Just wanted to say thanks to the people who've been talking about their success with their low-carb diets. I was inspired to cut out bread and rice from my diet and now even my wife is saying, "Hey, you lost a lot of weight!" Plus, my mood swings and acid reflux are basically gone.

And to think I've been dieting for 15 years!!!

 

Its amazing.... people say meats and fats cause heartburn. My experience is I haven't had any heartburn since I started Atkins..... used to eat Tums like candy.

 

The other thing I noticed is that I'm a lot more ... um ... that my libido is much higher, like when I was in my early 20s.

 

Are you all doing the Atkins Diet? I am going to start it after the 1st of the year. I have been reading the book and it seems to make sense, but I just hope I don't get too hungry. During the first couple of weeks it doesn't look like you can eat very much.

Longneck

 

Not the strict Atkins diet -- just cutting out rice and bread from my diet, which I used to gorge on.

The interesting thing about Atkins or other low-carb diets is that they really seem to work well for men -- not so well for women, though.

I don't get hungry at all -- just have non-carb snacks around. I usually have string cheese, beef jerky, etc. Breakfast is usually two eggs over-easy and Healthy Choice sausages. Dinner is some kind of meat and a salad. Lunch I cheat a little and have a hamburger or something with not too much bread or rice.

 

You won't go hungry on Atkins.... not in the least.

 

A few years ago, I developed what was eventually found to be a digestive intolerance to some carbohydrates. In the course of figuring out which ones, I almost completely cut carbohydrates from my diet. I was not trying to lose weight, even though I probably had 10 or 15 pounds to lose. I still ate lots of food, and more fatty food since meat, nuts, and peanut butter made up most of my diet. In 4 months, even trying very hard to keep the weight on, I lost over 30 pounds. It got to the point that the weight loss was a big problem. When I started adding back in carbohydrates that I could tolerate, the weight started to come back. The doctor that eventually diagnosed exactly what I had and needed to do about it was a digestive specialist. He said that there was no secret to weight loss. Simply reduce carbohydrates. He said that it had been known at least since he was in medical school. He was probably 50 years old at the time.

Catch is that even this doctor needed to lose a few pounds and he said that carbohydrates, in both sugar and less processed forms, are the food group our bodies are programed to crave most.

I also read somewhere at the time about a study that interviewed people who are always thin and claim they can eat anything without gaining weight. Even though these people do often eat a lot and many had high fat, and otherwise unhealthy diets, the common thread was that they ate fewer carbohydrates. It just seemed that their bodies did not desire carbohydrate rich food the way most of us do. Exercise was not a factor, with this group at least.

 

The company I work for sells the Atkins diet, we used to put a 30 minute infomercial on TV offering video tapes and testing strips for $30. Then when Atkins died his company didn't re-new the contract and we lost the rights to the show. Most people were pretty good on it, the main reason for people not doing well is that they didn't do it correctly. Some people would call up and say its a joke and a scam, but look how popular the diet is lol. Some people can never be pleased. Happy to hear you're doing well, good job and keep at it!

 

Being an owner of a subway (restaraunt) i just got news in our newsletter that the owner and founder of subway, Fred Dulaca (or something like that) has bought part of Atkins Inc. Which could possibly mean that subway may get low carb breads now. I know for sure that they are coming out with a low carb wrap next year. So that should be good news to all dieters. No matter what diet u are on (Im on the atkins) u can always eat at subway

 

You can eat all you want, it's just the TYPES of food that you're limited to. My experience was this: the first three days were AWFUL. The "carbohydrate withdrawal" I went through was tough, but I stuck it out. I can't even begin to describe the feeling, but I knew it was withdrawal (light-headed, no energy, etc...). The next 2 weeks were also difficult becaue of the cravings for sweets. (Get the Atkins chocoolate bars- they helped a lot.) Once the cravings subsided, it was great. I've lost 18 lbs. (all from around my gut) and I haven't felt this good in 20 years. The energy level is fantastic, and I sleep better at night.

2 strange side effects for me, though. After the initial 2-week period, my lactose-intolerance problem had virtually disappeared. I eat just about all the dairy I want now, as where before I couldn't go near milk, cheese, butter, etc... Then this weekend was the first time I had any quantity of alcohol since starting the diet. I've had a glass of wine now and then, but Saturday night I had 2 small glasses with dinner, then 2 rusty nails. BIG MISTAKE!! Apparently my metabolism changed to where I couldn't process the alcohol. I'll spare you all the gory details, but after the 2nd rusty nail I PASSED OUT! Woke up Sunday afternoon about 2PM in the bedroom of a friend's house- embarrasing, to say the least. Haven't done anything like that since my "disco" days! So be forewarned: Atkins and alcohol don't mix!

 

Each one seems too have different things that work, whatever works for you RIGHT ON.
Keep going.

 

Me too, Ken - I used to eat tummy tablets by the bucket load, and I have needed NONE this year. I no longer have reflux problems, and still feel great. I have hit the 4th plateau so far, being stuck at 218 - 228 for the last couple of months, but the flab is still shrinking, all thanks to Dr Atkins. I have modified the concept slightly in the year I have been doing it, to exclude things I can't cope with, and include things I can..

I have over 400 converts to the concept too..



I have had NO hunger for the entire year I have been Atkins-ing.

If you feel any hunger, eat something that has 0 carbs to tide you over..

Theo

 

Sounds like you guys are having very good experience with this diet. I'm not huge right now, but the spare tire is beginning to become more inflated all the time, I am looking forward to a new diet (way of life) and an exercise regiment at the beginning of the new year.

Longneck

 

A new way of life is the operative word there

Good luck and do not look back

It is food, thought, exercise

 

I have been trying to figure out a good diet to. I don't eat much at all, but I could afford to lose 40 lbs easlily. but now that I think about it, most of the foods I eat are bread, pasta, potatos (do I have to give up potatos?), and the such. I eat a lot of carbs, maybe I should try to cut out some, and see what happens....Jay