Atkins diet blog

Hi everyone, I, too, saw the program concerning the Atkins diet, out of
England. It was presented from a negative viewpoint, so of course, it would
be very worrying to whoever saw it. I, and many others who have not ever
been interviewed, have had none of the problems listed, and have lost
weight, and felt great. (I’ve lost over 37 pounds).
I was a journalist for years, and got out of it because of these very types
of programs. Ethically and morally, I could not stomach what was being asked
of me, and others to create a show, article or whatever was required of
me(working in TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, at various times).
Example: when working to put an advertisement in Good Housekeeping, my
employer started selling siding made from steel, after years of only
aluminum. We did not use new pictures for the advertising, we simply used
aluminum pix, and called it steel. When leaving Sav’h, Georgia to move
home, we saw a man (in the 60’s) holding a knife up in front of him, and
saying to the crowd, “We will be peaceful to get our rights. We will not use
these weapons (he used the knife to show what was not going to be used.).
When we arrived in Ohio, the papers stated that he had said, “Get out our
weapons, etc.”…..nothing like what was happening. I could go on and on
about what I’ve seen, and was required to write about, and interview people
about, and believe me, the editors didn’t want anything that wasn’t
sensational. “Everyone is fine on Atkins” is not news…”You will get sick,
etc.” is news, especially said by 3 doctors. What better people to use?
When I took a statistics class to be a psychotherapist, we learned that all
statistics could be slanted for what a person wants to prove. Man bites dog
statistically can be proven that it is happening every day, if one so wants
to prove such a statement.
There are many people who have problems with WW, SBD, and all other ways of
eating. Each program of weight loss is different; if this were not so,
there would be only ONE way. By now, most of us know that low-fat does not
work, because the manufacturers put ingredients in during the processing to
make it palatable. And there are many others that do not work for some, yet
work for others.
We must all make intelligent choices, but not let a biased program make your
decision for you. Get both sides, and then decide. We women(sorry, guys)
have come too far in being allowed to think and make decisions to let the
newspapers, or TV programs, or anyone else to make those decisions for us.
I’m not for Atkins, I’m not for WW, I’m not for SBD….I’m for what makes us
all healthy. If the program was scary, then I think each person make a
decision whether this was pertaining to them, and if so, to change to
another way of eating. Wow, difficult to know what to believe anymore, isn’t
it? (How many people know what GOOD is being done in Iraq? All I hear, and
read is the negative and how many are getting killed…what about the other
news over there?)
By the way, these 3 doctors did not do so good, but….my two best friends
are doctors, and they are the ones who told me about Atkins, as they
continue to lose weight and are happy with the program. I then made a
decision after reading the book and comparing other ways. Again, hope all
of us learn to sort the ‘crap’ out from the good stuff in life.
For those who may be worried, talk with your doctor, but don’t let one
biased program make a decision for you. You may not be able to do Atkins,
but that is a whole other issue. This issue I’m writing about is the
negative image some try to give a product, program, or idea, just to make
news. We must not believe everything we see, read, or hear…..let’s all
make choices from facts.

I started Atkins in August after weighing in at the highest I have
ever weighed. I lost 15 pounds in the first month, but then the
weight loss stopped. I got frustrated and started going back to my
old habits. I have gained back 6 of those pounds and will be starting
today on induction. Anyone out there that has lost/gained and lost
again?
I just need some inspiration, especially during the holiday season.

I have learned a few things from T-day.
1. I will have only a low carb Christmas dinner because I will do all of the
cooking.
2. It takes too long to get back to where I was before cheating, so it is not
worth it.
3. The carbs did not even taste as good as I remembered them tasting.
4. If I had not cheated, the three pounds I had to lose again, could have put me
closer to my goal when I lost them.
5. Sugar makes me cranky and tired.
I have been doing strict induction since Sunday and I still have one more pound
to go before I reach the weight I was on T-day morning. I will never cheat
again. I can see that if I had not cheated, I would be closer to my mini goal
of 150 lbs by Christmas. I do not think I will make that goal now. But I am
going to try. I will stay on strict induction until Christmas.
Jane
186/156/110 July 24, 2003 total loss 30lbs
Jon
207/178/170 July 26, 2003 total loss 29lbs
Ninety eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking,
honest Americans. It’s the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity.
But then, we elected them.
–Lily Tomlin

In a message dated 12/02/03 6:44:49 AM Eastern Standard Time, awawka@…
writes:
it’s got caffiene and is made with nutrasweet, both no-no’s on induction!

Hi
I am in the Uk and last night there was a programme on TV about a monitored
Atkins test.
Three UK doctors had a full health check before going on the Atkins diet for
a month, then the were tested again. Before starting the diet they all had
low cholesterol and were given a clean bill of health.
One woman Doctor who was younger, wasn’t massively over weight and had a
hectic life style and vigorous training programme did well losing 11lbs and
the tests showed her bad cholesterols went down and she lost a little of her
body fat even though she had cheated a couple of times and even drank
champagne.
But I found what happened to the other two very worrying.
The other older woman was quite a bit larger. She stuck to the book
rigorously but only managed to loose 5lbs during the month and had felt
tired for most of the time. However when the month was up she was pleased
at having lost some weight and was going to continue with the Atkins in the
hopes that she could loose more until she read the results of her “after”
health check since her bad cholesterol count had gone up from 2.7 to 6.9 and
she had actually gained body fat rather than losing it.
However what happened to the male doctor was more worrying.
He was in his early forties, didn’t look overweight and already did a lot of
track type training but he said he needed to loose a few pounds. Went on
Atkins felt OK at first, cheated near the beginning because he took a flight
to Boston and had to eat in-flight food and had a few drinks on the flight
but otherwise stuck to the diet and exercise requirements. After a while
he became constipated and three weeks into the diet developed stomach cramps
which got bad enough for him to be admitted into hospital where he as told
the stop the diet immediately. His tests showed elevated bad cholesterol
levels and increased body fat.
He returned to the old style three meals a day with carbs and the problem
cleared and he has had no repeat, he lost 7lbs on the diet.
All three experienced tiredness, irritability and concentration gaps during
the trial and not the increased energy levels the book promises.
When Atkins was approached about it they said the diet has a very tight
structure and if you cheat then you are not on the Atkins and whatever
happens is down to you - yet my book clearly says if you eat something that
isn’t allowed don’t let it bother you just go back to the programme the next
day and that is what the two doctors who cheated did and they ignored the
fact that the third doctor hadn’t cheated but still experienced the same
problems. As to the male doctors need for hospital treatment they said he
must have had an existing intestinal problem ignoring the fact that he had
been given a clean bill of health before starting the programme and that the
‘intestinal’ problem had never occurred before and immediately cleared up
when he stopped Atkins.
The programmes conclusions were that the diet didn’t suit everyone and there
was no sure fire way of telling if you were one of the lucky few it would
suit - in fact in their test only suited one of the three people on it and
that if you were not one of the few it did suit you risked elevated
cholesterol levels and an increased risk of developing heart, stroke,
kidney, bowel and diabetes problems.
I find all of this very worrying
My cholesterol levels were in the 6’s before I started this, I have also
been on the diet for a month, am more tired than I used to be and yesterday
we measured ourselves to find I have gained an inch round the waist despite
loosing 7lbs in weight.
Has anyone else shared these problems? as I am worried enough to consider
coming off the diet and returning to a more balanced lower fat way of
living.
—
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.534 / Virus Database: 329 - Release Date: 31/10/2003

Donna,
The only thing questionable that I see is that you wrote is:
or pam with a slice of ham cut up in it or bacon crumbled in it with cheese.
Margarine is not allowed on Atkins, it has lots of carbs and transfats. You
can use butter or pam though.
Watch your consumption of cheese, only 3-4 oz. are allowed daily. I’m
unsure about Cremora. Does it have carbs?
Really though 18lbs. is A LOT to lose in 30 days. You are obviously doing
something right.
Keep up the good work!
Laura
—
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.542 / Virus Database: 336 - Release Date: 11/18/2003

Today is day one of my 2 week induction. I am desparate to lose the
baby weight from my pregnancies. Yes I am still trying to lose from
baby #1 LOL! My brother lost a ton of weight on this program and has
kept it off successfully for almost 2 years now. I finally decided to
give it a try myself.
I am still nursing my son and although I know the book doesn’t
recommend being on the diet while nursing does anyone know what the
effects might be?
Any tips on how to make it through the next two weeks would be
wonderful! I picked a terrible time(perfect though really) to start
this as the holiday season is my favorite time of year with all of
the goodies.
Kelli

I start induction tomorrow.
I have spent the last week reading the book. I got some stuff
today. Tomorrow will start induction. I am scared to death. I am a
very picky eater. I am not into veggies very much but have made up my
mind to try to learn to eat new ones. I weighed today and was
horrified to see 311. I have always been fat but never this fat. I
also am addicting to caffeine=—Pepsi to be exact. I have spent the
last 2 weeks trying to adjust to diet coke. I usually drink close to
a 12 pack a day. I tried to go off Pepsi comletely. Boy was that a
mistake. Withdraw headaches and I dont have the patience to do
that. So will do 2 diet cokes a day. One in the mornign. and one
at night. Will then decrease that down until I am off of it
completely. John, I read you post about getting frustrated when you
see post for menus. I know, I want to see them just to see what
other people eat. It may not be something I would eat but at least
it is an idea. I have no imagination. So I need all the menus to
give me some suggestions/and wants. Today I had a Grilled chicken
salad from McDonalds. No coutons. just the salad, dressing and a
bowl of green beans.
So here is a few question.
Is there a book/site etc that will have carbs counts for places like
McDonalds salads, Burger King sites etc.
I am still learning so please believe me when I say I will be coming
here a lot for suggestions, encouragemets etc
Teresa

I am hopefully starting tomorrow and am trying to get everything
clear.
Is salad dressing allowed on induction? I read people using it, but
doesn’t it have sugar? I’d like to use it if I can.
What about Atkins bread and crackers? It is not listed on
acceptable foods, but in the Atkins online shop, they are both
listed for all 4 phases.
I think that would help keep me on track if I could use them to
spread some egg salad, chicken salad, etc on.
Thanks.

Hi people!!! I am new to the group and to my diet (again). I was on
the Atkins diet a couple of years ago to loose 10 to 15 lbs.. it
worked great!!! Now here I am needing to loose about 15 lbs again.
I really have been having some trouble in the past few years with my
weight… my boyfriend of 4 years loves to eat.. as do I (but I have
no will power when we swine together!!) so it has been a bad spiral!!
I haev decided this time to get it off and keep it off! Back to my
old ways of eating better and doing more (off my butt!!)
The one thing that I do on my induction that I guess you shouldn’t is
drink coffee and diet Coke.. I restrict my intake of these but I do
drink them.. this has never been an issue with my diet.. how about
anyone else???
Thanks for having me here… Now back to my eggs with cheese
breakfast!!
Peace!
Mary