O.K. What's the deal here. My mother just ragged on me for LCing. She just finished reading some magazine article (Croatian Magazine) about LC diets and how unhealthy they are. Apparently it was a panel of 8 doctors that were interviewed. I don't know anymore. If the science and proof is there that LCing is good for you why are all these medical doctors against it. The last thing my mother said to me was "O.K. but if you have kidney or liver problems don't complain to me" Thanks Mom I thought. Very supportive. I'm getting very confused Does anyone else have this lack of support? The more people tell me how unhealthy this WOE is the more I'm starting to wonder is I'm doing the right thing. Help, I need reassurence!!

I've noticed a few things about the critics of this way of life:

1. They haven't read the literature
2. They haven't understood the books.
3. They're going on hearsay, not facts.

Many of us here have been at this for along time and are still learning and gaining understanding every day. If someone is criticising, and they have little or no understanding of this, then just how much value is in their critique. Think of it, most magazine aricles are based on the author's quick review of the subject, maybe skimming the book. They haven't lived it, learned it, understood it.

I really enjoy this way of life...... I have had alot of people come to me going your gonna eat to much red meat.. Im like well I eat the same meats I have eaten before but if anything I eat more fish now.. So to me my red meat has gone down.. Then the old you have to eat to much fat thing... I eat actualy less fat nowl...I tell them to go check the fat content in a couple of candybars...lol they are like Oh I guess you are right... I have always eaten the fat with my meats and stuff and always cooked with butter and seseemee oil....That usualy stops them their tracks.. I get my carbs threw my vegies and a few berries I eat.. I tell them that carbs arnt bad for you, you just need to feed your body the right kind of carbs .... And far as the sugar goes.. I was always tetertoddering on the border line of becoming a diabetic.. Now I know that my sugar level is stable... And as far as the kindeys I use to always get bladder and kidney infections.. But now with all the water I keep them flushed out with water instead of with juices and cokes....

Have your mom read the book and see what she thinks after wards.. I love eating ths way .....

I had a partylite party lastnight here at my house and I fixed everything that I could with the exception I had some crackers out that they could put the cheese and peperonie on... They loved it....

I hope that You continue with your new wol... For me I am loving the benifits that come with the Atkins.....

Your can do it....

Your friend
Tammy

Suzali.....

I think it's something we all eventually encounter: The Naysayers re LC.

The easiest way to deal with it is to not talk about it with anyone who isn't actually doing it. If you read around the forum, there is a lot of information here that can prove to you that we are NOT endangering our health. I was put on Atkins by my doctor and all of my bloodwork follow-ups have indicated that I am now much healthier than I was pre-Atkins.

Since it's your mother we are talking about here, perhaps the best way to deal with it would be to educate her.

HTH
Marlaine

As I was looking into Atkins, following the 48 Hours broadcast back in January (and for which I plan to send them a big thank you note as soon as I lose 100 pounds) I tried finding evidence to support both sides of the controversy.

And guess what? I could find site after site after site telling me about all of the horrible things that low-carbing WILL do. But I was unable to find one single site showing a study or actual numbers of the horrible things that low-carbing DID do. On the other hand, I had no trouble finding sites that gave specific numbers to the positive results of people placed on LC diets.

And even the mainsteam folks are slowly, without even realizing it, coming around to the principles of LC. The Glycemic Index, which for years has been dismissed as rubbish, is now being recognized as a legitimate device for controlling insulin. And insulin's roll is all of the various maladies is being more broadly acknowledged and recognized.

The unfortunate fact is that many, many doctors are in the same comfortable rut that most people operate in. Once they learn something, they see no reason to re-learn it or to ever ask whether what they were taught was actually correct.

My advice is to read--and real medical and scientific journals, not popular magazines. Under no circumstances take medical advice (of any sort) from morning news TV or the like--it's often 20 years out of date. Start your self-education by linking off the research/media watch board here.

And read The Soft Science of Dietary Fat from the prestigious journal Science last year.

Read the data Josh Yelon has collected from medical journals on LCing.

If you're interested in the evolutionary aspects of LC diets, read Loren Cordain's work.

I also think Adiposity 101 is a good site to read--a couple hundred pages of information gleaned from several serious sources on what is currently known about obesity and weight loss.

For myself, the more I know, the more quietly secure I am in my knowledge. I seldom argue with people, but when I do have an opportunity to speak up, I have scientific references at the tip of my tongue, and that tends to quiet others--probably not because I've convinced them, but because real science often intimidates folks with unfounded beliefs. The only important thing, though, is that I know for myself. It's not my role in life to convert others to LC thinking--they're grownups and can figure life out for themselves.

Many people have support problems with this WOE. Sometimes people who love us are in fact legitimately concerned...sometimes they have an unrecognized investment in our staying "the fat one" or as fat as they. Sometimes parents find it painful when children learn and know more than they about certain issues--thanking them for their concern, and saying "interesting!" and letting the topic drop is probably the best way to deal with this. Then go on and live your life the way you know is best.

Thanks for all the info guys! I do feel better now. I hate when my mother can cause me to doubt myself like that.
All those other sources of info should satisfy most of my own questions.
Thanks again!

We eliminate sugar, nothing wrong there, we eliminate refined products(wheat), no problem there, we eat green vegetables, nuts, berries, we eat fiber, and melons, olive oil, tomatoes, mushrooms. So where exactly is the problem with this way of eating. Am I missing something. I think with what ever you eat you have chioces to make. But as far as saying it is hard on your body, I just don't get the nay sayers.
Yours Truely Jo-Ann

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The Doctors make more money on your being sick. That is why they want you to eat their way. All the good studies on LC that say it is healthy for you are right.
I have never felt better in my life than I do on this way of eating and I am 66 years old.

We get in trouble with others when we try to convince them that our way is "the right way." Which implicitly means to others that what they are doing is wrong, and people don't like to be told they are wrong.

Tobbes said it best, that as soon as you mention carbohydrate, people go "atkins" "quack" "you'll die" in their heads without even the tiniest shred of evidence supporting the conclusion.

I just stick to telling people I (try to) avoid sugar and flour and prefer lots of vegetables, whole natural fruit, olive oil, nuts and fish. There are no doctors I am aware of that will tell you "eat more sugar". And we all here know that the difference between flour and sugar is about a nanosecond in our digestive system, so flour's gotta go too. tada LCHF.

nb...If they go on about "whole grains"... I'll add, "excellent! are we having wheatberries tonight, or are you pretending that that abomination in a bag of powder is a whole grain". Trust me, there aren't any but crazed vegans that want anything to do with wheatberries.

Hello to a post 11 years ago! How have you been all this time?

LOL. When I began reading this thread today I thought it was strange that the first 4 posters were people I'd never encountered here before, yet 3 of them had made hundreds, even thousands, of posts. I wondered what threads they were subscribing to that I've been missing.

If any of you original posters are still low carbing please look in and tell us how you are doing. I want to know of wbhan ever lost 100lbs and thanked the 48 Hours producers for introducing him to Atkins.

I've been to some forums where they warn you when you're about to post to an ancient thread. I wish we had that feature here.