In looking at TomJacksons stats, it looks like he didn't lose a pound the whole month he was doing Atkins, he was stuck at 230 lbs. Either that or he was to lazy to update the stats.

My feeling is that he was not following the plan correclty in the first place, and he never gave us a chance to find out.

Although I'm not actively low-carbing, I have tried several approaches in the past. Granted most people will see astonishing results the first month or so on the low-carb diet, but after much research and persoanl experimenting I've come to the conclusion that it's not high-fat/low carb cut-n-dry. You have to be selective on your fat and protein choices. Including natural fat and protein will be your best bet. (steak, chicken, turkey, natural peanut butter, various nuts, olive oil, fish, flax, whole eggs.)

Processed foods are the enemy. (hotdogs, McD's meat patties...)

The evil that's creeping in and tinkering with blood cholesterol levels and other health issues is the hydrogenated fat in dressings, most dariy, processed meat, etc.

If the food choices are kept as whole and natural as possible, blood results will be better and you can incorporate more fibrous veggies to compensate for the removal of processed and foods.

Now, I put in my two cents a few months back and talked about being reasonable, etc. However, I constantly get a lot of moralistic flak from "vegans" who think I am some kind of monster for following the diet of my heritage and ancestry. And, you know what? All of these moralistic arguments that these people throw out about eating "living things" and things "with eyes" and "feeliings," yata yata yata is so much drivel! Vegans are now trying to kill off my species and many more other species than we have ever been responsible for getting off the planet! Every time a field is plowed for a crop thousands of tiny animals are killed from the implements of farming and the chemicals, and whatever. Millions of our six legged friends have died from their "evil' hands! So, I get a little ticked off when i hear one of them telling me that they are of a higher moral fiber and trying to save the planet. The facts don't add up in their favor. SORRY.

Now I am not that familiar with how long it takes for tests to get back, or anything of that nature... the basic premise is thus: each one on a LC way of eating, is going to have individual results in their body! There may be some things that are similiar....there may be some things that are different... but no one is going to have the exact same results as anybody else~! The odds are.... hellifIknow... Who knows what percentage of fat was eaten... was it higher than the protein %? And why couldn't there be someone who is sensitive to fats/red meats/eggs and have the reverse effect in readings? After all, look at all of the ppl who have a sugar sensitivity? a carbohydrate sensitivity? This forum is a place for SUPPORT... not for bashing... not for a war... there is enough CRAP like that going on in the real world, without it being brought into this virtual one... SO... someone had different results... someone had a different reaction... let's all make a note, that this can happen... NOT that this person is lying because they are different... perhaps they ARE... we truly have no way of knowing... do we? Now, lets all put the sticks and stones away and play nice... but seriously... a healthy debate is one thing... an out and out attack is something entirely different... if someone new came to this forum, and this was the only thread that they read.... how good of an opinion would they have about the whole forum? Something to think about anyhow....

Suze_C...

Well...since Tom made so few posts and then split after this post, we'll never know for sure exactly what happened or why. What has my curiosity going is how someone's triglycerides could go up 25% in a month's time on a low carb diet? To the best of my knowledge, triglycerides need sugar/carbs to be made so where was it coming from? I've heard of total cholesterol going up on low carb and even LDL going up on low carb (although the significance of either of those is debatable), but I've never seen a post besides this one that claimed triglycerides rose on the level of carbs per day that he was reporting. Does that mean it couldn't happen? No....but I'd sure love to see the medical explanation for how it could happen on that level of carbs.

Thanks for the info on triglycerides... like I said, I don't know about the nature of what all the tests measure.... yadda yadda yadda~

Ahem - I work as a nurse practitioner, and I order these test all day long. Is is possible to get a lipid profile back in 1 day. I get them back same day most of the time they are ordered. Very important for my patients on Atkins or any other low carb diet. I would be furious if it took a week or more!

Janisd...

I commend you for your diligence. However...in my doctor's office, even though the results may be back the next day, it usually takes several days for the doctor to review them and then have the nurse call me with the results. I've often called 3 or 4 days after my test to get the results only to be told, "I'm sorry, they're not in your chart yet. Call back in a few days." If I don't call and the results are not hugely abnormal, it usually takes 10 days before I am sent the results by mail.
From talking with other people, I also gather that my experience is not unusual.

I have to say that some here have really jumped to negative conclusions! I guess I should have started reading posts in other forums first

Anyway, to the point:
In June of 1996 I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. I was put on a low carb diet and lost a lot of weight. At first my blood counts all improved, of course, because of all the weight loss; this is typical. However, now 6 years later, I have high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high LDL and low HDL. Now, as you can see, this is not good. Now my dr., who is fine with low carb, advises me to eat much lower fat. Obviously the low carb worked in the short term, but long term has not. I am to continue with low carb, but incorporate low fat. It is a challenge but one I'm willing to work on.

I'm more selective in my protein sources, opting for protein shake instead of eggs or meats for breakfast. Lunches are tuna (without mayo) and vegetables or soup made with lean beef and lots of vegetables. Dinner is similar.

I don't like sugar so I avoid it. I don't like many breads or carby foods so those aren't a problem either.

I'm sure I'll be slammed for this and if I must show my blood profiles I will, but I hope most people are mature enough not to have a "prove it" attitude

I still low carb, I know it has helped my blood sugar tremendously, that's the only thing that was good on my blood profile

Oh, and I have my fasting blood sugar done at 8:00 am and get the results by 5:00 pm. It's been this way for years.

How do you like this cold weather? I have been up your way many a time... my ex hubby was from Lincoln... long story
I am also trying to do a low fat LC w/o/e... not because I "have" to, but because I simply don't want all that fat... ugh. I can agree that it isn't the easiest thing to do... I am doing a combination of Stillmans and Atkins...Stillmans QWL Diet Summary <-- there is a link on Stillmans... and also a bit of info on what I am doing now. I don't know if it'd work for you... so far it is working for me. I am not one of those to go about shoving my plan into "someone's throat" so to speak insisting that it is the ONLY way to go! I don't have a problem with it... I don't mind the sugar restrictiveness.... but Big Red,..whatever plan you choose to use, I wish you success~

Hi there, Big Red and welcome to the forum.

While your results are not typical, I'm not going to assert that they aren't what they are. I am a bit curious what your daily menu looked like during those six years of high fat/low carb. What was your typical daily carb intake? What types of veggies were you eating? How about percentages from fat (and what types)? Did you eat a lot of processed meats (bacon, sausage, lunch meats)?

Yes. Also, what about TYPE of fat? For example did you consume a lot of margarine, vegetable shortening and/or refined vegetable and salad oils ... which are high in trans-fats??

Doreen

Suze_c, it is very cold here. I'm not far outside Lincoln. Had our first snow already! I will check the site you mentioned. And thank you for your post.

Doreen and Lisa:

here is a typical menu (I kept a food log so I know what it is)
Breakfast:
an egg or two cooked in butter: not margarine
sometimes a protein shake with it, sometimes not

Lunch:
usually a large salad (dark greens) with chicken, turkey, or tuna and chopped peppers, onions, mushrooms, a small carrot shredded, etc. with 1 T regular ranch dressing on the side

Snack:
sliced cheese, peanut butter on a spoon, or occasionally a beef jerky

Dinner:
chicken cooked in olive oil, no skin, or a hamburger, no bun of course
2 or 3 vegetables in butter: broccoli, brussel sprouts, okra, mix of non-starchy garden vegetables, etc.

Bedtime snack:
peanut butter, another cheese slice, leftover meat from dinner, etc.

So you see, it is a healthy diet, but a lot of fat.
I don't like sausages or greasy meats. I also do not like margarine. It's the real thing or nothing for me.
No processed foods except the cheese and salad dressing really.

Ok, I'm sure the next question is the blood profile.
Here you go:

December 1996 after 6 months low carbing:
Cholesterol 190
LDL 104
HDL 58
sugar 72 (up from 50 in June)

August 2002 after 6 years:
Triglycerides: 295
Cholesterol 270
HDL: 32
LDL 145
glucose: 97

Big Red...

Very interesting....but if this is the way you've been eating for the past 6 years, it sounds more like Atkins induction instead of the HAI diet. On HAI, they don't recommend that you go below 60 grams of carb per day and, in fact, recommend that daily carb intake be kept between 60 and 100 grams of carb per day (I got this information from their website). From what you posted, I think you'd be lucky to be getting 20 grams of carb per day; 30 at the most. Also...the amount of fats you are eating are not terribly high (compared to what a lof of folks here are eating, they're actually on the low side). There doesn't seem to be much room for cutting any more out unless you go practically fat-free and if you do that, your body is likely to start producing its own cholesterol which is typically the bad LDL kind. Still...I wish you luck in your quest to improve those numbers.

I kept track of carbs. I averaged 60-80 each and every day. I don't do well on any less than 60.