vnd-- that's why threads like this bother me. I don't want anyone to feel stupid for asking questions.

Galadriell-- I guess if somebody does better just having a list of foods or a menu to follow and doesn't care to drag through all the reading it would still work, wouldn't it?

Hmm. What I took away from the first post was the anger at those who say they are "doing Atkins" when they clearly are not. This growing number of ppl are what annoy me.

Ppl who ask for help or advice or guidance.. how is that annoying? I absolutely LOVE to share everything I have learned along the way!

But back to those "others" :lol: There are several ppl at work "LCing" but one in particular... she touts she has never once cheated and that is awsome! She says she does Atkins and has lost 56lbs in the last 5 months.. again, awsome! She tells me she is still on the "first level". Good for her for having the discipline! I applaud her! What annoys me? When I'm diving into my catered lunch at work.. grilled chicken and green beans w/a bit of bacon, mushrooms, and onions in them - then the girl beside me tells me "_____ said you can't have green beans on Atkins cuz they have carbs!" I just stopped.. dumbfounded. Well duh... green beans have carbs. And? And they are allowed.. and? Ugh.

That's what annoys me. Ppl who say they are doing Atkins and refuse to eat carbs. Ppl who say they are doing Atkins and make thierselves sick by eating unhealthy. Ppl who say they are doing Atkins and clearly are not. Why can't they just say they are "lowcarbing" or "watching carbs"??!

Okay.. I've vented... um, thanks.

Because, IMO, "Atkins" has become a catch-all term, kind of like "Kleenex" has come to mean all brands of tissues in common usage, or Band-Aid the common term for all adhesive bandages. How often have you heard "I need an adhesive bandage for my finger"?

I don't want to make anyone feel stupid if they ask questions. I ask them all the time! I believe the point of the post was that these people are asking for help, then when they get the answer they need, it's not the answer they want, and that they also don't want to change what they are doing, even if it means they would lose weight and keep it off. They may also think they can create their own low carb plan, which some people CAN do, but it requires a lot of trial and error, and research. Even doing it the right way invloves a TON of trial and error. Why make it harder for yourself by not knowing what you are really putting in your body? They think they are eating low carb, but in reality they may be getting anywhere near 150g a day or more, which is not even low enough to lose weight. Then...these same people are going to complain it isn't working for them. And they are going to tell people low carb doesn't work, and the person they tell may be an obese diabetic who needs to be low carb more than ANYTHING! This is what worries me the most.

Yes, misinformation abounds, and that's sad, really. If I had blindly listened to the people who told ME low-carb didn't work, I'd still be nearly 300 pounds and on the verge of diabetes and a heart attack. I'm sure the people I refused to listen to about low carb WORKING because it would "ruin their kidneys" were frustrated with me too!!!

It wasn't their job to make me understand. It was MY job to seek out the information I needed when I was READY to take losing weight seriously.

Don't get me wrong please, I LOVE helping people with any advice or inspiration I can give. My issue stems mostly from common sense, if we're all low-carbing, most for life, there's simply things we did as heavy people that we simply don't do anymore, embrace change! No one should feel bad asking any question, but all must realize this is a WOL, the junk food we gorged on for years simply can't be part of our makeup anymore. I encourage everyone to learn, read, research, because Atkins and other low-carb plans really do work!

Now, there may be some experimenting until you find a plan that works, lets' face it, every single person is different metabolically and physically, so what one person does may not work for another, its a lot of fine tuning, figuring how how many carbs we can enjoy and still lose weight, which is why it's great to do a lot of research, knowledge is power.

LL :)

Thank you BlitzedAng .... :-)

Patatofree I think you hit it on the head. We dont just call it tissue its kelenex (sp).
I came here and I had read Atkins essentials (the 6 dollar walmart one). It had great info and got me started. But it was not untill I came here that I found that I should really read DANDR. I have now read all 3 (essentials DANDR and Atkins for life) I just now even got the cook book! If I had just stuck with the first I may not have been doing everything I should be. I still have my questions and such that I could not remember from the book or could not find. The greatest thing ever done for me is AFWife telling me "Read the whole book". She was so right.
I don't get annoyed about people saying they are on Atkins when they do things all odd. Its a personal thing.

I need to comment on what Potatofree said. I have a MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury). I am a highly intelligent person, however since my accident I have short term memory loss and my thinking patterns are not in the correct order. Does that make me stupid? No, it means sometimes I have to ask the same question more than once and the second or third time I ask it, I possibly might not remember asking it the first time. I would be personally devastated if I asked a question out here and someone called me "stupid" or "lazy" or told me to "read the book".

I have read the book, I keep the darn thing on my kitchen counter. You would think by now I know it inside and out. Well, I do, but I forget what I know.

Please don't assume everyone who asks a question is lazy. Also don't assume everyone who posts out here or who walks around in the free world has $6 or $30 to spare.

If someone tells you they are on Atkins while eating a not-allowed food, oh well. They will figure it out sooner or later. If they ask a question, give them an honest answer. It's okay for your answer to be, "I'm not comfortable answering your questions because I only know what is right for me, you might want to look it up in the book."

Yeah low carbing is becoming a fad, but so what. Fad come and go, Atkins will be around forever. The one nice thing about a "fad", it gets attention and becomes marketable. That doesn't mean I think all low carb products are great, it just means it gives me, the consumer, more choices (expensive, but more)

Read The Something!... Then Asks Questions...
 

Let's go back to the 1st post! LIBRA from the beginning is talking about people who will not read the book. I keep seeing people quote the posts that talk about people being called lazy or stupid... Nobody once has vented negatively about helping someone who has invested some time researching for themselves...

Heck, it is lazy to want to lose weight, decide on a solution because you've seen others successful on it, but not want to do some research on it... especially if you want to lose 20+ lbs and keep it off long term.

I fall back again on what libra says and what I've said on earlier posts... you do need to do the research ... take control of your destiny and ask for help along the way.

Maybe some people consider asking a person who is obviously succeeding research? Just playing devil's advocate here, but a lot of people come here AFTER reading the book only to find people telling them "don't listen to THAT, THIS is what works" or how it may allow this or that in one particular book, but it doesn't pan out in practice (sugar alcohols for example). I can see where a lot of people might just decide to get it straight from the horses mouth...

Just as there are different plans that all lead to weight loss, there are different ways to FOLLOW each plan. I see many valid points on BOTH sides of the topic, though. I think it IS better to read up on it first, of course, but failing that it seems that it's all about irritation at people giving Atkins a bad name or something. It almost seems some people feel they are somehow diminished by people doing it "wrong". If somebody lives on cheese and calls it Atkins, are you afraid others would think you foolish by association? (This is a general "you"..open to everyone's comment, not directed at anyone specifically)

good points PotatoFree... have a good day all...

Agree ...
 

I agree with everything I have read here.

I wish people would go back and read the books AGAIN. I have read Protein Power about 5 times and Atkins at least 3 times.

I find reading the books puts me into the groove. It's like reading Lord of the Rings and feeling the trials and tribulations of the characters.

However, I agree that people want a "quick fix" or a "silver bullet" to solve all their problems.

They put more thought into a drive-through order than their health. (drive through and thinking - is that a new oxy-moron, you know like "naval gunner")

One thing I have found out over 7 years of LCing is that this is not a simple thing. There are lots of things to think about and lost of different metabolic responses.

I don't have a problem helping people who have hit road blocks. I have problems with people who ask me the same thing OVER and OVEr.

RTFM!

Tom.