If I can take the liberty of posting so soon, this question has been nagging me for years in looking at this forum. In doing some internet research, I found that "About half of all women aged 20 to 74 are overweight or obese. The percentages of obese women among African American, Native American and Mexican American women are even higher." Being African American myself and obese, I'm wondering how successful have other AA females in this forum been on Atkins. I've been battling obesity and yo-yo dieting so long, I NEED to know that this way of losing weight is attainable. And yes, I think I've seen two pictures of other AA females on here. They are inspiring. BTW, why am I asking? To dispel my own theory that we seem to hold on to weight like a magnet. I need some encouragement. Thank you.

I hold onto weight like a magnet and I'm not AA. But anyway, low carb/low cal works for me. You gotta make it a way of life though, otherwise the weight just comes back on.

Welcome from another newbie

Don't know if I count, as I'm bi-racial (father black, mother caucasian), but I've been successful so far. I didn't start my journey obese per se, but I do hold weight in areas most common for women of colour (I sit on most of my weight! )

Betcha' ten bucks if you're true to the Atkins WOE and stick with it for a reaonable amount of time, you'll dispel your own theory.

I am African-American, I have had wonderful success on this diet. In my honest opinion, this is THE diet for "African-Americans". I think that we eat too much bread, corn, rice and even beans. We have a very high incidence of diabetes and insulin resistant-type illnesses. We come from a culture who has a high protein diet. Have you ever seen a fat African? I had read,recently, that the reason Blacks were able to survive slavery was they were given mostly scraps of meat. This meat were pieces that the slave owners did not want such as the organs. Fortunately the organs had a higher amount of vitamins in them on top of all of that protein. You are right, African-Americans do hang on to weight because they are insulin resistant. Eating the breads ( cornbread, spoon bread, cracklin bread etc ) and rice, which we eat with everything and beans which are economical...all of these contribute to unbalanced insulin levels which prohibit the manufacturing of glucagon. Glucagon works with insulin as it helps balance sugar, cholesterol and fats, it helps to lower blood pressure. Without balanced insulin levels, glucagon doesn't exist.

What is great is, soul food is a part of this diet. I am having bbq ribs and greens for dinner, tonight. For Memorial day I am making lc fried chicken, greens and mock mac n cheese.

Hi Cjay,

If I may add to the discussion. I've lost 73 pounds with this WOE. Though it was sometimes hard staying motivated, I never felt like I wanted to change my WOE. Becoming lazy and sloppy has caused some anxiety but I got over it. I really like your analogy of a magnet. But though I can't speak for all or even most black women, I can say that for myself, I don't hang on to weight like a magnet. I was able to loose 73 pounds fairly painlessly. I do attract weight like a magnet though, as is obvious by the fact that I got up to 250 pounds fairly quickly. I think food choices and lack of exercise are the primary cause of our obesity problems not so much the fact that we are AA. I hope that makes since.

P.S. Hey CJay....it really really works girl!!!

Gabrielle

Thank you all for your encouragement. Given my age, I’m about at my wits’ end and this, I feel, is my last hope. High BP, diabetes, heart trouble run in my family and when my wgt got up to its’ highest, and I felt ‘chest pain awful,’ I knew it was time to take action. So I went back to what worked best—LC. I’ve never let myself, for various reasons, get past a 20lb loss. I don’t want to be overconfident, however I feel more determined this time to succeed. This may be unrealistic, but I’ve set a loss goal of 70 lbs by 12/31/04, though I’m trying only to focus on day by day. I’m exercising and feel good. I’ve lost much inches as evidenced by my clothes, but like many, I’m tied to the scale and it is frustratingly slow. Unfortunately, I’m one of those that wants 100lbs off in a week. Just came off induction Sunday, have very little appetite, but hoping to experiment with LC recipes as this has to be a WOL as Nancy said. Black, come to think of it, I haven’t seen a fat African!!
Gabrielle, just looked at your pictures. You look great!
Thank you all for your support and much success to you all.

Over one hundred pounds gone, so I must be doing something right. I can believe those stats, but I think now a days, health and fitness is more of a priority with all Americans.

I'm every-racial, and the only parts we know for sure are European and Cherokee (and great Aunt Nivvie and talkin' bout the rest, says we don't want to stir that up, but being from a southern family, I can guess - I love my built-in tan!). I have some really funny stories about people guessing "What I Am". I look kind of like a dark caucasian/hispanic/asian, if that makes sense.

Anyhoo, as a mixed-race person, I've not had any problems. I just have to work at it.

I think for me the problem is being a southener! All the stuff I grew up with - yes there were tons of fresh veggies (I grew up in the country), BUT WE FRIED EVERYTHING. Or we cooked it for hours with a salty slab of fat-back. Or we smothered it in a sugary vinegar sauce.

Man did we fry stuff... And a nice, lovely side of johnny cake or fresh biscuits. That's what I grew up on.

Southern cuisine is just wonderful, but it'll sure put the junk in your trunk.

Hi Cjay!!!

I'm AA and this WOE does work if you work the plan!!!

Best wishes to you on your journey!!!

LMAO!

Good post! I believe that there are differences is where we attract weight and how we carry weight. I have been blessed with the 'sista booty' and thick legs. That part will proably never change. I know I'll never be a stick figure and I don't want to be. I weigh a lot, but when I tell folk how much I weigh they can't believe it. SOme of us have more muscle tone, others not, some have big booty's some don't (my mom for example) I believe that every race/person carries diffrent and that this WOL will work for pretty much anyone. There are adjustments that you can make to help your loss along, for example I don't eat a lot of red meat cause I was told that it tends to bulk you up. But I eat chicken, fish, nuts, greens, etc. THis is the ONLY WOL that has ever worked for me...and I'm soulful (as my friends call it)
Just try it for a month and you'll see!

I think that I speak for everyone especially the sistahs when I say , it is exciting to have you one board. I am 47 years old and I definitely believe that my age plays a part in my gain and slow loss. Back in the day, I could lose a couple of pounds with very little effort.Those days ore gone, however, I have a new woe that can help me get around that. Diabetes and heart disease also runs in my family. I was having many symptoms of low blood sugar which is a precursor to diabetes. My mom became diabetic in her fifties. I am sure that I would have soon become diabetic if I did not make a dietary change. Thank goodness that change meant eating MEAT

The big mistake I made was not having bloodwork done before beginning this diet. Heck, I was mostly considering weightloss when I began this. But I did have my bloodwork done about 2 months after I started Atkins. I had it done again during this past xmas and my HDL cholesterol = 77/ LDL cholesterol = 59 and my glucose is 98. All of these are well within the normal range.


CJAY, goodluck to you and keep up the good work.

Black57

This is a great thread!!! I am a AA female and I believe it is what we want to achieve If you want to loose the weight you can do it!!!! Just remember we were not all made to be stick figure some will still have a juicy booty and thick legs!!!!

Good luck!

My theory is more developed on observation of alcoholism rates, but I think it could loosely be applied to carrying weight = processing carbs. Seems cultures that were "proofed" in cities have just a tiny bit less trouble with carbs, and cultures that have historically been more migratory don't do as well, perhaps because evolution has selected FOR people who could hold on to weight. Could be that the city dwellers didn't need the gene, or it could be that those that died of "excess food storage" (hard to imagine back then) took it out of the population.

Hard to know exactly what's in any one person's history.

My understanding is that much of the Middle East and Europe had the same problems with alcoholism that are now facing many Native American groups, only they happened in Europe with the onset of agriculture and settled living. Them that couldn't drink, died, and left behind people who could handle constant ingestion of fermented fluids. Very broad brush.