Here is the after shot
Posted on 12/05/2002 3:22:43 PM PST by Senator Pardek
I lost 50 lbs in slightly over three months following Atkins, and never once felt the horrible hunger pangs that have driven me insane for many years. These two things alone make the entire lc woe worth it.
The mechanics of reducing carbohydrates from one's diet actually allows one to consume more calories than normal and still lose weight - "... it is possible to lose weight on a low carb diet without a restriction in calories, and even with an increase in caloric intake!" (italics added) - Jan McBride, M.D.[taken from http://www.low-carb-diet-safety.com/critics.htm]
The criticism of Atkins seems to be predominantly in the realm of: the weight loss isn't fat but water and muscle, one's cholesterol increases, one's risk of heart disease increases and so forth.
However, each of these objections are demonstrably disproven in me. Before I began Atkins, I weighed 320 lbs. I was miserable, always hungry and nothing I did would keep the weight off. My cholesterol was extremely high, I had high blood pressure and was lethargic.
When I began low-carbing, I had a monthly body test performed at my local gym (where they hooked me up to electrodes and ran an electric current through me) to determine my body composition changes.
Before I started low carbing, my "Water Content" was 59 liters. Three months later, after I lost 50 lbs, my water content was 61 liters, a GAIN of 2 liters. As for muscle mass, before I started LCing, my "Lean Mass" was 182 lbs. Three months later, it was 183.2 lbs, a GAIN of 1.2 lbs.
The ONLY thing that decreased was my "Fat Mass", which dropped 55.6 lbs.
Thus, there's simply no doubt the weight I lost was SOLELY fat. I also had a physical done two months ago and was extremely pleased to learn my cholesterol has plummeted. It is now 5.47 mmol/L, still slightly high, but nowhere near the 8.12 mmol/L it used to be. My triglicerides are 1.19 mmol/L, vastly lower than the 4.16 mmol/L, my LDL cholesterol has dropped to 3.64, still slightly high, but less than the earlier 4.35 mmol/L, but my HDL is now a perfect 1.29 mmol/L whereas before it was only .48 mmol/L. My high blood pressure has disappeared and I now have a healthy range of 116/80 to last October's 144/74. The nutritionist at the gym was utterly shocked to realize the LC way of eating actually worked! It was the opposite of what he'd been taught in school.
It is unfortunate I began eating refined flour and refined sugar products again, I gained back ten pounds, however, I've gone back to LC, so, hopefully, I'll lose the poundage I gained.
Finally, I don't understand your hostility to Atkins or the low-carb way of eating - all I can say is "it works for me." I've divulged details of my life and health to provide evidence that the LC diet works. I'm healthier than I've been in a very long while. And, I'm happy.
Please bear my case in mind before you condemn something that can actually save a morbidly obese person's life.
From the looks of folks around us, the dropout rate for conventional high carb/low cal diets is much higher than 25%. I wonder if that number is really representative of reality. I suspect that dropout rates for both diets to be in the neighborhood of 60% at least the first time around. Maybe higher. Drastic changes to eating habits isn't easy.
That said, your recipe for exercise looks good. I don't run (hurts too much) but I walk either on the treadmill or around my hilly neighborhood at least 4 times per week. I lift 2-3 times per week depending on what shift I'm working. And, lately, I've taken a closer look at what I eat. I use about 3400 calories per day to maintain my weight, which is somewhat higher than the 12-per-pound rate you cited. But, my metabolism is a little more high-strung than average. YMMV.
Absolutely correct.
It all comes down to calories. All diets work. The problem is that many folks don't change their lifestyles or eating habits.
Once they lose the weight they go right back to their unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits.
My thoughts are based primarily on the dozens of people that I've seen make great strides. These folks include my brother-in-law, several people who train heavily with weights, and the noted gang of freepers. It is effective, based on my admittedly non-scientific observation.
There are parts of the diet that I am starting to include in my own eating habits. I'm not really a candidate for significant weight loss, but I'm always open to improvement.
I have! She need only make arrangements to drop by and pick it up!
Here is the after shot
My best reason is that I lost 35 lbs on Atkins...WHEN I followed the diet as described in his book. My cholesterol numbers improved dramatically and my triglycerides took a nose dive. That was definitely part of the study, but this guy somehow muddled even that.
Jealousy of a guy who has created the most successful diet ever and made a ton of money off of it (as any good capitalist would) causes people to say and write very strange things, I guess.
Happy Birthday!!!
Only if you want a high risk way of getting salmonella. A decade ago it was mostly on the shells. But since then the salmonella has gotten inside the egg itself -- especially in the eastern part of the US.
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