Do you see yourself here???

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/food...94/detail.html

Nope! Because this writer DOESN'T GET IT! First, she thinks all she can eat is "chicken, fish, beef" and that it's boring to eat this way. AND that you have to drown everything in mayo or salad dressing.

And worst of all, that this is a DIET to be stopped as soon as possible! Sheesh!

It's pretty obvious she never read a word about the Atkins plan, why it works, how it works, or that it's a WAY OF EATING for good, not a "diet" - I have half a mind (which is about all I have left anyway) to contact her via the provided link and ask her to actually READ what the plan is about!

But perhaps I'd be better off saving that remaining half for better things, like choosing to help support my fellow Atkins followers who DO get it - HERE!

Char

Don't squat with yer spurs on!

Not to put too fine a point on it, but... God didn't invent pizza, brownies, and french fries. We did. We took the good nutritious things that God did give us and created fattening and unhealthy foods.

Soap box mode off...

--jim

Char, just ran into a friend that noticed I "looked better" and asked what diet I was on. I didn't even get Atkins out and she said, "Oh I could never do that diet!" so I had to explain that it is a WOE not a diet.....didn't sink in though.......oh well as a newbie I thought it best to leave well enough alone for the time being.

What sweetener would you recommend?

"SCRAT"

Here is my e-mail I sent to Michelle (the author) today:

Michelle,

I think a prerequisite of writing articles for a newspaper is research. Based on this column, which is completely opinion and little or no fact, you have done a great disservice to the journalistic community. If you would really like to succeed on the Atkins Diet, please read the book The New Diet Revolution. Your Atkins Man should have this already but may not, which may be why he eats the way he does. I can only imagine the onslaught of e-mails you have received regarding the fallacies in your column, so I am not going to bother pointing them out. Read the book, you will quickly find out that you have got it all wrong.

Keviport
Sandy, Utah
205/189.5/145

One thing I just don't get. I keep hearing this "stinky breath" scenario. I've been low carbing since end of June and my breath does not stink.

BRAVO to Keviport/Sandy!!!!

Feedback may be the best way to get others to see the TRUTH!!!!



Barb
Atkins-3/14/03
174/151/135
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

With the description of the food the author was eating I don't think she did the 'induction'.

My realestate agent came to the door yesterday and I hadn't seen her in about 5 weeks. The first words out of her mouth were. 'Louise you lost weight, you look great, what are you doing?' I told her Atkins, she said she heard of it and that it was healthy and asked to borrow my book. I loaned it to her.

One also has to wonder about a person who writes for her profession who would pen "cultures that subside on primarily on high protein foods." Uhhhhh, don't ya mean "subsist"?

Her perception skills also need a little work . . . right after she calls Atkins an "artery-clogging diet," she cites the recent medical report that Atkins' dieters had lower cholesterol than low-fat dieters. I guess she doesn't realize that there is a connection between low cholesterol and non-clogged arteries.

Personally, I think she's just jealous of her mom and fiancee!

Law1
Lowcarb since July 2001
296/211/150

The author of that article must have just asked a local doctor of his opinion of Atkins instead of reading the book or doing any 'real' research.

Mary ~
"It's never to late to be what you might have been"

Here's what I sent to her as well - Overall, I thought her article was meanspirited.

Michele:

I read your article and it sounds like you are having a really rough time with the Atkins way of eating. I personally have found that this way of eating works wonders for me, and I will eat like this from here on (lost 45 pounds and am a little more than 20 from my goal). But, it's not for everyone. It requires that you understand exactly what you are doing - this involves researching and reading Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution. My issue with your article is that you do not paint a complete or accurate picture of what Atkins can do for people who are committed to that way of eating. Your menu for surviving the first week is not balanced and frankly, unhealthy. That's not what Atkins is about. Of course, you can't stick with your version of Atkins for the long-term. Who could? There have been way too many biased articles that reinforce the public perception that Atkins is some wacky diet that will kill you. Give it a chance, read the book, and start over. Otherwise, it looks like you just wrote the article for some quick giggles and to take advtange of the current low carb trend.

Jen
175/131/120

Here were my responses to this woman's article. I wrote each piece after each paragraph in a copied version of her article and emailed my reaction to her.

I have a BIG BONE to pick with you!!!!!

On the limitations of this WOL.........We eat vegetables (except the starchy ones like potatoes, corn and processed rice), Flaxmeal (VERY healthy), Heart Healthy nuts, like almonds, strawberries, cantaloup, blueberries, etc.

Big light bulb moment......The body not only burns sugar first, it stores it away as fat first. (don't nix the veggies)

"subside".....(subsist?????)

......artery clogging diet......(actually this has the opposite effect on the heart, low-fat diets are the artery clogging diets, which Dr. Atkins figured out a loooong time ago, but the AMA just wouldn't listen to him. He was, afterall, a cardiologist, and bought the low-fat lie in the beginning.)

referencing the NEJM's findings of lowered cholesterol (..........and what's so BAD about this??????? Lowered cholesterol levels help unclog the arteries. Hydrogenated fats are the culprits)

Weight loss slows down after six months.....(not if you continue to exercise)

she finds this WOL boring......(Cooking this way is sooooooooooooo much fun, what with ALL the innumerable recipes available on the internet and in cookbooks. You obviously lack imagination)

OMG, he's eating COOL WHIP!!!!!!!(Your Atkins man should get rid of the Cool Whip and you should make him some REAL whipped cream, or don't you know how. It's quite simple really. Cool whip is made with sugar and HYDROGENATED fats, poison to the heart. If you REALLY loved him, you would make homemade whipped cream.)

About Atkins man drinking so much water because of salty food consumption......(We don't drink water because we consume so much salty food, we do it because it's healthy and it helps the body rid itself of burned fat, cleanses the organs, and hydrates the body.)

On whining about cereal.....(Why not try flax-o-meal?)

About eating as many fake candy bars as you want......(True Atkins followers know the bars are not truly allowed on this plan and find substitutes. You can't truly eat as many as you want, they WILL stall out your weight loss!!!!! Maltitol and Lactitol are the main sweetener substitutes which have been found to be the sweetener of choice for most of this FAKE food. They have also been proven to cause diarrhea. If they give you diarrhea, they probably don't impact your insulin levels. If they don't cause it, they ARE impacting your insulin levels.)

Response to eating cheese, meat, eggs and bars....(Why weren't you eating any veggies??????)

Bad breath issue.....(Then you are not drinking enough water!!!!!)

She doesn't get this as a WOL and puhhhhhleeeeease.....(If you plan on doing this temporarily, you will gain the weight you lost back, because you will be eating the same way you did in the first place that made you fat. By the way, God didn't invent pizza and all that crap, he gave real, natural foods to eat. WE are the ones that made them unhealthy)

To her:
I angers me when I read articles like this that don't tell the whole story. You obviously haven't read Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution Book that was recently re-published and updated with a better eating plan. You made absolutely NO mention of vegetables in your article which is a critical part of this plan. I have NEVER eaten so healthy as I do now. This morning I ate my flax-o-meal cereal which contained: flaxmeal, ground almonds, wheat germ, milk and egg protein mix, Stevia, SweetNLo, vanilla and almond extract. I poured a half cup of HOT water over it and mixed it well and let it cool a bit and added a tsp. of Flax Oil. It is delicious and sticks with me until lunchtime. For lunch I had leftover pork roast in a gravy made with cream, Alfredo style and pan drippings. For dinner I had a half chicken breast, green beans sauted in bacon grease (about a tsp.) and steamed cabbage. I used Green Goddess dressing to dip my chicken in. I probably won't have a snack tonight because I just am not hungry and have a Diet Rite soda to quench my sweet tooth. I have given up processed garbage such as white flour, white noodles, white rice, white sugar and "white" veggies, except cauliflower. I gave up the Doritoes, twinkies, cookies, mashed potatoes, Bridge Mix, MnM's, and on and on. Now tell me, what is so bad about giving up all that sugary crap and replacing it with heart healthy nuts and seeds and vegetables. Yes, I get a hankerin' for sweet stuff sometimes. That's why I got an icecream maker for my birthday and now make my own icecream. That's why I learned how to make my own Jello and whipped cream. That's why I learned how to make delicious almond cookies. I don't feel deprived whatsoever. In fact, I feel like I eat like a QUEEN. I am NEVER hungry, don't have to eat teeny, minute portions and can have decadent foods made with cream, sour cream, etc. I have lost 22 lbs. in 5 months and have gone down 2 sizes so far. I have 20 more pounds to go before I reach my goal weight of 135 on my 5'2" frame. I plan on eating this way the rest of my life in order to take it off and KEEP it off. I have lost a total of about 16 inches so far, in various places on my body. I have lost 6 inches alone in my waist. Why would I ever want to go back to the way I ate before and gain all that weight back? I am happy with this eating plan. I also exercise by riding a bicycle and lifting weights.

Before you write an article as misleading as the one you did recently, I would do a little more homework before passing judgement. You do NOT have the whole picture, and I don't think you have a clue as to the medical benefits of it at all. You are going to fail at this. You view it as a diet not a way of life. No one will EVER lose weight on a DIET. You have to make a lifestyle change, and you just don't get it.

Perturbed, Barb Keith
(grrrrrrrrr)



Barb
Atkins-3/14/03
174/151/135
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

Hmmmm...

I must have read a different article than you guys. It sounded like the typical observations of a newbie that is impressed by the diet and still absorbing all the information but hasn't memorized it.

I, too, noticed the Cool Whip and the bars. If she read Atkins, she probably thinks the bars are okay. It's easy to think Cool Whip is okay because if you read the label, it lists a few carbs per tablespoon, which is misleading, but hardly something to blame her about. It's a typical newbie mistake, just like using Redi-Whip.

I saw no mention anywhere in the article about vegetables. With the mention of salad dressings, I assume that they must be eating salads too but didn't mention them, perhaps because it's not the main thrust of the diet.

My only big complaint was the part about wanting to only do this for a while, a typical newbie thought, held by probably most of the people starting this, one that needs a gentle correction.

She would probably enjoy our forum if we invited her and didn't yell at her.

*** "Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."