http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifest...12782811c.html


PLEASE EMAIL THE JOURNALIST AND GIVE YOUR SUCCESS STORY!!!!!

We need to let them know that by no means is low carb dead!!!!!!!!!

WEBMASTER

this is my answer:

Tell us about your low-carb experience. Have you had it with Atkins? A recent study suggests it is time to say RIP to the latest diet craze: the low-carb movement. If you are among those who have jumped off the low-carb bandwagon, we want to hear from you.

Published 2:15 am PST Friday, December 31, 2004~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And what study was that? Why do you only want to hear from those who quit low carb eating? Is that balanced reporting? I think not.

So, I'm here to tell you that I lost 40 lbs on a low carb diet! And, I've kept it off for well over a year. Am I pleased? YOU BETCHA!

I was very frustrated with my weight, which just kept climbing as I progressed through menopause. I was embarrassed by my appearance, I had trouble getting in and out of cars, I was always bumping into things (my body was bigger than my mental self-image). I get most of my exercise from walking and dancing, which I love. Those two activities were very difficult for me before I lost weight, so I was becoming less and less active.

I tried Weight Watcher's low fat diet plan, but it just didn't work for me any longer. I was eating at the minimum points level with minimal results--and starving!

My low carb diet is quite healthy. I eat lots of low carb vegetables such as zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, greens, spinach, etc. I eat as many or more veggies than I ate before starting a low carb eating plan. I even eat veggies for breakfast now. Why? Because vegetables taste so much better when dressed with olive oil, cheese, butter, or mayonnaise, etc. Those types of dressings are allowed in reasonable, but satisfying, quantities. I also eat satisfying amounts of fish, poultry, pork, beef and lamb - and lots of eggs and nuts! And, I eat fresh fruit, too. One of my favorite treats is blueberries with cream.

Since I began low carb eating, my blood lipid profile has improved dramatically. My HDL values (good cholesterol) are WAY UP, my LDL (bad cholesterol) is down, and my triglycerides have all but disappeared. I am very pleased with that, to say the least!

So, the food is great. The results are great. What's not to love?

~~~Teelbee in San Jose, CA

PS... I believe most people who are not as successful with low carb eating are not doing it correctly. The marketplace has been flooded with lots of so-called low carb bars, candies, and convenience foods, which are infamous for stalling weight loss. I believe the low carb food industry is sabotaging itself by pushing such frankenfoods on an unsuspecting dieters.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Good job, Teel. It's important to chime in and tell them that ATKINS low carb products might be dead, because they are AWFUL, but that low carbing with real food is very much alive and well. And that we appreciate the changes fast food restaurants are making with lettuce wrapped burgers and such.

I can't do it. My bosses would frown BIG TIME if I submitted something, anything, to another California newspaper. Heck, I sometimes wonder if my accounts on this board can come back to bite me....and then I remind myself that I am allowed to have a life outside of work. Well, sort of...as long as I follow the restrictions put on us at work. (ie: no second job, no webpage unless it's approved, no home business, etc)

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Melissa

I will respond when I am a bit more awake!

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Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130

I sent the following, with my name and phone numbers to Ms. Hubert.

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Andrea, I replied, too, but forgot to copy my message! I also mentioned how well my diabetic husband was doing just by switching to low carb milk and bread. How did you ever come across this little tidbit? I hope she gets deluged with positive replies.

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Alida
5'1" ~ 59 years old
Highest weight: 165
Atkins 7/10/2004
160/126/125
RE-DO, January 2008:
167/162/135

my response --

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Mary Kay 1/1/04 - 232
5/19/08 (5/23/08) - sw226/(cw222)/mg210/fg160

Here is my response...I got longwinded!


Ms. Hubert,



Why on earth would you only want to hear from those who failed on a Low Carb Way of Eating? I fail to understand the thinking behind the ?research for this article/story. Whatever happened to fair and balanced reporting on any subject. Is it more exciting to report the failures or do you, yourself, have something against those of us succeeding on a low carbohydrate diet?



On January 5th 2004 I took a step that I never believed would last more than a few weeks?I committed to Atkins for exactly 2 weeks. I figured it would go the way of every diet I have ever tried?I would fail and I could move on to the next one a few weeks later?much to my surprise after two weeks I was neither starving or gaining weight. If fact, I had lost a total of 13 lbs in those first two weeks?I visited with my doctor who ran blood tests only a few weeks before Christmas and while he gave me the news, it was NOT good news. Part of the weight problem was PCOS and my blood sugar reading was above what was considered normal. My Cholesterol was over what was considered high and he wanted me to lose a significant weight and start on a Diabetic diet. When I told him I has already started Atkins and he compared the two weights one from November and the one from mid January he was pleased with the initial results and told me to continue and he would see me again in a couple of months. In March, he was well pleased but wanted to wait another 6-8 weeks before retesting my blood. The results were amazing when the tests were finally ran in late May. Blood sugar down from 126 to 86 and that was NOT fasting, cholesterol down from 224 to 196 with a risk ratio of 3.4 much better than a risk ratio of 4.5.



What do I eat you may be asking? I eat all kinds of meat (beef, chicken, pork and turkey mostly), eggs, whole grain breads and tortillas, fresh and frozen fruits including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, apples, pears and grapefruit (but this list is NOT nearly complete), fresh and frozen vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, cabbages, green beans, baby carrots, some legumes and many others. I get at least 5 servings of vegetables and one fruit serving each day. In fact, I eat more vegetables than I have ever eaten in my adult life?probably my whole life. I can eat at any restaurant and choose low carb foods without you even knowing that is what I am doing. A simple vegetable choice and meat without sauce is all that is required and unsweetened iced tea or water for a drink and I have the perfect meal and no one is the wiser. The only ?frankenfoods? I buy are low carb yogurt by Hood or Dannon and the Hood Carb Countdown milk for DH. The rest of the ?JUNK FOOD? they are touting as low carb I leave in the store?if you go back to the Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, these are not the recommended foods, whole foods in their natural state is what he recommends and anyone who thinks they can lose a significant amount of weight eating highly processed junk foods is in for a rude awakening?they most likely can?t. Every time I add in the junk foods, I stop losing and often even gain a few pounds. This is likely where many of your respondents will have failed the way of eating?they way of eating may not be the perfect one for them, but not eating whole natural foods is a failure to follow the diet correctly?not a failure of the way of eating itself.



I have lost 70 lbs since January 5th 2004 and gone from a size 22/24 to a size 10/12. I was able to start working out in March?before that I had too much joint and back pain. I have been swimming 4-5x a week since September and before that I was swimming 3X a week and lifting weights 2x a week. I tried running and still have problems with my knees due in part at least to some extra weight and in part to a birth defect causing knee and foot problems. I have no doubt that I will eventually be able to run again?I was a long distance runner in high school and college but I only weighed around 125 then too. I have far more energy now than before too. Pre-Atkins I came home from teaching PE and took a nap before I cooked dinner then sat half comatose on the couch til bedtime?now I teach PE all day, workout/swim 4-5X a week and come home fix dinner and work around the house doing what needs done til bedtime. I also find that I can get by on fewer hours of sleep with enough energy the next day to do what needs done without feeling rundown.



I have had exactly one asthma episode in the last year down from 10-12 a year every year previous. I have only been sick twice in the past year that required a doctor?s care down from at a minimum monthly since at least the mid-1990s. I attribute this all to removing sugar and flour and for the most part potatoes from my diet. I have 30 lbs to lose and I plan to continue in the weight loss phase of Atkins until I lose all of the 100 lbs I set out to lose and switch to lifetime maintenance after all is lost.



My 9 year old eats just like I do for the most part?if she wants macaroni and cheese, I let her have it, if she wants a sandwich?I fix her one with the meat of her choice. She takes her lunch to school now?by her choice not mine because she prefers carrots with dip, fruit and tuna salad or ham and cheese or turkey and cheese to what they serve for the most part. She too eats a healthy number of vegetables every day along with fruits and whole grains and meat. She drinks regular milk and juices and swims 3x a week on a swim team.



My husband started Atkins in February with much prodding from me and my refusal to feed him any more sweetened snacks and the fact I stopped making potatoes all together except a baked now and then when my daughter asked. He was about 25lbs overweight for the Army?s standards and while he was still passing the tape test he constantly said he needed to lose the extra and get back to weight standards. He lost 20 of the 25 and has kept it off, but he has stopped worrying about it too. He is down from 215 to about 195 and lost a full waist size and had to have his dress uniforms retailored to fit. He continues to eat lower carb but indulges in the other foods when he wants. He has stopped having problems with his calf when he runs and his back is less of a problem now too. He works out twice a day 4-5X a week once in the morning and once in the afternoon after work lifting weights while his morning is dictated by the military. He now has the extra energy to do the extra workouts and has improved his PT (Physical Training) score by over 50 points in the last year. He still comes home and plays with our daughter and does things around the house without napping and he used to come home sleep on the couch after dinner and then go to bed.



I don?t think this is what you wanted to hear, but this is the reality. While low carbohydrate diets are not perfect for everyone, the great many who ?fail? are not failed by the effectiveness of the diet, they are failing the way of eating by not eating whole unprocessed foods as the base for their diet. This is a way of life and a way of eating, not a diet. I did not gain an extra hundred pounds over night and cannot expect the weight to be gone overnight either?this too is another failure of the person trying the way of eating not the way of eating itself?eating the ?frankenfoods? will not automatically melt pounds off you body and it certainly won?t happen overnight or maybe not even in the first two weeks?it all takes time. My last point is that exercise is not negotiable. Those wanting to lose weight MUST exercise along with their way of eating to make the changes lasting.

<note from admin: you had posted your full name and phone number here - I'm sure you didn't mean to do that! I edited them out. andrea>

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Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130

Here's mine:

"I was a very cute cuddly toddler. However, after 58 yrs of life chubby had led to overweight which led to obese. Major health issues were looming on the horizon, diabetes and joint problems are all over my family tree.

Low fat diets worked in the past, as did the old liquid protein diets but none were a lifestyle that I could maintain. On June 1, 2003 I started Atkins. I was 232lbs, with erratic blood glucose readings and painful knees and ankles. I bought the book, read it several times, and prepared the house for some major changes like getting rid of chips, candy, sugar pasta and potatoes. One year and a half later I am down 85 pounds and maintaining nicely.

What can I say about low carb eating? I CAN DO THIS!! And what is more I can continue to live this way. If properly it is a lifestyle that can be maintained.

So often low carbers are portrayed as eating all bacon cheeseburgers and fried eggs. That falls far short of the truth. My diet includes loads of fresh veggies (more than I ever ate before), berries, fish, chicken and beef and dairy products. My diet does not include refined flours, sugar or junk food. I am human and not perfect so slip ups do occur, but I now have a solution that not only works but is fun!

I do not quite understand how the merits of a low carb lifestyle seem to be linked in so many minds to the success or failure of low carb 'products'. Is that really the only way we have to judge success, by how much the population spends on it? Low carb products from the major food manufacturers are not what low carb is all about. It is a bandwagon I don't need or want to jump on. I want real food, and that for me is the beauty of this lifestyle. I am not dependent on manufacturers to supply me with shakes, bars or pills. I love low carb and will not give it up, unfortunately nobody will know of my success or miss my low carb product purchases because there are none.

I cannot begin to describe how thankful I am that I have found this way of eating. Even if I put on a couple pounds over the holidays I am really looking forward to getting back to my low carb lifestyle because I just feel so much better. My lipid profile has steadily improved, I have no more issues with high blood glucose and my doctor couldn't be happier.

PS Why do you only want to hear from those who have quit? I guess failures make better stories. It is sad because that is only part of the picture. There are so many success stories out there of people who have made this work and will continue to live healthier lives. I am so happy to be one of them."