This is about the millionth time I've posted that I'm actually going to start this woe, and I am ashamed and disgusted with myself because I still haven't committed to it. I don't know why I am fighting this out with myself....logically I know this plan will lower my weight, cholesterol, etc., and I am surrounded by coworkers who are on low carb diets and are losing weight like crazy. Maybe deep down inside I am resistant to change at my age????? A lifetime of bad eating habits have caught up with me at last, and I am finding it really difficult to give them up. It's like I can find any excuse in the book to avoid getting started and sticking with it more than just a few days.

Anyway, having said all that, I am going to try one...more...time. If I can't commit to something that will benefit my life for just two weeks, then I really must be a loser.

I have one question (and I guess this is my last holdout for excuses): Is there any validity to what I have read about the "blood-type diet"? Like, if you're A or AB, you won't lose on low carb? This is something I read a while back and I am curious as to whether there's any truth in this.

I guess you will have to make up your own mind. I can just give the few examples I know:

My husband is AB, he can eat anything without gaining weight or having any health problems.

A girlfriend is B, she went on Atkins for quite awhile and lost nothing. Went to a naturalist who put her on a different diet, not only does she look better she feels better than she has in years.

I am type O, according to blood type I will feel better with restricted carbs and that is true. And if I go down to Atkins inductions levels, I lose weight very quickly.

My sister and daughter are both type O's and they both have trouble with carbs too.

The basic theory is this: each blood type came upon the earth at different times and therefore can not tolerate different things. Type O is supposed to be the oldest and that is why they have trouble with any foods to do with agriculture...and on down the line until you get to type AB, which is the newest and supposedly can eat anything without trouble.

Good luck on your new beginning!

Hmmmmm, that does give me something to think about (thanks for your response, btw). That's pretty much what I had read about the blood-type diet: that O's do best with low carb, and that the other types do better with a different plan. Every time I've started Atkins I have felt absolutely sick for the first three days, and that's mainly why I quit each time. Maybe I should just go a different route and see what happens.

Hi there Hotpatoody,

I guess no one can really help you get started except yourself. I found it helpful to completely rid my house of "bad" carbs - gave a few boxes of flours, sugars etc away. It also helped me to sit down and plan out what I could eat. Being prepared is half the battle.

About the blood type diets: there've been several threads on that here and all seem to come to the consensus that they are a load of hooey. If you are an "O," then all seems well because Os are encouraged to eat basically low carb. I'm an "A" and according to the blood type fella should be eating mainly vegetarian. Before low carb, I was eating almost vege, and not only gained weight, but my IBS was really bad (all but gone on LC). Sure I lose weight slowly, but that has more to do with the medications I take than my blood type.

You might be interested to read this link which contains a rebuttal to the Eat Right for Your Blood Type diet.

Cheers, and happy low carbing.

Rosebud

hi rosebud....I appreciate your post. You know, sometimes I think that I am just making this more difficult and more of a "big deal" than it really is (deciding whether to low carb or not). And you both are right, I'm the one that will ultimately have to decide which route to take. After reading your post, I think that I will give low carb a shot. My blood type is A, like yours, and it sounds like it's working for you. I think it's time that I either commit or just shut up about it! Thing is, I have been pretty lucky most of my life and just started gaining a few years ago. I guess I keep thinking it will just go away on its own and I won't have to deal with it....hah.

I am type "A" and I am finding the LC thing to be a GREAT fit for me. My first three days of induction were HELLISH. Don't give up just because you feel yucky. This stage WILL PASS. It is worth getting to the other side. Start on a Friday and let the worst hit you over the weekend so you don't have to function at work during the icky part. I was not able to think very well. I felt like I was on some weird drug.

I really do think the blood type thing is just coincidence morphed into myth. There no scientific basis for it. Give LCing a try. I'll bet you'll find it's not as hard as you think. Whatever you do, don't limit your fat intake (at least at first). Your body needs that fat to do this right! Go ahead and eat the cheese and bacon and eggs as "comfort food" for now. Pretty soon you won't be looking for comfort from food anymore (except maybe during that TOM ).

Good luck!

Heather

Please don't let the "blood type" thing keep you from doing this. That diet has so many HUGE holes, I could drive a Hummer through them. Read that article that Rosebud gave a link to-it will answer many of your questions.

Good luck and please stay around!

Paleoanth

I'm A and losing very well.
Sorry to be blunt but I think you are just looking for an excuse not to do this diet.
If you're not comfortable about it, don't do it, certainly don't feel guilty about it....once you make the decision one way or another you'll feel alot happier.

Cheers
Ali

I just wanted to let you know that I too feel miserable the first three days. It is why I haven't been able to get to Atkins again yet. The first tiem I did it, I was recoving from foot surgery and took pain pills the first three days! I don't have any surgery planned right now, so it has been tough.

Also, another reason we feel so yucky is because we probably have developed food sensitivities. Don't know if you drink coffee, but when I try to get rid of the coffee I feel horrible for 3-5 days also. And this includes decaf. I tried easing into decaf and then getting off. That didn't help. But I truly believe I shouldn't be drinking it. It tasted nasty to me the first few times I tried it. But I kept trying it until I now, I need it. Same thing with alchohol. Hated it at first.

But in the meantime, I have developed some digestive problems. I constantly blame the Atkins diet, but I am not certain anymore what caused them. It could be coincidence with age. I can barely digest anything very well anymore. I have ordered some enzymes to see if it helps. That is another reason I am having trouble with low carb now. High fat food feels like it is ripping my stomach apart! I am hoping the enzymes will help. They even have some for people on high protein diets.

Good luck.

I don't mean to mount a defense for ER4YT but I thought it was interesting the link posted as a rebuttal was written by a proponent of the vegan diet.

I first learned of ER4YT from my chiropractor who recommended it to help clear up my eczema. I got out the book from the library and read it but it seemed like a really complicated program so I didn't go on it.

I started following the guidelines in Dr. Abravanel's Body Type Diet instead and noticed I felt so much better. According to him I am a Thyroid or T type. The T program is basically a LC one. This was when I eliminated wheat for the first time. When I re-introduced it I felt sick again. By this time I was on WW but still following T Program guidelines.

I determined that I must be allergic to wheat so to get confirmation of this I went on the Elimination Diet in Dr. Elson Haas' book The False Fat Diet. My suspicions about the wheat allergy were confirmed and I also discovered I am allergic to corn, soy, lentils, hazelnuts and all grains except for quinoa.

By this time it was several years after I first read ER4YT. I saw an updated version in the library and checked it out. Lo! and behold! All my allergic foods were on the avoid list for type B.

I loosely follow the guidelines for type B that I found here:

http://www.oz.net/~alden/er4yt/contents.html

It works out to be basically a LC plan since virtually all grains, legumes and sweeteners are eliminated. I'm not really strict about it in that I still eat tomatoes, avocados, chicken, pork and olives I just don't eat them as often. And in the case of avocados and tomatoes, which aren't LC anyway, I reduced the amount I eat. About the biggest change I've made is to substitute turkey for chicken as often as possible.

I guess this is just my overly wordy way of saying that *for me* LC and ER4YT are not incompatible. For others it may not work out that way. It's OK by me. As it's often said here, what works for one person may not work for another.

Cheers,
amie

I forgot to mention when the wheat went, so did the eczema! It's great to have soft supple hands instead of itchy, dry, cracked and bleeding ones.

amie