If you go to the atkinsfriends.com site and read forums you see people who kept off the weight for years. The thing is its a way of life, you have to find other things to give you pleasure in life besides food. If you dont you will fail because the mind starts fucking with you if it thinks its being deprived.

I know how you feel, Laura. I have a bad knee (slipped kneecap) and a hernia so I have to do low-impact stuff. I find that my favorite thing is my recumbant exercise bike. I love to watch TV while I exercise, not for the entertainment value, but because seeing the thin, gorgeous girls on TV reminds me that I never want to be BIG again. :) The recumbent bike is excellent for people with back and knee problems since the pedals are in front of you instead of under you. I ordered my bike for like $120 at walmart.com! EXCELLENT investment! And if you set the tension high, you can flatten your tummy while you work out, too. :thumbsup

$1.74 at GNC, and with the 20% off that I get, it comes out to about $1.57

Beat that.

Also, the make-it-yourself shakes are NASTY. But the pre-made ones rock. I have a cafe au lait or strawberry for breakfast in the morning, and the French vanilla and the chocolate decadence are up there, too. YUMMY stuff.

LOL, my husband goes crazy for the Cafe Au Lait shakes. They're pretty expensive at $9.99 for four, but worth it.

Also, the shake mixes taste alot better if you use half water/half heavy cream instead of all water.

I prefer to just make my own shakes from heavy cream and Davinci syrup, though. Thin them down with a little water and you've got some yummy goodness there. :)

I should be ok. I drink water and tea all the time. Guess I'll drink decaffinated tea in the summer and decaf coffee in the winter heh.


Oh by the way....my brother had went to his doc right before he started, he was having bad headaches and about to pass out. His blood pressure was super high and his cholesterol was high too. He just went last week for a check up and his blood pressure was way down, his cholesterol was down but not way down. Doc wanted to put him on something for it but my brother wants to keep at the diet because he knows others have had success with lowering their cholesterol. But that's a good sign. :)

Congrats!

Yesterday was our 14 days too. I lost 7lbs and hubby 5lbs. Still haven?t gotten use to this theory (diet) but what the hell!

Made me get out and start exercising again. Tomorrow, I am buying new running shoes that will be actually used for the purpose they were designed for!!!

:)

Aspartame is baaaaad.

Hey if he's making the site heavy2healthy.com it must be healthy!! :winkwink:

Congrats Tony!!!

I am thinking of using the plan to drop some weight for summer and I think you just sealed the deal.

The sense of accomplishment when you make a physique transformation is unparallel.

Once you start hitting goals and can physically see the changes it makes your entire life a much more happy place to live in.

I had to do the opposite...I went from 165 to 205 in 12 months.

Best of luck to you and your wife

That's a good deal but I avoid GNC like the plague. They generally rip you off unless you buy bulk ("Buy 1 at 300% Markup & Get Another For Half Price!") and join their clubs. Last time I checked, they had a decent price but you had to buy a whole case. I usually buy about ten at a time, but mix up all the flavors.

First off I want to say "CONGRATS" to ya also Tony.

A few months back, I was one of those major critics of the Atkins diet. I thought it was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard of. What do you mean stop all veggies, eat nothing but meat and high fat and you'll lose lots of weight easily. But, that's typical from someone who truly didn't know what the Atkins diet really was!

Well, 2 1/2 months later on this diet, and 32 pounds lighter, I can say the reasons for my criticisms were non-founded.

First of all, not EVERY diet works for EVERY person. You have to decide what works for you, and what is best for you.

You don't give up all veggies..you just become a bit more particular in what veggies you eat..like stated before..stay away from the starchy stuff. I eat broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, etc. I'm actually eating HEALTHIER veggies this way.

You also do NOT have to give up aspertame. If you like your diet coke and you are losing weight while drinking diet coke..DRINK YOUR DIET COKE and enjoy it! :glugglug Aspertame can stall some while it doesn't stall others. I drink diet coke.

If you can get or don't like diet rite and the others listed, DaVinci syrups are available, surgar free, made from splenda..combine with club soda with all their different flavors (including cola), and they are FANTASTIC!

My blood sugar levels are back to normal (I'm type 2 diabetic). My cholesterol has improved (on both counts).

Losing weight has actually ALLOWED me to work out. I'm not carrying as much fat so I'm able to work out more and enjoy it more.

Just a few notions from a fellow that used to think Atkins was idiotic. If I needed any other proof, my best friends were in France in the 3 months I was on the diet. I told them NOTHING about it in our correspondence. When I saw them 3 weeks ago, they said I looked FANTASTIC!

Thank you Dr. Atkins!


(Dang typos!)

What exactly is L-carnatine made of/for?
Thanks!

Good info... maybe you should start up a low/no carb recipe thread lol. I'd read it.

Thanksgiving last year I saw a picture of myself and about had a heart attack. Couldn't believe how much weight I gained. I tipped the scale at 265.

I started the Adkins low/no carb diet and got down to 235 by the first of April.

Then I met my griflriend and started eating out again, and doing the couch munching movie sessions.. Needless to say I'm back up to 245, but at least now I get my dick sucked.

It's back to the diet for me ;)))

Bex, studies have shown that for people who are very obese, losing weight that fast is actually healthier than remaining at such a high weight for a long period of time. Every month that you're overweight increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes and all sorts of other yucky health problems.

Also, the New England Journal of Medicine has (FINALLY!) published some studies (two I think) that show that the Atkins diet is better at lowering bad cholesterol than the low-fat diets that are supposed to be so good for you. This was on CNN a few weeks ago.

I hope that some of the people who think this diet is unhealthy will take the time to really read up on the subject because it is amazing to me the number of people who have lowered their cholesterol, helped their diabetes and lost weight with no health problems on this diet. It truly is a very healthy diet for just about anyone. Although it isn't recommended for people with kidney disease because people with kidney disease have problems with all the protein. However studies have shown it does NOT CAUSE kidney disease as critics one thought it might, years ago.

Oops, I misspelled L-carnitine. Anyway, this is the definition of L-carnitine:

L-Carnitine is not an amino acid in the strict sense (it is not used as a neurotransmitter or in protein synthesis), however L-Carnitine bears many resemblances to amino acids and is usually grouped under this heading. L-Carnitine (the "L" refers to its chemical polarity) is used by the body to transport long chain fatty acids to the mitochondria in your cells, where they are burned for energy. Since this fat burning is such a major source of muscular energy, deficiencies in L-Carnitine are manifested as low energy levels and muscular weakness. L-Carnitine deficiencies can also appear as mental confusion or cloudiness, angina (heart pain) and weight gain.

So you see how it could aid in weight loss! :) L-carnitine deficiencies can cause weight gain, and also it is necessary in the body's fat burning process. Too little of it, and weight loss can slow or stall altogether.

Starting at 500 mg. per day is a good idea. Then slowly increase it if needed until your weight loss picks up again. Some people need up to 8000 mg. per day, which can get quite expensive. The body can produce it's own L-carnitine if it has the right vitamins and minerals it needs to do so (B1, B6, C, and iron) and it is also found in meats, but for those with a considerable amount of weight to lose, often their bodies just can't produce enough to meet the demand, even with heavy vitamin supplementation, so the L-carnitine can help so much.

Good point :thumbsup

Good for you, keep it up and you'll live a lot longer and healthier! :)

Centurion - good post and congrats on the weight loss. The only thing I disagee with you on is aspartame. That stuff is poison.

Edit: MissWetPanties (great nick) beat me to the l-carnitine definition

Everybody who loves diet drinks other than Diet Rite and Diet RC should e-mail, write to or call the company that makes their favorite diet beverage and DEMAND that sucralose be used instead of aspartame. It tastes MUCH better than aspartame and it's so much better for you, too.

Also, there is a petition to make liquid sucralose available to the general public. It is currently only available to corporations, and the granulated version which IS available to the public is "bulked up" using filler material that adds some minor calories/carbs to it. The liquid version tastes better (the fillers in the dry version do give it a teeny bit of an aftertaste) and has NO CARBS at all!

The company that makes it insists that they know there is a demand for the liquid version but claim it is not enough of a demand for them to make it available to the public, so help show them it is wanted! Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/Splenda1/ and show them you want a healthier alternative to aspartame :)

That's like every other diet program out there....people fatten up because of their lifestyles (okay, there will be the occasional people who just have bad genetics but for the most part it's poor diet and lack of activity). If you go on a diet...any diet...lose the weight then return to your old habits....of course you're going to gain the weight back.

It's all about changing your lifestyle....programs like Atkins I like because the results are noticably faster but it takes a real commitment to stay on a healthier living regiment after the weight loss is gone.

The only reason why 'conservative' diet programs supposedly let you keep the weight off is they maintain a strict rule of order with you while you're on the diet...you get brainwashed into their forms of living, eating the foods conveniently produced by their factories and making you feel like crap if you don't follow their guidelines.

I personally am an Atkins fan because there's freedom of choice...sure during the induction stages it's a real pain but afterwards there's a lot less carb counting and just more being more concious of what goes in your mouth.

I swear by Splenda myself. I've been using it for about a year and it's just like sugar, it's made from it. You can replace sugar in recipes with it even. I mostly use it for my iced tea though. I can't stand diet drinks or equal, nasty stuff, bad aftertaste.

Thank you M.W.P.! That really was very insightfull and helpful information! I'm definitely going to check it out!:thumbsup

Thanks..and what can I say? "One man's garbage..etc etc"
I remember someone else telling me when I was starting the diet that I didn't think I could survive without my diet coke. He wrote and said he had lost x number of pounds and drank diet coke all the time.

We do have to remember that while we all have pretty much the same needs, our metabolism can really differ from person to person.

As far as it being actual "poison" I dunno the facts there. I guess we'll have to ask some Canadian white rats about that.:)

For my birthday, my friends made me cheesecake with splenda! It was really GREAT! YUM!:thumbsup

Drop the Atkins, keep the exercise. You'll lose weight and be healthier in the long run. Don't believe me, ask the experts who don't get paid millions to do their 'research'.

Sorry to rain on this, I have a relative who had her stomach stapled and she's lost 90+ lbs at it, I know what severe obesity can do. And I know too many people who say Atkins as bullshit to take it very seriously. Plus I'd die without carbs.

Damn..after such an insightfull, fact filled post like yours, what choice does a person have?

It's amazing the way people argue for or against something.

"Don't believe me, ask the experts who don't get paid millions to do their 'research'"

Oh..you mean the BAD experts eh?

Dang Big Universities & Government studies and their agenda to push splenda on the masses!!

First off Atkins is not a no carb diet , people who want to say negative things about Atkins. Do me a favor buy the book ,read it and then make comments so you know what you are talking about. People saying its the no carb eat bacon and eggs all day ,make me crazy. I eat more veggies on Atkins then I have eaten my whole life.

For people who can't do regular aerobic excercise you NEED to try water aerobics.

My water aerobics instructor says you get a better workout in the water than on land because of the resistance of the water.. plus.. you have no impact on your bones and joints.

it's awesome! it's fun, and you don't sweat like a pig cuz your in the cool water. a 50min aerobic water workout 3-5 times a week is really good for shedding those pounds.

Congrats on your personal goals!

Some folks have said you really have to follow the Atkins diet to the letter and not go off and deviate thinking "more is better". Some have had gout problems as a result of staying to long on the high protein low carb. The clearly held to this regime past the recommended time of re-introducing carbs back into the diet.

Anyhoo, keep us informed! Congrats!

Congrats... I don't know how you can do it. All I eat are carbs and a TON of them.:helpme

Hey Tony, how you been? :)

Glad to hear the diet is going well. Keep it up!

Personally I had a difficult time when I tried Atkins, but the science behind it is very sound. After 30 years of calling Atkins a quack the medical community if FINALLY scratching their heads and saying "shit, this guy was right all along..." Too bad he passed away just as he was getting the recognition he deserves...

Good luck to you both!

Andrew

Hey, doing good. We have to get together for lunch one day. We can go to the most atkins friendly restaurant in the world Fogo de Chao :)

Congrats on the diet. A few of us here, including myself, are on the Adkins and the results have been great. In conjunction with 4-5 visits to the gym per week, I've lost 17 pounds (from 193 to 176) in almost two months I'm in the maintainence phase now meaning I've upped my carb intake slightly from the initial 20 grams a day.
If you don't cheat and stay the course, it works.:winkwink:

Thank you!
This is also another myth. Atkins is low carb...not low carb/high protein. It is far from a high protein lifestyle.

Thanks Andrew!

Yeah believe some quack who is trying to sell his own book. Atkins is not a high protein diet.

Ah, have no idea about Atkins, just gleaned what folks have said to me in earshot...

Good thing is not high protein, way to constipating!

Best of luck on your continued success, keep us informed babee :-)

CONGRATS CONGRATS AND MORE CONGRATS:thumbsup

:1orglaugh

the irony is almost painful

Scarfing 150+ grams of protein a day.. and many people on Atkins eat far more than that.. is high protein.

Have you read the book if not your words mean nothing. lol

Yup. But unlike yourself I've read quite alot of other reasearch too, like this..

"In contrast, an independent, peer-reviewed, extremely comprehensive study on the effects of individuals following an Atkin?s approach studied heart function with before and after blood flow evaluations with sophisticated medical tools including myocardial perfusion imaging, echocardiograpy and serial blood work. The study showed the blood flow to the heart diminished by an average of 40% after one year on such a high saturated fat, high protein diet and increased inflammatory markers that predict heart attacks. In contrast, a low saturated fat diet given to the control group improved blood flow to the heart by more than 40%. This study clearly illustrated a high protein diet is too dangerous for anyone to consider, even for a short time. Of course this study was ignored by the media as it wasn?t promoted by the Atkins organization high profile publicity department. It has also been found that ketogenic diets can cause dilatation of the heart muscle and cardiomyopathy that is reversible if the diet is stopped in time.13 Many readers may remember Dr. Atkins himself had a heart attack about a year ago caused by a cardiomyopathy. Of course, the spin was that it had nothing to do with his diet and was due to a virus."

Reference: 12 Fleming RM. The effect of high-protein diets on coronary blood flow. Angiology 2000;51(10):817-826.

I'm not after anyone on Atkins personally by the way, I just find it amusing that this diet has become a fundamentalist religion.

Its got a savior, a salvific methodology, a theology of sorts, and, perhaps most tellingly, anyone who dares criticize it is subjected to a modern version of a stake burning by some of its more fanatical devotees.

Once again read the book , I dont eat high saturated fat, high protein diet .The fat in atkins your supposed to have is olive oil , omega 3 and 6. Also bodybuilders have been eating high protein diets for years, 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight is pretty high . Never heard of any them dying from high protein drugs yes high protein no. Those doctors have been pushing this low fat high carb bull shit and we are fatter as a nation then we ever had been. More doctors are seeing the points of a low carb nonprocessed life style. Also about the heart attack thing Atkins was 71 yrs old been on his diet for 30 yrs , running a major and playing tennis a couple of times a week. Lets see have many 71's can do that.

I'm surprised you people haven't built churches and started conducting worship services yet. Since Atkins has, uh, ascended, you could even bring in John Edwards and get some channeling going.

How much weight would you lose if you just ate regular food and went to the gym the same amount? Would be interesting for a few people to try the diet and exercise and a few people to just exercise.

This is a silly, childish generalization, typical of Atkins zealots. Everyone agrees that eating lots of refined carbs is bad, not just Atkins, and no Doctors have been pushing the high ultra-refined carb diets that most americans eat.

Of course you would know that if you'd read something other than your Holy Atkins Scriptures :winkwink:

Flip, I think I have to check this out.

Thats where you are so wrong , I have read more diet books,fitness magazines and have been on more different diets for the past 20 yrs than you can imagine. So you are very wrong about that.

A good grain that has the lowest amount of carbs out of them all by weight, and makes a great salad, is quinoa. Check out the following recipes:

Soybean Quinoa Salad

Quinoa Salad with Shrimp and Asparagus

Great, although lesser known grain, and quite high in protein. Often used by vegans to supplement their dietary protein needs.