IT IS THE CARBS THAT ARE KILLING YOU.

[Tom Banjo]

Originally Posted by Bill T

I shake my head in utter fascination and total disbelief every time I think of the fact that the AMA and the ADA both, still today, recommend that diabetics consume 60% of their calories in carbs! It's a death sentence for diabetics.

Amen to that. As some of you might have read in my introduction thread, my mother died being overweight. She was around 120 before she gave birth to me. Pregnancy put on a few pounds, and she tried to fight that the only way she knew how- the low fat, high carb dieting that the AMA and ADA has been pushing on us for decades. 23 years later, and all those years of eating bread and pasta to curb weight gain has pushed her over the 300 lb mark. She finally ran across the Atkin's WOL a month or two before her death. It was a botched gastric bypass operation that actually killed her. If only the public hadn't been lied to all these years about carbs and what they do to the body, my mother might have taken that path instead and would still be here today. I can only hope that further studies can finally prove to the public what Atkin's has been claiming for years. It infuriates me to think of all the thousands of people that have died because because of a lack of accurate information.

[Iapetus999]

(venting )
I just want to say that I'm extremely frustrated with the medical community and their fear of change. My DW is 32 and was just diagnosed diabetic. She has asked every professional she deals with, and they all warned her against Atkins. The most effective argument they use is "it may work short-term, but we don't know the long-term effects of Atkins."
I damn sure know the long-term effects of obesity and diabetes, who gives a crap how you lose the weight as long as it's gone and it stays off.
Fortunately I don't have many of the classic warning signs of impeding diabetes, but this WOE has improved my cholesterol, BG level, and liver function(which was borderline due to "fatty liver"), and lost 31 lbs. However before I started this WOE I felt fatigued and tired most of the time. I have a family history of diabetes, ancestors have died from it, my dad most like will (not from his 30+ years of smoking which ended 15 years ago).
All I know how to do is try to be an example for other people. I'm sticking with this diet. I'm always tempted by starchy food, but I have no real desire to go down the carb-rich road again.
Every day I see more and more lo-carb products in the store, more and more people are doing this. Hopefully enough studies will prove the benefits of this WOE so the ADA and AHA and AMA etc will come around.

Peace

[2big4mysize]

wow Bill thanks for posting and welcome to the board.
Congrats on your great success.
I hoe you will keep posting and answer some of our members questions relating to this.

[suedehead]

Originally Posted by Bill T

My research has gone far beyond Atkins and low-carb life styles. It has encompassed the carb-selling industry (far more profitable than protein sales), the medical and pharmaceutical industries (American indulgence in carbs enriches these two industries to an astonishing degree.), and what I call the anti-Atkins commandos, whose informal membership includes virtually all medical professionals and media members. This group can be counted on to routinely bash Atkins, usually using scare tactics -- all of them untrue -- because the healtier you are the less money the carb industries make. Atkins is a threat to large economic sectors which are currently generating fabulous revenues and profits because Americans are in a full blown obesity epidemic, and that is a result of our love affair with carbs. Not fat, not protein . . . carbs!

Bill, great post. I think if I were on the fence about doing Atkins .... I would start induction based solely on your post!

I totally agree that the staunchest opposers to Atkins are those with a financial interest against Atkins. Think of all those people that might at least try Atkins if they didn't hear so much negativity from the "anti-Atkins commandos". At least it sounds like the Atkins-positive research is starting to come in (attitudes may indeed change yet).

One question, I read DANDR and loved it. Any other books on the subject you might recommend?

- doug

[Bill T]

It's late and I just returned from a trip. The following is a post I just made on the Bykerdruid thread started by 2big4mysize. I have pasted it here in the hope Bykerdruid sees it before going to the doctor.

Bykerdruid,

Amen to thoughts by 2big4mysize.

In my experience there is great strength in commitment. Stick with the lifestyle. It's important to you and to the ones who love you.

Thank you for your generous comments in the face of your own trials. You are a brave woman, and I wish the best for you and really would like to reemphasize this: Not just me, but countless others have improved their lab numbers, including cholesterol, by doing Atkins (low-carb lifestyle). I have made a point of searching out Atkins veterans, have talked with many, and have encountered no one who says their "heart" numbers did anything but improve.

I just returned from a 4-day business trip to L.A. and read your comments on the other thread. Bykerdruid . . . I'm just a former fat guy who lucked out and discovered Atkins and had the good fortune to try it. For you to find comfort in my words is the most humbly intriguing thing anyone has ever said to me. You favor me with undeserved praise, and you honor yourself with courageous determination. No matter the news, you have the strength and the knowledge to make the best of it. Draw on the strength and stick with the lifestyle. It's a powerful combination. God bless you.

[Bill T]

Upon returning from a business trip last night, was surprised to see so many posts on this thread. Would like to revisit some of those comments later but right now want to reply to suedehead's (Doug's) inquiry about other books of the genre.

Doug, in my opinion, diabetics and nondiabetics alike should put Dr. Bernstein's "The Diabetes Solution" on their emergency, right-this-minute reading list. Would like to comment more on the matter another time, but for now suffice it to say that after receiving my diabetes diagnosis, I launched into diligent research. After studying dozens of seemingly authoritative web sites over a three-week period, I carefully lined out a program which I felt sure would enable me to beat the disease.

Of course, what I had launched into was the standard disaster that is the ADA and AMA approach to diabetes. In a nutshell, consume 60% of your calories in carbs. A death sentence. Of course, it is a slow death, taking many years, and along the way the family fortune will be transferred to the medical, pharmaceutical and carb industries. And there is the macabre aspect of surgeries, amputations, terrible sickly feelings which never go away, and fatigue and malaise so severe there are no words in the English language to describe them. And, of course, it is not just the diabetic's life that is ruined; loved ones suffer unimaginably as they watch the black drama play out over . . . oh, half a lifetime, give or take.

Doug, partly because of the advocacy of the ADA and AMA, I initially went on a carefully measured 1200 calorie-a-day diet, 720 calories (60%) of which were carbs. I bought an electronic kitchen scale and was weighing food components to the ounce. 1200 calories a day weighing single grapes! Who can live like that? I GAINED WEIGHT. So what did I do? Simple, I doubled my dosage of glucophage. What the **** . . . if one pill doesn't work, take two. With any luck I'll get to four soon and be well on my way to the total miserableness that characterizes advanced diabetes. And glucophage is strong medicine. The side effects are well known by diabetics. (I threw my glucophage away long ago and feel better than I have in many years. I feel great! I monitor my blood sugar several times a day and monitor the keytones in my urine once or twice a day, but that is the totality of my "medicinal" measures.)

I visited so many sites on the web that eventually the odds had to come up in my favor, and I stumbled on Dr. Bernstein. He turned on the low-carb light for me. At exactly that time, an employee, whose husband had also recently been diagnosed with diabetes, mentioned that he had started Atkins and was losing weight like crazy and felt great. Had I not read Bernstein I would not likely have acted on her comments. Just more diet nonsense, right? But Bernstein had broken the trail, so I bought Atkins, and the rest is history.

Dr. Bernstein's "The Diabetes Solution" is the one I would recommend, for diabetics and nondiabetics alike. Once a person accepts that the high-carb advocacy is a deadly profit-oriented charade, and once that person accepts the truth of the much more natural low-carb way of life, weight loss and health are right there at your fingertips . . . an eye blink away. Truly an eye blink: you have spent years fighting a losing battle, but with the low-carb way of life noticeable life-saving results commence in a few days. Carb cravings greatly diminish. Lab numbers begin immediate improvement, including cholesterol. Before long, every single morning for months you can see in the mirror that you are thinner than you were yesterday. You are light on your feet. You kick the stairs butt. The pounds float away and so do the years -- the improvement in appearance is dramatic. All of this was the case with me and many other Atkins people I have spoken with. But, again, for me Bernstein flipped the switch. Then Atkins defined the way of life.

[suedehead]

Bill, thanks, I will pick up "The Diabetes Solution" from Amazon. Have you read any of the "Protein Power" books, do you recommend them?

I am looking forward to reading your post on Type 1 & 2 diabetes when you have the time. My father has had Type 1 diabetes since he was 19, he is 64 now. Up until the last few years he has enjoyed relative good health. Three years ago he had a heart attack, and last year he had another mild heart attack. Of course, no one in the medical community has ever mentioned Atkins (or low-carb eating) to him, I am hoping to share what I have learned. He is rather stubborn, I am not sure he will listen ... but at least I can try. Ideally, I can get him to read DANDR.

Congratulations on your success doing Atkins.

- Doug

[Bill T]

Doug,

Thanks for your congratulations, and please do get Bernstein. Not too late for you father to benefit. According to what I read, many diabetes symptoms are, to varying degrees, mitiagatable by adopting an Atkins/Bernstein lifestyle.

Your father has survived Type I longer than most. Bernstein has survived longer subsequent to diagnosis than any other known human. He was diagnosed at age 12 and is now in his seventies. When he first figured out the relationship between carbs and diabetes, while in his 30's, I believe, among his symptoms was the classic and crippling "clawed feet." Over a moderate amount of time on a low-carb diet -- I don't remember how long right now -- his feet almost totally reverted to normal. He considers them to be no problem today, according to how I read his comments in the book.

Yes, naturally the medical profession has not mentioned Atkins to you or your father. This has been my principle rant. And, seemingly, it would be the rare doctor who mentions Bernstein. With all the research I did, not once did I come across a reference to Bernstein from the medical or pharmaceutical world. How is this possible? Bernstein knows more about diabetes than anyone else in the world and has a mountain of science behind his low-carb advocacy, just as Atkins does. You connect the dots. Now that the low-carb thing is FINALLY taking off a little, Bernstein had better be careful about icy sidewalks. Me too, maybe.

Will try to get back to you on other subject you mentioned. Got to get back to business, which, by the way, no longer drives me into the ground every day. Love going to work.

Will say this briefly about your protein question -- and please remember I am not a doctor (maybe that's my strongest credential) -- I have found what to me is an obvious connection between protein supplements and overall good health and vitality. As my research in numerous sources pointed out, a good dose of protein is needed to properly metabolize the vitamins and nutrients you consume. Chromium is also considered by some to be good for this purpose, and specifically for helping the body deal with carbs. I believe this is also true. Works for me. I believe both Bernstein and Atkins recommend this, as well as daily multis. That's what I do: Every morning with my bacon and eggs I take a multi, 200 mcg of chromium, 50 mg of zinc and one scoop of Carb Solutions High Protein Shake (a half serving). I feel the last is very important. This based on trying too many combinations to count. I know how I feel, and this works the best for me. Not recommending this exact combination to you and no where was it specified just this way to me. But generally, in the reading, these supplements come up time and again as good things. By the way, it is only very recently, as far as I know, that you could buy protein powder that didn't taste like crap and didn't have lots of carbs. My half serving has only 5g of carbs, and also contains 2g fiber, so, as Atkins points out, it has only 3g carbs that count. I do this half serving of protein mix, in water, with all three meals. Put 4 oz. ice water in the blender, add the protein powder and add a heaping teaspoon of Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal, which has zero carbs that count and provides a nice jolt of fiber and protein. The fiber part is the reason I add it to the mix. Someone in Induction may not be able to use the protein power. Or maybe use half of a half serving.

Think your father, and all diabetics, should know that the addition of this protein mix to my meals seemed to have an immediate positive impact, especially regarding vitality.

I get Carb Solutions at Walmart and Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal at Trader Joes. Probably can get them at many places but that's where I found them.

One final thought: For the first few weeks after being diagnosed I was really, by God, into perfectly balancing my meals according to the ADA and AMA, and that, of course, was, in my opinion, a huge mistake. Part of what I was doing was eating Balance Bars for supplements, sometimes for meals. What the heck, they are 60% carbs, just like the ADA and AMA says is good for diabetics. For one of my early trips to the lab to get all the blood work done, I, of course, did the overnight fast as usual, but during the day before ate three meals consisted entirely of 9 Balance Bars, three each meal. (So I would know EXACTLY how much of what I had put into my system). Ate not a bite of anything else all day . . . except glucophage. Hey, 1800 calories, 60% carbs. How great is that? ADA says it's great. Blood glucose turned out to be 181, I believe, even with the glucophage running amuck in my system. These days, with the glucophage long since thrown away, my BG is routinely in 90s, even 80s. But just one moderate binge of carbs for one meal sents it maybe 180. Maybe more. Bernstein says, as I recall, that anything over 140 is dangerous and will result in permanent cellular damage. If I was to eat a large plate of pasta and a couple pieces of sourdough, as I used to do routinely, I would gain three to four pounds overnight. On Atkins, whatever I weigh at 10:00 p.m., I weigh 3 pounds less at 10:00 a.m.

Just so you know, Carb Solutions has a bar that is sort of like Balance Bar, certainly tastes as good . . . which means it tastes bad . . . but has virtually no carbs. Things are changing, Folks.

[toebee84]

My mom started Atkins in the late-1970s. She lost all the weight she wanted to at the time. She is now 62 years old, 5' 6" tall, and weighs about 125 lbs. So who says Atkins weight losses are not permanent? I only hope that I follow in her footsteps (and I am getting there!).

[Koko]

Bill, I just wanted to pop in and say how amazing I found this thread; thanks for starting it

While I do not have diabetes and it doesnt run in my family, no doubt with my weight I was on my way there - thank G-D I found Atkins and low carbing. I have no doubt that I have literally saved my life and while I still have a long way to go, I am determined to stay on this path for the rest of my life so no matter how long it takes it's going to happen for me.

I tell anyone who will listen to me about this WOL and hope that as I lose more weight and people notice it more, I can help others "see the light" When I see someone overweight, I just want to go and talk to them. I want to let them know that NO ONE could survive on a traditional diet and that they are not weak or lacking in self-control. I'm particularly horrified when I seen an obese child or teen Low fat is a nowhere way to eat and your body isnt satisified...never mind that lots of "low fat" foods are high in HFCS

I'm actually going to print up business cards with the Atkins site and my other favorite low carb sites and hand them out to people who ask. We need to bust the medical industry for killing us for profits! The only way to get people to see this is to be successfull with the weight loss and tell every person you know what you did and how good you feel. We all need to do this and show those who feel hopeless that there is hope.