"It is simply not something any sane person can do for their whole life." [I][U]

I agree with you whole heart-t-lee, Atkins is working for me because I am a little off center and, am not sane. Thank you Dr Atkins for stepping up and developing a WOE, Not a diet, for us insane people. hehehehehehehe

PS I feel sorry for all the sane low fat WOE people.

I think you can't do it for the rest of your life, but I know folks who have been doing it for years. I have always said folks have to find what works for them....and Atkins isn't for everyone...but it does work for me

Glad you found a plan you enjoy. I agree with Liz, though. Why would someone who doesn't like meats even bother to look at the Atkins plan?

You absolutely need to find a WOE you are willing to do for life. I am glad you are happy with your plan.

"you can eat anything you want, just eat less of it,"

The above quoted statement is not universally successful for everyone. As an insulin resistant diabetic, carbs are poison to me. A modest serving of pasta or sugar sends my blood glucose up. I must avoid these foods to improve my long term health - regardless of weight loss.

On Atkins, I maintain awesome blood glucose levels (my endocrinologist is very happy with my WOE) and lose weight.

Atkins is hard at times, that much is certain. And more people do cheat on it quite a bit because eating wheat is what we all become accustomed too, and fed, as children.

Everyone's body is different and will respond differently. That's why some diets work great with some people and horrible with others. Even I modified my lowcarb diet to work with my body's needs and what it can and cannot tolerate. Seems like you found exactly what you need for things to work for you. That is fantastic news. Congrats.

That's the whole trick in loosing weight...finding exactly what will work for you.

For me, I have to stay lowcarb because my body doesn't digest grains well at all. Horrible, and painful at times. I have found things that I can tolerate, thankfully almond flour is one of them.

I have just come back to Atkins after 3 years off of it. Of course, I lost lots of weight on Atkins, gained it all back when I stopped. I stopped because I got bored eating the same things all of the time. I stayed on Induction all 3 years (more or less) and who wouldn't get bored, right? It took me a long time to lose weight and I got discouraged when I hit a plateau. HOWEVER, I was not eating vegetables, except for kale, and I was using too much Splenda. This time around, I am making SURE that I am getting at least 10 grams of veggies, mostly in salads, and I am drinking more water. I have been on it one week today and have lost 8 pounds but tons of inches already!!! I am doing it right so I can stay on this WOE for life because it is truly the only way of eating that suits my metabolism and autoimmune issues. The last time on it, my cholesterol and my triglycerides (which are genetically high) went down to normal levels and I came off the meds.
I just came of the Biggest Loser Club diet. WoW - talk about CARBS! I was required to eat MORE of everything on that diet than I was normally. I felt fat, bloated, my intestines HATED it and the scale just went up and up. Mind you, I do exercise. I have a Y membership where I do strength (free weights and circuit training) 3 days a week but I walk at least 4 miles EVERYDAY. The last time on Atkins, I did not exercise at all.
Summing it up is you have to KNOW Atkins to do it right, you have to follow it to a tee especially at first, and everyone metabolises and tolerates foods differently. You just have to find what works for you, stick with it and be positive about your endeavor!

Thanks for letting me ramble!

cindy
ptown va

Aha. I just knew this was coming when I started reading the thread.

http://www.biblelife.org/hunza.htm

"As someone who has lived and worked in the Hunza and Baltistan region of northern Pakistan for a decade, it is important to first debunk the myth that the Burushushki, Wakhi and Shina people of the Hunza region are blessed with the lives of Methusula. This was actually a myth which gained momentum when it was written up by Dr. Alexander Leaf, in the January 1973 issue of National Geographic magazine. There is absolutely no scientific validity to his claim. People of the Hunza suffer from malnutrition and nutrition deficiencies just as much as any other remote mountain region in SE Asia. Although the predominantly Ismaeli faith (branch of Shi-ite muslims) are progressive and relatively better off than most of their neighbours in nearby regions, they will all tell any visitor, that their life expectancy is around 50 - 60 years, just like any other region of northern Pakistan."

Good luck on a plan that never worked for me.

Bo

I'm sorry Atkins wasn't what you wanted it to be. I have found Atkin's to fit my needs, with a little tweaking. I've learned to listen to my body and eat better for it. Aside from a certain TOM, I don't have cravings for sweets. It's wonderful! I have a friend on a low-cal/low-fat (for the most part) diet. She's losing on it; however, since she weighs in at a doctors every week, she will eat abnormally low amounts of food (under 900 calories a day) just so he won't fuss at her for not losing weight. I'm worried about her, actually. Also, the doctor gives her an energy pill, phentermine, and a weekly shot of B12 to keep her energy level up and appetite down. On Atkins, I haven't needed any of that as it gives me natural energy and appetite suppression. Yeah, she can eat french fries, cakes, etc. as long as she stays within her 1200 cal., but who is eating better?

The point of any WOE is to make your body work and feel better. This way works for me and my body, and other ways work for others.

Really glad you found a diet that worked for you! I had to search around awhile too before finding something that made my body feel good, gave me energy, satisfied me, etc. I think bodies, metabolisms and lifestyles are different enough to warrant many different reasonable diets. I mean just look at this LC board - we have what -five or so main diets, each with their own menus and levels of fat and protein and carbs. Some people try out two or three until they find one that works for them. Some hit it on the first time, most have to tweak and try out different levels of calories and fat and carbs before they find what works for their individual body. So your experience seems to parallel a lot of ours in that way.

What's most important is that you feel good and your body is healthy and you're achieving your goals. I'm glad you found a good plan for you and I hope you continue to do well on it!

I have a hard time believing that ketosis is solely responsible for hunger reduction. As a Type I diabetic, I've been in full blown ketoacidosis, secreting 40 times the number of ketones as someone in keotosis and ravenously hungry. I think hunger often speaks at a cellular level and many of the obese low carbers are also battling metabolic disorders, often in the form of Syndrome X, type 2 diabetes and other disorders of the adipose system.

I've often been bored with my diet, and I'm on the Bernstein plan of 30 carbs per day or life because it is the best WOE to control blood sugar and let's face it, insulin is the key hormone everyone is trying to circumvent. Insulin is the fat storage hormone, and is the major reason for your excess adipose tissue. The more insulin required to cover your dietary intake, the more difficult it is to control your weight. And the low carb diet is the penultimate insulin regulator.

Yet, I do get bored occasionally with the diet and I'm not a natural meat eater. At those times, I have to take critical look at my dietary *rut* and think about all the foods I truly love and come up with ways to make a reasonable facsimile of them in a low carb version. You have to get into the kitchen on this WOE; there is no getting around it. It doesn't have to be all burgers and meat roll-ups.

For breakfast I had a couple of Ooopsies with sugar free caramel syrup and whipped cream. Lunch was high-protein soy pancakes with sugar free syrup and supper was shrimp kabobs on the barbie with 3 kinds of peppers, eggplant and vadalia onions. You can raise this WOE to the level of haute cuisine. Or you can get stuck in a rut of the same old, same old...

Wine actually lowers blood sugar *sips her glass of Ripasso* and is not necessarily contraindicated on a low carb diet.

Your sugar craving is a definite sign of a metabolic disturbance. I think about sugared foods once in a blue moon and a nice piece of low-carb cheesecake generally cures me very quickly, I've been drinking diet coke for 30 years and it has never spurred me to crave sugar or lust for carbs. Albeit, my metabolic disorder is one of a different nature, so you can't really generalize about triggers or anything else without taking the whole person into account.

Speaking for myself, I would probably gain on a 2500 calorie "normal" diet with the ensuing carbs because the insulin requirements would be excessive and all the guessing to cover such a large amount of carbs would result in high BG levels and/or hypos which would require glucose. On the 30 carbs per day I now eat, I never count calories and I couldn't imagine eating 5,000 of them because I would be stuffed long before that. But I eat as much fat as I desire and eat until i'm no longer hungry. And that is what happens when you are in the right place metabolically.

It seems to me that both you and your parents haven't gotten to that "right place." You are now heavy enough to create a deficit at 2500 calories, but that won't always be the case. At some point it will take less than 2000 calories to cause a deficit to lose weight and the greater weight loss, the greater the deficit required. A calorie is not a calorie is not a calorie. I weigh less than 140 lbs and at 5'10", it is a struggle sometimes NOT to lose weight at 30 carbs. Thank God for whipped cream.

Cheers,

Susan

Nope. I eat MORE now. Nice try though.

I am glad that you found something that works for you. That is what really matters.

Losing weight is hard. Period. I have tried low calorie and I was so hungry. But thats me. I gained my weight with my pregnancies and never really tried to hard to get it off. I did try WW for awhile and I hated it. All my life though I have eaten low fat and low cal. Baked this and baked that. No butter, I used to eat Smart Balance. Turkey bacon, low fat dressings... you get the idea.

I can say that this has been the most successful WOE for me. I feel really good on it with lots of energy. I can eat "forbidden" foods. I have to admit that I do get bored and frustrated especially right now because summer is coming. We go to the beach and boardwalk and let me tell you... there is nothing but high carb foods. French fries (that are to die for. People come from all areas to eat these) funnel cakes, caramel popcorn. I will not budge and will not cheat because I want to get this weight off and keep it off. I focus on what I can eat.

What I am not understanding is how you say its low calorie. Its not. I eat according to what my body tells me to eat. Some days I am not really hungry and I eat until satisfaction... and yes, those days are low calorie. But I don't try to eat that way. Other days I eat an upwards of 1800+ calories. This WOE is very satisfying. There are so many awesome recipes that you can make. You have too cook for yourself to stay on this WOE. This WOE is not easy for some. Many people look for simplicity all the time and eat fast food and we all know that this is not healty. I struggled in beginning. I got over the "hump" and went into ketosis and was and still AM determined to get this weight off and keep it off. I personally am developing self esteem again. I look so much better. I am not about to mess that up. I look forward to eating my steak and asparagus, my cheeseburgers minus the bun that is cooked on the grill, my fried chicken minus the breading. I eat lots of veggies and drink lots of water and feel great about it. There are a lot of options out there. I do not crave carbs in the least. I don't care what people say about Atkins. It has a bad rep in many peoples eye but if you read the books you will totally understand how it works and what health benefits it offers. I eat whole foods and its awesome. (cauliflower pizza YUM! An awesome alternative to pizza)

Well, I rambled too long. But bottom line. I eat until I am satisfied. Some days are high cal, some are low. I have truly become accustomed to this WOE and love it. Its way more satisfying the low calorie. Just my opinion though. Many people simply cannot stick with this WOE and thats ok too. But personally, my body is sculpting into something lovely! Plus I feel great too... lots of energy. I am getting my cholesterol checked in another month and know for a fact its going to be good.

Honey, you can have the breading. Mix equal parts full-fat soy flour with ground pork rinds (put the pork rinds in the blender) and whatever spices you desire. Fry the chicken at about 360 F in an oil such as safflower or canola.

Do the same thing with a cheaper cut of beef (like round pummeled with the blunt side of a meat cleaver) for southern country fried steak.

Alastair, I'm just curious, are you trying to actually help people here, or are you trying to attack lifestyles AND religions here? Not the best way to get people to listen to what you have to say.