Low Carb Diets Help in Many Ways!

[Freestyler777]

For a long time I scoffed at Dr. Atkins, having been brainwashed by the people at the acupuncture school that I studied at that vegetarianism was best. But based on my own experiences, low-carb (not ketogenic) diets are the easiest and healthiest way to lose weight. I don't know how its done, but it works somehow, and my anti-meat zeal proved to be totally errneous. Low carb makes people healthy.

 

[BrandiJo]

Could you provide some examples of why vegetarianism wasn't right for you and how low carb is better? I have heard many conflicting reports on the issue, so if you have personal experience i would really enjoy the reading.

 

[Kacey]

Just as a cautionary note, my father's doctor put him on the Atkins diet some years back. He lost a significant amount of weight... but when he started putting carbs back in his diet, he began experiencing blood sugar problems; seems that adding carbs back in triggered a latent problem with diabetes, which he is still dealing with today, 5 years later.

In addition, his doctor did not limit him to lower fat proteins, and contrary to many reports otherwise, his cholesterol soared... despite lower blood pressure caused by the weight loss, my father experienced a silent heart attack, diagnosed about a year later, which required balloon angioplasty to repair damage to the veins.

I'm not saying limiting carbs is bad - but do be careful about how you do it, and make sure your doctor actually knows how to advise you properly; my father's doctor jumped on the weight loss bandwagon, and missed some significant negative side effects that have had a lasting effect on my father's health.

 

[Freestyler777]

First of all, I have crohn's disease and bipolar. I have no shame in admitting that. For years, I've tried to be or close to being vegetarian, and wondered why i was so on edge.

When I eat too much corn or bread or whatever, consistently, over days, I am constantly hungry, overly-sleepy, and feeling symptoms of my illness (mood swings, cycling of ideas, not being able to finish things).

Then I went to my doctor on May 15, and he said "Lior, you need a low carb diet" So that is when my low carb diet began. It's been two and a half months, and a lot of my symptoms have gone away, I feel less angry and hostile in thinking, I've lost over twenty pounds, etc...

Eating meat is not bad. You should just be moderate, concentrate on vegetables as the main part of the diet, and avoid sugar and starch and regular milk(it has lactose, the only animal sugar prevalent in the western diet).

Whatever you do, don't eat bread, rice, pasta, corn, or refined sugar. Those foods are either fillers or in the case of high fructose corn syrup, and actual posion. Sweet n Low, or Equal, or Splenda are better than sugar! And don't think of them as 'artificial sweetner' because sugar isn't a 'natural sweetner' to begin with! It's refined from sugarcane and beets!

I do have compassion for animals, but really, man is more important than animals. However, i think there should be massive changes to the factory farm system in america, to produce less quantity and more quality meat. I am willing to pay more for good pork or fish or whatever.

I can orate endlessly on diet, but I will leave it at that. I hope I have helped you.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

For a long time I scoffed at Dr. Atkins, having been brainwashed by the people at the acupuncture school that I studied at that vegetarianism was best. But based on my own experiences, low-carb (not ketogenic) diets are the easiest and healthiest way to lose weight. I don't know how its done, but it works somehow, and my anti-meat zeal proved to be totally errneous. Low carb makes people healthy

A Gastroenterologist said to me once" if you want to gain weight eat more if you want to lose weight eat less" When I replied eat actually what "just more calories" Lets first sart off with the Acupuncture school who think Vegetarian diets are best. Lots of friends who are licensed Acupunturist who would say it is not the best diet and on top of that common way to treat a Kidney disorder would be Pork Kidneys or add organ for organ lol.
I personally do not see low carb as the healthiest way to loose weight.
Let us look at the Japanese who eat alot of rice,noodle dishes yet most are slimmer compared to their American counterpart.

Whatever you do, don't eat bread, rice, pasta, corn, or refined sugar. Those foods are either fillers or in the case of high fructose corn syrup, and actual posion. Sweet n Low, or Equal, or Splenda are better than sugar! And don't think of them as 'artificial sweetner' because sugar isn't a 'natural sweetner' to begin with! It's refined from sugarcane and beets!

Again I use the Japanese who eat Rice(White) pasta(Udon,Soba) Corn and sometimes *gasp* a cookie.

I do have compassion for animals, but really, man is more important than animals.

The book Ishamuel which is about a talking Gorilla address that man thinks he is the top of the Pinnacle however no other animal thinks he is supreme over all other animals. Interesting read. Kacey hit it on the nail about some faults with Atkins.
I use the Japanese as a model for their long life due to diet because according to The Harvard study did on them(Okinawans in particular) it was found Genetics did not play that much of a role in their health.

 

[gnrail]

I have been battling weight loss for most of my life. Three years ago my doctor told me that if I didn't change things I would not make it to 39. Thats when I got into martial arts. I also looked into many different ways (diets) to help improve my health. Including the Blood type diet and a book called eat to live and just about every other diet that has been on the market starting in the early eighties. Through all of it I have finally come to realize a few things.

1) Everyone is different - there is no miracle diet that works for everyone
2) Moderation is very important - our bodies were not designed to survive on one thing for long periods.
3) It is possible to eat to little in a day - in the long term the body requires so much energy to function and if you don't supply it with what it requires it will find or conserve energy other ways
4) Exercise is also very important - all types
5) Many of these diets are for those people who have 5-20 pounds to loose.
6) There are no evil foods - your body knows what it can handle and what it can't just listen.

One book I read that kind of put things in perspective is "The Fighter's Body" by Loren Christensen. It is not a miracle cure all and most of the advice is try different things and see what works for you but of all the books I have read it at least tries to explain how things work with respect to diet.

I am proud to say I have lost close to 100 pounds (unfortunately another 60 or so to go) and I celebrated my 40th birthday this year.

You also have to take an active role in your health. Find someone who will help you and if you have any serious medical conditions (I have way to many to list) make sure you work with a "TRUSTED" professional (it took me a few years to find this).

Sorry for being so wordy

 

[Ping898]

The reality of it is you need more than just low-carb, having a low carb diet but eating 10 lbs of bacon (which is what I watched some atkins dieters do) isn't much healthier for you than eating 10 lbs of pasta....in the end though, none of it is a miracle cure and what works for you may not work for someone else, I think that is the thing the people miss sometimes in their zeal to follow the latest diet trends like when Atkins first became popular...

 

[CoryKS]

gnrail, congratulations on your achievement and welcome to MT.

 

[Lynne]

For a long time I scoffed at Dr. Atkins, having been brainwashed by the people at the acupuncture school that I studied at that vegetarianism was best. But based on my own experiences, low-carb (not ketogenic) diets are the easiest and healthiest way to lose weight. I don't know how its done, but it works somehow, and my anti-meat zeal proved to be totally errneous. Low carb makes people healthy.

Welcome and hello.

Low-carb is probably one of the healthiest diets many people can be on. There is absolutely no need for carbohydrate. The small amount that is needed for the eyes and brain can be made through gluconeogenesis. Not much is needed for the brain...if so, people would die on low-carb diets.


Most people who go on low-carb experience an increase in their HDL (good cholesterol) and an extraordinary drop in their triglycerides. The LDL sometimes drops but often remains the same or increases but it is the fluffly harmless cholesterol.

Type II Diabetes runs in my family as does heart disease. I have tried to get my relatives to switch over to a low-carb diet but have failed. They take their insulin and wonder why they are getting fatter. Between insulin and the insulin produced by eating any amount of carb, they are making their health worse. You should see the recipes in a diabetic book - white rice is a common ingredient.

When it comes to carbohydrates, a calorie is not a calorie. Even the American Heart Association is cautioning people about not consuming too many carbohydrates (rise in triglycerides).

I would think for someone who is bipolar that not eating carbs would be a good thing. I would think your mood would be more stable.

Speaking or rice, it's true that Asians can be thin and healthy on a diet of rice, fish, fruits and veggies. But I'm not Asian. I would prefer a vegetarian diet myself or a semi-vegetarian diet with a little fish. No go though. (My problem is carbohydrates make me sleepy, tired, depressed and fat. Even if they are whole grains and legumes, it doesn't make any difference.)

You are 100% about the anti-meal zeal being erroneous. There are no proved studies that show saturated fats to cause cancer, stroke, heart disease or anything else negative.

By the way - I dropped my trig from 385 to 130 by using a lower-carb diet. On a vegan diet they hit 500+.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

Again point of reference Japanese and Chinese eat 2-3cups of rice a day
plus 2-3 cups of noodle a day average. Yet they still are healthy and thin.
Japanese do not really go to gym like in America plus Japanese do not take supplements like Americans and they are still healthier.
We can go further with the Okinawans but I feel the Japanese fit closer to the western lifestyle.
So a low carb diet may be healthy and away to loose weight is it the best? No because I point out using the Japanese as a model who consume carbs and live longer than Americans.

From The American Heart Association:http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=532
This link on Saturated fats says"Saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol."
Now we go to the Mayo clinic on What high cholesterol can do:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-cholesterol/DS00178
"When there's too much cholesterol in your blood, you may develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Your heart may not get as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, which increases the risk of a heart attack. Decreased blood flow to your brain can cause a stroke."

Cause of Colon cancer from The American Cancer societyhttp://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_What_are_the_risk_factors_for_colon_and_rectum_cancer.asp
" A diet that is high in fat, especially fats from animal sources, can increase your risk of colorectal cancer. Over time, eating a lot of red meats and processed meats can increase colorectal cancer risk."

 

[Phoenix44]

The LDL sometimes drops but often remains the same or increases but it is the fluffly harmless cholesterol.

As a physician, I disagree. From the best of our understanding, it is the LDL that is primarily responsible for atherosclerotic plaques. I think gnrail's philosophy is best. With respect to weight loss, different diets work better for different people. Eliminating any entire nutrient class over the long run makes no sense to me. And eating a double cheese Whopper once in awhile won't kill you.

 

[WCman1976]

I was browsing around on the old threads, and I HAD to reply to this one.

I have tried many different diets over the years (too many to name), and I never lost weight like I did on Atkins. Some people complain of feeling fatigue during the Induction phase (the first two weeks), but I never did. Also, it is not technically a "low carb" diet because, as the weeks go by, you gradually add in more carbs until you reach a daily carb in take that makes you gain weight. Then you drop back by 5-10 grams of carbs per day, and then you have most likely reached your daily carb intake limit. For some people, this might be only 35 grams...in which case it truly would be a low carb diet.

Another thing people misinterpret about this diet: they think they can eat ANY kind of carbs (let's see...my daily limit is 55, and that's how many are in this Milky Way bar!) instead of carbs from vegetables. They also think that they can eat (as someone above said) 10 pounds of bacon and be okay because bacon has a lot of protein. Well, first of all, you are still taking in calories...which will make you stay fat no matter what diet you are on. Second, sometimes bacon is cured with sugar, and we all know how fast that can turn into fat!

Personally, what I do is stay away from red meat. I stick to chicken, turkey, and pork chops. (I DO have to have a good steak or burger, withou the bun, every now and then though.) For veggies I limit my consumption of those high in starch.

My weight dropped. I felt like I had the exact same of amount of energy. And to top it all off, my doctor was very happy with my cholesterol levels. For some it works...for others it doesn't. It just so happens that it worked for me.