I would like to share my personal experience... please pardon me in advance if I step on toes... it's not intentional. I'm not a D.O..., Cardiologist or anything like that, and not on the Atkins payroll (ha ha) but I have done a lot of research. (I used to be a vegetarian, did Dean Ornish's diet where you eat no meat and no fat and I was exhausted all the time.) Here's my perspective on my chosen WOE. (Way of Eating.) I can tell you that the media loves to make a lot of negative statements about this lifestyle, but, I haven't seen any actual evidence to back it up.
> It is not a no carbohydrate diet, it's an extremely low carbohydrate > diet.
True. If someone is doing NO carbohydrates, they are not doing the Atkins diet. There are actually four phases of the Atkins diet. Initially, it is 20 grams of carbohydrates per day, then, during on going weight loss, you may add more salads and vegetables in 5 gram increments until you find the critical carb limit, which is the point at which you stop losing weight. Then, later, there is pre- maintenance and then maintenance. You don't stay on the initial phase very long.
The reason why the Atkins diet works is that it keeps insulin levels steady and low. (See The New Diet Revolution for a much better explanation.) When you eat sugary things, your body has to release insulin to get blood sugar back to normal. When insulin is in the bloodstream, that's fat storage mode. Bread, starches, rice, etc. all act like sugar, causing the above problem. That's why you eat chicken breast, grilled fish and veggies, to keep the insulin from dumping in... you are able to access and use your own body fat for fuel. What can I say... it has worked for me! 30 pounds since September.
> It's stressful since the muscles including the heart are forced to > metabolize ketone bodies instead of glucose.
Not sure why that's stressful... can you help me out on that?
> While I am unaware that it affects the voice directly, it can affect > energy. If the carbos are too low, it can affect thinking since the > brain can only metabolize glucose.
The brain can only metabolize glucose? I have not yet seen that information anywhere... The reading I have done has shown that ketones are the preferred brain food, and people who consume too many carbohydrates, particularly refined carbs have "brain fog" which is lack of clarity of thinking.
My voice is the best it's ever been... I vocalize past high C, can sing for hours without getting tired. I don't feel stressed. I don't look stressed. My husband has lost 35 pounds and 2 pants sizes, increasing his life span. He can do this diet on business trips and can stick to it even when I am not breathing down his neck.
Anyone losing weight is using ketone bodies. The process of burning fat creates ketones which are passed harmlessly out in the urine and breathed out.
I have noticed: 1. End of chronic fatigue! 2. Lowering of my cholesterol from slightly high to excellent 3. Lower weight, smaller clothing size 4. Better clarity in thinking - my research shows that ketone bodies are the preferred brain food 5. Better moods and stability - depression much, much better 6. End of craving carbohydrates... don't care about the candy aisle anymore
> The problem is that almost everyone who loses weight on this diet goes > back > to the old way of eating and regains all the weight and sometimes > more.
Of course, you don't want to go back to your old way of eating. Why would you? It's too bad when people do that. All I've done is cut out sugar, processed foods, and white bread. I cook at home more frequently and eat more vegetables. When you reach your goal weight, you may begin to add more carbohydrates back in, until you find you are gaining. Then back it down so that you can maintain current weight.
> The > ONLY way to effectively lose weight and maintain the loss is to eat > smaller > quantities of all healthy foods. I will not get into the vegetarian > vs > omnivorous diet except to say that it is hard to eat too much as a > vegetarian. Of course, even a vegetarian can eat too many donuts/ice > cream/cookies, etc.
I appreciate what you are saying. However, there are records of many people losing weight effectively, safely and keeping it off with low carbohydrate diets. Just look at the 100 club on the newsgroup... all of those people have lost the weight and kept it off. The URL is: http://www.escribe.com/health/atkins/bb/index.html?
Coincidentally, I was a vegetarian for 2 years and became anemic. I also put on 30 pounds eating potatoes and pasta and bread.
You do want to supplement your diet with vitamins, no matter what kind of diet you do... low fat, low calorie, low carb. Nobody gets everything they need from their diet alone.
Research shows good things about low carbohydrate diets. You can read the New Diet Revolution by Dr. Atkins, Sugar Busters, Neanderthin, and the Carbohydrate Addict's Diet, as well as The Zone (not very low-carb), and Protein Power. Check out people's comments at Amazon.com about how the various diets helped them when they couldn't lose weight any other way. You can also look at www.atkinscenter.com Dr. Atkins is a cardiologist and past age 70 himself.
Those are my opinions and experiences. I have taken a lot of flack doing this, but it's been worth it.
Gina
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