A slight disagreement With Atkins
 

I have to say that I disagree with the Atkins plan to a small degree. I have long since said that Atkins is a quick and easy way to losing weight. Does it work? YES! It works very well. But many of my friends that have been on the "Atkins" diet have found that even though they eat tons of red meat and lose weight, their cholesterol level has SOARED.

Back about four years ago, I was tipping the scale at 250lbs. That's pretty big for me. not so big for others. But I was extremely unhealthy (due in no small part to Pizza) and I wasn't functioning as well as I once was. I remember going to the store one day that summer and picking up the usual plethora of unhealthy foods. You know, bologna, Doritos, hotdogs, frozen pizza, and whatever else...
Well I got home and I was putting the junk food in the junk food storage center (the fridge) and I noticed that I was pulling at the waistband of my pants. Now, you have to understand that when I am at my most fit. When you can see ribs (ummmmmm riiiibbbbs) hehe --- Anyway - When I can see my ribs and a six-pack, I generally am wearing a 34 waist. I am pushing out of a 38 at this point.

Finally frustrated beyond all belief, I took all of the food which I had JUST bought, pulled out the garbage can and threw everything away.
A lot of people ask me why I didn't donate the food or give it to friends. The reason is simple. It was a statement! It was a statement that I had had enough and I wasn't going to put off this diet just because I had bought over $100.00 worth of bad food. "I'm not starting tomorrow! I am starting right now!"

So once all of that food was in the garbage, I went to work on the fridge. Everything was gone. Cokes, Pepsi, cake, bacon... EVERYTHING!

Of course then, I wasn't really cognizant of the whole "low carb" thing. I was just keeping it low fat. But I have to say that it did work. I managed to knock off 50 pounds and keep it off for 3 years.

What happened you ask???

Give you three guesses..

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I GOT MARRIED! hehe
That'll do it every time!

But we have a baby (boy) due in a few weeks and I wanna get back to my ideal weight (and jean size) by then. Right now I'm in a size 36 and I should be in a 34 by then easy.

I started the diet at 238. That was last Tuesday (March 5th). I am now down to 228 or 229. Keytone Strips are saying that I am between large and the next higher one up.

Does anyone know if Vitamins effect the strips?


Good Luck Everyone!

What many people - including doctors - don't realize is that it's the ratio that counts.

What does it mean when your doctor says your "cholesterol" is high? There are many different factors that make up the profile and they have to be looked at individually, not as a total number. If this hasn't been explained to you, then it becomes sheer fear-mongering tactics.

There is a load of information in this thread and the links within it: Interpreting Blood Lipid Test Results

Karen

In addition, some try to do Atkins, the low-fat way. Low-fat and lack of essential fatty acids is unhealthy, and may contribute to higher numbers.

Not sure if that was the case?

Congrats on getting married and the upcoming addition to your family :thup:

Wa'il

Hi Hollmer,

You said,

This could be true in some cases. The Atkins low-carbohydrate diet normalizes cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, etc. to ideal numbers. Anyone with low HDL and/or total cholesterol will see an increase in these number. People with high triglycerides and high total cholesterol will see a reduction in these numbers. Some people erroneously believe that the lower the total cholesterol number the better. NOT SO. Low total cholesterol can be a serious stroke risk. Low HDL is another serious cardiac risk factor.

After only four months on Atkins my triglycerides plunged from 217 to 92 and my good HDL soared from 35 to 55. This dropped my TR/HDL cardiac risk factor from 6.1 to 1.7. This is AWESOME. I was thrilled.

Don't expect anything bad to happen on the low-carb diet. Everything in my health improved including a weight loss of 40 pounds, lower blood pressure, higher energy and stronger immune system.

Good Luck,

Kent :wave: