Monday 1st December

BBC1 7.30

Real Story with Feona Bruce

Tonight an attempt to monitor the effects of the controversial Atkins diet. end

Well worth a look and let our American friend know what the media are up to on this side of the Atlantic

BigLez Soon to be Littlelez

If you have never made a mistake then you've done nothing

Hi Lez,

I'll make sure I tune in to see what 'facts' they come up with in this programme.

Did you see the one last week on Channel 4? It was fairly realistic & factual but still a bit scaremongery.

I really wish that someone would fund an official long term study into the health benefits/downfalls of this way of eating and stop all the scaremongering, but I guess there's too many people/organisations that might have more to lose than gain by that!

Anyway, thanks for the notification and well done on your weight loss so far.

Murron

Thanks Murron

our American friends in this web site have done so much for me, I feel that we Britts owe it to them to report whats going on on this side of the Atlantic.

I did see the C4 programme but I thought it was a bit sitting on the fence and it was mostly about the "girl" who wanted to be a police women, I have a better chance of becoming a copper because she was soooooo negatave

BigLez Soon to be Littlelez

If you have never made a mistake then you've done nothing

Hi Lez,

You're right the people on this site are brilliant and really keep me going.

The woman on the programme was a bit of a moaner and I don't know how she expected the diet to work when she had a bowl of cereal with milk every morning!!

Strange thing is before I saw the programme I'd been saying to my hubby that I would love to have just a bowl of cereal instead of a high fat/protein meal for a change. I wonder if it's quite a common craving after 10 days or so?!


Murron

Very common, Murron!

And when induction is over, if you miss oatmeal, try my cereal recipe. It's in the recipe section. (Link is above.)

It can be any flavor you like, is very high in fiber ( ) and very inexpensive, compared to other lc hot cereal mixes.

Might just hit the spot.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!

Hi Lez,

I forgot all about this programme! I had marked it in my diary at work but by the time I got home it had gone right out of my head.

How was it?

Murron

Hi Murron

I also missed the first half I got home late.

What I could make out of it was 3 doctors went on the Atkins plan for 30 days with varying success.

My first impressions of the doctors wasn’t good, 1 male 2 female, all needed a shower, hair needed washing and their clothing looked as if their local charity shop was doing a good trade, ok nothing to do with the plan but it was a TV programme and one would expect a little effort to clean themselves up. (self image)

All failed to stay on the induction for 2 weeks, the male Dr admitted to eating 10 chocolate chip cookies in one session, one of the others was whinging the she couldn’t see what harm eating an apple and a peach could do, (couldn’t have read the Atkins plan) all ate bread and potatoes on induction, all complained of fatigue, the male put on an extremely poor act of memory loss, he couldn’t remember what day it was, one of the females took a flying lesson and said it a duty of care to be alert when flying so she ate some high carb food.
Only on of the subjects said she would stick to the “diet” until she lost a further 10lb and then return too eating her usual diet.

In my not so humble opinion, the three doctors where weak willed pill pushing fools of the highest order. All three went into the experiment with failure in mind and got what they expected. The only and most significant fact is that the programme was a pre-conceived hatchet job on the Atkins Plan.

BigLez Soon to be Littlelez

If you have never made a mistake then you've done nothing

I managed to catch this programme, courtesy of my mum ringing me up and informing me about it.

It was a very short piece - no more than 15 minutes out of the entire programme and chronicled a month in the lives of 3 doctors using the Atkins diet..

Dr 1 : cheated with copious amounts of alcohol - wine, port, champagne - and also ate bread and mango juice.
He lost 5lbs but had chronic stomach pains and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance. He later recovered fully after going back to his original diet.

Dr 2 : Cheated a little with alcohol, some bread and felt really ill. Didn't want to continue. Couldn't concentrate, became very clumsy. Complained bitterly that the Atkins diet was expensive.
Lost 7lbs, but bad cholesterol up, fatty tissue up.

Dr 3 : The most dedicated of the trio. Did exercises as well as the diet. Did not cheat. Had the flu-like feelings for the first couple of days, stuck it out and went on to feel much better in herself.
Lost 11lbs - will stay on the diet to lose 10 more "then go back to eating a more normal, healthy diet"

Presenter claimed that going on the Atkins diet decreases brian power and can cause memory loss. Then proved it by asking Drs 1 & 2 which day they were on.

All in all, it came across as a "nothing" show. Just proves that one diet / WOE is not for all. Little bit scaremongery and the "medical expert" I wouldn't have trusted as far as I could throw him. Not based on any facts, just how I felt with his explanations, his character and presentation of the results.

Oh and the male Dr stated that he couldn't be bothered to read the entire DANDR book.

Lez,

Sounds like a typical media carve up then. I'm quite glad I never watched it now 'cos it makes me so angry when the media only publicise the failures & manipulate the facts to scaremonger.

I've only been following this WoE for a few weeks & I feel great mentally & physically. Reading people's stories on this site re-inforces that this WoE works in the short and long term, I just wish someone would fund a proper study and prove it once and for all.

Maybe if I won the lottery ...

Murron

And I have to go to the diabetic clinic and explain my 2 and a 1/2 stone weight loss on Wednesday.

Well I for one wont change. Wonder if I will get the Sack.

BigLez Soon to be Littlelez

If you have never made a mistake then you've done nothing

Lez, if things get too bad over there in the UK, you could start a low-carb underground. Remember how the early Christians used the secret symbol of the fish? Maybe you could use the symbol of a fish in a frying pan. Start drawing it on walls, in bathrooms, under bridges. People will catch on.

Actually... I haven't seen the documentary, but from what you described, it sounds very similar to how the great majority of people do Atkins the first time. So, the show may have been a hatchet job, but, sadly, it wasn't too far off the mark in terms of being representative. Still, you would have thought people with MD's would be a little more fastidious.

**************
"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."