How can people be so against this? They say you'll get constipated, uh, no problem here, I have problems WITH carbs!, they say you lose water, yeah, so, I was bloated anyway; they say your cholesterol will skyrocket, nope, mine's going down!; They say you don't eat vegetables, well, no, not the corn, potatoes and peas really, but lunch today had steamed squash, broccoli and a huge salad with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. Don't those count?; they say it's too much fat, so, eat fish, chicken, and leaner cuts of meat, big deal!
Why are "they" so against this way of life? I'm truly baffled.

168/117

Because "they" don't want people to stop spending billions of dollars each year on weekly meetings, frozen dinners, shakes, doctor visits, prescriptions for cholesterol/blood pressure/depression/diabetes, processed foods....you know where I'm going here folks.

It's the man, and the man will always bring you down.

194/180/125 (5'4)

And I'm gonna make it this time!

**eats peas, and LIKES it**

I'll foresake the extra 3 carbs elsewhere to get the peas.


(296/222/135) 04/01/03
The Downward Spiral Begins

Until people acutally do this way of life they will not understand. My parents were against it when I started also. However due to my over 50 lb weight loss they saw the results and are now doing low carb as well. And liking it.

Experience needs to replace pessimism.

Kelly
Heathly Mom to a 1 year old

Well, besides the money one, which I think is a big deal to some.

Here is a thought.

Scientific dogma is being challenged. Many egos are at stake for years of pronouncing a certain nutitional standard. We are challenging that, and folks can't stand it. In addition, there is a certain power that these folks hold over the masses. These folks don't like it when their authority and wisdom is questioned

People are sheep. They have bought into the established party line, and have no real clue what they are talking about. So they stand behind the party line...

Just a thought...

--jim

And don't forget our current food pyramid, which from my understanding was underwritten by a lot of the ag culture groups - you know, "if you TELL them more grains and breads and pasta are good, then WE sell more whole grains to the suppliers!" I think they're also behind a lot of the misinformation and bad press about eating low-carb. JMHO of course!

Char

Don't squat with yer spurs on!

You know, I was doing low-carb before low-fat came into style. And, here I am, doing low-carb again as low-fat goes out of style.

One advantage of having more time invested in all of this is the advantage of perspective. Diets and nutritional advice have their own fads and fashions. Science, too, in this area, seems to have its fads as well. There have been many contradictory BS messages given out over the past few decades.

You guys are worried about the food pyramid? I remember the four food groups! We didn't have no steenkin' food pyramid when I was in school. Heh... I'm soooooo old. *sob* No, instead, we had the four basic food groups. We were told that at every meal you had to have something from each food group (dairy, meat, grain, veggies/fruits) or you'd get scurvy and die. Hey, when we were kids, that sounded like Nobel-prize winning science! I must have got out of high school just before or at the same time the first pyramid came along.

So I've been fortunate. I've never had to worry about pyramids. And here I am, doing the same old low-carb diet that my late father used to do, and I AM IN STYLE AGAIN. It's like having skinny ties and earth shoes come back into style and you have a closet full of them and you never knew they even went away! And here are all these people upset about it, going, this can't be right. Yeah. Sure.

The flip side of this is the following: low-carb will fall out of style once again, given a few years. Somebody will come out with a study saying it makes your testicles shrink, and everybody will be encouraged to switch to something new, like an all-dairy-product diet. The science won't be all that convincing, but herd mentality will set in and people will switch just because they want to go wherever the herd goes. And then low-carb will come back. And then go away. And about that time -- sometime after we all have floating cars and timeshare condos on the moon -- they will announce they have a pill that will make you permanently slim no matter what you eat. And nobody will care about ANY OF THIS business anymore.

So... I don't sweat any of it at all! This is just what I do until that pill comes along. And until I get my lunar time-share condo.

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

Testify, Doctor I!

I've done it all: Stillman, WW, low-fat, Atkins--all successfully. I don't have that much time left though, so I think I'll try sticking with low-carb for the next decade or two.

See you on the moon!

Barb L.
Started Atkins January 2003
162/135/140

Dr I




God, that brought back memories...I guess I am "so old" too! ha

I remember my mom YEARS ago, when I was a child, telling me if I ever wanted to lose weight, to cut out the breads, potatoes and other starchy foods. We're talking in the late 60's early 70's here! She used to be around 105 pounds at 5'3" and said that's how she did it.

And yes, I remember the 4 food groups too! Now I have protein, vegetables and good fat.

168/117

The Food Pyramid was developed in 1990 or 1991. It's currently being revised and there will be a new one in 2004. What I've ready about it so far, it's going to look VERY similar to Atkins' Maintenance Phase.



194/180/125 (5'4)

And I'm gonna make it this time!

I think what I dont understand here....about the THEM is that if they spent more time thinging about the low carb life and made more products for us...they would be making millions of dollars off of us again.....I think its all a terrible cycle of lies and money....people are trained to think one thing and dont want ot believe anything else is right...Good answers from everyone here.....Low Carbing will withstand and overcome!!!
Oh well thats my 2 cents......
Keep up the good work everyone!!!
Hugs, Lisa

lc since 8-8-03
298/264
want to be 175 at least LOL

Well, the fact is, I was one of "them".

You know why? Because I was given misinformation.

A few years ago, a couple we know told us they were on Atkins. "Bob" practically chortled as he described the diet, "all the bacon and cheese I can eat - meat, butter, salad dressing! But no vegetables, starch, or fruit". My eyes bugged out, and I asked him what his cardiologist had to say about this.

He ~sincerely~ believed at the time that he did not have to eat vegetables. Later, his wife told me they could have up to 2 cups of lettuce a day "if they wanted", and that they could add back carb foods later in the diet.

It was years later that I read DANR and realized that "Bob" didn't have a clue. In the meanwhile, I thought Atkins was that crazy diet that would probably lead to beriberi and other dire deficency diseases.

~~~Teelbee

174 (Mar. 2002, highest weight), 164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
174/132/137-134
remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic

Lisa,

Once THEY realize that there is money to be made with Low carb, they will make it. The tide is already turning.

Regardless of the nutitional philosophy, the food INDUSTRY is money driven. They will provide what they think will sell. There are already a number of small niche market and specialty companies that cater to the lower carb world, but once the money is there, mainstream mfgs will jump in.

As evidence:

Carb Smart ice cream by Breyers
Carb numbers to be put on Smart ones meals
Low carb ketchup by Heinz
Michelob Ultra/Miller lite, etc.

The challenge for those who are serious about this WOE is to weed out the bogus claims, and force Mfgs to make real low/controlled carb fare. Not just call it that.

--jim

Well, this must be the confession booth --- I remember 4 food groups, then it was 7, and then came the pyramid. And, like others above, I've done LC, then followed the prevailing thought and moved to other stuff. Now, with the good sense that comes from age, I remember why I did LC. Like Barb said. I believe I'll just stick with it this time. Is it evil to be pleased that my back side is getting smaller while my contemporaries are getting that good old middle age spread.

Judy

180/142.5/138
"How long does getting thin take?"
Winnie the Pooh,Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne