new and confused!
 

Hello everyone :) My name is Melissa and I think I need some help. I had been on the Atkins diet about a year ago and lost 50 pounds. I have since gone off and the weight, I think, is slowly comming back. I don't see much of a difference on the scale, but my clothes don't fit the way they used to. I want to lose more weight, at least another 30 pounds, which would bring me down to around 150. I know I could do it with the Atkins diet, but I am worried about all the things I read and hear about the diet. They say that it might help now, but down the road it could lead to heart and kidney problems because of all the fatty protein. I don't know what to do. I know that I can't eat meat and cheese for the rest of my life. But maybe a modified version of the diet could bring me in for the long haul.

I could really use your experiences and help at this point. And some encouragement too. :o I check in at least twice a day. I just found this site yesturday and it instantly became my favorite. I hope I can finally do this now! Thank you all in advance for any help or suggestions you can give me! Big Hugs to you all :o Mel

Hi Melissa and welcome !!

If your afraid of the Atkins diet you might want to try the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet or Weight Watchers Low Carb....these diets alow (in my opinion) more carbs than atkins.

Hope it helps.
Love, Leens :dizzy:

Hi Melissa and Welcome!

I agree with Leens that perhaps you may want to consider a different program if Atkins is making you nervous. (although some people's tests have actually improved while on it) Run don't walk to your nearest library and check out CALP and Protein Power. Also check out the ww/lc board and the Sugar Busters board on this site. Lots of good info there!

Good luck and keep posting so that we can get to know you!

peach

Hey Peach! Thanks for the advise! I never thought of it before but I think before I got the atkins book, I think I bought Protein Power and never did read it! I will have to hunt it out! Thanx again! :) Mel

I am a big PP fan here and they do have a new book out called PP life plan you may want to check it out from the library. i hear it is a great read if you want to go that way. they go on the stages and the trick is to SLOWLY introduce the carbs back in the diet when you get to goal. that is where you probable went wrong but PP has many things in it they talk about transfatty acids, good fats and bad fats so they go into much detail. i do go to their web site and get mauch info there and help when i am confused. but they i think are more concious about the fat as well as the types of carbs. i do believe the new atkins also does the same thing rather than the old one. but please do nt hesitate to ask any questions we will help.

Atkin's article
 

Hi Mel, Sue and everyone else ! :)

I'm still undecided myself which "diet" I'm gonna follow ? Right now, I'm just counting my carbs and trying to limit them to 20 a day. Guess I'll check out Protein Power also. So Sue - how long has it taken you to lose your 58 lbs. so far ? (if you don't mind me asking) :)

Mel - you might want to check out this week's First for women magazine (quickly before it's gone). It's the 10/29 issue. It's got a Great article in it about the Atkin's diet and a couple of people are finally speaking out in his defense saying that it works and it has no effect on kidney function or bone density. That study was from Duke University ! However, I do see in the lower right hand corner of page 2 of the article... Dr. Atkin does say that the diet may be too rigorous for pregnant women or people with kidney disease. (Of course you can't be on WWs anymore if you're pregnant either.)

I guess once we check them all out - we'll be able to decide which one we can stick to - for life ! :)

Good luck and have a Great day ! :) Denise

Hello Denise! :) I will have to try to get my hands on the article. See where I get confused is here:

About a year ago I went to my doctor for some problems I was having with feeling tired all the time. He tested everything and everything came back fine. So he had me take a glucose test where I couldn't eat anything for like twelve hours before the test. I went to the lab first thing in the morning. I think I started at 7:30am. First they took my blood to see what my starting point was. Then they made me drink this god awful stuff that was like really really surgary sprite. I had to come back at 8:30 to check the blood again. And then again at 9:30. Before I left at 9:30 the nurse told me that would be the last time I would be able to leave because the affects would be kicking in at any time. Boy was she right! I went to a store to buy some magazines, thinking I would be at the clinic another 3 hours. By the time I was heading back for my 10:30 check, I was starting to shake and sweat. (It was like November in Wisconsin-which is cold) I had to take my coat off by the time I got back I was so hot. My legs were shaking so badly I didn't think I would make it inside. The nurse grabbed me and helped me into a chair, took blood for the last time and got me a candy bar. She said under normal conditions I should never reach for a candy bar because it will just raise my levels and then drop them again more rapidly, but she needed to get me stable.

So to make a long story longer :dizzy: My doctor told me I am glucose intolerant and suggested I follow a low carb diet. I had his permission to go ahead and I did do it for quite awhile after that. But that is when I started hearing all the bad stuff. At first I told myself that it was just people who were jealous saying all that stuff. They didn't want people to lose the weight. They wanted me to stay fat forever. But the more I heard, the more unsure I became. Like I said, I guess I will have to try to find that article. I don't have kidney problems. I had stones once, like 6 years ago, and sometimes get infections, but other then that, everything is ok!

Thanks for listening. I hope you will check back with me! Big Hugs to all :o Mel

Mel, Go with what your doctor says! It sounds as if you are a Type II Diabetic like me. My glucose levels were way out of whack. After low-carbing for well over a year, I am perfectly normal now for all tests. Your kidneys should have no problem if you drink all your water.

Ignore the nay-sayers! Remember, people used to think the world was flat and there were some who said computers were just a craze like the hula-hoop! It's not that they want you to stay fat - they are just worried about your health. I just thank folks for their concern and smile politely - no sense arguing.

Welcome Melissa!

The nay-sayers are dwindling in numbers and low carbing is becoming widely favored. You have made a wise choice. Post often, it is a great addition to any slimdown effort!

Hope to see you around,

jenny :smug:

mel grab you book and read it thoroughly, that will explan all that has happened to you i have a mild case of the same but it is when i eat too much sugar i start to get hypoglycemic, and have the same thing. get back on low carb immediatly that will lead to diabeties wehn you are older and then you will have more problems i have never felt better than i do now. i went to a wedding this weekend ans was able to dance a whole dance all at one not just ready to give up after the first 1 min!!!!I dances several dances!!! i even danced the twist for the whole time twisting the entiretime!!!! WOW

no i do not mind you asking how long it took me i have been doing PP sicne july 2000 BUT i have taken some hiatiuses about 6 months worth and have droped from a very tight 22 (24 actually) to a size 14!!!! i have my 14's on right now and they feelgreat and they are not tight!!!! I was at the gym this morning and ran on the treadmill. i did it in spurts of 2-3 min with rests but i did it and had a great time!!! I LOVE IT!!! i have had stalls and months of not eating to the fullest but i really have been trying to get to goal in a slow pace. My goal is to have about 15% body fat i started with a lean body mass of 94 lbs which would bring my goal weight to about 130, but my lean body mass is about 130 now so my goal weight is closer to 150.

so welcome girls and any questions and help just ask!!!

You guys are all so great! I can't believe I found this site! Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement! This is soooooooo great! I feel better already! Now, if I could just find a website this great for my english setter, life would be perfect! :lol:

I will keep checking in with all of you! I have decided to start my plan on Monday. I know this sounds like a cop-out or something, but we already have groceries for this week and I don't want them to go to waste. I have been making small changes already though. Like last night we had tacos for supper. I just had mine without the shells! But we go full force on Monday so I can stock my fridge with what I need over the weekend!

Big Hugs to you all!~ Mel :D :D :D

Protein Power book
 

Hi Mel and everyone else ! :) Hey Mel - if you can find that Protein Power book of yours - I'd read it ! I've got them both and I think the Protein Power one reads better than the Atkin's one. I'm not sure exactly why ? but maybe there's less defensiveness ? Not that it isn't justified with all he's had to put up with ! It's funny how people at lunch were all giving me a hard time about low carbing and especially Dr. Atkin's - when they have not only not lost weight in the 10 years I've known them (while attending TOPS) but they're even heavier ! Don't they see it's not working ? !!! One had even tried the Zone before herself ! I wish I'd thought to point that out ! :) Anyway... I was so impressed with how well Sue is doing - that I left those lunchmates and walked down to the bookstore and bought myself not only the newer version of Protein Power but also the little booklet for my purse ! :) I'm not a mean person but I'm gonna enjoy getting thinner and thinner each week when I meet these people for lunch and who knows ? Maybe someday... they'll ask me again how I'm doing it ! :) :) Let's read those books of ours Mel and we can start this together ! :) Take care and I'll TTUL ! Denise

To Sue
 

Hi Sue ! Thanks for the info ! Congrats on your running on the treadmill today ! I used to like to do that too. :) Eventually... I'll get back to it. I even want to get back to weight training again. So, how come you want to go so low with your body fat % ? That's awfully low from what I've been reading. According to Covert BAiley - 22 % is about right unless you're on hormones or birth control pills in which case you're allowed a bit more. Wow - you've sure built up the muscles ! :) I've got some extra ones that I can afford to lose myself. Not that any of them are working very well right now. BTW - how tall are you ? I'm 5'4" and with the muscles I have... he's got me figured for a goal weight of about 167. That will probably go down tho if/as I lose some of this extra muscle weight. We'll see, I remeasure in a week or so.

I've been telling everyone how you've inspired me so I ran out and bought the Protein Power new books today ! :) I'm looking forward to reading them later on today. Thanks for the idea !!! :) I'm hoping they might be a little easier to follow than the Atkin's that I've already got. Well, gotta run and pick up the little one from school ! Talk to you later ! :) Denise

Hi Melk
I don't have much advice about Atkins, because I'm a devoted CAD girl. So why am I posting here you ask? Because I have two wonderful, sweet, gentle, adorable, trim-needing English Setters sitting at my feet snoring right now! (Oh yeah, a black lab too!) Are they the best dogs or what? I grew up showing them and ever since have always had at least a couple of show-dog rejects living with me.
A day without an English Setter is like a day without Protein...or something like that!

[IMG]C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\Family\Desktop\dog2.gif[/IMG]
Okay, it's not a setter but it's a dog!
Chickadee

to chickadee!!!
 

Oh my god! I thought we were the last people in the whole world to have a setter! This is the first one we have ever had and I could sure use someone to talk to about her. Would you be my "puppy buddy"? :^: My email address is [email protected]. Please let me know if you can help me! I searched for 3, count them 3 hours this morning and found nothing of use to me! Thank you thank you thank you!! Mel:D :D :D :D

PS Dumb ?---What is CAD? Is that carb addicts? Let me know, I feel so unknowing! :lol:

yes cad is carb addicts diet and calp is carb addicts life plan.

i have one dog lab /boxer mis but today i found a stray at the house and it is a beagle and may be dostsun mix???? but she is cute and small!!!

I am 5'2 but have a large muscle base. i am running about 30% fat now. i figure that 15% BF would be good for me if not i would be at 160+ for 22% and that is only 17 lbs more to go. i do not see me being thin at that weight. i am in a nice 14 but still have a huge gut and large things. my muscles are very dence and they weigh a lot. i always was heavier that i looked till i got really fat. i am trying to get my picts on the board but can not manage to do it right! and you will see why i need to lose about 25-30 more. well have to hit the sack will check in tomorow after the gym!!! Ozzie says the bike tomorow that will be different!!!

You betcha Mel, we'll be puppy buddies. I'll email you tomorrow!
Chickadee

Sue - body fat %
 

Hi Sue ! Thanks for the stats etc. ! Question ? Are you figuring your body fat % at the gym, from a book etc. ? I was reading one last night in Protein Power which seemed very complicated. Covert's got his on Healthcentral.com for free. I'd be curious how your numbers might come out with his formulas ? Did you mention how many lbs. of LBM you have right now ? Are you basing your goal weight on that ? I ask because I've read that as we become heavier, our bodies build extra muscles to help us carry the extra weight and that we end up with some extra that we can afford to lose. Covert has a chart where he gives the average amounts by height. Just wondering where you might fall in there ? Anyway... as we lose weight, we keep recalculating the goal weight and it does keep going down. I'm getting set to do mine again next week and I'm hoping for good things ! :) I'll let you know how I do. Congratulations on your exercising !!! I'm glad that I read in Protein Power to wait a bit before starting and to just get used to the eating plan because that's how I feel right now. :) Did you happen to see what I posted about the new book ? I really wasn't very impressed with it but for $10. - I'll probably hold onto it for future reference. They had mentioned that they had switched publishers etc... and that the first book was more geared to losing weight - which is what I'm needing right now ! :) I'm still not too sure I want to start counting my protein ? I'm kindof tired of counting as it is ! But I'll read it again and if it makes alot of sense... I'll resign myself to it. :) This is getting long so I'll close. Nice talking to you ! :) Take care, Denise

To Sue
 

I don't understand much about body fat percet. How do I find out how much I have? I know how much I weigh, but I don't know how much of that is muscle and how much is fat. But I do have A LOT of extra fat around the bottom of my lower abs and it is gross! I can live with the top (above my belly button) for now, but the bottom I can't seem to find anything to get rid of that. I used to do 100 sit ups everynight and finally stopped because it was going nowhere!
Anyway, my question was this: How do you find out how much body fat you have and what is good and how much is bad? -Mel

Oh boy several good questions. first
i have a personal trainer and he ahs a BF% machine. i go by that as it is much more accrate. i did PP way and come up with a huge % some where about 45% now (due to my gut being so big and out of porportion to the rest of me. I have a scale that is reading about 40% but that does not take in to consideration for alot of things and bone density is one. but my OZZIE:love: does one and i will be having one done soon that is much more accurate and reads the basal metabolic rate and water content and fat/muscle weight. that last time was saying about 30% according to that my LBM is 130. so (including the bones which i found is very dence brom my bone scan) and if you could see my calves you would believe it!! and 5'2" i guess i have a lot of muscle.

Mel i have good news and bad news. first this woe is geared to help you lose the body fat that is good, when people diet and do not take in enough calories they will burn muscle first then the fat as the body is made to be more conservative. it is used to the neanderthal days when we needed to go for long times without eating called the feast/famine routine. or starvation mode. if the body burned the fat then it would not have anything to keep the muscles going when it was close th the end of the famine, so it butned the muscle first and then it would lower the mtabolism by doing that and we could last longer with less food. So with this diet we are taking enough protiein to minimize the muscle waisting and facilitate the fat burning. many poeple who do this diet will lose fat and gain muscle just by eating the right way.

as fat as doing a fat test check out the web site that denise has provided. i will check it out when i am done. it will be some what close but that is what you really need to start from. do not expect huge changes do it about every month, and do you measurements about the same too. that is very important aswhen you are not droping in the scale you will see it in the measurements, fat is much lighter than muscle. if you take 1 lb of fat and 1 lb of muscle the fat will be 5 times bigger than the muscle. so if you do not see the scale moving do not worry you are still losing the fat but developing the muscle to a fine working machine!!! and increasing your metabolism at the same time.

the ideal bf% is 20-22% but here is the bad news. you will lose around the body but you can not spot lose!!! you will hold on the fat in the middle till the end. as it is closest to the core of your body it will be the hardest to lose and as the middle is internal and the fat is around the gut it will be much harder to lose i have head reports that it will not go completely till you drop below 20% BF (that is why i want to go to 15%) if you want to lose around the arms well it will all go toghether, and you will have to work hard to get the gut. but it will be worth it. there is no miricle cure here the weight did not get there over night and as much as we want it will not fall off as fast. the biggest thing is to listen to your body and lose at a pace that is right for you. if you are young and have not yoyo dieted much then it will come offeasier but otherwise you will have to have a lot of determination,. but it is all worth it in the end!!!

denise put you food on a food counter such as www.fitday.com it will do the counting and you just plug it in. they ahve several others that i like such as a down loadable version which is www.lifeform.com EXCELLENT but it is a 21 day trial and i can not afford to do the full version now so i just fudge it. I will go and do the BF test ad let you know and let you know how it compares to the other ones i am soing OK?

well if you think your was long mine is a book!!!! LOL

just did it and i am impressed it was 32% with 58 lbs of fat and 120 of lean body mass. it does not take in to consideration tha ti have small jopints but big bones 9i can not get a wrist splint as it does not fit my hands it is to small if i get it to fit my wrist and to big if i get it to fit my hands. nor does it take into consideration that i have dence bones but i have to say that it is the closest thing i have found!!! i will post the site just a min!!

http://healthcentral.com/cooltools/C...s/bodyfat1.cfm

just to add i was back tracking and the difference with atkins and pp is small.
atkins has a 0 carb induction period and pp does not my understanding on atkins is they do not restrict fat, on pp it states to eat health fat.
push the veges on both can subtract the fiber from the carbs on both

(spinach is like 4 carbs and 3 fiber the ecc effective carb count is 1)

i use the pp like i said because i spent the $$ on the kit a long time agoe and do not have it any more. i also go to their web site and get tremendous info there on their BB's it is very technical but it is also very good too. www.eatprotein.com

the kit contained a set of 6audio tapes, a simplified book, and start up video for motivation.

Hi Mel and Sue ! So, Covert's formula was pretty close ! Cool ! He says it's within 2 % and he's right on the money ! :) He also has a chart in the book... of Lean Body Mass for women at 22 %. It's by height and 5'2" says 78-94 lbs. so you've got plenty of that. How tall are you Mel ? I can check that for you too. Have you gone to that site and done the calculations yet ? You do need a tape measure. I'm 5'4" and mine should be between 83-100 lbs. so since I had 130.2 lbs. of it last month - I can afford to lose some of that. As far as body fat % allowed - Covert says - 22 % for women except if they are on birth control - then it's 23-26 % or postmenopausal women on hormones - 25-30 %. BTW Mel - all the situps in the world won't help with that lower body fat. That's for upper abs. You need reverse situps or leg lifts to target that lower area. That can help tighten it up but you still have to burn off the fat with aerobics etc...

Thanks Sue for the comparison of the two books ! I think Atkin's got a little bit more lenient in his newer book. He nows says 20 grams to start for the first 2 weeks or longer if you'd like. Then he has you add 5-8 grams per week until you hit the spot where you don't lose anymore. Then he has you eat just below that until you hit your goal. Meanwhile... I'm still just counting my carbs as best I can. It's certainly a heck of alot better than I was doing last week ! :) I'm enjoying reading both Atkin's in the 1st Protein Power very much and will probably take a little from both and make my own diet ! :)

Is anyone familiar with the Doctor's Weight Loss Centers ? A WW buddy is going to one and he's told her to limit her carbs to something like 100 per day ? What kind of low carb diet is that ? She also can't have cheese or some other stuff that we can. He's big into saying... if you deviate at all - you've blown it ! And this costs $100. a month !!! I don't think so ! Funny, before the meeting today at WWs - some of us started talking about how in the old days... WWs program used to be very much like Atkin's. And people were losing very well ! One woman told me she lost 111 lbs. in 10 months ! Too bad they switched to high carbs. I hope to do very well with this and when they ask me what I'm doing differently ? I'm just gonna smile and say "I'm watching my carbs." Which IS true !!! :)

I really feel confident that for me... this is the missing piece of the puzzle ! :) I know in my heart of hearts how HARD I've been trying for years to lose this weight - with very little success. I'm so happy that I've found this site and all you wonderful people who are also doing this !!! It sure makes it more fun ! Plus, we've got something in common. My friends (except maybe 1) basically think I'm nuts and gonna die ! I can't wait for 6 months from now when I'm skinny... :) Boy, I can sure talk ! TTUL ! :) Denise

In defense of Dr. Atkins
 

I love his program, and despite the naysayers, he's been thriving since the 70's. The Physician's Weight Loss Center that told your friend to keep the carbs below 100 was correct. The average American consumes over 300 grams of carbs each day. A "low" carb plan of 100 a day is only one third of what they usually eat. On induction with Atkins you are on a zero tolerance type deal. You can increase your intake until you reach a point where the weight stops coming off, and that varies from person to person. Some people can eat 80 grams a day, some only 45. For maintenance, I'd say 100 would probably keep some people at their target weight.

Are you reading Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution, or Dr. Atkins NEW Diet Revolution, or something even newer than that? He updates them yearly, I think:^: I read the New Diet Revolution, that gives you 20 carbs per day on induction, which you should not stick to for very long before increasing. It's about a change of eating habits for life, not for a short time. When you increase your intake and can still lose weight, you don't feel so deprived, which is wonderful! Plus, you will be better able to stick with this for life.

This is me, stepping off my soapbox. Good luck in whatever plan you choose to follow!

Sherrie

Hi Sherrie !

Thanks ! Right now, I'm reading the original book and enjoying it very much. I've also got the newer one which has the 4 steps of the diet. And you're right - he's got us doing 20 carbs for the first two weeks. I'm in my 2nd week and doing pretty good. Somedays are still a little higher but alot lower than what I was eating before. I've also got the older version of Protein Power and I'm enjoying reading that too. :) I'm not too crazy about the newer book of that tho. So, you like Atkin's too ? Cool ! I just came upon another new study done at the Durham VA Medical Center in No. Carolina saying how Atkin's is safe. First for Women has a Great article also quoting 2 different studies saying how safe it is also. I think one was from Duke University ! I feel very comfortable following these diets and I've never felt better !!! And - I'm not hungry ! :) Thanks again for your input. Take care ! :) Denise

Denese and mel one thing that i must impress on you is the importance of driking fluid. as your body is metabolizing the fat your body chemestry may change you must drink tons of water to maintain your function. you should dring about 1 oz for every 2lbs of weight. so if you weigh 200 you must drink 100 oz of water. this will help flush out the toxins from the fat burning. one more thing is to wathc your legs if they seem to get a bit logy or tired they may get feeling like they want to jump when you are laying down, well because of your bodys adjustment you are loosing potassium and NEED to take a supplement. those are covered in the bookd. i just want to be sure that you do this. otherwise you guys are doing great!!!!

Hey Sue! Thank you for reminding me! The first time I read the book I didn't really read it thourouly :o I am re-reading it now. But I do remember the funny tingleing in my legs the last time and I bet that is what it was from. I am not real big on drinking water. I just hate it! Let me ask you this: Does Crystal Light count for water? Because I could drink that all day long. Let me know! Mel :cool:

Hello and welcome Mel! As for your question on Crystal light, it is a wiser thing to drink plain water or if you want, water with a twist of lemon or lime to give a different flavour. Crystal Light contains aspartame and can literally throw you out of ketosis. I say can because some people are very sensitive to sugar substitutes as the body's chemical reactions treat it as if it was sugar. Be very careful about drinking anything with aspartame, nutrisweet, Splenda, or any other sugar substitute. Hope this helps you in some way, and please feel free to join us on the daily thread so we get to know you! :)

Hi Sue, Mel and Pooky !

Thanks Sue for your reminders ! No problem with the water drinking here. As a matter of fact - I'm always telling people to drink 1/2 their weight in water ! :) I'm not dropping alot of water etc. yet so I've not seen any potasium problems yet. I'll check out my vitamin and see if it's in there.

Mel - you might want to pick up a Brita type water picture for around $17. It really does make water taste good ! Honest ! :)

Thanks Pooky for the artificial sweetener info ! I've cut way back on diet sodas while out and only drink Diet Rite at home which is the only one without Aspartame, salt, caffeine etc... Thanks also for the invitation to join you all over on the Daily thread ! It will take awhile to get to know everyone but I have popped in from time to time. :)

Have a Great day everyone !!! :) Denise

bringing this up for bella
 

there's quite a bit of good info in this thread for you. and there are other threads i'm still looking for.

i want you to succeed.... you absolutely deserve it!!!!