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Hi HelenGloria! Welcome to FamilyCorner
I feel that I must reply to your statement about living a low-carb lifestyle. Correct me if Im wrong but you were on the Atkins plan back when it was still new and not thoroughly researched. Not much was known about it.
Today, Low-carb diet plans are more thoroughly researched. A person's metabolism plays a big part in whether they can or cannot lose weight. In my case, I have a slow metabolism. Im also hypothyroid and have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). For almost my entire life, I have struggled with being overweight--most of my adult life I have been very overweight.
I am in full agreeance with you in saying that you should see a doctor to rule out any other health problems before starting a diet plan of any kind. I am seeing an endocrinologist. He is very supportive of me and firmly believes that they only way I will lose weight and keep it off is to cut WAY back on carbohydrates.
In the past, I have been on low-fat diets ---with success I might add but have never been able to keep the weight off and I still struggled with feeling sluggish and "just not right" all of the time.
It had nothing to do with not eating healthy or not exercising---I was walking 7 miles every other day and did aerobics on the off days.
I considered this my last ditch effort to lose weight. I started out on the South Beach Diet because it made the most sense to me. I shortly found out that this diet didnt restrict carbs enough for my body to notice. This is a perfectly safe diet plan--and yes, you still consume some carbs.
You will find that almost everything you eat contains a little bit of carbs. Its eating the "good" carbs that is important to maintaining a healthy body.
I went from the South Beach diet to the Atkins plan. If you read the book and look at the website, you will understand that you should never be hungry---this plan isnt about restricting food, its about restricting the wrong foods. A big misconception of many is that you can eat as much fat as you want on this plan. This is simply not true....and it is not healthy! Again, if you stay within the acceptable foods, you will be fine. No, you cannot eat a pound of bacon for breakfast, 3 hot dogs for lunch and a steak for dinner and think that you are doing the right thing. I takes common sense to make this work the right way. I get really upset when people give the Atkins plan a bad rap when they arent well-versed on what it is really all about.
All diet plans do not work for all people. You must do your research before starting any one plan. Im am living proof that the Atkins plan works. I started this the second week of March, 2004 and to date, I have lost 55 lbs and 34.75 inches ---Im also a member of Curves. I did strugle through the first 2 weeks of induction. I went through caffiene and sugar withdrawls. I lost 12 lbs during this time. Since then I have leveled off to approx. 2 lbs a week. I also have more energy than I can ever remember having since my childhood days.
The Atkins plan isnt only about lowering the carbs that you eat. It is also removing processed white flour, sugars and other additives that bog down the body.
One more thing that most people dont realize...... When you start living a low-carb lifestyle, you must remain and maintain on it on it for life OR you will find yourself back in the same boat with others who were let down when they "dieted" for a little while but failed to keep the weight off when they returned to their regular lifestyle.
How did they trace your medical problems back to your low-carb dieting? When you say this, are you referring to your thyroid? My medical conditions have done nothing but improve since starting this. I have my thyroid check every six months, along with other tests, including my cholesteral--which is 164--down from 190 before I started low-carbing.
I hope that I didnt offend you with my opinion but I wanted to add another outlook to this way of life.
Tami
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