I started the Atkins Diet today

[ShaneEnochs]

I don't understand why people do ridiculous diets like Atkins. Why not just eat healthy and exercise?

I don't possess the will power to eat healthy yet, nor do I have the physical strength/endurance or mental condition to exercise properly.

 

[dannno]

I heard something in this interview about vegetarians make up a rather interesting percentage of people who go to her for mental health problems.

Meat provides pretty much everything you need for nutrition because what you are eating was once alive and so it must contain much of that nutritional content in and of itself. So eating meat is a lazy way of getting most all of your nutritional needs met, but it isn't necessarily the healthiest way to deliver those nutrients for everyone.

There are some people who go vegetarian and don't pay attention to their diet and don't make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need. Nobody said going vegetarian was going to be easy.

However I guarantee any vegetarian who consumes some raw, some cooked whole fruits and vegetables, a variety of whole grains and coconut oil, hemp seeds or hemp seed oil, olive oil or even takes a simple fish oil supplement will be just fine.

Personally I'm not strict vegetarian, I eat fish once or twice a month and will make occasional exceptions for game meats like a few times a year.

My mental health has vastly improved since becoming mostly vegetarian. My physical health has improved 1000%, and many MMA fighters are finding increased energy levels through a vegetarian diet.

 

[pen_thief]

So today I started the Atkins Diet. I got on the scale and realized just how badly I really needed to lose weight. I stand at 5'7 and weigh 297. I'm getting married in one month, so by then I hope to weigh about 275. I've been on this diet before, so I know I can drop weight pretty fast in the beginning. Anyway, this thread will be like a little journal to let you all know how I'm doing with it.



Day 1: 297 lbs

Please be careful. There's mounting evidence that excessive animal proteins heavily promote cancer. I know the "Forks over Knives" movie was greatly contested and some claim junk science was used, but all you have to do is take a look around at people who are getting degenerative diseases. They are quite heavy on the meats. Grilled meat is the absolute worst due to the carcinogens produced during the "charring."

My mom lost a lot of weight doing the Budwig Diet. To date, she's lost about 50-60 pounds and she just started this in January. Yes, it's a protocol best known in the alternative cancer treatment community, but I think it's a protocol sooo many people should try since it's a cancer and heart disease preventative, something about 50% of us will experience in our lifetimes. (My mom's weight loss had nothing to do with the cancer, btw. She skipped chemo and went straight for Budwig. Actually she found out most people with multiple myeloma gain weight since you're encouraged to eat quite a bit to get your strength back after radiation.)

I had once considered Atkins too because it DOES work so well, but only because it puts your body in a VERY acidic state, which is exactly what cancer needs. Budwig oxygenates your body, Atkins deprives it of oxygen.
(**Editing my post here because there are some studies that claim ketosis can "starve" cancer. And there are studies which claim the opposite. It's all so confusing, dammit. Since Budwig works so well when properly followed, I think it's what I'd prefer to stick with.**)

Here's mom at her heaviest

Here she was 2 weeks ago (still a few pounds to goal)


Looking pretty good for a lady who had got a cancer diagnosis and vertebra fracture circa December of last year
Sorry to sound preachy. I am just so sick of seeing cancer/heart disease strike people down. Best of luck to you and congrats on the upcoming wedding!

 

[furface]

Atkins widow claims he was 195 lbs and around 6 feet tall when he died. This is his widow's claim and is unverifiable because of confidentiality of medical records. Even at that weight, he's no skinny minny. His ideal weight should be around 165 lbs. If he's the guru of this movement, that's still fat.

The best information says he had a history of heart disease and relatively young people don't just slip on pavement and die unless they're unhealthy to begin with. My 90 YO mother-in-law slipped and fell and bruised herself the other day, and she's doing fine. Nobody knows exactly what caused his death, but the primary factor is surely related to an unhealthy lifestyle.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/11/n...ps-the-issue-alive.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

Dr. John McDougall, a member of the Physicians Committee and an internist who had debated Dr. Atkins, said there was no doubt that Dr. Atkins had lost weight after his cardiac arrest, but before that was a different story. ''I knew the man,'' he said. ''He was grossly overweight. I thought he was 40 to 60 pounds overweight when I saw him, and I'm being kind.''

As for the buildup of fluids in his final days, he said, ''I never heard of anyone gaining 60 pounds of fluid in nine days.'' He said he suspected that Dr. Atkins was unable to follow his own diet. Dr. McDougall agreed that the diet produced weight loss, but said he considered it extremely unhealthy and hard to follow.

I won't even attempt to change the minds of people who think that starch causes heart disease. Go ahead and live like Atkins, have a lousy heart, and die at 72.

BTW, I'm a low fat Vegan, 5-10 and 140 lbs. Any FAtkins dieters want to post their stats?

 

[fletcher]

I don't possess the will power to eat healthy yet, nor do I have the physical strength/endurance or mental condition to exercise properly.

Yes you do. You just need to stop the excuses and do it. Throw out all your crap food and replace it with healthy food. And start exercising today. Sitting around eating Atkins isn't going to magically build up your physical strength/endurance to the point where you want to exercise. You're getting married in a month. You don't have time to waste. If you're not going to get a trainer you should buy (or download) a program like p90x that has a routine that you follow. Do it today.

 

[farreri]

If I can throw my 2 cents into this too, a couple pieces of advice:

#1 - Eat about 6-8 small meals throughout the day instead of the traditional 2-3 big meals a day with unhealthy snacks in between. Think of yourself like a grazing animal eating small bites throughout the day instead of lions who go long periods between meals, then gorge themselves so much they have to lay on their backs because their bellies are too full! The bigger the meal you eat in one sitting, the more energy your body uses to digest it and the more tired you become afterward.

Eating small portions throughout the day helps keep your insulin levels more balanced. Atkins talks about the importance of not letting your insulin levels spike.

I like to fix large portions of my meals and put them in those Glad reusable containers and just snack out of those throughout the day. I hardly use plates anymore!

#2 - Keep your body alkaline. Your blood pH has to be about 7.4 pH, so your combined food intake should be at that level, or a little bit higher alkaline. If people eat an acidic diet (fast food, sugary drinks, too much meats, not enough vegetables), their body's will start leaching minerals (which are mostly alkaline) from itself to keep their blood pH at the 7.4 level. Lot of holistic Dr's believe this self-leaching of minerals makes us susceptible to illness, especially cancer (some popular natural cancer treatments include using baking soda or cessium, both being very alkaline substances).

Of course the beginning phases of the Atkins diet are going to be very acidic since you'll be eating mostly meats. Between meals, you can take a little bit of baking soda to help offset the acid pH and it would be advisable to supplement you diet with a mineral complex. A mineral complex formula with trace mineral I hear are particularly effective.

It would also be best to use an alkaline water, such as "Kangen" water. Not only is it very alkaline, it's negatively charged, which keeps the water particles spaces apart more, so it can be absorbed easier into your cells.

#3 - I've been reading a lot about how the biggest cause of illness is stress. From there, I've been reading a lot about emotional health and reading up on the newer field of "energy medicine." What I keep coming across from the practitioners in this field is that they say there is a link between obesity and emotional traumas. People with severe emotional traumas from the past tend to develop addictions to things like drugs, or even food, to help numb them from the emotional pain. Here's a list of these newer energy medicine techniques that deal with releasing emotional traumas.

#4 - As many here already stated, the optimum diet is the Primal/Caveman diet. It's how humans ate for thousands and thousands of years before modern technology started coming along and causing all this havoc! So leading into 4th phase of the Atkins diet, it would be advisable to make that transition into the Primal diet.

#5 - Gluten-Free. One of the benefits of the Primal diet is that it's gluten-free. Read up why being gluten-free is so important and how gluten causes inflammation inside the body, which along with being too acidic, is so detrimental to your health.


Good luck, Shane!

 

[PatriotOne]

My mental health has vastly improved since becoming mostly vegetarian.

Thing is Danno...crazy people don't know they are crazy.


hehe....j/k.

Glad your diet works for you. I've never tried to go vegetarian so I certainly won't throw any stones at it. I do have lot's of experience being a meat eater though and great success not only with health but with weight loss so I am sticking with that personally.

 

[amonasro]

I don't possess the will power to eat healthy yet, nor do I have the physical strength/endurance or mental condition to exercise properly.

Of course you do. You control your limbs, right? You have a brain. So put down the ice cream spoon, do some reading and get outside and move around.

The whole AA mantra of "you don't have control of the alcohol, it controls you" is complete bullshit. We posses the willpower to not buy the six pack, to not mix the drink, to not order 5 beers with dinner. Same goes for food. The only time we need medical help is when your body is truly addicted to the alcohol (aka drinking all day long, heavily), or you weigh 800 pounds and literally can't get out of the house. Thankfully for most of us, it doesn't come to that.

I've tried plenty of diets. The paleo craze is just a new form of Atkins with healthy carbs added in. I have to lose about 15 pounds this summer so I decided to run 6 miles three times a week, plus weightlifting twice (also jogging to the gym). Works like a charm, doesn't matter what I eat. You actually crave less junk as your body wants to mobilize quality calories for repair.

If you've never exercised seriously though, I suggest starting very easy and working up. Exercising 5 days/week is super difficult at first.

 

[pen_thief]

My mental health has vastly improved since becoming mostly vegetarian. My physical health has improved 1000%, and many MMA fighters are finding increased energy levels through a vegetarian diet.

I would have to agree. I went vegetarian November of last year. I still have eggs, cheese and half & half in the occasional cup of coffee, but I know my proportion of fruits & veggies should definitely outweigh those. I had depression so bad due to hormonal issues that I...let's just say I was a danger to myself. I had horrible road rage too where I would stay upset for far too long if someone pissed me off in traffic. Now I just utter a half-hearted curse and continue about my drive. I know I'd feel even better if I cut out sugar completely. That always gives me an initial bump and leaves me feeling like a load of crap. I've never tried crack, but I hear sugar is harder to give up (if you're addicted like me) than crack. That's the next challenge...

 

[ShowMeLiberty]

Atkins widow claims he was 195 lbs and around 6 feet tall when he died. This is his widow's claim and is unverifiable because of confidentiality of medical records. Even at that weight, he's no skinny minny. His ideal weight should be around 165 lbs.

There is no such thing as a standard "ideal" weight. Some people are more muscular than others. Some have higher bone density. These are just a couple of things that will affect one's weight and have absolutely nothing to do with being fat.

The best information says he had a history of heart disease and relatively young people don't just slip on pavement and die unless they're unhealthy to begin with.

They do if they land on their heads. Which is supposedly what happened to Atkins.

 

[PatriotOne]

BTW, I'm a low fat Vegan, 5-10 and 140 lbs.

As a female, I wouldn't even look at a guy that skinny. Last time I did Atkins, I got down to 146 at 5'7 and was quite skinny and strong (lean muscles) and played raquetball or tennis almost daily fun and competively in tournaments around my state without breaking a sweat.

 

[farreri]

IMO, the only people who can be truly healthy on a vegetarian diet are those who naturally gain muscle mass easily.

 

[PatriotOne]

The best information says he had a history of heart disease and relatively young people don't just slip on pavement and die unless they're unhealthy to begin with.

When did 72 yrs old become relatively young? Relative to what?

 

[furface]

There is no such thing as a standard "ideal" weight.

195 lbs and 6 feet, if that's really true, is healthy maybe if you're a body builder and it's all muscle. In Atkins case he was likely heavier than that and certainly was no body builder.

They do if they land on their heads. Which is supposedly what happened to Atkins.

What did he do? Jump and do a somersault? If you slip and fall and are healthy, you react and break your fall accordingly. He was just walking, not ice skating or skiing. He was a sickly person who was older than his years and heavier than he should have been.

Go ahead and eat that stupid diet. Bill Clinton tried a variant of it for a while and kept getting clogs in his circulatory system. He finally switched to vegan and is doing great.

Everybody I know who goes plant/starch based loses weight and is really healthy. Is this high protein thing still making its way around? Weird.

When did 72 yrs old become relatively young? Relative to what?

I guess not according to Atkins fans. Believe me if you're in your mid 60s and healthy, you're thinking that 72 is relatively young. There's no reason that people shouldn't live healthily into their 90s. This is the problem with our society today. Go out and fight wars for Israel and die when you're 70. I don't plan on doing that, thank you.

 

[PatriotOne]

What did he do? Jump and do a somersault? If you slip and fall and are healthy, you react and break your fall accordingly. He was just walking, not ice skating or skiing.

He was walking on ice and hit concrete .

On April 8, 2003, at age 72, a day after a major snowstorm in New York, Atkins slipped on icy pavement, suffering severe head trauma. He spent nine days in intensive care, before dying on April 17, 2003 from complications from his head injury.

Girl, 11, dies after slipping on ice

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/15/girl-dies-falling-on-ice

An 11-year-old girl died today after she slipped on ice outside her primary school, police said

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/15516806

Brian Metcalfe, 21, found with head injuries in Kendal, Cumbria, after he is thought to have slipped on ice. He died later that day at Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

 

[furface]

Girl, 11, dies after slipping on ice

She likely had a brain aneurism or something. Young people die of things like heart attacks & circulatory problems somewhat infrequently because of circulatory defects.

I'm guessing that dying from a mild head injury is more common among adolescents and teen agers than it is for older people because you're weeding out people who have circulatory weeknesses. Point is that something like that indicates some other form of defect. Kids slip & fall all the time and don't die. Why did she? There is likely a reason. Atkins may have had a congenital aneurism, but it would likely have manifested itself by age 72.

Dying from a head injury from a normal fall in any case suggests other problems. Does it prove? No, but it's very suggestive. People fall all the time & they don't die. If you're sick and you fall, you're more likely to die.

I had a stroke (before I went vegan) and could barely use my arms, but somehow I managed to break my fall when I collapsed. My entire right side was completely bruised, but I was able to protect my head. Why wasn't Atkins able to do this? I would expect a healthy 72 year old to be better at it than an 11 YO girl because he has more experience at it.

Most likely he was walking around in a ketosis inspired daze and was unable to react because his circulatory capacity was so crappy.

Nobody knows what the reasons for Atkins untimely death were, but if you're looking for an example of someone on the diet who lived a long, healthy diet, you're not going to find it with the founder.

 

[ShaneEnochs]

Of course you do. You control your limbs, right? You have a brain. So put down the ice cream spoon, do some reading and get outside and move around.

Actually I don't buy junk food. At all. I just eat a crapload of healthy food, which is just as bad. Sometimes I go through two cans of green beans in a sitting. Then again sometimes I eat an entire bag of salad, or like ten carrots. I just eat too much, and I can't control it yet.

 

[Revolution9]

Sorry Kuck but.......

No sugars period Shane. In any form right now with the exception of what's in veggies. None. Zilch. Nada.

Stay the course Shane. Listen to Atkins right now and no one giving you any well meaning bad advice.

The best hit to quell massive sweet tooth is blackstrap molasses. One swig and yer good. Also good for hemmorhoids, skin and greying hair.

Rev9

 

[anaconda]

I have been following that thread for a while. The only reason I went with Atkins is because I've done it before and I know what to look for if my body has a bad reaction to it. After my wedding, I may switch to paleo.

How many carbs are you allotting yourself? If possible eat lots of low carb vegetables on your Atkins.

 

[PatriotOne]

She likely had a brain aneurism or something. Young people die of things like heart attacks & circulatory problems somewhat infrequently because of circulatory defects.

I'm guessing that dying from a mild head injury is more common among adolescents and teen agers than it is for older people because you're weeding out people who have circulatory weeknesses. Point is that something like that indicates some other form of defect. Kids slip & fall all the time and don't die. Why did she? There is likely a reason.

Dying from a head injury from a normal fall in any case suggests other problems.

Good grief. Ignoring you now because your an idiot and don't want to clog up Shane's thread rambling on with an idiot.