Bill's Comment Page

Atkins Low Carbohydrate Diet - Weeks 34, 35 and 36

I reached target on Thursday 12th February 2004!! Before and after shots - the one on the left dates from November 2002 and the one on the right was taken on 15th February 2004.

It was pretty obvious by Wednesday evening that I was there, but I preferred to wait another day before confirming it to myself; between then and the next 'reference' date on Sunday 15th February my weight had not varied discernibly so I then felt confident that I had identified my CCLM ('Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance') as 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. I have quite deliberately slightly exceeded my original target, but only by about 0.3 Kg (0.6 Lb) so that my weight a couple of evenings ago was 64.7 Kg (142.7 Lb). Overall I have reduced my weight since I started this WOE ('way of eating') 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, although I will shortly put up a link to some more detailed weekly diary entries I kept online during my weight loss period; they contain pretty detailed information about my diet and perhaps may be of practical interest to others who are thinking of giving the Atkins WOE a go.