | Lifetime Maintenance | Fibre/Psyllium Husks | Vitamins/Minerals |

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