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  • 141 today - yayyyyy! -- Kel, 06:32:58 07/20/02 Sat
    Just had to post it -- I'm so excited; scale was at 141 when I weighed this morning! I know that 141 was my goal for this month, but now I'd like to see if I can get to 140.. am I greedy? LOL, maybe I should just be happy I made goal and concentrate on maintaining it til the end of the month. It sure would be nice to see 140 though! =)

    Today I'm going to do my 3rd walk for the week. I really hate exercise you guys. I don't think I have any of those endorphin thingies cuz I never feel wonderful after exercising like most people do. Still, my doctor wants me to do it and I've committed to walking 3 times a week, so I must fulfill that commitment.

    I posted yesterday that today was the start of our 7th, 3-Day-No-Cheat-Challenge. I was incorrect -- today is actually the 2nd day in our 7th round of challenges. Please forgive me! The new No Cheat Challenge (8th round), will starting on Monday July 22nd. For those of you on the fence about participating in our challenges, please mark your calendars and join us - it's only 3 days at a time!

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  • Did anyone see Oprah today? -- Sherry, 17:07:47 07/18/02 Thu
    Pretty inspirational. Lots of people losing a lot of weight. Mostly with weight training. One lady had 8 kids and was pregnant with her 9th. Looked like a teenager (otherwise).

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  • I hate carbs. -- Octobersan, 13:29:01 07/21/02 Sun
    I think i'll throw out the catalog and never order them again.

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  • I hate Newport News -- Kel, 10:09:33 07/21/02 Sun
    Hey remember back when I ordered a cute lil pair of shorts and a pair of pants as a reward for making a mini-goal? This was like in April sometime if I remember correctly. I ordered them from Newport News catalog. Well they finally came after much delay at the beginning of July.

    Well this morning since I hit a new goal, I felt like I deserved a reward. There has been a cute pair of shorts and a sweater that I've liked in the Newport News catalog, so this time I called to check on availability. The representative said it wouldn't be shipped until mid-September. I declined because I want the outfit to wear now, not in fall.

    Then I thought about it some more and decided well we DO get our best weather in Sept-Oct here, so the outfit would be perfect even if I have to wait for it. I called back to order it, and this time they told me both the shorts AND the sweater are all sold-out and they won't be getting any more. So I asked how come only an hour prior, their rep told me it would be mid-Sept? They explained it's different if you are just checking availability vs. actually ordering. Huh? If you are checking availability, don't you think that would be the best time to tell you if it's UNAVAILABLE?? Maybe it's just me, but I'm really hating Newport News -- so much so that I'm about to ask them to stop sending me their catalog, since I can't seem to get anything from it anyway. As an alternative reward, I'm going to try to go shopping this Friday for some real clothes that I can actually buy when I see them. I hate the mall, but it can't be more frustrating than this.

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  • This diet is really working!!!! -- Heather, 13:37:58 07/20/02 Sat
    I just had to tell everyone that I am now at 240!!! I started Atkins on June 17, 2002 at 252 lbs. and have now lose 12 lbs.!!!!

    I know it's taken me a month to lose 12 lbs. and when I went on Atkins a few years ago I lost 12 lbs. within the first 2 weeks. But I've decided that I can't look at the past, that I have to be happy about the progress I've made now. I'm also happy that I don't have any more addictions to carbs. And I've decided, no matter what I am never going back to my old weight. I will never allow myself to gain weight again! From now on, I only want to see weight loss not weight gain!

    I've thought of something creative for myself. In any situation, whether it be lunch with friends or dinner at my Mom's house- any time there are some carbs that I'm tempted by, like pizza, bread, potatoes, dessert I'm going to ask myself- what would I rather have that piece of bread or a 1 lb. loss in the morning when I weigh myself? And do you know that 99% of the time I decide to pass the bread or pizza and know that in the morning there's a real good chance that I lost something!

    I have realized with myself that if I eat a big carb meal for dinner - in the morning I have gained 1-2 lbs., if I have a CAD dinner, meat,salad,veggie and 1 carb- then I can expect that I stayed the same and didn't lose or gain anything. If I truly ate low carb all day then there's a good chance that I lost another lb. I have also realized to really lose weight, I have to stick to low carb all the time and eat dinner at least 3-4 hours before I go to bed.

    Heather

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  • Hot Research from Duke for Atkids! -- Laura Richard, 17:48:29 07/19/02 Fri
    Hello Low Carb Friends!

    You Atkids are going to *love* this press release out of Duke University! The title alone should immediately grab your attention: "Low-Carb Diet Effective in Research Study". In this press release researchers at Duke University report that a study of the Atkins diet shows"...a low-carbohydrate diet can indeed lead to significant and sustained weight loss." They placed subjects on a ketogenic, very low carb diet of less than 25 grams per day for 6 months. 80% of the participants stayed on the diet throughout the 6 months and they lost an average of 10% of their body weight which amounted to about 20 pounds. They also reported that cholesterol levels improved, much to the researchers surprise.

    To read this easy-to-read press release, go here:
    http://news.mc.duke.edu/news/article.php?id=5676

    The abstract at the Amercican Journal of Medicine is here:
    http://www.medicinedirect.com/journal/journal/article?acronym=AJM&format=abstract&uid=PIIS0002934302011294

    BTW, I have two other links to oldie-but-goodie LC study results from Duke University on my web site along with over 100 additional links to LC research that provides you with the information you need to educate your family, friends, physicians and other health care providers about the benefits of LCing. This collection includes prestigious sources such as Harvard University, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford University and major scientific publications such as American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

    To access the collection, go to my web site at www.lowcarbsuccess.net and click on the RESEARCH button. The Duke studies are in the category "Ketosis & Ketogenic Diets."

    Happy reading!

    Laura Richard
    Author of The Secret to Low Carb Success: How To Get The Most Out Of Your Low Carbohydrate Diet
    www.lowcarbsuccess.net

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  • NY Times Magizine Article on the Fat Lie! -- George, 14:47:04 07/20/02 Sat
    Interesting article entitled: What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?

    http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/07FAT.html?ei=1&en=e38c51e74066448e&ex=1027041397&pagewanted=all&position=top

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  • Stay With It! -- Daddy Bill, 12:14:54 07/18/02 Thu
    Hi, Fellow Low-Carbers -

    Please excuse the following Soapbox Truisms, but . . .

    It seems that I may have ruffled a feather or two when I stated that there are some on the site that either “can’t or won’t” stay on the diet. (Re: Pentabosol, earlier this week). First, let me be clear I was not pointing fingers at any individual. But it is a fact, and truth often causes offense. Lots of people are using the diet as a temporary WOE. I believe that is their biggest mistake. (I understand that some may have physiological or psychological reasons why they cannot stay on this diet, but hopefully these are few.)

    When I read the daily postings, I can say in most cases, “been there, done that.” As a man who has been fat most of his life, I have tried almost every diet (even including low-carbs) without success. We all keep hoping they will finally come out with a magic pill that will solve all our fat problems, but this is highly unlikely. (They keep coming out with pills, but they are expensive, full of dangerous side-effects, and usually don’t work in the long run.)

    I was actually on a quasi-Atkins diet back in the 70s, and I gave up on it. Why? Because I couldn’t be bothered to learn all the facts; didn’t believe it was healthy and didn’t stick with it long enough to make any real difference. I didn't know it then, but I was WRONG!

    When I was almost 68 years young, in 2000, I had just about given up on my dream to get back to a reasonable, healthy weight. Then I got new information about Low-carbing. I checked out the Internet and found “Protein Power.” (Any of the other books would have likely done as well.) I read it cover-to-cover. Twice. I tried the diet with a new determination and within a year I lost 68 pounds, reaching my `Protein Power goal weight’ of 182 lbs. More importantly, I have stayed at or near 182 for nearly a year so far, and have no doubt that I can remain at this weight. So what is the secret to staying at a goal weight? Every one of us knows the answer, but it has to be
    accepted unconditionally.

    If it works for you, stay with it! Even after you reach your goal. Learn to love as much about low-carbing as possible. Vary the foods, and excel in it’s results. (Usually you can have a few more carbs when you are at goal weight.) Resolve to stay with this WOL from now on. What’s the alternative? You know as well as I: More fat, more heartache, lower self-esteem and possible serious health consequences.

    Far too many think: As soon as I suffer through this, and lose “x” pounds, I’m going to reward myself with @!!#$%&*!! (Put in your old favorite sweets, etc.) BIG MISTAKE. Most go back to carbing full time, erasing all their hard-earned gains, making it even harder to try again.

    The real reward is your leaner, healthier self. (I admit, I occasionally eat a low-carb No-No, but I’ve found that I can, without going back to it full time.)

    Believe me, carb-cravings do get less with time. Stay with it!

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  • 20 20 last night -- Sherry, 08:46:58 07/20/02 Sat
    Those of us who have been low carbing for awhile know all the things that they said, but it was great seeing it on a show like that. They mentioned Atkins and how he has been saying this for like 20 years and that only recently have the 'experts' been agreeing with him.

    They mentioned that the "low fat" idea actually didn't get started with doctors or dieticians at all but with two LAWYERS trying to draft guidelines for the American public.

    That no studies have ever been done to prove that the low fat idea works, but that once it got ingrained into the public consciousness that there was "no stopping it".

    Seemed to me that they totally ignored the doctor's share of responsibility in all this.

    My father in law has all the classic symptoms of too many carbohydrates. He has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, adult onset diabetes, and angina. STILL they are telling him "low fat". They are also telling him low carbohydrate (to some extent), but as I see it they are essentially taking away all his food choices. He says "if it tastes good I can't eat it". WHO is going to stick to a diet like that?

    If he were the sort of person who would read anything I would share Protein Power with him, but he won't read it anyway.

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  • I didn't wait until next week to add an exercise -- Kel, 07:25:55 07/19/02 Fri
    My initial intention was to wait until next week to add an exercise to the exercise challenge, but one of my bosses convinced me to meet her over at the PD weight room for a workout the night before last so I did that. Wow, am I sore this morning. It always seems to take 2 days before soreness shows up on me. Anyway, I'm going to go over there again this morning (since it's my day off) and do another round. The weight room we have isn't the best, but there are quite a bit of weights that I like in there so I'm trying to work back up to my old routine I had when I was with my trainer. Back then I had the forethought to write all the exercises down and now I have a record to go by so at least there is no memory issue. Hope everyone is doing well on this, the 3rd day in our sixth No Cheat Challenge series. Tomorrow starts round 7 -- who's in??

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  • ham,sugar? -- kim, 13:38:22 07/19/02 Fri
    Question...i bought a fresh ham today and baked it,cut it into pieces and put it in the food processor so i could use it to make ham and cheese omelettes,and for ham salad.I made some ham salad for dinner,ham,mayo,mustard and a little scallion on a big piece of lettuce.It was fantastic,but...as i was eating it i noticed it tasted kind of sweet(i probably ate 3 big tbl spoons of it)I never thought to look at the label on it,i just figured its meat,it has to be good for me.well,i went to the garbage and looked at the label and much to my surprise it said,3 grams of carbs and 2 grams of sugar per ounce!i probably ate 2 ounces of it..will that amount of sugar take me out of ketosis?I could kick myself for not looking in the first place,i always do, but for some reason i just didnt on this fresh ham,well...a lesson learned i guess.(lol)

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  • On 20/20 tonight -- Sherry, 18:48:33 07/19/02 Fri
    There is supposed to be a show on low carb dieting and "Is fat really bad for you?"

    Hope everyone that wants to gets a chance to see it.

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  • Question about coffee -- Panth, 00:24:04 07/19/02 Fri
    Hello all,
    I am new to the board, and thinking that this low carb thing sounds great. But what about coffee, why can't you have it? I start every day with coffee and am such an addict
    that if I miss my coffee I have a splitting headache.
    Someone please explain, as I have no Idea what its all about yet. Thanks a bunch!

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  • Stress is a b**ch -- Katie, 10:38:35 07/17/02 Wed
    I was a very skinny little girl. Skinny to the point where someone was always trying to feed me. My mother was always thin, but started gaining weight when I was about 9. She was bit by a dog, and almost killed. She had to have over 100 stitches in her face, and had to drink all of her meals through a straw for over a month. Since cold was the only thing that didn't hurt, she lived on milkshakes.

    After she got heavy, my stepfather would start yelling at her that she was making me fat just like her, any time she let me have anything dessert-like. I loved my mom. I was 9 years old. I thought she was perfect. I got to the point that every time he yelled at her, I ate something.

    I currently have a whole new set of issues aside from the ones that I developed as a child. This is a little hard for me to talk about, but here goes. I left my husband 4 years ago. I filed for divorce, and he refused to sign the paperwork. So, no divorce. He met someone, filed for divorce, the judge denied his divorce. So, no divorce.

    BUT, I just found out that he remarried a year ago, so he committed bigamy. I left the state after I filed for divorce. The police where he lives (Los Angeles) told me to file a complaint where I live. The police where I live (Washington State) told me to file a complaint where he remarried, and the police where he remarried (Las Vegas) told me that they just don't care. Now, I'm receiving letters from his new *wife* telling me that I need to quit contacting him or they will file harassement charges. I contacted the Los Angeles courts, and they don't care that he remarried without waiting for a divorce.

    I don't have the money to refile for divorce. My SO's divorce will be final in about 3 months. I want to marry him before my son is old enough to know the difference. I can't stop crying every time that I think about it.

    My car is a piece of junk. I can't get my husband to sign off his interest in it, so I can't sell it. Which means that I don't have the downpayment for another car.

    It took me 4 months to get my husband to sign the paternity papers stating that he was not my son's father. My SO wanted to be on the birth certificate, but because of the laws here, your husband is automatically listed as the father. I was able to get the DA's office here threaten to make him pay child support. That was the only thing that got him to sign those papers. I'm running out of things to threaten him with to get him to do anything else that I need.

    I'm having a little trouble caring what I look like right now. I'm having trouble caring about anything right now. I tried to talk to the doctor about putting me on prozac yesterday, and told her all of this. She told me that I should go to the media. I don't want her advice on resolving the problem. I wanted medication so that I can stop crying long enough to plan and execute resolution.

    I hate feeling trapped. I hate feeling like I have absolutely no control over my life and my future. Sometimes the food I eat is the only control that I have left. Right now, I'm trying to control it in positive ways, to choose foods that will make me healthy and strong.

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  • Names for food... -- Katie, 00:44:45 07/18/02 Thu
    Some of the newer foods in our house have some odd nicknames.

    I played around with a recipe that I found on the web, and created a really tasty muffin. They have one drawback. It takes two to get full, and that much fiber has my SO in the bathroom an hour later. He's christened them "Chitter Buns". Because they make you...

    Tonight I was looking for something sweet to eat. I made some LC candy like things. Peanut butter, cream cheese, cocoa powder, and splenda. Mix well, and roll into balls. Refrigerate until set. He christened them "Dinosaur Poop". Now, he did admit after he finally tried one that they tasted pretty good, but I was laughing so hard from him making comments about the size of dinosaur rabbits (I guess they do look like giant rabbit droppings), that I choked on one, and shot peanut butter out my nose.

    I've been making strawberry smoothies for a couple of weeks now. I converted a recipe that my SO found in the paper to LC and it is one of our favorite LC treats. Raspberries are on sale. So I decided to see if I could make a raspberry version. One problem, raspberries have a lot more seeds than strawberries. I've been flossing my teeth for an hour now, and I think I'm down to the last 3 seeds.

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  • Just don't understand this crazy diet anymore! -- Chati, 19:49:51 07/17/02 Wed
    I am so confused. I have been so good, no cheating, or at least not for the past 3 days. I have eatten salads for the past 2 days along with my low carb meal replacement bars. No diet soda(lots and lots of water), no bread, no pasta, no potatos ( except one tiny fry from my niece), and I am fatter now than I was a week ago. Don't laugh, I'm telling you, I have a pudge where I didn't have a week ago. I haven't gained in pounds though. My fingers are puffy, my legs are puffy and my stomach is like bloated. I haven't lost anything in the past week, and I have been trying so hard. What am I doing wrong. I tried to add some calories to my diet, even add a few carbs but I just feel yucky. Should I reevaluate the Atkins way and try something else or keep trying this. I am afraid that I am going to start feeling defeated and "go off the carb wagon".

    Any ideas out there. I really don't know what would happen to me emotionally if I gained any of this weight back. I am starting to kind of get bluesy just "feeling" fat again.

    Thanks for letting me spout guys. You really have been a
    Godsend.

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  • How bad is chinese food in regards to carbs? -- Joe, 09:11:38 07/18/02 Thu
    Yes i know the rice and lo mein are no-nos. but what about the meat and veggie dishes?

    I have no idea what is used in making chinese food.

    can anyone help me out?

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  • Help -- Tonya, 10:18:00 07/18/02 Thu
    Can anyone tell me about the Atkins Advantage bars? Ive bought the brownie bar and the peanut butter bar. Are these okay for me to have?

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  • Will the public swallow carb-free flour? -- octobersan, 12:15:42 07/17/02 Wed

    (CNN) -- Some diet experts have labeled carbohydrates a dietary evil these days, and that advice has thousands of weight watchers avoiding foods like bread and pasta.

    But Dr. Mathias Christian Zohoungbog, who heads an obesity clinic in Italy, has found what he says is a way we can have our cake and eat it, too.

    For the past decade he's been perfecting "Ros 95," a sin-free flour that replaces wheat carbohydrates with vegetable proteins and fiber.

    The doctor says it can be used to make everything from muffins and breadsticks to a rice substitute and pasta. But will the public eat it up?

    CNN's Jeanne Moos put the flour through a taste test with mixed results, with many people saying the taste was not good. One person said that after denying herself carbs, however, it tasted great.

    The carb-free products will be available in the United States at www.liteflour.com by mid-August.

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  • Dateline Story -- Zoe (Moody), 08:34:24 07/17/02 Wed
    HI-
    did anyone see the positive story they did on the Atkins Diet last night on "Dateline"??
    It seems like one of the reporters for the show, Josh Mankowitz (sp?) is on the program..he lost 40 pounds on Atkins four years ago and he has kept it off..It was a very funny story!! I hope some of you saw it. My sister and I were very happy to see it!!

    bye,
    Zoe (Moody)

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  • Upgrade to LC Research Site -- Laura Richard, 09:44:19 07/18/02 Thu
    Hello Low Carb Friends,

    I have not been around much lately because I have been busy! The good news is that the popularity and size of the collection of LC research posted at my web site has grown dramatically since I started it in April. The bad news is that it has grown so popular and so large that it has outgrown my tiny little web site. So in the last couple of weeks I have converted the "Research" page of my web site to a database program.

    This means that the research is now organized in categories that make it much easier to find the information you need. I think you will love the handy Search feature that allows you to browse through the information you really want to see without sorting through all the other articles. For example, if you want to see the research coming out of Harvard University, you can search on Harvard. If you want to see the articles published in The New England Journal of Medicine, just search on it. Another great search is to look up the articles by year. If you want to see the research released this year, just enter "2002" in the search field.

    The collection has brief, simple summaries of the research findings and also has the links to all of the original research articles. I think having access to the original work is particularly helpful when you need to educate your health care professionals on the benefits of our low carb lifestyle.

    The collection now has links to over 80 articles and I have about 20 more on my desk that I will add as soon as I can get to it. As you know, great LC research is being released nearly every week so check back often for updates!

    Thank you to everyone who has visited the collection, shared the good LC news with others, and contributed to the collection by sending links to me. If you have articles that you think should be included in the collection, please forward the links to me. Some of the best articles in the collection came from some of my newest low carb friends. I appreciate any help you can offer.

    As you can probably tell, I am excited to have this significant upgrade to my site to spread the good news about our healthy low carb lifestyle. I hope you find it helpful and easy to use. To access the research collection, go to my website at www.lowcarbsuccess.net and click on the RESEARCH button.

    I squeaked out a little time and sent a few links to research articles to Shara for her next newsletter. One of them is another great statment from Harvard I think you are going to love!

    Happy Reading!

    Laura Richard
    Author of The Secret to Low Carb Success: How To Get The Most Out Of Your Low Carbohydrate Diet
    www.lowcarbsuccess.net
    Available through The Low Carb Diet Support Group Store

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  • doctors advice?????? -- kim, 11:41:30 07/17/02 Wed
    I went to see my dr today..and great news,my blood pressure is almost normal,for the past year it's been quite elevated(especially the bottom #)so he was very pleased and of course so was i.but...i have lost 18lbs on this atkins diet 16 of it in the first 10 days,ive only lost 2 lbs in the last 15 days,even though i'm doing everthing the way im supposed to(absolutly no cheating in 4 weeks)i just dont understand what the problem is,why im not losing!anyway, he seems to think i need to modify the diet,he suggests i eat...100 grams of protein,100 grams of carbs and 44 grams of fat per day,with a 1200 calorie limit.He claims this is the way i should eat for the rest of my life and the most healthy way, along with my exercise class int the morning and tread mill at night.I just dont know if i should do that.I'ld really like to give this atkings a little more time,i keep feeling that the weight loss will start again soon if i keep it up.I told him i'ld think about it,i definetly dont want to up the carbs,but like he asked...are you losing anythin right now with very few carbs? i just dont know what to do,please,any advice will be appreciated.once again..thank god for this website!

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  • I actually exercised -- Katie, 14:52:42 07/16/02 Tue
    I decided this morning that if it didn't get too hot, I would do my Richard Simmons exercise video. Well, I thought about it for a few minutes, and realized that it wasn't too hot yet and there wasn't any legitimate reason not to exercise right then.

    So I did it!!!

    I had to just walk in place for one song towards the end, because I got a charlie horse in my leg, but I stayed moving through the whole thing.

    Heck, sometimes I was even doing what Richard and his gang were doing.

    A couple of times I was even doing it as fast as they were.

    Okay, okay, it didn't suck as bad as I thought it would. I had to take a couple of calcium/magnesium tablets afterwards, and I need to take a couple more in a little while, because the charlie horse won't ease up the rest of the way.

    I don't like to sweat. I'm of the school that horses sweat, women should maintain a calm, cool appearance. Sweat was dripping off me like I was standing in a rain storm. (I used to say that someone was sweating like a pig, until my SO who was raised on a farm informed me that pigs don't have sweat glands).

    So... for the rest of you procrastinators out there. If I can find one morning where there wasn't any reason to put it off, can't you find 5 minutes to walk to the corner and back? Or crawl the length of your house and back with your baby? Have crawling races with your toddler. Sure, you'll lose, but the kid will still think you're a hero.

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  • Does anyone fight the emotional aspect? -- Kel, 05:54:40 07/17/02 Wed
    Just thought I'd take a chance and see if anyone else out there fights the emotional factor when trying to stay on plan. I read one of Daddy Bill's replies this morning and my knee-jerk reaction was to take offense when he said "...those who won't (or can't) stick to their diet - there seem to be a lot of those!" But then I thought about it. I know Daddy Bill has been very supportive in the past and didn't mean any offense by it. I also know that many who are (or were) overweight and doing the LC WOL don't have a lot of trouble sticking to their plans because they are not fighting an emotional aspect of some sort. Therefore, I know it must be hard to understand someone who keeps blowing their plan; it must just seem like a matter of will-power. Well, that's only partially correct.

    I have suffered from a food addiction from a very young age which made me a fat and unhappy kid who was mercilessly ridiculed thoughout her childhood and into her adult life. All that pain caused me to further isolate into my food addiction and food became more of an anesthetic than a sustinence or even something that tasted good. It was a way to escape. Nowadays, I still fight my weight and I'm trying very hard to recover from my food addiction. After a lifetime of this method of coping, it isn't very easy to find another method just by saying "ok I'm going to handle stress another way." So for those who do not suffer from food addiction, please consider that some of us have further obstacles besides just simple will-power. The fact that we are actively working on them, seeking this board for support, and participating as much as possible in educating ourselves and "getting back on that horse" when we fall, should say something about us! It should tell you that even if we can't "stick" to our diets all the time, we are trying best that we can.

    Yesterday I had a contact with a gang-member when I was towing his father's (another gang-member's) vehicle. It wasn't a pleasant contact (as you can expect), and I usually don't let them scare me. But this one frankly scared the hell out of me. There was an officer driving by during all this and he stopped to check if everything was ok. I told him it was, because I hadn't been threatened, but that he was messing with my tow driver who was just doing his job. That officer decided to stay and monitor the situation so just in case something got out of hand, he'd be there. I guess he could read my concern or something. I'm very glad he decided to stay; it made me feel a bit more calm, but this guy was the type who would put a bullet in my head and not care if he went down for it. To make matters worse, he kept going into the house and coming back out -- who knows what he would have been carrying each time (perhaps a firearm). The onlooking officer wouldn't have been able to help me if that happened and I knew this.. so anyway the whole thing was very stressful for me and after work, I needed to de-stress in the very worst way. I was still a bit rattled for a couple hours after the contact (which BELIEVE ME is rare -- these people just don't intimidate me usually ). First refuge I could think of? Food. Did I blow my diet? No, I talked myself into walking like my doctor has suggested and then afterwards I went to the tanning salon (that always relaxes me). Point is, months ago I would have quelled the stress with pizza and ice cream and chocolate and goodness knows what else. Even though I still had the desire to do that, I was able to see that my desire to eat was all mental; a way to cope with stress that has worked for 36 years. Well it's a brand new me -- or at least a brand new me in-progress. Anyone suffer from a food addiction or use food to cope with life's stressors?

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  • Something to help low carbing -- Bill, 19:56:37 07/16/02 Tue
    There is a product that is being released on July 20th. That will be the answer to so many peoples prayers. Low carbing is hard, admit it. Dr. Earl Mindell is the most trusted nutritionist in the world. He is the author of the number one selling book of all time in the history of Nutrition, that book is the Vitamin Bible.

    Dr. Mindell has created a supplement called Carbs Away Plus. This one tablet is a Metabolism Booster (stimulant free) Appetite Controller, Energy Enhancer and a Carbohydrate Reducer. Not only that it will naturally even out your blood sugar levels all day stopping your cravings for refined carbohydrates!

    I know his website, if you want it email me at: Williamjmusella@hotmail.com I don't want this to be seen as an advertisement and deleted, Dr. Mindell is a personal friend of mine and I want to help get the word out. As he says 300,000 people a year die from the effects of being overweight. Lets save them. -Bill

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  • Pentabosol -- Daddy Bill, 07:41:54 07/13/02 Sat
    Speaking of flipping through the channels, I was doing that yesterday and by chance found Dr.s Michael & Mary Dan Eades (the authors of Protein Power) in an Infomercial. I of course stopped the surfing and checked it out.

    They were selling a new product they had developed called "Pentabosol," (Pen-TAB-o-sol), which is a powder that tastes like lemonade and is supposed to burn fat at a higher rate, make us less hungry, and costs less than any other "fat-burning" product on the market. It is absolutely
    safe and has no side-effects. You mix the powder with water and drink it twice a day.

    Being a scientist, I was interested that they had conducted an extensive double-blind placebo test that showed that the Pentabosol group obtained a much greater weight loss than the placebo group. In fact, Pentabosol worked better than any other product, including prescription drugs. All of the test subjects ate the same foods and had moderate exercise.
    (Also being a scientist, I know that this is not an independent, non-biased study, but I believe the Eades have nothing to gain by falsifying evidence that is sure to be checked thoroughly by many.)

    I have ordered a month’s supply and will check it out. It costs $79.95 plus shipping. Although I am at my goal weight, I am interested to see how it works for a couple of reasons. I have noticed that many on this board are having a hard time on low-carbs, (and this includes members of my
    family). Some may be taking other “diet-aid” products that may be dangerous and more expensive.

    Also, if Pentabosol works as advertised, it will allow me to eat more of my favorite treats, that presently cause a temporary weight gain. Sounds almost too good to be true, but maybe the Eades have something here. I will let you know.

    PS: This FYI. I have no finacial interest in this product.

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  • I know it's annoying.... -- shara again, 12:06:06 07/16/02 Tue
    Ok, so the dancing Snoopy is annoying, I'll take it down shortly, but if you've forgoten what Snoopy looks like when he's happy here it is. This is how I feel when things are going good, and especially when the scale goes down! I have him all around my desk. He's my hero!

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  • Back on track -- Sherry, 19:58:54 07/16/02 Tue
    Hope I can stay there. I decided a half month was long enough to sit on the sidelines and watch everyone else lose weight. So far today I've been good, ate my protein, no carbs except the one or two in the cheese I ate, (but plan to have some good veggys tonight).

    Chicken for dinner and maybe some brocolli or spinach salad. Sounds yummy I can't wait, maybe I should go and start cooking it.

    I did a new excercise the other day which made the back of my left calf REALLY sore. So sore that I get up in the morning and can hardly walk on it. I'm not sure if I should do it again tomorrow during my workout or if I should let it heal a few more days first. Which will be better? Keeping it flexible by moving it? Or letting it rest longer?

    Not sure.

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  • vitamin c, and dietary fiber -- edward, 13:44:24 07/16/02 Tue
    i am taking a cluster of vitamins daily including, calcuim,magnesium, omega 3-6-9 complex, and vitamin c. my question is that my vitamin c is non-chewable but has a sweet taste in my mouth it also has rose hips in the pill. it says there are no added sugar or fillers but does anyone know about these rose hips, do they contain natural sugars or carbs. i also bought some dietary fiber supplements that i am supposed to take during meals. know i heard fiber absorbs carbs so if i eat a little more carbs in a meal will the dietary fiber absorb them as well

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  • confused -- kim, 14:21:44 07/11/02 Thu
    I recently started an exersice class for women which entails 10 machines ,working on different parts of the body for 30 min.I weigh 240(down from 258)i've got 95 more to go to get to where i want to be...and thats my main goal!I had hoped by adding the excersice it would help things along(i've been in a stall for almost 2 weeks).But,i'm getting conflicting information,some say the excersice will do wonders,others say it will make too much muscle and bulk.I want to get to my goal weight and be small and toned .Is that possible with what i'm doing?Or should i not be doing the excersices i'm doing right now.Please give your advice.

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  • Not Losing on Atkins, and Suggestions? -- Denise, 04:12:46 07/16/02 Tue
    Hi Everyone, this is my first post and i would like to see if anyone has had some of the same problems i have. the first time i ever went on the atkins was when i was 16, i am 33 now. i lost 40 pounds with no problem. i have done it again a few times since during the years and had some success. now, when i go on the Atkins diet, i don't seem to lose any weight no matter how strict i am, and the keto stix do not turn purple. what could be the problem? I really believe this diet works but it gets real frustrating and discourageing when you are not losing. Any feed back would be great. thank you.
    Denise

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  • How much exercise is enough? -- Zoe (Moody), 13:20:55 07/15/02 Mon
    Hi all-

    I have a question..okay..I have been on Atkins since 05.01.02. I exercise everyday mon-fri using a Tae Bo video..sometimes I add to my exercise by playing racquetball for about an hour 2x a week. This is every week. Now, I was told that my body might be getting used to the Tae Bo work outs and I should try and vary them this way...my body will lose more weight. But, isn't it better to have a routine going than to change things around? I have a routine...My mind is set as to what I have to do everyday..(like doing laundry on wednesdays and fridays, yup, I don't have a life, ha ha).
    Should I vary my work outs? I let my body rest on the weekends. I don't do a lick of exercise then. I was thinking about lifting weights maybe 1x or 2x per week. I wanted to try this...Tae Bo 3x a week...weights 1x a week...racquetball 2x a week. This is like 3 different types of work outs in one week...would that give me enough variety?
    Or I could go with Tae Bo 3x a week plus racquetball 2x a week.
    any help would be greatly appreciated....

    Much Love,
    Zoe (Moody)

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  • Danger zone -- Max, 08:49:17 07/16/02 Tue
    Hi all

    I'm approaching that stage where I usually bail. Four weeks in, getting abit bored, not so excited anymore, bad habits kicking in.

    Down 1 lb last week, 15 to go. It was a terrible week for me. First I stalled (TOM), was on induction level without even trying, but not losing. Then on Friday I was down 2 lbs. Anyhoo, I had been adding back carbs and on Friday it just got out of hand (I'm now addicted to saltines & marmalade). Sunday I decied to allow myself one high carb meal - Fast Food! I really was not at all excited about it, the food tasted crappy and I just felt bloated & uncomfortable afterwards. Of course, have reawakened my carb cravings I am now struggling to control them.

    Anyhoo, y'all have a good week and hang in there.

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  • Hot Bods -- Max, 08:56:22 07/16/02 Tue
    I had to share this with you guys. Saw Ranks top 30 hottest bodies in Hollywood. Did not catch all of it but I did notice that low carbing and yoga were the most popular methods for maintaining the fabulour bod. Low Carbers included Jennifer Alliston, The Rock and Hale Berry.

    Pretty cool huh?

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  • Low Carb Program Comparison -- Max, 09:17:11 07/16/02 Tue
    The following site has an excellent review of a variety of low carb plans.

    http://www.lowcarb.ca/atkins-diet-and-low-carb-plans/

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  • Hi Everybody! -- Kel, 08:08:08 07/13/02 Sat
    Good morning.. yawn... LOL... geez I love days off! Okay so I have a confession to make. I slipped up a little bit yesterday. I had to have cookies. This wasn't a simple I'd really like to have a cookie. This was an all out I WANT COOKIES!

    I've always been somewhat of a cookie-monster anyway. I've always liked the idea of a cookie whether I'm LC'g or not. The LC diet just makes the cookie cravings worse at times. Donuts on the other hand, I don't think about when I'm not LC'g, but for some reason when I'm on the diet, I crave donuts too. Sadly in my line of work, well... lol they are everywhere (hangin head).

    Anyway yesterday I just had to have a few cookies, so I did. But, I ate them with my dinner which was a reasonable dinner. OMG they were sooo good. I have a really hard time getting back into the mindset of the diet once I've slipped like that, so I'm trying really hard this morning. Other than that, the scale is still showing 142. It could be because I ate dinner late lastnight and it hasn't had time to show the gain yet, or it could be that eating the sweets with dinner helped me not to gain at all. Don't know, but I do know that I've GOT to get right back on the diet today otherwise risk losing all this hard work. Don't want to do that! I hope everyone is having a great week, and I hope next week everyone will see a new low.. hugs & cookie-crumb kisses, Kel

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  • Pork Rind Fondue -- Shara, 02:34:34 07/16/02 Tue
    Some really cool person sent me a recipe for pork rind fondue. Now the original recipe called for things like Velveeta cheese, maple syrup and chocolate chips. I was able to play with it a little and got the carbs down some. I posted it on the cookbook online.
    Now this is the strangest recipe. It has chocolate (I used baking cocoa) and cheese, maple flavoring and jalapenos in it. I was very skeptical, but using the pork rinds for fondue dippers was cool, it was different but good! The trick is not to stab the little suckers to hard.

    So now I'm on a quest for pork rind fondue recipes. Whoever comes up with the best one will win a $5 email gift certificate from Amazon.com. We'll run this contest until August 10th. Please submit them to the cookbook directly or send them to me in email.

    We now have 160 low carb recipes in our cookbook!

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  • another lo carb plan? -- thriftigi20, 21:00:29 07/15/02 Mon














    hi all! I was reading a post about a Dr. Markham's plan for low carbing, does anyone have any info on this?
    Thanks

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  • I have a question..... -- Heather, 22:53:06 07/15/02 Mon
    I bought a magazine today because anytime I see a new diet I just have to read about it. The funny thing, is that no matter what diet it is whether it be Dr. Atkins or any other low carb diet, weight watchers, slim fast, etc. they all have a few major things in common. That you should eat a lot of vegetables, salads, stay away from junk food and sweets, drink plenty of water and exercise. I'm also finding that more and more diets in different magazines are leaning towards MORE PROTEIN and less carbohydrates. I think these people are finally learning!!! I know I always preach to my family and friends that if they want to lose weight they have to cut out the sugar and flour! Sugar has no good use and it only harms your body!

    Here's my question.... the diet I was reading about today suggested that you eat 5-6 small meals per day instead of 3 large meals per day. They were saying that this will help your metabolism and your body will burn fat much faster this way. Does anyone agree that if you constantly eat all day that your body will be a fat burning machine? I was thinking that if I did this and ate all legal foods on Atkins that it could really work. Does anyone have any advice on this?

    I was also wondering how many hours should my last meal be before I go to bed at night? I try to make sure I let my food digest for 2-3 hours before bedtime,but sometimes I just have to have some low carb dessert right before bed and I'm afraid that that stalls my weight loss sometimes. I was wondering if anyone ever eats right before bed and still loses weight, or if you really have to eat a few hours before bedtime.


    Heather

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  • Found what works for me!! -- Elizabeth, 11:45:47 07/13/02 Sat
    Hi All,

    This past week in the issue of Woman's World is an article about med. carb dieting...The Schwarbein Diet. I started it this past week and I am so excited because it is working great for me. I've tried the traditional low carb diets in the past and just couldn't do them. What's different about this one is that it allows for small amounts of fruit, whole grain lite bread, etc. It says that if you're 30 lbs overweight to eat 15 grams at meals (3x day) and 7 grams carbs at snacks (2x day) well, I'm losing and it's working. I feel like I need that amount of carbs, the other way is just too little and I get really weird feeling.
    So, if you're like me, it's worth a try. I feel really great and feel like I'm eating healthy. There's a 4 day sample menu, but you can interchange some things or do your own thing, as long as you stay within limits.
    I come here a lot for support, just don't post. But, I thought this might help someone who is struggling.

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  • Need Support -- Tonya, 11:49:39 07/15/02 Mon
    Ok guys, I weighed this morning and ive lost 6 pounds. Ive got a long way to go but at least its a start. Im having a bit of a hard time today, im not sure why though. I would have thought the weight in thing would have motivated me. Someone mentioned in a email something about a "fat fast" what is this and how does it work??

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  • New to the LC WOL -- Jo, 19:36:39 03/26/02 Tue
    Hello everyone! I'm wondering if most of you follow Atkins. I just started LC diet within the last three weeks. I am trying to follow the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet. Your thoughts on this diet. Also, are Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke, etc. no no's? The book mentions that "some" diet drinks should not be consumed, but does not mention which ones. I was glad to see that Splenda is acceptable for LC diets......I just discovered it myself, and I love it! Gotta have my sweet tea! Especially with summer coming! Thanks for any replies! Jo

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  • A new week -- Shara, 10:42:49 07/15/02 Mon
    I got an interesting email this weekend, and after checking it out I thought I should pass on information about a very expensive email scam. I don't usually pay any attention to these things, but this thing looked real and if it caught my attention it could catch your's too.

    You might receive an e-mail informing you that your order has been received and processed, and your credit card will be billed for the charges. The trouble is, you haven't ordered anything. They contacted you using bulk email, using inactive return addresses which prevent you from refuting the orders by email. They do provide a telephone number in the area code 767, which is actually in the West Indies. They try to keep callers on the line as long as possible, and you are reportedly billed as much as $25 per minute.

    And while we are on the subject if I responded to all the emails that I get that say that I'll lose 30 pounds by midnight I wouldn't be here. They tend to pick the emails off of sites like this one so please beware. And if you really want to hear me rant, let's talk about the annoying pop-ups on almost every site you visit now. I vow never to put any on my site. I can barely stand the flashy thingies on some of the banners and try to pick the least annoying ones. (deep breath.....release)

    I think I'll go do some yoga now....

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  • Some mornings I feel strong -- Kel, 07:00:23 07/15/02 Mon
    Well I made it thru yesterday, not really because I was focused on staying true to plan, but more because I had a trainee with me the whole shift and I was really busy watching and teaching him. I had a miniture reese's peanut butter cup for a snack which I know I shouldn't have had, but at that point, I felt like I was going to blow my diet that day anyway, so ate it. Later, when we went to Taco Bell for lunch, I ordered a taco salad with no beans and didn't eat the shell. I didn't eat anything else until dinner, which was simply chicken wings and green beans.

    So anyway, I guess because I was pretty good yesterday, I feel a bit stronger today. Like I can tackle the day and not cheat. Wayyyy different feeling than I had yesterday. Yesterday I rolled out of bed thinking I was going to cheat. To my surprise, I didn't. Hopefully today will go as well. Tomorrow starts another 3 day No Cheat Challenge. Who's in??

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  • Does anyone have days like this? -- Kel, 09:14:33 07/14/02 Sun
    Does anyone else have days where they feel like they just can't do the diet like they should? I mean, these are different days than your normal cravings/afflictions for non-legal foods. These are days when you just can't seem to talk yourself into staying on your plan no matter what.

    I'm having one of those days. I don't want to be good. No matter what I've told myself, I can't seem to shake the feeling that I want what I want. So I'm asking myself - what is it that I want? I can't even put my finger on any one particular thing, otherwise I'd have that and get it over with. I just generally want to be bad lol. I'm fighting it and so far I'm winning. But just barely. Anyone else have this problem? I was good yesterday, don't know what my problem is today.

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  • A new low!!! -- Katie, 06:34:30 07/12/02 Fri
    235!!! I'm dancing on air here!!! This is the lowest that I've been in almost 9 years! Thanks you guys for all the support that you give me. I don't think that I could have done it without all of you to listen to me whine when things are tough and all of the great advice that you've given me.

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  • i was switching through the channels and on larry king they had john schieder (from dukes of hazzard,, smallville.) and he came out and said he was fat as a kid, and now eats high protien, low carb. they had a couple doctors on there as well validating this diet it was quiet interesting. i was hoping someone else saw it because the doctor mentioned his webpage and i missed it. did anyone else catch that episode -- edwardo, 19:25:25 07/12/02 Fri
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  • it works!!!! -- thriftigi20, 06:58:33 07/11/02 Thu
    Hi all,
    I'm a newbie here, I started atkins in May and only lost 10 lbs. I've been stuck at 190 for a month and today I saw
    189!!!! on the scale! I did the fat fast for one day and it
    works, it really works!!!! I have not seen myself at 189lbs in over 3 years. I have finally found a way to get rid of
    this load I'm carrying! Just wanted to share with somebody.
    I thank you for being there for me.
    Got to go now, I'm going to work out.

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  • New Research -- Shara, 09:50:42 07/11/02 Thu
    I found some interesting things about gum disease and how it relates to blood sugar. So my question is, how many of you have had problems with their gums, or have to be careful about getting dental treatment for bleeding gums, or have sensitive teeth?
    For example, research has found that treating gum disease helped people with diabetes. It lowered their blood sugar levels and reduced their need for insulin, so if that's the case maybe we should all get our teeth cleaned soon if you've been putting it off for a while.

    I would be interested in knowing what our stats are here at the site. If you don't want to post it here, please email me the info and I'll conduct a private poll and give you the results later.

    Thanks!

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  • A new article -- Katie, 02:12:45 07/13/02 Sat
    Doesn't Anyone Know What's Good For Us? by Sheryl McCarthy at Newsday.com

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  • Small slip... -- Lanie, 18:39:35 07/12/02 Fri
    Hey, everybody! Well, I had a great first day and a great second day until the evening. I met a friend to hang out (at a TGI Fridays-my first mistake) and thought I would just get a diet coke or iced tea. But, I had a piece of pie. I didn't eat the crust, so I don't feel so bad about it, but all the same. Luckily I'm still in moderate ketosis. I'm not sure how. The pie was way too sweet. I didn't even really enjoy it. Go figure.

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  • Small slip... -- Lanie, 18:38:14 07/12/02 Fri
    Hey, everybody! Well, I had a great first day and a great second day until the evening. I met a friend to hang out (at a TGI Fridays-my first mistake) and thought I would just get a diet coke or iced tea. But, I had a piece of pie. I didn't eat the crust, so I don't feel so bad about it, but all the same. Luckily I'm still in moderate ketosis. I'm not sure how. The pie was way too sweet. I didn't even really enjoy it. Go figure.

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  • Newbie -- Zoe (Moody), 10:25:45 07/09/02 Tue
    Hi, I just found this site today. I am so happy I did. Hello EVERYONE!! I have been on Atkins since 05/01/02 and so far, I have lost 17 pounds. I am starting to look good. I read in the Atkins books (read it before starting the "diet") that I should have a lot of energy at this point, but I don't. I am taking vitamin supplements. It was recommended that I take iron so I started doing that two days a go. I even exercise 5x a week using a Tae Bo video. Hopefully the iron and the exercise will help me in the energy department. I really really need more energy.
    I read in one of the posts that wanting to lose 20 pounds in 2 months is somewhat unrealistic! I wanted to lose 20 pounds by the end of August...I guess I should just lower my expectations. Gosh, forgot to give you guys my stats...
    I am 30 yrs old
    5" 2 1/2" tall (or short, ha ha)
    started atkins: 05/01/02
    start weight: 175
    weight now: 158
    Have lost: 17 Pounds
    Okay then, nice meeting you guys. I hope I get some responses to this post.
    bye
    Zoe (moody)

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  • Son Lo-carbing the wrong way -- Thea, 16:26:52 07/12/02 Fri
    I spent time talking to my son that lives in Puerto Rico for awhile on the subject of locarbing.. He has always kept his weight under control by eating mostly meat.. 3mos last time 6 days a week and eating whatever on the 7th day. I told him that he is doing it all wrong and maybe causing damage to his system. I sent him links to lots of atkins sites and told him to read about doing it the right way. I think he will like Laura Richards site about research..

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  • Losing my Hair along with losing weight -- Cheryl, 14:32:46 07/12/02 Fri
    Has anyone had any trouble with hair loss related to low carbing? My hair has been falling out by the handfull for about 6 weeks now. I started Atkins on Feb 12 of this year and as of today, I have lost 44 lbs. (from 232 to 188). I am taking a multi vitamin, b-50, b12, B1, C, & E. Is there something else I should take or am I taking too many vitamins.

    I appreciate any advice you can give me.

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  • diet -- Special~Gem, 19:22:00 07/11/02 Thu
    can anyone tell me what the Protein Power Diet is.. I sure would appreciate it.. thanks.. specialgem

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  • Hi, I'm new to this site -- Heather, 08:40:42 07/04/02 Thu
    Hi, I'm new to this site. I've been doing Atkins for a little over 2 weeks now. I lost 8 lbs. in the induction phase and am so excited! I've been on Atkins diet before and lost 37 lbs. in 3 months. I really loved the diet because I had a message board that I could always go and get support and ask questions. This board is just like the one I use to go to!!!

    Well, I'm 27 years old, 5'9 and before I started Atkins I weighed 252 lbs. and am currently at 244. I really would like to go down to 175 lbs. Once I get there, I have to evaluate to see if I need to lose anymore. I'm tall and have bigger bones, so I'll have to wait and see!!!!

    Since induction, I have been having anywhere from 30-40 carbs a day. I totally stay away from sugar, flour, potatoes, noodles, etc. Those carbs are in the cheeses, vegetables and wasa crackers I've been eating.

    I was wondering how many carbs each of you have everyday and if you could tell me what the average amount of weight it is that you lose per week? I'm just trying to decide on how many carbs I should stick with so that I still lose weight quickly.

    Have a great fourth of July everybody!
    Heather

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  • "The Dress" -- Zoe (Moody), 09:00:32 07/11/02 Thu
    Hello All-

    I am new, but I feel so WELCOMED!! Thanks for all the advice and encouragement....
    I feel extremely discouraged today because I haven't lost any more weight...I have been stalling for the past 3 weeks.
    Today, I feel fat and saggy, ha ha...
    I am trying to remember how I felt last night when I tried on "the dress" I have been saving for a special occasion..its been in my closet for the past year..:(
    It fit!! I was so shocked!
    its very form fitting...all Ihave to do is work on my tummy and hips a little more and it will be perfect..it fits me like a glove!! I am not vain or anything..its just that when I bought it, it did not come in my size and for the past year its been in my close..I paid sooooo much for it and now to be able to wear it!! I was on cloud nine last night!!
    I am sure that I have lost some inches..because it fits now..so thats encouraging even though I haven't lost any pounds!! I am going to keep up with my work outs no matter what..!! I have seen the results..and I am happy, so even though I am having a bad day today..I will try to make myself happy by thinking about "the dress" (can't wait until my ex sees me in it!! He is also on Atkins and looks great!).
    Thank you all again for the support..
    Zoe (moody)

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  • A funny observation -- Joe, 09:24:46 07/11/02 Thu
    Is there any one high carb food that you absolutely refuse to eat even when cheating and binging?

    No matter where i am or what i am eating i completely refuse to drink sugared cola.

    Last weekend we were camping, i ate everything from cantaloupe to macaroni and cheese to potatoes to ice cream. At night I was washing S'mores down with Budweiser. but when it came time to reach for a softdrink i would not even think of touching a regular Pepsi.

    It is kinda weird how our minds work, i can eat a bunch of high carb foods but when it comes to cola my mind refuses to let me drink a sugared soda.

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  • Back -- Lanie, 09:07:49 07/11/02 Thu
    Hello, all! I haven't been here in almost a month. I've had some big (and not so great) things happen in the last month or so. I was completely off the diet and gained some weight back. But, here I am and back on track. This is day 2 and I'm feeling better already. This board is incredible. I hadn't even posted much before I disappeared, but you guys are great and I missed you! So, here I am and happy about it.

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  • Back again, feeling great -- dana, 05:16:39 07/11/02 Thu
    Hey everyone:

    I read the board everyday, but don't post very often. I feel great today. (Time for my good news!) I finally got of the 3 week weight of 195 and weighed in at 193 this morning for a total of 19 lbs. lost.

    Another thing, both my kids gave me shirts for mothers day. The one my son gave me fit fine (size L) and the one my daughter got me (size L) was too tight. I have been wearing the one Kyle got me, but not the one Faith got me. Today I put the shirt Faith got me on, and it was baggy. Her eyes lit up when she saw I was wearing the shirt she bought me. It made this whole WOE worth while. Hope everyone else is having a great day.

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  • I am back! -- carolyn, 11:46:04 07/11/02 Thu
    I have had internet service and phone problems for two weeks! After much irritation and blessing out a few, I am back up and going. I hope anyways. So I am also starting back dieting this week, along with walking. I am back to 30 minutes of walking and adding some every day. Now I am going in search of more recipes, just wanted to say glad to be back.

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  • And the winner is.... -- Shara, 09:04:07 07/11/02 Thu
    First I wanted to thank all of you for posting your recipes on the cookbook online. Not only are you helping many others by giving them great examples of low carb cooking, you are helping us make this a real quality site. We appreciate it very much. Our cookbook has gotten some recognition and some of the recipes are going to be seen on sites like Synergy Diet's low carb superstore site. You should all be very proud of your efforts.

    This month's winner of the recipe contest is Katie! Katie submitted 43 (wow) wonderful recipes and will receive a sampler pak of cookies from Lowcarbcookies.com ! Katie, thank you for your outstanding support. I will send you email about your prize.

    Have a great day!

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  • muscle vs. fat -- edwardo, 00:53:07 07/08/02 Mon
    i just thought i would mention that some people become concerned when they are trying to lose wieght and they gain wieght because of heavy exercise. i thought i would bring up this fact that my doctor told me. muscle weighs 8 times more than fat. so when u gain wieght thats why. thats why we float and musclar people fall to the bottom of the pool its like comparing a rock to jello. hope this is helpful

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  • Help...going on a cruise..... -- Marge, 13:07:13 07/10/02 Wed
    My husband is taking me on a cruise for our 30th ann., but I have been so good on my Atkins...(Lost 35 since March 8) I would like to lose about 15 more...But it will be very difficult on my cruise. Is it okay to take a break and then return when I come home...or should I try to stick with it on vacation? Help a Newbe

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  • it works!!!! -- thriftigi20, 07:00:41 07/11/02 Thu
    Hi all,
    I'm a newbie here, I started atkins in May and only lost 10 lbs. I've been stuck at 190 for a month and today I saw
    189!!!! on the scale! I did the fat fast for one day and it
    works, it really works!!!! I have not seen myself at 189lbs in over 3 years. I have finally found a way to get rid of
    this load I'm carrying! Just wanted to share with somebody.
    I thank you for being there for me.
    Got to go now, I'm going to work out.

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  • Got lucky -- Katie, 07:29:15 07/11/02 Thu
    Well fortunately, my ankle was only dislocated. It never swelled up very bad, but was very painful and getting much worse by last night. My SO was rubbing the sore muscles, and gave it a big yank and got it back into place. My muscles are still a little sore today, but at least I can put weight on it again.

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  • Question -- Sherry, 19:28:46 07/10/02 Wed
    I'm feeling so laid back lately about this way of eating. I feel like I have given up in some ways, but not in others. I'm not going crazy or binging, but I've changed what I accept and what I don't regarding what I can eat.

    Things I used to consider illegal are now "legal" in moderation. I plan to be eating this way for the rest of my life, and I guess I've just reached a point where I don't feel like I can continue saying to myself "I'm on my diet today" or "I'm not".

    I guess what I'm saying is that I'm always on, but on doesn't have to mean that I get NOTHING that I really want anymore, because obviously for me that doesn't work.

    I guess my question is for Shara or for anyone else who has been on this way of eating for a long time. Is this just acceptance? Or is it denial? I can't make up my mind if I'm doing something dangerous here or if I've just finally reached a more balanced state.

    Does anyone know what I mean?

    I remember Shelly P. once told me that she allowed "real" candy when she wanted some, but only a small portion. Her reasoning was that she intends to eat this way for the rest of her life, and can't see giving up everything she loves. If I could lose the way she did, maybe I'd be happy with this body of mine.

    My method has been more drastic (up until now) solidly strict, then cheat like crazy. Maybe that is the wrong approach.

    Is this a state you find you have reached after a certain amount of time? Shara, I remember you telling one time something about how you weren't on the diet for 6 months one time, but didn't gain much back because of the retraining that this diet does to you. Even not being "on" you found you were making more healthy choices than you would have before.

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  • Walking is out for a few days -- Katie, 10:03:13 07/10/02 Wed
    I was on the way out the door this morning, holding the baby, tripped on a Lego, twisted my ankle and fell. With the baby :( Luckily, I managed to fall onto my butt and I managed to hang onto him until the very last minute, so he only fell about 4 inches. He has a little scrape under his chin from his landing, but he's okay.

    Let me tell you, those little guys sure know how to milk it though. He's screaming, I'm crying, my SO comes out and wants to know what happened, I'm blubbering too badly for him to understand me, and the baby is drowning me out anyway. He called Austin over, and the baby goes trotting over to Daddy and calms down. Then he turns those big blue eyes on me and GLARES at me. I tried to get him to come to me so that I could see if he's okay, but he's hanging onto Daddy and everytime I try to touch him, he starts screaming again. Poor little fella. I'm feeling all guilty about dropping him, then he reaches out and tugs on Daddy's goatee and busts out laughing.

    We finally get him to go to me (had to bribe him with a bottle), and he's laying against me and doing those little snuffle winding down sobs. Then he pulls back, and smacks me in the face as hard as he could.

    The sitter agreed to let him keep his bottle for at least the morning. I'm pretty glad about that, because she threw away his last bottle there about a month ago. I haven't had the heart to take away his "baba" yet. He gets his bottle with water to go to bed with, and he seems to still need it then. Maybe I'm just too soft and if I took it away he'd get used to it in a day or so.

    I hurt the tendons in front of my ankle, and it's really painful to put any weight on it. I'm going to skip my walks that I had planned at least for today, and I'll see how it is on Friday.

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  • Any advice?? -- Tonya, 08:35:13 07/10/02 Wed
    Hi, my name is Tonya and im 5'3 and weight about 226. I need to lose around 80 pounds and have heard that the low carb diet is the way to go. Ive read that i will need to stay under 20 carbs a day to lose weight. Any advice out there to help get me started???

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  • Mozzarella nuggets -- Shara, 09:41:57 07/10/02 Wed
    I've posted my mozzarella recipe on the cookbook site. Everyone loves this for parties and we make it to snack on at the house. Today is the last day for the recipe contest. I will announce the winner tomorrow on the board. It's really neat to see how many people read and print the recipes! Each one has a hit counter built into it, I thought it would be cool to list which recipes did the best at the end of the year. So far Katie's chicken casserole recipe has been printed 111 times! Thanks to all of you who help make this such a great site.

    I'm looking for chat hosts. Our chat last night was hit and miss, but more have been coming every week. An invitation can be emailed to the registered users if you would like to host a chat on a certain topic.

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  • Hot, Chat, and Digging.... -- Shara, 15:50:18 07/09/02 Tue
    Bet that title got your attention huh?? hehe

    It is hot here, 105 in the valley today. Why did I move to California again??

    Chat tonight at 7PM (PST). Topic is going to be: "How to lose weight when your family doesn't diet."

    Tomorrow is the last day for the recipe contest. We are up to 125 low carb recipes since June 23rd!

    I'm off to make a new tortiose pen. We have a russian tortiose named Haley and she has been running around the house for the last few days while the new one is being built. She is an escape artist and we had to re-think the pen we had her in. With the heat and the exercise I should lose some weight today!

    Have a great Tuesday!

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  • Binges -- Max, 10:17:52 07/09/02 Tue
    Hi all

    DOwn 2 lbs this week, 15 to go. This is slower than I'd like but no prob since I had a bad week emotionally. On two days I faced situations that usually send me into a binge (I am a major food therapist). I allowed myself to binge. One day I had to have ice cream, so I tried the low carb recipe in Atkins's book. Sinfully delicious. The next time I needed pizza, so I had pizza.

    Interestingly enough I had gotten to the point where I would down a whole 14" pizza when in one of my down moods, and I'd still want more. This time I bought a 10" pie, had three slices (toppings only) and was satisfied. BTW: Since pizza is 90% crust and 10% topping I won't be wasting money on it again any time soon.

    This is a cool diet! Have a good week.

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  • This -- kelli, 08:56:43 07/07/02 Sun
    dude you are all gay you probably didnt need to loose weight, just be happy with who you are

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  • Ok,,, Read below,, as posted on AOL courtesy of the New York Times!! (Warning, and extremely long post had to break it up into 2 post, READ THE ABOVE ONE FIRST) -- Nancy, 08:39:48 07/08/02 Mon

    ''All reformers would do well to be conscious of the law of unintended consequences,'' says Alan Stone, who was staff director for McGovern's Senate committee. Stone told me he had an inkling about how the food industry would respond to the new dietary goals back when the hearings were first held. An economist pulled him aside, he said, and gave him a lesson on market disincentives to healthy eating: ''He said if you create a new market with a brand-new manufactured food, give it a brand-new fancy name, put a big advertising budget behind it, you can have a market all to yourself and force your competitors to catch up. You can't do that with fruits and vegetables. It's harder to differentiate an apple from an apple.''

    Nutrition researchers also played a role by trying to feed science into the idea that carbohydrates are the ideal nutrient. It had been known, for almost a century, and considered mostly irrelevant to the etiology of obesity, that fat has nine calories per gram compared with four for carbohydrates and protein. Now it became the fail-safe position of the low-fat recommendations: reduce the densest source of calories in the diet and you will lose weight. Then in 1982, J.P. Flatt, a University of Massachusetts biochemist, published his research demonstrating that, in any normal diet, it is extremely rare for the human body to convert carbohydrates into body fat. This was then misinterpreted by the media and quite a few scientists to mean that eating carbohydrates, even to excess, could not make you fat -- which is not the case, Flatt says. But the misinterpretation developed a vigorous life of its own because it resonated with the notion that fat makes you fat and carbohydrates are harmless.

    As a result, the major trends in American diets since the late 70's, according to the U.S.D.A. agricultural economist Judith Putnam, have been a decrease in the percentage of fat calories and a ''greatly increased consumption of carbohydrates.'' To be precise, annual grain consumption has increased almost 60 pounds per person, and caloric sweeteners (primarily high-fructose corn syrup) by 30 pounds. At the same time, we suddenly began consuming more total calories: now up to 400 more each day since the government started recommending low-fat diets.

    If these trends are correct, then the obesity epidemic can certainly be explained by Americans' eating more calories than ever -- excess calories, after all, are what causes us to gain weight -- and, specifically, more carbohydrates. The question is why?

    The answer provided by Endocrinology 101 is that we are simply hungrier than we were in the 70's, and the reason is physiological more than psychological. In this case, the salient factor -- ignored in the pursuit of fat and its effect on cholesterol -- is how carbohydrates affect blood sugar and insulin. In fact, these were obvious culprits all along, which is why Atkins and the low-carb-diet doctors pounced on them early.

    The primary role of insulin is to regulate blood-sugar levels. After you eat carbohydrates, they will be broken down into their component sugar molecules and transported into the bloodstream. Your pancreas then secretes insulin, which shunts the blood sugar into muscles and the liver as fuel for the next few hours. This is why carbohydrates have a significant impact on insulin and fat does not. And because juvenile diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin, physicians believed since the 20's that the only evil with insulin is not having enough.

    But insulin also regulates fat metabolism. We cannot store body fat without it. Think of insulin as a switch. When it's on, in the few hours after eating, you burn carbohydrates for energy and store excess calories as fat. When it's off, after the insulin has been depleted, you burn fat as fuel. So when insulin levels are low, you will burn your own fat, but not when they're high.

    This is where it gets unavoidably complicated. The fatter you are, the more insulin your pancreas will pump out per meal, and the more likely you'll develop what's called ''insulin resistance,'' which is the underlying cause of Syndrome X. In effect, your cells become insensitive to the action of insulin, and so you need ever greater amounts to keep your blood sugar in check. So as you gain weight, insulin makes it easier to store fat and harder to lose it. But the insulin resistance in turn may make it harder to store fat -- your weight is being kept in check, as it should be. But now the insulin resistance might prompt your pancreas to produce even more insulin, potentially starting a vicious cycle. Which comes first -- the obesity, the elevated insulin, known as hyperinsulinemia, or the insulin resistance -- is a chicken-and-egg problem that hasn't been resolved. One endocrinologist described this to me as ''the Nobel-prize winning question.''

    Insulin also profoundly affects hunger, although to what end is another point of controversy. On the one hand, insulin can indirectly cause hunger by lowering your blood sugar, but how low does blood sugar have to drop before hunger kicks in? That's unresolved. Meanwhile, insulin works in the brain to suppress hunger. The theory, as explained to me by Michael Schwartz, an endocrinologist at the University of Washington, is that insulin's ability to inhibit appetite would normally counteract its propensity to generate body fat. In other words, as you gained weight, your body would generate more insulin after every meal, and that in turn would suppress your appetite; you'd eat less and lose the weight.

    Schwartz, however, can imagine a simple mechanism that would throw this ''homeostatic'' system off balance: if your brain were to lose its sensitivity to insulin, just as your fat and muscles do when they are flooded with it. Now the higher insulin production that comes with getting fatter would no longer compensate by suppressing your appetite, because your brain would no longer register the rise in insulin. The end result would be a physiologic state in which obesity is almost preordained, and one in which the carbohydrate-insulin connection could play a major role. Schwartz says he believes this could indeed be happening, but research hasn't progressed far enough to prove it. ''It is just a hypothesis,'' he says. ''It still needs to be sorted out.''

    David Ludwig, the Harvard endocrinologist, says that it's the direct effect of insulin on blood sugar that does the trick. He notes that when diabetics get too much insulin, their blood sugar drops and they get ravenously hungry. They gain weight because they eat more, and the insulin promotes fat deposition. The same happens with lab animals. This, he says, is effectively what happens when we eat carbohydrates -- in particular sugar and starches like potatoes and rice, or anything made from flour, like a slice of white bread. These are known in the jargon as high-glycemic-index carbohydrates, which means they are absorbed quickly into the blood. As a result, they cause a spike of blood sugar and a surge of insulin within minutes. The resulting rush of insulin stores the blood sugar away and a few hours later, your blood sugar is lower than it was before you ate. As Ludwig explains, your body effectively thinks it has run out of fuel, but the insulin is still high enough to prevent you from burning your own fat. The result is hunger and a craving for more carbohydrates. It's another vicious circle, and another situation ripe for obesity.

    The glycemic-index concept and the idea that starches can be absorbed into the blood even faster than sugar emerged in the late 70's, but again had no influence on public health recommendations, because of the attendant controversies. To wit: if you bought the glycemic-index concept, then you had to accept that the starches we were supposed to be eating 6 to 11 times a day were, once swallowed, physiologically indistinguishable from sugars. This made them seem considerably less than wholesome. Rather than accept this possibility, the policy makers simply allowed sugar and corn syrup to elude the vilification that befell dietary fat. After all, they are fat-free.

    Sugar and corn syrup from soft drinks, juices and the copious teas and sports drinks now supply more than 10 percent of our total calories; the 80's saw the introduction of Big Gulps and 32-ounce cups of Coca-Cola, blasted through with sugar, but 100 percent fat free. When it comes to insulin and blood sugar, these soft drinks and fruit juices -- what the scientists call ''wet carbohydrates'' -- might indeed be worst of all. (Diet soda accounts for less than a quarter of the soda market.)

    The gist of the glycemic-index idea is that the longer it takes the carbohydrates to be digested, the lesser the impact on blood sugar and insulin and the healthier the food. Those foods with the highest rating on the glycemic index are some simple sugars, starches and anything made from flour. Green vegetables, beans and whole grains cause a much slower rise in blood sugar because they have fiber, a nondigestible carbohydrate, which slows down digestion and lowers the glycemic index. Protein and fat serve the same purpose, which implies that eating fat can be beneficial, a notion that is still unacceptable. And the glycemic-index concept implies that a primary cause of Syndrome X, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity is the long-term damage caused by the repeated surges of insulin that come from eating starches and refined carbohydrates. This suggests a kind of unified field theory for these chronic diseases, but not one that coexists easily with the low-fat doctrine.

    At Ludwig's pediatric obesity clinic, he has been prescribing low-glycemic-index diets to children and adolescents for five years now. He does not recommend the Atkins diet because he says he believes such a very low carbohydrate approach is unnecessarily restrictive; instead, he tells his patients to effectively replace refined carbohydrates and starches with vegetables, legumes and fruit. This makes a low-glycemic-index diet consistent with dietary common sense, albeit in a higher-fat kind of way. His clinic now has a nine-month waiting list. Only recently has Ludwig managed to convince the N.I.H. that such diets are worthy of study. His first three grant proposals were summarily rejected, which may explain why much of the relevant research has been done in Canada and in Australia. In April, however, Ludwig received $1.2 million from the N.I.H. to test his low-glycemic-index diet against a traditional low-fat-low-calorie regime. That might help resolve some of the controversy over the role of insulin in obesity, although the redoubtable Robert Atkins might get there first.

    he 71-year-old Atkins, a graduate of Cornell medical school, says he first tried a very low carbohydrate diet in 1963 after reading about one in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He lost weight effortlessly, had his epiphany and turned a fledgling Manhattan cardiology practice into a thriving obesity clinic. He then alienated the entire medical community by telling his readers to eat as much fat and protein as they wanted, as long as they ate little to no carbohydrates. They would lose weight, he said, because they would keep their insulin down; they wouldn't be hungry; and they would have less resistance to burning their own fat. Atkins also noted that starches and sugar were harmful in any event because they raised triglyceride levels and that this was a greater risk factor for heart disease than cholesterol.

    Atkins's diet is both the ultimate manifestation of the alternative hypothesis as well as the battleground on which the fat-versus-carbohydrates controversy is likely to be fought scientifically over the next few years. After insisting Atkins was a quack for three decades, obesity experts are now finding it difficult to ignore the copious anecdotal evidence that his diet does just what he has claimed. Take Albert Stunkard, for instance. Stunkard has been trying to treat obesity for half a century, but he told me he had his epiphany about Atkins and maybe about obesity as well just recently when he discovered that the chief of radiology in his hospital had lost 60 pounds on Atkins's diet. ''Well, apparently all the young guys in the hospital are doing it,'' he said. ''So we decided to do a study.'' When I asked Stunkard if he or any of his colleagues considered testing Atkins's diet 30 years ago, he said they hadn't because they thought Atkins was ''a jerk'' who was just out to make money: this ''turned people off, and so nobody took him seriously enough to do what we're finally doing.''

    In fact, when the American Medical Association released its scathing critique of Atkins's diet in March 1973, it acknowledged that the diet probably worked, but expressed little interest in why. Through the 60's, this had been a subject of considerable research, with the conclusion that Atkins-like diets were low-calorie diets in disguise; that when you cut out pasta, bread and potatoes, you'll have a hard time eating enough meat, vegetables and cheese to replace the calories.

    That, however, raised the question of why such a low-calorie regimen would also suppress hunger, which Atkins insisted was the signature characteristic of the diet. One possibility was Endocrinology 101: that fat and protein make you sated and, lacking carbohydrates and the ensuing swings of blood sugar and insulin, you stay sated. The other possibility arose from the fact that Atkins's diet is ''ketogenic.'' This means that insulin falls so low that you enter a state called ketosis, which is what happens during fasting and starvation. Your muscles and tissues burn body fat for energy, as does your brain in the form of fat molecules produced by the liver called ketones. Atkins saw ketosis as the obvious way to kick-start weight loss. He also liked to say that ketosis was so energizing that it was better than sex, which set him up for some ridicule. An inevitable criticism of Atkins's diet has been that ketosis is dangerous and to be avoided at all costs.

    When I interviewed ketosis experts, however, they universally sided with Atkins, and suggested that maybe the medical community and the media confuse ketosis with ketoacidosis, a variant of ketosis that occurs in untreated diabetics and can be fatal. ''Doctors are scared of ketosis,'' says Richard Veech, an N.I.H. researcher who studied medicine at Harvard and then got his doctorate at Oxford University with the Nobel Laureate Hans Krebs. ''They're always worried about diabetic ketoacidosis. But ketosis is a normal physiologic state. I would argue it is the normal state of man. It's not normal to have McDonald's and a delicatessen around every corner. It's normal to starve.''

    Simply put, ketosis is evolution's answer to the thrifty gene. We may have evolved to efficiently store fat for times of famine, says Veech, but we also evolved ketosis to efficiently live off that fat when necessary. Rather than being poison, which is how the press often refers to ketones, they make the body run more efficiently and provide a backup fuel source for the brain. Veech calls ketones ''magic'' and has shown that both the heart and brain run 25 percent more efficiently on ketones than on blood sugar.

    The bottom line is that for the better part of 30 years Atkins insisted his diet worked and was safe, Americans apparently tried it by the tens of millions, while nutritionists, physicians, public- health authorities and anyone concerned with heart disease insisted it could kill them, and expressed little or no desire to find out who was right. During that period, only two groups of U.S. researchers tested the diet, or at least published their results. In the early 70's, J.P. Flatt and Harvard's George Blackburn pioneered the ''protein-sparing modified fast'' to treat postsurgical patients, and they tested it on obese volunteers. Blackburn, who later became president of the American Society of Clinical Nutrition, describes his regime as ''an Atkins diet without excess fat'' and says he had to give it a fancy name or nobody would take him seriously. The diet was ''lean meat, fish and fowl'' supplemented by vitamins and minerals. ''People loved it,'' Blackburn recalls. ''Great weight loss. We couldn't run them off with a baseball bat.'' Blackburn successfully treated hundreds of obese patients over the next decade and published a series of papers that were ignored. When obese New Englanders turned to appetite-control drugs in the mid-80's, he says, he let it drop. He then applied to the N.I.H. for a grant to do a clinical trial of popular diets but was rejected.

    The second trial, published in September 1980, was done at the George Washington University Medical Center. Two dozen obese volunteers agreed to follow Atkins's diet for eight weeks and lost an average of 17 pounds each, with no apparent ill effects, although their L.D.L. cholesterol did go up. The researchers, led by John LaRosa, now president of the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, concluded that the 17-pound weight loss in eight weeks would likely have happened with any diet under ''the novelty of trying something under experimental conditions'' and never pursued it further.

    Now researchers have finally decided that Atkins's diet and other low-carb diets have to be tested, and are doing so against traditional low-calorie-low-fat diets as recommended by the American Heart Association. To explain their motivation, they inevitably tell one of two stories: some, like Stunkard, told me that someone they knew -- a patient, a friend, a fellow physician -- lost considerable weight on Atkins's diet and, despite all their preconceptions to the contrary, kept it off. Others say they were frustrated with their inability to help their obese patients, looked into the low-carb diets and decided that Endocrinology 101 was compelling. ''As a trained physician, I was trained to mock anything like the Atkins diet,'' says Linda Stern, an internist at the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Hospital, ''but I put myself on the diet. I did great. And I thought maybe this is something I can offer my patients.''

    None of these studies have been financed by the N.I.H., and none have yet been published. But the results have been reported at conferences -- by researchers at Schneider Children's Hospital on Long Island, Duke University and the University of Cincinnati, and by Stern's group at the Philadelphia V.A. Hospital. And then there's the study Stunkard had mentioned, led by Gary Foster at the University of Pennsylvania, Sam Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, and Jim Hill, who runs the University of Colorado Center for Human Nutrition in Denver. The results of all five of these studies are remarkably consistent. Subjects on some form of the Atkins diet -- whether overweight adolescents on the diet for 12 weeks as at Schneider, or obese adults averaging 295 pounds on the diet for six months, as at the Philadelphia V.A. -- lost twice the weight as the subjects on the low-fat, low-calorie diets.

    In all five studies, cholesterol levels improved similarly with both diets, but triglyceride levels were considerably lower with the Atkins diet. Though researchers are hesitant to agree with this, it does suggest that heart-disease risk could actually be reduced when fat is added back into the diet and starches and refined carbohydrates are removed. ''I think when this stuff gets to be recognized,'' Stunkard says, ''it's going to really shake up a lot of thinking about obesity and metabolism.''

    All of this could be settled sooner rather than later, and with it, perhaps, we might have some long-awaited answers as to why we grow fat and whether it is indeed preordained by societal forces or by our choice of foods. For the first time, the N.I.H. is now actually financing comparative studies of popular diets. Foster, Klein and Hill, for instance, have now received more than $2.5 million from N.I.H. to do a five-year trial of the Atkins diet with 360 obese individuals. At Harvard, Willett, Blackburn and Penelope Greene have money, albeit from Atkins's nonprofit foundation, to do a comparative trial as well.

    Should these clinical trials also find for Atkins and his high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, then the public-health authorities may indeed have a problem on their hands. Once they took their leap of faith and settled on the low-fat dietary dogma 25 years ago, they left little room for contradictory evidence or a change of opinion, should such a change be necessary to keep up with the science. In this light Sam Klein's experience is noteworthy. Klein is president-elect of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, which suggests that he is a highly respected member of his community. And yet, he described his recent experience discussing the Atkins diet at medical conferences as a learning experience. ''I have been impressed,'' he said, ''with the anger of academicians in the audience. Their response is 'How dare you even present data on the Atkins diet!' ''

    This hostility stems primarily from their anxiety that Americans, given a glimmer of hope about their weight, will rush off en masse to try a diet that simply seems intuitively dangerous and on which there is still no long-term data on whether it works and whether it is safe. It's a justifiable fear. In the course of my research, I have spent my mornings at my local diner, staring down at a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage, convinced that somehow, some way, they must be working to clog my arteries and do me in.

    After 20 years steeped in a low-fat paradigm, I find it hard to see the nutritional world any other way. I have learned that low-fat diets fail in clinical trials and in real life, and they certainly have failed in my life. I have read the papers suggesting that 20 years of low-fat recommendations have not managed to lower the incidence of heart disease in this country, and may have led instead to the steep increase in obesity and Type 2 diabetes. I have interviewed researchers whose computer models have calculated that cutting back on the saturated fats in my diet to the levels recommended by the American Heart Association would not add more than a few months to my life, if that. I have even lost considerable weight with relative ease by giving up carbohydrates on my test diet, and yet I can look down at my eggs and sausage and still imagine the imminent onset of heart disease and obesity, the latter assuredly to be caused by some bizarre rebound phenomena the likes of which science has not yet begun to describe. The fact that Atkins himself has had heart trouble recently does not ease my anxiety, despite his assurance that it is not diet-related.

    This is the state of mind I imagine that mainstream nutritionists, researchers and physicians must inevitably take to the fat-versus-carbohydrate controversy. They may come around, but the evidence will have to be exceptionally compelling. Although this kind of conversion may be happening at the moment to John Farquhar, who is a professor of health research and policy at Stanford University and has worked in this field for more than 40 years. When I interviewed Farquhar in April, he explained why low-fat diets might lead to weight gain and low-carbohydrate diets might lead to weight loss, but he made me promise not to say he believed they did. He attributed the cause of the obesity epidemic to the ''force-feeding of a nation.'' Three weeks later, after reading an article on Endocrinology 101 by David Ludwig in the Journal of the American Medical Association, he sent me an e-mail message asking the not-entirely-rhetorical question, ''Can we get the low-fat proponents to apologize?''



    Gary Taubes is a correspondent for the journal Science and author of ''Bad Science: The Short Life and Weird Times of Cold Fusion.''

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  • Where can I buy corn bran? -- Doug Jarrett, 18:36:39 07/08/02 Mon
    According to the USDA corn bran has effective carb count
    of only 0.11 gram per cup vs wheat bran at 12 grams per cup.

    Can anyone tell me where I can buy crude corn bran?

    Thanks,
    Doug Jarrett doug@djarrett.com

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  • good bad ugly? -- Dusty, 03:19:41 07/09/02 Tue
    good and bad Cholesterol???
    there is no proven link between Cholesterol and heart disease.
    cows are full of cholesteral and they do not eat meat.
    most of your cholesteral is made by your own body.
    what seems to play a very big part in heart disease is an amino acid called homosistine.
    pleople with gum disease have increased heart disease and I was told by my dentist that the bacteria involved in gum disease produce homosistene.....
    A lack of folic acid and other b vitamins contribute to a raised level of homosistene.....
    just some low carb food for thought!
    If you are interested, the net is full of information, as I am neither a Dr nor scientist.
    However, Dr.'s mistakes get buried.

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  • ketosis -- edward, 14:22:13 07/05/02 Fri
    my ketosis sticks are the darkest purple it can be. is it dangerous to be this purple for a long time, and also does this mean i am burning more fat. i have been drinking probably an average of 6 to 8 litres of water a day, depending on how hot it is. does this effect the color.

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  • too much protein? -- thriftigi20, 07:13:42 07/08/02 Mon
    Hi all! I'm new to the board but have been doing atkins since 5/13/02. I have lost 10# and 6.5in. My problem is that
    I've been the same wt. for 3weeks and can't seem to lose. I
    I walk 2mi every day,do resistance 30min/day,water,water and am in ketosis. I read somewhere that a person can eat too much protein and cause no weight lost. Has anyone else
    heard this? and where can I find out how much protein I should be eating? Any help will be appreciated.
    BTW, I enjoy the board, you have been very helpful and
    encouraging.
    5/13/02
    53yrs.,5'5"
    200/190/135

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  • Happy Monday -- Shara, 11:53:32 07/08/02 Mon
    Hope everyone is having a good Monday. Nancy, I think that is the longest post anyone has ever put on the board! It was great. Thank you. :) It was a good holiday weekend. We watched fireworks on a mountain in Burbank, spectacular view even without them and cooked on my new grill that I finally got together. I made some mouth watering pork ribs that I found the recipe for in our cookbook! Speaking of which we only have 2 more days of the recipe contest left. The winner will get a free sampler pack from the Low Carb Cookie Storeand also go on to have a chance to win a cookie of the month subscription. You can enter your recipes at http://dietlowcarb.com/cookbook

    Matt is STILL working on the weight tables. He's been working double shifts so it's been hard for him to finish. I'm not going to estimate anymore, that way it will get done faster. (It works that way sometimes).

    Have a great day!

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  • Is fitday.com down? -- okcityoi, 13:23:16 07/07/02 Sun
    Is fitday.com down? If so, does this happen often? I just
    discovered it yesterday and after spending a lot of time
    working it then, I haven't been able to get in at all today.
    If this is a common occurrence, can you tell me of another
    site? I really like the program there, but it does me no
    good if it frequently doesn't work. Thanks for any help. OKC

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  • Ok this is the first post read this and then scroll below for the next one -- Nancy, 08:42:09 07/08/02 Mon
    Ok I apologize, I had to post this on my board and then break it up, too large to put into one post.





    Complements of AOL and the New York Times.

    What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?
    By GARY TAUBES


    f the members of the American medical establishment were to have a
    collective find-yourself-standing-naked-in-Times-Square-type
    nightmare, this might be it. They spend 30 years ridiculing Robert
    Atkins, author of the phenomenally-best-selling ''Dr. Atkins' Diet
    Revolution'' and ''Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution,'' accusing the
    Manhattan doctor of quackery and fraud, only to discover that the
    unrepentant Atkins was right all along. Or maybe it's this: they find
    that their very own dietary recommendations -- eat less fat and more
    carbohydrates -- are the cause of the rampaging epidemic of obesity
    in America. Or, just possibly this: they find out both of the above
    are true.






    When Atkins first published his ''Diet Revolution'' in 1972,
    Americans were just coming to terms with the proposition that fat --
    particularly the saturated fat of meat and dairy products -- was the
    primary nutritional evil in the American diet. Atkins managed to sell
    millions of copies of a book promising that we would lose weight
    eating steak, eggs and butter to our heart's desire, because it was
    the carbohydrates, the pasta, rice, bagels and sugar, that caused
    obesity and even heart disease. Fat, he said, was harmless.

    Atkins allowed his readers to eat ''truly luxurious foods without
    limit,'' as he put it, ''lobster with butter sauce, steak with
    bearnaise sauce . . . bacon cheeseburgers,'' but allowed no starches
    or refined carbohydrates, which means no sugars or anything made from
    flour. Atkins banned even fruit juices, and permitted only a modicum
    of vegetables, although the latter were negotiable as the diet
    progressed.

    Atkins was by no means the first to get rich pushing a high-fat diet
    that restricted carbohydrates, but he popularized it to an extent
    that the American Medical Association considered it a potential
    threat to our health. The A.M.A. attacked Atkins's diet as
    a ''bizarre regimen'' that advocated ''an unlimited intake of
    saturated fats and cholesterol-rich foods,'' and Atkins even had to
    defend his diet in Congressional hearings.

    Thirty years later, America has become weirdly polarized on the
    subject of weight. On the one hand, we've been told with almost
    religious certainty by everyone from the surgeon general on down, and
    we have come to believe with almost religious certainty, that obesity
    is caused by the excessive consumption of fat, and that if we eat
    less fat we will lose weight and live longer. On the other, we have
    the ever-resilient message of Atkins and decades' worth of best-
    selling diet books, including ''The Zone,'' ''Sugar Busters''
    and ''Protein Power'' to name a few. All push some variation of what
    scientists would call the alternative hypothesis: it's not the fat
    that makes us fat, but the carbohydrates, and if we eat less
    carbohydrates we will lose weight and live longer.

    The perversity of this alternative hypothesis is that it identifies
    the cause of obesity as precisely those refined carbohydrates at the
    base of the famous Food Guide Pyramid -- the pasta, rice and bread --
    that we are told should be the staple of our healthy low-fat diet,
    and then on the sugar or corn syrup in the soft drinks, fruit juices
    and sports drinks that we have taken to consuming in quantity if for
    no other reason than that they are fat free and so appear
    intrinsically healthy. While the low-fat-is-good-health dogma
    represents reality as we have come to know it, and the government has
    spent hundreds of millions of dollars in research trying to prove its
    worth, the low-carbohydrate message has been relegated to the realm
    of unscientific fantasy.

    Over the past five years, however, there has been a subtle shift in
    the scientific consensus. It used to be that even considering the
    possibility of the alternative hypothesis, let alone researching it,
    was tantamount to quackery by association. Now a small but growing
    minority of establishment researchers have come to take seriously
    what the low-carb-diet doctors have been saying all along. Walter
    Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard
    School of Public Health, may be the most visible proponent of testing
    this heretic hypothesis. Willett is the de facto spokesman of the
    longest-running, most comprehensive diet and health studies ever
    performed, which have already cost upward of $100 million and include
    data on nearly 300,000 individuals. Those data, says Willett, clearly
    contradict the low-fat-is-good-health message ''and the idea that all
    fat is bad for you; the exclusive focus on adverse effects of fat may
    have contributed to the obesity epidemic.''

    These researchers point out that there are plenty of reasons to
    suggest that the low-fat-is-good-health hypothesis has now
    effectively failed the test of time. In particular, that we are in
    the midst of an obesity epidemic that started around the early
    1980's, and that this was coincident with the rise of the low-fat
    dogma. (Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, also
    rose significantly through this period.) They say that low-fat weight-
    loss diets have proved in clinical trials and real life to be dismal
    failures, and that on top of it all, the percentage of fat in the
    American diet has been decreasing for two decades. Our cholesterol
    levels have been declining, and we have been smoking less, and yet
    the incidence of heart disease has not declined as would be
    expected. ''That is very disconcerting,'' Willett says. ''It suggests
    that something else bad is happening.''

    The science behind the alternative hypothesis can be called
    Endocrinology 101, which is how it's referred to by David Ludwig, a
    researcher at Harvard Medical School who runs the pediatric obesity
    clinic at Children's Hospital Boston, and who prescribes his own
    version of a carbohydrate-restricted diet to his patients.
    Endocrinology 101 requires an understanding of how carbohydrates
    affect insulin and blood sugar and in turn fat metabolism and
    appetite. This is basic endocrinology, Ludwig says, which is the
    study of hormones, and it is still considered radical because the low-
    fat dietary wisdom emerged in the 1960's from researchers almost
    exclusively concerned with the effect of fat on cholesterol and heart
    disease. At the time, Endocrinology 101 was still underdeveloped, and
    so it was ignored. Now that this science is becoming clear, it has to
    fight a quarter century of anti-fat prejudice.

    The alternative hypothesis also comes with an implication that is
    worth considering for a moment, because it's a whopper, and it may
    indeed be an obstacle to its acceptance. If the alternative
    hypothesis is right -- still a big ''if'' -- then it strongly
    suggests that the ongoing epidemic of obesity in America and
    elsewhere is not, as we are constantly told, due simply to a
    collective lack of will power and a failure to exercise. Rather it
    occurred, as Atkins has been saying (along with Barry Sears, author
    of ''The Zone''), because the public health authorities told us
    unwittingly, but with the best of intentions, to eat precisely those
    foods that would make us fat, and we did. We ate more fat-free
    carbohydrates, which, in turn, made us hungrier and then heavier. Put
    simply, if the alternative hypothesis is right, then a low-fat diet
    is not by definition a healthy diet. In practice, such a diet cannot
    help being high in carbohydrates, and that can lead to obesity, and
    perhaps even heart disease. ''For a large percentage of the
    population, perhaps 30 to 40 percent, low-fat diets are
    counterproductive,'' says Eleftheria Maratos-Flier, director of
    obesity research at Harvard's prestigious Joslin Diabetes
    Center. ''They have the paradoxical effect of making people gain
    weight.''

    cientists are still arguing about fat, despite a century of research,
    because the regulation of appetite and weight in the human body
    happens to be almost inconceivably complex, and the experimental
    tools we have to study it are still remarkably inadequate. This
    combination leaves researchers in an awkward position. To study the
    entire physiological system involves feeding real food to real human
    subjects for months or years on end, which is prohibitively
    expensive, ethically questionable (if you're trying to measure the
    effects of foods that might cause heart disease) and virtually
    impossible to do in any kind of rigorously controlled scientific
    manner. But if researchers seek to study something less costly and
    more controllable, they end up studying experimental situations so
    oversimplified that their results may have nothing to do with
    reality. This then leads to a research literature so vast that it's
    possible to find at least some published research to support
    virtually any theory. The result is a balkanized community --
    ''splintered, very opinionated and in many instances,
    intransigent,'' says Kurt Isselbacher, a former chairman of the Food
    and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Science -- in which
    researchers seem easily convinced that their preconceived notions are
    correct and thoroughly uninterested in testing any other hypotheses
    but their own.

    What's more, the number of misconceptions propagated about the most
    basic research can be staggering. Researchers will be suitably
    scientific describing the limitations of their own experiments, and
    then will cite something as gospel truth because they read it in a
    magazine. The classic example is the statement heard repeatedly that
    95 percent of all dieters never lose weight, and 95 percent of those
    who do will not keep it off. This will be correctly attributed to the
    University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist Albert Stunkard, but it will
    go unmentioned that this statement is based on 100 patients who
    passed through Stunkard's obesity clinic during the Eisenhower
    administration.

    With these caveats, one of the few reasonably reliable facts about
    the obesity epidemic is that it started around the early 1980's.
    According to Katherine Flegal, an epidemiologist at the National
    Center for Health Statistics, the percentage of obese Americans
    stayed relatively constant through the 1960's and 1970's at 13
    percent to 14 percent and then shot up by 8 percentage points in the
    1980's. By the end of that decade, nearly one in four Americans was
    obese. That steep rise, which is consistent through all segments of
    American society and which continued unabated through the 1990's, is
    the singular feature of the epidemic. Any theory that tries to
    explain obesity in America has to account for that. Meanwhile,
    overweight children nearly tripled in number. And for the first time,
    physicians began diagnosing Type 2 diabetes in adolescents. Type 2
    diabetes often accompanies obesity. It used to be called adult-onset
    diabetes and now, for the obvious reason, is not.

    So how did this happen? The orthodox and ubiquitous explanation is
    that we live in what Kelly Brownell, a Yale psychologist, has called
    a ''toxic food environment'' of cheap fatty food, large portions,
    pervasive food advertising and sedentary lives. By this theory, we
    are at the Pavlovian mercy of the food industry, which spends nearly
    $10 billion a year advertising unwholesome junk food and fast food.
    And because these foods, especially fast food, are so filled with
    fat, they are both irresistible and uniquely fattening. On top of
    this, so the theory goes, our modern society has successfully
    eliminated physical activity from our daily lives. We no longer
    exercise or walk up stairs, nor do our children bike to school or
    play outside, because they would prefer to play video games and watch
    television. And because some of us are obviously predisposed to gain
    weight while others are not, this explanation also has a genetic
    component -- the thrifty gene. It suggests that storing extra
    calories as fat was an evolutionary advantage to our Paleolithic
    ancestors, who had to survive frequent famine. We then inherited
    these ''thrifty'' genes, despite their liability in today's toxic
    environment.

    This theory makes perfect sense and plays to our puritanical
    prejudice that fat, fast food and television are innately damaging to
    our humanity. But there are two catches. First, to buy this logic is
    to accept that the copious negative reinforcement that accompanies
    obesity -- both socially and physically -- is easily overcome by the
    constant bombardment of food advertising and the lure of a supersize
    bargain meal. And second, as Flegal points out, little data exist to
    support any of this. Certainly none of it explains what changed so
    significantly to start the epidemic. Fast-food consumption, for
    example, continued to grow steadily through the 70's and 80's, but it
    did not take a sudden leap, as obesity did.

    As far as exercise and physical activity go, there are no reliable
    data before the mid-80's, according to William Dietz, who runs the
    division of nutrition and physical activity at the Centers for
    Disease Control; the 1990's data show obesity rates continuing to
    climb, while exercise activity remained unchanged. This suggests the
    two have little in common. Dietz also acknowledged that a culture of
    physical exercise began in the United States in the 70's --
    the ''leisure exercise mania,'' as Robert Levy, director of the
    National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, described it in 1981 -- and
    has continued through the present day.

    As for the thrifty gene, it provides the kind of evolutionary
    rationale for human behavior that scientists find comforting but that
    simply cannot be tested. In other words, if we were living through an
    anorexia epidemic, the experts would be discussing the equally
    untestable ''spendthrift gene'' theory, touting evolutionary
    advantages of losing weight effortlessly. An overweight homo erectus,
    they'd say, would have been easy prey for predators.

    It is also undeniable, note students of Endocrinology 101, that
    mankind never evolved to eat a diet high in starches or
    sugars. ''Grain products and concentrated sugars were essentially
    absent from human nutrition until the invention of agriculture,''
    Ludwig says, ''which was only 10,000 years ago.'' This is discussed
    frequently in the anthropology texts but is mostly absent from the
    obesity literature, with the prominent exception of the low-
    carbohydrate-diet books.

    What's forgotten in the current controversy is that the low-fat dogma
    itself is only about 25 years old. Until the late 70's, the accepted
    wisdom was that fat and protein protected against overeating by
    making you sated, and that carbohydrates made you fat. In ''The
    Physiology of Taste,'' for instance, an 1825 discourse considered
    among the most famous books ever written about food, the French
    gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin says that he could easily
    identify the causes of obesity after 30 years of listening to
    one ''stout party'' after another proclaiming the joys of bread, rice
    and (from a ''particularly stout party'') potatoes. Brillat-Savarin
    described the roots of obesity as a natural predisposition conjuncted
    with the ''floury and feculent substances which man makes the prime
    ingredients of his daily nourishment.'' He added that the effects of
    this fecula -- i.e., ''potatoes, grain or any kind of flour'' -- were
    seen sooner when sugar was added to the diet.

    This is what my mother taught me 40 years ago, backed up by the vague
    observation that Italians tended toward corpulence because they ate
    so much pasta. This observation was actually documented by Ancel
    Keys, a University of Minnesota physician who noted that fats ''have
    good staying power,'' by which he meant they are slow to be digested
    and so lead to satiation, and that Italians were among the heaviest
    populations he had studied. According to Keys, the Neapolitans, for
    instance, ate only a little lean meat once or twice a week, but ate
    bread and pasta every day for lunch and dinner. ''There was no
    evidence of nutritional deficiency,'' he wrote, ''but the working-
    class women were fat.''

    By the 70's, you could still find articles in the journals describing
    high rates of obesity in Africa and the Caribbean where diets
    contained almost exclusively carbohydrates. The common thinking,
    wrote a former director of the Nutrition Division of the United
    Nations, was that the ideal diet, one that prevented obesity,
    snacking and excessive sugar consumption, was a diet ''with plenty of
    eggs, beef, mutton, chicken, butter and well-cooked vegetables.''
    This was the identical prescription Brillat-Savarin put forth in
    1825.

    It was Ancel Keys, paradoxically, who introduced the low-fat-is-good-
    health dogma in the 50's with his theory that dietary fat raises
    cholesterol levels and gives you heart disease. Over the next two
    decades, however, the scientific evidence supporting this theory
    remained stubbornly ambiguous. The case was eventually settled not by
    new science but by politics. It began in January 1977, when a Senate
    committee led by George McGovern published its ''Dietary Goals for
    the United States,'' advising that Americans significantly curb their
    fat intake to abate an epidemic of ''killer diseases'' supposedly
    sweeping the country. It peaked in late 1984, when the National
    Institutes of Health officially recommended that all Americans over
    the age of 2 eat less fat. By that time, fat had become ''this greasy
    killer'' in the memorable words of the Center for Science in the
    Public Interest, and the model American breakfast of eggs and bacon
    was well on its way to becoming a bowl of Special K with low-fat
    milk, a glass of orange juice and toast, hold the butter -- a dubious
    feast of refined carbohydrates.

    In the intervening years, the N.I.H. spent several hundred million
    dollars trying to demonstrate a connection between eating fat and
    getting heart disease and, despite what we might think, it failed.
    Five major studies revealed no such link. A sixth, however, costing
    well over $100 million alone, concluded that reducing cholesterol by
    drug therapy could prevent heart disease. The N.I.H. administrators
    then made a leap of faith. Basil Rifkind, who oversaw the relevant
    trials for the N.I.H., described their logic this way: they had
    failed to demonstrate at great expense that eating less fat had any
    health benefits. But if a cholesterol-lowering drug could prevent
    heart attacks, then a low-fat, cholesterol-lowering diet should do
    the same. ''It's an imperfect world,'' Rifkind told me. ''The data
    that would be definitive is ungettable, so you do your best with what
    is available.''

    Some of the best scientists disagreed with this low-fat logic,
    suggesting that good science was incompatible with such leaps of
    faith, but they were effectively ignored. Pete Ahrens, whose
    Rockefeller University laboratory had done the seminal research on
    cholesterol metabolism, testified to McGovern's committee that
    everyone responds differently to low-fat diets. It was not a
    scientific matter who might benefit and who might be harmed, he said,
    but ''a betting matter.'' Phil Handler, then president of the
    National Academy of Sciences, testified in Congress to the same
    effect in 1980. ''What right,'' Handler asked, ''has the federal
    government to propose that the American people conduct a vast
    nutritional experiment, with themselves as subjects, on the strength
    of so very little evidence that it will do them any good?''

    Nonetheless, once the N.I.H. signed off on the low-fat doctrine,
    societal forces took over. The food industry quickly began producing
    thousands of reduced-fat food products to meet the new
    recommendations. Fat was removed from foods like cookies, chips and
    yogurt. The problem was, it had to be replaced with something as
    tasty and pleasurable to the palate, which meant some form of sugar,
    often high-fructose corn syrup. Meanwhile, an entire industry emerged
    to create fat substitutes, of which Procter & Gamble's olestra was
    first. And because these reduced-fat meats, cheeses, snacks and
    cookies had to compete with a few hundred thousand other food
    products marketed in America, the industry dedicated considerable
    advertising effort to reinforcing the less-fat-is-good-health
    message. Helping the cause was what Walter Willett calls the ''huge
    forces'' of dietitians, health organizations, consumer groups, health
    reporters and even cookbook writers, all well-intended missionaries
    of healthful eating.

    ew experts now deny that the low-fat message is radically
    oversimplified. If nothing else, it effectively ignores the fact that
    unsaturated fats, like olive oil, are relatively good for you: they
    tend to elevate your good cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein
    (H.D.L.), and lower your bad cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein
    (L.D.L.), at least in comparison to the effect of carbohydrates.
    While higher L.D.L. raises your heart-disease risk, higher H.D.L.
    reduces it.

    What this means is that even saturated fats -- a k a, the bad fats --
    are not nearly as deleterious as you would think. True, they will
    elevate your bad cholesterol, but they will also elevate your good
    cholesterol. In other words, it's a virtual wash. As Willett
    explained to me, you will gain little to no health benefit by giving
    up milk, butter and cheese and eating bagels instead.

    But it gets even weirder than that. Foods considered more or less
    deadly under the low-fat dogma turn out to be comparatively benign if
    you actually look at their fat content. More than two-thirds of the
    fat in a porterhouse steak, for instance, will definitively improve
    your cholesterol profile (at least in comparison with the baked
    potato next to it); it's true that the remainder will raise your
    L.D.L., the bad stuff, but it will also boost your H.D.L. The same is
    true for lard. If you work out the numbers, you come to the surreal
    conclusion that you can eat lard straight from the can and
    conceivably reduce your risk of heart disease.

    The crucial example of how the low-fat recommendations were
    oversimplified is shown by the impact -- potentially lethal, in fact -
    - of low-fat diets on triglycerides, which are the component
    molecules of fat. By the late 60's, researchers had shown that high
    triglyceride levels were at least as common in heart-disease patients
    as high L.D.L. cholesterol, and that eating a low-fat, high-
    carbohydrate diet would, for many people, raise their triglyceride
    levels, lower their H.D.L. levels and accentuate what Gerry Reaven,
    an endocrinologist at Stanford University, called Syndrome X. This is
    a cluster of conditions that can lead to heart disease and Type 2
    diabetes.

    It took Reaven a decade to convince his peers that Syndrome X was a
    legitimate health concern, in part because to accept its reality is
    to accept that low-fat diets will increase the risk of heart disease
    in a third of the population. ''Sometimes we wish it would go away
    because nobody knows how to deal with it,'' said Robert Silverman, an
    N.I.H. researcher, at a 1987 N.I.H. conference. ''High protein levels
    can be bad for the kidneys. High fat is bad for your heart. Now
    Reaven is saying not to eat high carbohydrates. We have to eat
    something.''

    Surely, everyone involved in drafting the various dietary guidelines
    wanted Americans simply to eat less junk food, however you define it,
    and eat more the way they do in Berkeley, Calif. But we didn't go
    along. Instead we ate more starches and refined carbohydrates,
    because calorie for calorie, these are the cheapest nutrients for the
    food industry to produce, and they can be sold at the highest profit.
    It's also what we like to eat. Rare is the person under the age of 50
    who doesn't prefer a cookie or heavily sweetened yogurt to a head of
    broccoli.

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  • patience -- kim, 10:03:31 07/07/02 Sun
    Finally after 5 days with no weight loss,some progress,i lost 2 more lbs this morning!for a total of 18!(in only 17 days)all your advice was true, just keep going and have a little patience and the weight will continue to come off.Thanks for the advice.

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  • Low carb vs. blood type -- Catherine, 14:19:47 07/07/02 Sun
    Hi everyone! I've read this board often for a couple of years and posted once. Four years ago I lost 60 lbs on Atkins in 6 months. I felt wonderful. I still needed to lose about 20 more but could not do it. I plateaued for 6 months--staying strictly on the diet, but not losing weight. I then decided to take a rest from the diet to see if that would help. With every rest I gained 5 or so pounds that would not come back off. Eventually, I gained all my weight back and feel miserable. I have since read that because I am a type A blood type that low carb will not work for me. Any suggestions you have would be appreciated! Thanks

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  • Working out -- Sherry, 19:07:18 07/07/02 Sun
    Hi all. Just finished my workout. It always amazes me how wonderful I feel when I have finished pushing those weights around.

    It amazes me too how it seems to get easier and easier (even though the weights get heavier) the more you do it. The first couple of days that I lifted I felt achy and sore the next day. That never happens anymore even though I am increasing the weight, the reps, the sets.

    My son started the pull down some time back with 70 pounds. I'm up to 80 now. I started last month with 50. Amazing how fast you improve.

    My new activity for this week is lunges with one leg about 2 feet in front of the other, bending both knees and lowering the back leg close to the floor with 45 pounds of weight on the bar on my shoulders.

    Last week's new activity was squats with the 45 pounds on the shoulder. Only did it once last week. Once today, in additon to the new leg excercise for this week.

    I had to get my son to help with the removal of the weight from my shoulders. I was pretty tired by then. Good to have a spotter. He wasn't as much help as I needed, he only helped with one side, should have stood in front and helped with both sides. I guess I need to teach him how to be a better spotter. Oh well. I've been teaching him how to lift properly. He's never been to the gym, hasn't picked up the things I have. But he is working out a lot lately.

    My ab crunch machine has a range of motion that allows for too much rest between sets for instance. He said "that doesn't do anything". I showed him that it DOES if you do it right. The motions on that machine are supposed to be small, and you are supposed to keep the ab muscles under stress the whole time, not move them so far that they get a chance to relax. Sort of like doing situps which aren't as good for you as crunches. They allow the muscle to relax too much between the hard parts.

    Anyway I feel GOOD. All this blood rushing around in my veins is giving me a natural high right now. Wish I could bottle this feeling and sell it.

    Anyone who hasn't tried lifting weights I urge you to give it a try. The feeling is amazing.

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  • Scale back at 143 today -- Kel, 09:57:14 07/07/02 Sun
    Geez it's amazing how much a couple of days of high-carb foods can make you retain two pounds of water. This morning I am back down to 143 thank goodness.

    Today is day one of the latest 3-day no cheat challenge (which is the 3rd so far in the July challenge series). I plan on making it through the whole 3 days, no matter what stress comes my way.

    I have to work today, and I'm expecting people to be on their very worst behavior, keeping in mind this is the 4th day in a long 4-day weekend for many people whom I will encounter out there today. Hopefully I'm up for it. We actually had one officer followed around for about an hour by a man with a video camera last Thursday. He was angry because he was cited for something he thought was trivial. So he decided to tape the officer, threatening to send it to a tv station... lol who cares; the officer was doing what she was supposed to do. If he took it to a tv station, I'm sure they laughed him right out of the office. I had someone throw food at me (which I successfully dodged), so I'm expecting more of the same behavior today. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised; maybe folks will be civil; but I'm preparing for the worst lol.

    I hope yall have a great LC day!

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  • Every so often -- Sherry, 08:37:27 07/06/02 Sat
    We get "reruns" of old messages here. The one below was originally posted back in March. (check the dates).

    Funny how that happens.

    Yesterday I stayed mostly on track, today I feel achy and awful all over. My joints are all hurting. Don't know what it is going to take to get rid of this feeling, I guess a few days back on low carb.

    I'm still in the high carb state. Where you don't feel good, don't feel strong, don't feel like anything is worth it. Scale is still higher than I want it to be, virtually wiped out all last month's progress.

    I'm either going to have to figure out a solution to this or give up. I can't stand this constant discouragement every month. Work a month to lose a little (work hard and consistent and excercise) then in a matter of a couple of days of eating normally and it is all back.

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  • margarine -- edward, 14:38:19 07/05/02 Fri
    i read atkins book and he is against margarine because it is high in hydrogenated fats. the margarine i buy is becel and it is non-hydrogenated and low in saturated fats, so do u think that becel margarine is alright

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