Anyone smoke and drink and worry about Atkins?
 

It seems the combined effect of drinking and smoking and eating foods higher in fat would be a lethal combination? Anyone looked into it?

Your post could potentially open up all sorts moral and sociological discussions. Putting those issues aside, we all know that "eating foods higher in fat" is not a bad thing, assuming you are not powering down mass quantities of carbs at the same time. Drinking (moderetly) and LCing can stall your progress, as the alcohol takes a front seat. As for a lethal combination, not likely. As far as smoking goes (puts on flame retardant armor), :) well nothing good can come from smoking.

All of that being said, I believe we are on the WOL to be healthy people. Smoking and drinking in excess would obviously be counterintuitive. I do believe however that moderation plays a key role in anything we do.

Drinking (heavily) and smoking are lethal in their own right, but I think the Atkins plan could be potentially dangerous if you drink enough to destroy your liver or kidney functions.

Smoking is bad for your health regardless of how you are eating.
Drinking in moderation can actually be good for your health, although it does pose some problems for those of us trying to lose weight since the body will burn alcohol for fuel in preference to anything else (carbs or fat). As for alcohol and fat, I'll leave the French as an example. They drink, per person, more alcohol (mostly wine) than average and also consume a high fat diet yet their rates of heart disease are a lot lower (something called the French Paradox). I'm not a drinker, but it wouldn't bother me in the least to combine a glass or two of wine a day along with my low carb meals if I was and at least a couple of low carb authors have no problem with the occasional consumption of alcohol as part of a low carb plan. Now, drinking to excess is another matter altogether and having done that to the point of having a hangover once, I often wonder why people would do it repeatedly. One hangover was more than enough to convince me that I didn't want to do that again. :p

Oh, yeah, the French Paradox. Which is only a paradox if what we are told is true...is not.

"The French paradox is only a paradox if one assumes that dietary fat is the major cause of obesity and cardiovascular disease," said Paul Rozin, professor of psychology at Penn and lead author of a paper in the September issue of the journal Psychological Science. "However, recent studies suggest that the importance of fat intake as a risk factor has been greatly exaggerated."

Smoking (unless it is medicinal, wink wink) is certainly not good for you, but spirits in moderation...perhaps a stretch to call it a good thing, but it's certainly not a bad one.

"I wonder what it is the vintners buy, that is one half so precious as the stuff they sell."
Omar Khayyam. The Rubaiyat

I've quit drinking entirely since starting this WOE, but I have yet to quit smoking for fear that I will want to fill the void with something else (carbs!). Most people gain weight when they stop smoking, so I intend to wait a few months until I'm entirely comfortable with this WOE until I try to quit.

Thanks, but let me be more clear
 

The french actually smoke a lot too, don't they?
I have a co-worker who is interested in doing Atkins. She's noticed my weight loss and asked about it. She smokes and drinks (wine, I think, but not to excess) and asked whether combining the Atkins diet with those factors would be ill-advised. Rather than argue whether she should give up the smoking and drinking, I thought I might get some information on the combined effects of the three. If anyone has any facts regarding this scenario, or links to such information, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

The problem with drinking and any eating is the alcohol is easy for the body to burn. It will store anything you eat as fat for later and burn the alcohol first. What's worse is it will store fat in the liver.

Occasional LC drinks aren't to bad as long as you can control your portion, and not give in to poor food choices while under the influance. Regular drinking though can cause problems.

Smoking itself doesn't seem to effect the diet, at least for me. I'm losing weight at a normal pace. The only thing with drinking alcohol is that your body will burn that first, before carbs, and before fat. If she drinks everyday, she might have a problem getting into ketosis. If she limits the wine to one glass a week or less, she should be able to do atkins effectively

I used to have a drink every night, and the thought of giving up my relaxing nightcap was a worse thought than giving up carby foods. Funny thing was, after a few weeks I realized that my lime seltzer water was looking remarkably more enticing than a premium beer. The more stable my blood glucose and insulin became the less I could care about that nightcap! Other people on this board have mentioned this happening too. Doing Atkins certainly won't hurt your friend, and the alcohol may well become a non-issue for her as well.

StarOrchid I am with you!!

I want to quit smoking eventually but don't want to do both quitting carbs (atleast lowering them) and quit smoking too. I know I would substitute it with food, carby food.

But I also know that if I can stick to LCing(and I have so far) that I can accomplish quitting smoking too, eventually!!

Lilbug

Hey Lilbug, my plan was to quit smoking at goal... but, I have found that LCing has given me the confidence to quit smoking now! And Mabel, I haven't seen anything definitive on smoking and fat diets but chances are by starting LCing your friend will have the confidence to quit to.

Why does LCing make quitting easier?
1. I went through induction hell... nicotine withdrawal for me has nothing on sugar... and even if induction goes smoothly psycologically it's like 'if I can give up XYZ foods, I can give up anything!'
2. Reservations like Mabel's friends... I don't know if it is lethal, but something about smoking after bacon and eggs just felt wrong... and if one had to go, it wasn't going to be the low-carb which had proven itself!
3. I had the confidence that I could quit and not gain weight. I am in touch with my hunger now. The need to smoke need not be curbed by carby food.. in fact I relied heavily on eating green beans (they are ciggaratte shaped!)
4. If you start to exercise you suddenly realise that smoking is actually doing bad things to you...

Also, for a smoker trying to lose weight and not quit LC is a better option health wise. Commonly, when smokers diet they smoke more becuase they are hungry and smoking supresses appetite. And a smoker may not want to quit(addiction), but usually for health/money reasons doesn't want to smoke more... becuase LC is such a filling diet, there is no need to smoke to not consume a calorie.

I was within a few pounds of goal this last spring when I quit smoking. I gained weight seemingly overnight! My doctor calmed me, she told me I was better off as a non-smoker, she said I could lose the weight again and that I would really be needing these lungs in the coming years...

A couple of months after quitting I started trying to diet the weight off. First, Atkins for 3 weeks - Not a pound came off! Then, I did a calorie-controlled low-fat diet - Again, not a pound came off. I hightailed it back to my doctor's office. She told me it would take at least 6 months for my metabolism to stabilize, until then my weight-loss efforts could be iffy. She suggested exercise (walking), enough calories to sustain my weight, plenty of protein and rest. I ended up gaining a couple more pounds but felt great.

Now, the weight is finally coming off! Not with lightening speed, but I'll take whatever I can get at this point. I am healthy. I am a non-smoker now (after 30 years of puffin'). I can exercise and not get so out of breath. I am losing weight too! Life is good...
Vicky

I just quit smoking last Tuesday. I am very determined to make it through this time. No adverse effects on my diet at this point, the only thing to be aware of is cravings for nicotine being mistaken for hunger pangs. Having been here done this before (quitting smoking) recognizing the difference is key. I have not and will not change my way of eating. I am drinking lots of water, everything is the same, the only difference is that I am not choking myself with smoke anymore.

Here is a bit of information I read out of Laura Richard's book, "The Secret to Low Carb Success!" This refers to smoking and low carb diets.

Direct Quote from book:

"The evils of smoking have been cited by the United States Surgeon General's office for years. Now you can add a couple more negative effects to the list. Several reduced carbohydrate diet experts believe that smoking has a pronounced negative effect on the body's ability to properly metabolize carbohydrate. They cite medical research that confirms that smoking contributes to the development of insulin reisistance and type II diabetes.

If you smoke, quit. Do it soon. The most common reason people give for not quitting while dieting is the fear that their weight will rebound. However, several people who successfully quit smoking while dieting report that they found it easier to quit while on a reduced carbohydrate diet than at any other time".

End Quote.

I myself, after reading this, decided that I would rather quit now while only close to one month into my diet and be done with it once and for all. I finally found a diet, a way of eating, that I am happy with. It makes me feel healthier. Somehow, smoking just did not fit into the picture anymore. Not to mention its ability to disrupt my body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates... It was my time. We all have to pick our own time to quit, I understand that all too well. I found mine, I wish you the best of luck once you find yours.

Hope this was helpful to you......

Have a great day....

Ruth Janeen

<My two cents:
I don't smoke. I love my bottle of wine couple times a week. I stay around 20-25 carbs a day/exercise off 500 calories a day, and alcohol is incorporated into my daily carb level. I don't really care about the weight... I'm seeing inches melting off. That's the whole idea right? To look good in a pr of brand new jeans? hehehe...