Since it's been a while since the U.S. went through "Low Carb Mania" and there have been so many untruths and silly stories that have popped up since then that I would like to add my opinions on it, since I was a SUCCESSFUL Low Carber!
Let me TRY to make this short - if you follow a low carb diet CORRECTLY you will:
Let me TRY to make this short - if you follow a low carb diet CORRECTLY you will:
Lose fat and weight
Develop more energy
Have sweeter breath
Lower your blood sugar
Calm your cravings for sugar
This eating plan (I will call it just "Atkins" going forward) also costs you nothing! You don't have to buy special meals, you don't have to join meetings or buy books - I got my Atkins book from the library. After I had done so well on it, I THEN went out and bought his book - I figured he DESERVED my money!
And of course, all the things that will get better just by losing weight:
Lower blood pressure (mine's always been low, so it didn't help mine much!)
Relieve leg pain
and- for me-, it...
Corrected my Mitral Valve Prolapse (felt like my heart was skipping beats - not fatal, but scary and irritating)
Virtually eliminated my Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Cleared up my skin (I had bad skin into my 40's- didn't think it would ever stop - but these first three problems cleared up within the first WEEK I was on the Induction phase!)
A low carb diet (again, followed CORRECTLY) will NOT:
Destroy your kidneys
Raise your bad cholesterol
- Make you lose energy for workouts because you're not "carbing up" (Note, if you are a serious athlete or body builder, you probably DO need to "carb up" - but, then again, someone like you probably doesn't NEED to lose weight!). Your body actually switches to burning FAT for energy if it doesn't have enough carbohydrates - that's the beauty of it!
My Story (if you're curious)
Like a lot of us, when I was young, I could eat anything and not gain weight. And like many of us, as I got older, that started to be true less and less! I myself had tried many low fat diets along with exercise, worked like crazy to lose a few pounds, and then would gain it back (with a few more added on for good measure).
And so, after years of that, I awoke one morning and discovered I had put on about 50 pounds! My legs and back hurt, I saw spots when I bent over, I had digestive problems...I was about 42 years of age at the time, and I felt like a senior citizen! I thought, "Is my life winding down already!?" The worst day was when I stopped into a fast food restaurant to pick up lunch, and the girl behind the counter asked me if I had a Golden Buckeye card! *That's a discount card senior citizens in Ohio (The Buckeye State) can apply for.* I was stunned. I went home, told myself that it was just an ignorant 17 year old who thought everyone over 30 was a senior citizen, but it still got to me. In the middle of my fast food, I broke down and cried for a long time.
So once again, I tried a low fat and exercise program, and, after two months, I had lost six pounds. Big deal. On the verge of giving up again, I came across the website of one of the people I swapped plants with, and HE had a Low Carb story to tell. Like me, he was about the same age, had been in the same overweight state, and also felt like he was too young to be that old. Can't remember much that he wrote, except the phrase, "Screw those low fat idiots!" I thought, "This guy's a mental case", but I read on anyway. He mentioned Dr. Atkins and his book (at the time there was only one), and highly recommended it. Well, I had nothing to lose (so to speak) by that time, so I went to the library and found "Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution".
***NOTE: I started out by first reading that book. I do NOT recommend going by hearsay. DON'T try to guess what you're supposed to do or eat. I will also not explain in detail how to start this eating plan myself - the book does an excellent job of explaining what you do and why you should do it. I followed it explicitly, and that is why it worked for me. ***
I get really tired of people telling me, " I tried the Atkins Diet and I lost weight, but when I stopped, I gained it right back!". Well, DUH! If you go back to eating candy bars and sugar laden soda, yes, you WILL gain it back! People (especially we Americans) think that a "diet" is something you do for a short time, you lose weight, and then drop it completely and none of the weight will ever come back, (magically). While I really believe that someday there may be a wonderful, safe pill we will be able to take to keep thin, it ain't here yet! So until then, this is the best thing I have found.
Even after reading the book, wishful thinking sort of blinded me as to what low carb eating would really do. I read that you could lose 10 to 30 pounds in the first two weeks, the Induction phase. Well, hey, if I lost 30 pounds in two weeks, THAT would be all I needed! I'd be almost thin! In actuality, yes, if I weighed 3oo pounds at the start, I could possibly lose 30 - at my starting weight of 175, 30 pounds in two weeks would not be healthy! Dummy! :o}
..The revised version I started with...
Still, I decided to go for it, continued the exercise program I was already doing, and started Induction (20 carbs per day). Three days later, I had lost two pounds. Of course, all the people I bragged about that to said, "It's just water weight", which I didn't believe - I KNEW this was fat I was losing. After two weeks, whatever kind of weight it was, I had lost NINE pounds! Lot better than the three pounds a MONTH I was doing on low fat!
There is definitely an advantage to ketosis - once you know you're in that "zone", you have a much stronger willpower, because you know that a few too many carbs will knock you out of Ketosis, and you have to work harder again to get back. So when Auntie Sue says, "Oh, one little bite won't hurt you!" You can tell her that sorry, it sure could, and can pass it up!
Between Ketosis and exercise, the weight came off very quickly, it ended up to be 40 pounds in 4 months! AND I built up muscle fast, too (Gosh, how did that happen, without ingesting carbs? Guess that's another myth shot down, hmmm?)! Thrift stores came in handy during this time, because every few weeks I needed smaller clothes! I DO NOT believe the thing that everyone says, which is, "You didn't put it on fast, so it should not come off fast. It will just come back quickly". Well, the trouble with slow weight loss is that you'll give up before you lose it! I took it off fast, and, six years later, it didn't come back, so the second part of that is B.S., too!
...................................to be continued.............................................................
And so, after years of that, I awoke one morning and discovered I had put on about 50 pounds! My legs and back hurt, I saw spots when I bent over, I had digestive problems...I was about 42 years of age at the time, and I felt like a senior citizen! I thought, "Is my life winding down already!?" The worst day was when I stopped into a fast food restaurant to pick up lunch, and the girl behind the counter asked me if I had a Golden Buckeye card! *That's a discount card senior citizens in Ohio (The Buckeye State) can apply for.* I was stunned. I went home, told myself that it was just an ignorant 17 year old who thought everyone over 30 was a senior citizen, but it still got to me. In the middle of my fast food, I broke down and cried for a long time.
So once again, I tried a low fat and exercise program, and, after two months, I had lost six pounds. Big deal. On the verge of giving up again, I came across the website of one of the people I swapped plants with, and HE had a Low Carb story to tell. Like me, he was about the same age, had been in the same overweight state, and also felt like he was too young to be that old. Can't remember much that he wrote, except the phrase, "Screw those low fat idiots!" I thought, "This guy's a mental case", but I read on anyway. He mentioned Dr. Atkins and his book (at the time there was only one), and highly recommended it. Well, I had nothing to lose (so to speak) by that time, so I went to the library and found "Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution".
***NOTE: I started out by first reading that book. I do NOT recommend going by hearsay. DON'T try to guess what you're supposed to do or eat. I will also not explain in detail how to start this eating plan myself - the book does an excellent job of explaining what you do and why you should do it. I followed it explicitly, and that is why it worked for me. ***I get really tired of people telling me, " I tried the Atkins Diet and I lost weight, but when I stopped, I gained it right back!". Well, DUH! If you go back to eating candy bars and sugar laden soda, yes, you WILL gain it back! People (especially we Americans) think that a "diet" is something you do for a short time, you lose weight, and then drop it completely and none of the weight will ever come back, (magically). While I really believe that someday there may be a wonderful, safe pill we will be able to take to keep thin, it ain't here yet! So until then, this is the best thing I have found.
Even after reading the book, wishful thinking sort of blinded me as to what low carb eating would really do. I read that you could lose 10 to 30 pounds in the first two weeks, the Induction phase. Well, hey, if I lost 30 pounds in two weeks, THAT would be all I needed! I'd be almost thin! In actuality, yes, if I weighed 3oo pounds at the start, I could possibly lose 30 - at my starting weight of 175, 30 pounds in two weeks would not be healthy! Dummy! :o}
Still, I decided to go for it, continued the exercise program I was already doing, and started Induction (20 carbs per day). Three days later, I had lost two pounds. Of course, all the people I bragged about that to said, "It's just water weight", which I didn't believe - I KNEW this was fat I was losing. After two weeks, whatever kind of weight it was, I had lost NINE pounds! Lot better than the three pounds a MONTH I was doing on low fat!
There is definitely an advantage to ketosis - once you know you're in that "zone", you have a much stronger willpower, because you know that a few too many carbs will knock you out of Ketosis, and you have to work harder again to get back. So when Auntie Sue says, "Oh, one little bite won't hurt you!" You can tell her that sorry, it sure could, and can pass it up!
Between Ketosis and exercise, the weight came off very quickly, it ended up to be 40 pounds in 4 months! AND I built up muscle fast, too (Gosh, how did that happen, without ingesting carbs? Guess that's another myth shot down, hmmm?)! Thrift stores came in handy during this time, because every few weeks I needed smaller clothes! I DO NOT believe the thing that everyone says, which is, "You didn't put it on fast, so it should not come off fast. It will just come back quickly". Well, the trouble with slow weight loss is that you'll give up before you lose it! I took it off fast, and, six years later, it didn't come back, so the second part of that is B.S., too!
...................................to be continued.............................................................
TIPS
Try "no sugar added" items - ice cream tastes fine like that, applesauce is very good, and after I tried "no sugar added" catsup, I won't use anything else! It tastes so much better and tomato-y than the normal stuff, and I'm not ingesting all that sugar! Actually, it is "no SWEETENER added", they have some with Splenda instead of sugar, I don't think any sweetening is needed. If you do without a lot of sugar for any length of time, sweet stuff is sometimes TOO sweet, because you're more sensitive to it.
Beware of "hidden" sugars - the things you don't realize are that sweetened- barbeque sauce, catsup, certain salad dressings, such as French or Betty's are full of sugar. And now the new "latest thing" with us American Northerners - sweet tea! The South has had it for years, now good ol' McDonald's had to bring it to us, like we're not fat enough! All it is is tea with SUGAR - hey, get it plain, and add Splenda or Equal if you need to. Actually, I drank iced tea with tons of sugar in it when I was young, and, well, let me put it this way - almost all of my teeth have had at least one cavity in them- need I say more?
No study will agree with me on this, but sugar also causes bad breath! I always had that problem no matter what I did - until I went low carb! No more bad breath! (unless, of course, I cheat and have something sugary!)
MYTHS
You eat a lot of fat on this diet, and fat is bad for you
(Only if you eat sugar AND fat - the combination is what causes problems - your body NEEDS some fat.)
Atkins is a "no carb" diet - all you eat is meat.
(Bullshit)
As I said before - GET THE BOOK!
This eating plan causes constipation
(Again, if you don't read the book and don't drink the recommended amount of water, you could get constipated, but then, you're not actually following Atkins!)
This eating plan causes constipation
(Again, if you don't read the book and don't drink the recommended amount of water, you could get constipated, but then, you're not actually following Atkins!)
Your body goes into "Ketosis" and that can kill you!
(Actually, if you are diabetic and go into KeACIDosis, it could be dangerous, but that is something different entirely!)
Ketosis is the process of your body switching over to using your fat for fuel, instead of carbohydrates and glucose. You WANT Ketosis -it is your friend!
...I also don't beleive in Weight Watcher's "point system" (if they even do that anymore). A friend of mine joined Weight Watchers after I had started Atkins, so I went thru his guide and counted MY "points" - I was eating over 2000 points a day, (I don't recall what it should have been for me, I just know it was many times over what WW recommended), and I was losing weight! Eating large steaks, salad with Bleu Cheese dressing and snap beans for supper!
...I also don't beleive in Weight Watcher's "point system" (if they even do that anymore). A friend of mine joined Weight Watchers after I had started Atkins, so I went thru his guide and counted MY "points" - I was eating over 2000 points a day, (I don't recall what it should have been for me, I just know it was many times over what WW recommended), and I was losing weight! Eating large steaks, salad with Bleu Cheese dressing and snap beans for supper!
AND - Coming out in March 2010 - The NEW Atkins book - this time with the studies to back it up! More info on it soon!
Another good book I recommend - "How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet and Lost 40 Pounds" by Dana Carpender. This is the book I would have written, if I had the attributes to write books!
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