I started Atkins Jan 3rd, 2005. Today I had my yearly physical and received my blood tests results:

April 2005:
LDL 2.78 mmol/L
HDL 1.07 mmol/L
Ratio: ?
Triglycerides 1.26 mmol/L
Fasting Glucose 4.1 mmol/L
Blood Pressure 125/75

This is a drastic improvement from my past numbers:

April 2003:
LDL 3.15 mmol/L
HDL 0.92 mmol/L
Ratio: 5.94
Triglycerides 3.02 mmol/L
Fasting Glucose 4.5 mmol/L
Blood Pressure 135/90

These are last year's results from April 2004, I had being playing around with low-carbing but wasn't following it religiously and wasn't losing weight, but my numbers did improve from 2003:

LDL 3.13 mmol/L
HDL 1.08 mmol/L
Ratio: 4.6
Triglycerides 1.71 mmol/L
Fasting Glucose 3.6 mmol/L
Blood Pressure 130/90


My doctor was extremely pleased with my results (although was visably taken aback when I told him the ratio of fat/protein/carbs I eat!) and told me to keep doing exactly what I am doing and we'll test again in 4 months to make sure everything is still okay, which he expects it to be.

Then, I went to see the nurse to get my test results from 2003 and 2004, she looked at my new results and said "These results are excellent." Then she looked at my previous results to give me the numbers and she said "Wow, you have drastically improved your lipid profile, what are you doing?" So, I smiled and proudly said, "Atkins." Her brow furrowed and she said "Oh, you better be careful, Atkins is very dangerous." I just smiled and said "Thank you." and walked out. Arrrrgggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have a lipid profile that she and the doctor just told me is excellent, but Atkins is dangerous

Anyway, wanted to share the numbers with you all, more proof that this really does work.

Great news!

Gotta say tho, you've got better self-control than I would have had!?!?!?!

I would have called her on it and asked her how?????

awesome, congrats!

Trust me, I thought about it, but finally decided to just let it go Oh, and she did say how, she said it was bad for the heart and cholesterol!!

I guess I am just very tired of constantly defending what I am doing and the Atkins plan in general. My success speaks for itself and I am doing this for me, not for the approval of others (this was a difficult realization for me, but very liberating!). If she didn't realize the complete idiocy of what she was saying after praising me for my test results, I doubt that I could have said anything to open her closed mind.

Very true.

My doc's reaction was "I'm glad to see you're finally doing something" Yea, like I've been not trying at all! yea....sat on my arse all day eating candy and fried foods! sheesh! But yea, it's not worth the effort most of the time.

Most doctors and nurses regurgitate what they are taught or what is party line. It's not worth the aggrevation of debating or arguing with them, unless you know they are open-minded. I have found that it is better to give them as little information as possible and answer their questions with ambiguity.

Not too long ago I read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirier (August 8, 2004):

Fessing up to doctor costs drinker his license, A Lebanon County man admitted that he drank a 6-pack a day. A Pa. law required PennDot to be alerted.
Like most people, Keith Emerich thought he could tell a doctor anything. So the 44-year-old print-shop pressman answered honestly when asked during an office visit whether he drank alcohol. Yes, he said, six to 10 Budweisers a day. That candor cost Emerich, of Lebanon, Pa., his driver's license. In a strict reading of a Pennsylvania law that requires physicians to report patients with conditions that might "impair the ability to control and safely operate" a vehicle, the ...

What's next? Will health insurance companies refuse payment if you tell the doctor that you smoke or drink or follow a particular diet?

brpssm, so these results are after induction and a couple months of regular low carb eating? Are you exercising? I hope my numbers improve. I'll go back for a checkup in a few months. Well done.

These numbers are after 4 months of Atkins, no "cheats". I did 2 weeks strict induction, followed by 3+ months of an induction/OWL hybrid which was 20g carbs for 5 days, followed by 25-30grams for 2 days, basically the weekend.

I'm treating myself like a sort of science expirement I wanted to have my 4 months with no exercise to see what happened to my lipid profile. I figured if it was good, my doctor couldn't say it is because of the exercise and not the Atkins WOE. Now, I have started exercising and will go back in 4 months. Hopefully my HDL will improve more and the triglycerides will drop more, which I know exercise should accomplish. My doctor was suprised that I improved my levels and blood pressure so much just with the Atkins WOE and no exercise -- and that was my goal!

What are your numbers like? I know they spike if you test them too soon after starting. Good luck!

Yes that is what's next.

We've already got employers refusing to hire someone who weighs too much, others demanding employees don't smoke, even during off hours. These rulings are being repeatedly held up as being legal.

In this case tho, I can't imagine how this coulnd't be at odds with the new HIPPA regulations. Federal rules outweight state rules, right? On the other hand, docs are supposed to report people with seizures that aren't controlled.

This one is troubling tho....did the man admit to drinking and driving? or just drinking? If he only admitted to drinking, then I don't see how that could be a reportable offense.

That's what I wondered as well...if he drank a 6-pack at night before bed, then he isn't endangering the public, only himself. There must be more to the story...