Hi There,

I have been on and off LCing now for quite a few months. (I realise the offing part is doing me NO favours!)

Over the weekend I received more than one ear bashing in regards to LCing - The biggest concern being Protein deposits on the Liver and kidneys.

After much contemplation I find I am starting to turn back to a more balanced diet. I believe in the concept of LCing (it all makes sense!!!) although I have hardly seen any people on this forum that are TRUELY successful!!!!! - When I look at everyones stats (even those that have been at it for years) hardly a soul has reached goal. It seems we are all struggling to make this a way of life - we believe in it - it just seems too hard!!!!

Please let me know those of you that have in fact reached goal weight??????

Thanks

Jaxx

http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdis...p?forumid=86&s=

You might want to try that forum. IT is where people post their success stories.

I am so glad you posted this! A few days ago, I asked a similar question in much more roundabout way. I have been LCing for about 8 months, successfully, but I am concerned that the weight loss has slowed to such an extent that somehow the body adjusts to this WOE differently from traditional low calorie dieting. I received several helpful posts about how to deal with stalls, plateaus, carb creep etc....But I would really like to hear from people affirming that if you stick with the program, you will continue to go down over time. I have become quite patient, and see this woe as a wol for the foreseeable future, but losing only a half a pound a week is not what I am looking for (of course I expect stalls and plateaus, I can live with that).

One of the attractive things about this WOE is the supposed metabolic advantage; this seems clear in the first couple of months. But is it possible that there is a metabolic disadvantage in the long term? I am a male, and I have always been able to lose weight effectively, either LCing or with traditional low calorie, lower fat eating; maybe now that I am pushing 40, my weight loss is significantly slower than in my 20's.

I am very interested to hear from those who have "gone all the way" with this woe, and also to hear from those who faced similar doubts and frustrations, and how they dealt with them. Thanks.

You have to be a balanced low carber. You have to use wisdom and add a variety of meat and vegetables, oils/ fats, water and supplements. What the naysayers say is just not true. I have heard people say things against Atkins but there is no documentation to back it up. I heard this or so in so told me that. Even doctors will tell a patient what they heard or that it makes your cholesterol go way up. But after all of these years there must be something on paper that supports what they say. ANd if something does go hay wire there are many adjustments that can be made without labeling the diet as "bad".

I contacted a dietary/medical organization that said some negative things about the diet and I ask for documented proof, not words. I explained my concept of the diet ( balancing carbs results in balanced blood sugar ). I also asked how can I be developing liver damage when my cholestrol is perfect ( cholesterol is produced in the liver ). I also asked that isn't it the job of the gall bladder to digest fats? I am still waiting for a response form this organization.

There are many people, documented, who have been successful on this diet in more than one way. I have not yet lost the 25 lbs but I have lost 19 1/2 lbs ( I am getting there ). However, I have been successful because my cholesterols, lipids, and blood sugar are on the money. LCers don't sit in a corner eating meat and cheese. There are vegetarians who LC.

Just last year the American Heart Association discovered that Atkins is better at balancing blood glucose, fats and cholesterol levels than the AHA's diet. That is why Dr. Atkins was interviewed by Larry King in January 2003. The intro was recognizing that the doctor was right after all these years.

If I consumed thousands of carbohydrates no one would say anything about it. But consuming all of those carbs has contributed to my hypoglycemia and soon I would have become diabetic like my mom, yet no one would have anything to say about it. However, as soon as I began to lower my carbs naysayers came out of the woodwork.

This has been the only diet that has enabled me to lose weight. Lots of success here.

Black57

Hi Jaxx

I think the other thing that you should consider is that this is a support forum... a place where people who are in the process of losing weight or achieving their goals come.

If you look at the number of registered members you can see how that is a lot more than the amount of regular or semi-regular posters we see on this site, people come here for support and they leave (either cause they quit LC-ing or they no longer need the board for support).....

I'm sorry to hear you are getting the negative views of this WOL, but we can only do what we truely believe in, if you arn't 100% sure about this WOL then try something different, I know deep in my heart this is the right thing for me, I've achieved 3 goals on my trip and plan to achieve them all, it will take me a year or more, but thats ok cause I've put this weight on over 10 years ...

I hope you stick it out Jaxx as I have faith in you...

Fiona

I think you see very few "100%s" because once people reach goal, it seems they are no longer interested in hanging around. I have 4.5 lbs. left to goal, so I took a gander at the Maintenance Club forum, boy it's AWFULLY quiet over there! Either there just is not a lot of support for maintainers or they just lose interest. I would also browse the Success Stories forum. I am also sorry this WOE received bashing this weekend (what else is new?). I'd rather tell friends that I'm low-carbing and not mention Atkins specifically (because there are so many pre-conceived negative connotations out there about Atkins). Happy LCing!

HI there, I'm only 10 lbs from goal and I started in January.........I've lost a total of 35 lbs so far!!
I guess I haven't reached goal yet on LCbing, but pretty darn close!!

I think that is it exactly...once goal is reached, people move on. Just like with any other message board of this type. I have known a few people on other forums who have reached goal (some of them lost 95+ lbs or more to reach their goal!) and have maintained for a couple of years.

Sorry guys....but when I reach goal I probably won't be hanging around much more either. There are a zillion things I want to do in my lifetime and once I have finished with one, I move on to the next. I'm sure many of you will as well. There's only so much time in a day

I believe Dr. Atkins when he said that if you follow his plan and do all four phases, you will lose the weight and keep it off. I know it as surely as I know my name.


L

First of all, thank you for your honesty in questioning what you are doing.
It is refreshing.
Second, although I have not reached a goal weight yet, I can attest to having several friends, including an excellent Dr. who have reached their goal weight.
Very few people read the book in its entirety and as a writer myself I must say that it takes a re-read to get at many of the important points in the book.
The bottom line to me if you are not losing at the pace you wish to lose at is:
Up your exercise !!!!
If you want to continue losing at the pace you did at first, then stay at induction level carbs.
Read the book and it will come clear that you may have to stay low carb, watch caloric intake and exercise to reach your goal.
The success stories that I am intimate with are solid, these men had over 50 pounds to lose and did it in a short time. They never went to a forum for support. So the stories may not get out there !
As far as health concerns, again read the book.
When I get into it with people who tell me how sick this diet will make me, I dont ask for evidence because the Dr. I know will let them have it. Instead I remark on the weekly science report on being overweight. This week, in yesterdays New York Times, they had an article about women who are pregnant and being overwieght/obese. The article said if you are overwieght chances are sometimes 50% more likely that your child will have birth defects. Last week it was the American Cancer society which said if you are overwieght you are 20% more likely to get cancer. If you think the diet is killing me, what about my weight?
People usually get too embarassed to harass me then !
I think that you should check out the Zone diet, it is a sensible way of eating.
Good luck !

Well, I am pretty close to goal right now. I can also tell you that my brother, father and mother all either reached or exceeded their goals doing lc.

I am not so worried anymore about getting there, I just want to make sure that I can maintain my loss. I don't EVER want to go back to the way I was.

I reached my goal today! I'm there after 143 days & 45lbs. I feel great! I'm in a size 6 again, & I'm loving it! I'm still not quite where I want to be, so I'm going to try to lose a little more, but there's really nothing wrong with where I am now. Anyone can get to their goal, as long as they're patient & stick with it. I'm a low carber for life, so you're all stuck with me even since I've reached my goal!
God Bless,
Amy-Lynne

....reached and surpassed my goal. DH also. DH went along with this WOE to support me. He was/is also concerned about the fat intake. He met and surpassed his goal. He talks about adding fruits and some grains to feel more balanced, but has yet to take the plunge..lol..

Good luck with your choice. BTW, I'm still hanging out here b/c even though I like to "think" I know it all, I still learn something new each day! Love the support, too!

Joy

I think another problem is that many posters have only recently gone LC and haven't had time to reach their goal. This diet is just coming into its own. I went down to Wendy's the other day and ordered a burger no bun and woman asked if I was on that "No Bread" diet. She said half the people in there were now on it also. But, she indicated they'd only been on it for a month or less. I don't think we will see any significant number of success stories until the current batch has had time to reach their goal.

Before about 2002, Atkins and LCing were late-night infomercials and doctors called them dangerous and unhealthy. Only recently have they finally begun coming around. Give it a few years and I bet we will see alot more success stories. And, judging by how MANY people I meet (randomly) who are LCing, we may well see a reduction in Obesity rate in the next few years. After all, so many people are now doing this that Wheat Consumption has taken a significant dive this year.

If you have noticed, most people who know nothing about low carb eating are usually the quickest to condemn it. They take what they've heard and make it their truth. Ask the naysayers if they have studied this or are just making shi* up.

People falsely believe that this is diet is very high in protein, and we know that is not true. My nail tech started lecturing me on the 'dangers' of Aktins, spouting that "high protein will kill you!" I quitely replied that I tend to eat about 20% protein, which shut down her argument. We have simply replaced the carbs with fat.

They confuse ketosis with Ketoacidosis. If the diet is followed properly, it has been shown to be safe and effective. Sure, people with Kidney disease should not do this diet, but it will not damage normal kidneys if done correctly.

Dr. Atkins has shown that the high sugar, "low fat", high carb diet in the U.S. is killing us. There are two national health epidemics - diabetes and obesity. We've been eating unhealthy, fake, processed food for years. What does Aktins do? It takes us around the perimeter of a grocery store, where the food is natural and unprocessed. We rarely go into other aisles, because we don't need to.

I studied this for several weeks before deciding to commit to the Aktins program. if you are uncomfortable with being able to respond to critics, educate yourself. There is good information at www.atkinscenter.com and in the book itself.

I'll take my educated chances with this WOE over getting diabetes and being fat any day!

I reached my initial goal in January and have been maintaining since then - actually down a few pounds from original goal of 135- and am wearing the size clothes I set as another goal. I'm keeping up with exercise and water consumption and eating low-carb 99% of the time. This works for me. I'm happy with it and feel great but I won't really consider it a total success until I've maintained this weight for over a year.

Good luck with finding a healthy WOE that works for you.
Cindy