I posted this here, cuz I figured it would end up here anyway.....I just cant get my mind around eating the chicken skin(tho love it and eat it on occasion) sausages, frying everything ect. can be healthy~~~ yes atkins people(I am one) loose weight but I worry about people who are eating the fatty foods to a major major extent. Its hard for me to grasp that I can eat pork rinds, tho shouldn't eat an apple? Or more-so that an apple is unhealthy(okay not un healthy) but greasy sausage is okay? I guess that I worry that anyone who doesn't like veggies and fills their diet w/ fatty sausage/bacon..ect. everyday 3x a day may not be really doing anything for their body.....except loozen weight....I know we are burning the fat but what really is happening to the BS fat and grease? I guess I always heard of eating the chicken skin, bacon, sausage ect. was bad for cholesteral......Tho' on the plus side, I HAD an "irregularity in my L lower ventrical of my heart" Caused heart palpatations(not sure what to call them) and shortness of breath and now they are pretty much gone. I used to have the issues daily all day long and couldn't do anything(lay down, walk, sit..)w/o having these terrible feelings....(Ihate the Dr.but went and he put me on meds. which I took for 1 month and made me sick and feel worse and not taking away the heart pains I 'm happy w/myweight loss, more so happy w/the fact that I'm not having the heart issues...but still have the issues with the FAT!! I'm not trying to cause a "riot" here...just need someone to explain or to set me straight and give me an explanation as to why eating those fatty foods do more for us than loosing weight......
Okay I'm done. I'll take my beating now......
BTW I love Atkins and my WOL, just trying to get a perspective on it......
I'm changing my name to 'John".........
Juli aka John

Hi , there, congrats on your weight loss, well to be honest in regards to fat, following the Atkins diet does not give you a free ticket to eat all the fat you want, infact, I lost all my weight by still watching my fat, the only thing I changed was dropping the "low fat " crap, I did'nt eat fatty bacon, I ate and always have ate, turkey bacon, I only ever eat farmers sausage from a small butcher.Never eat nor will... chicken fat/skin.
I think the science behind it all as described in the book makes sense.

Kathy ........2 years, maintaining

A good place to start: read DANDR again... Atkins made a good nutshell explanation of why fats aren't bad for you.

Then read this for more in-depth info: http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/skinny.html

Wyv

I absolutely agree with kathy---in fact I just had somebody majorly ream me for saying that you should still watch your fat intake on Atkins. DANDR specifically states that you should eat foods high in protein that make smart nutritional sense. This would OBVIOUSLY eliminate/decrease the extremely fatty foods uneducated people believe Atkins is all about. In addition, all one has to do is look at the sample menus Dr. Atkins has---all of which use lean meats and lots of fresh vegetables. (And these are recipes for INDUCTION!)

Ok, off my soap box....and that wasn't directed to anyone on this thread---more a person on another thread that stated you could eat as much fat as you want on Atkins.

Enlight79

Dr atkins never said to binge on fat (or ANYTHING in particular for that matter), however he did say it is wise to eat a high percentage of fat.
I am not on atkins to be precise, although the way I eat is very close to what dr atkins advises though without all the exact counting and such. I eat a very high percentage of fat, and I am healthier than I have been in my whole life. I get my fat from a variety of sources, including LOTS of dairy, avocados, seeds,nuts, unrefined (most of the time organic) non rancid oils of all sorts, and fatty meat on occasion (I only eat meat every few days not because I dont think it is healthy, but because I dont like the taste that much).

There's an overwhelming amount of noise about how bad fat is for you, to the point where people automatically assume it is. Think of the number of times you've heard some fatty food described as "artery clogging." Then, think of the number of times you've heard, say, bread described as artery clogging. Makes it kind of tough not to worry about fat, doesn't it?

Now, here's the hard part: find research anywhere that demonstrates dietary fat, the way you and I eat it (without junk food and loads of carbs) causes health problems.

I know when I re-started this, I had occasional chest pains, an irregular heartbeat, blood sugar issues, and high blood pressure. They're all gone now, and I feel better than I have in many years. I see the same story over and over here, along with people who post their bloodwork, before and after low carbing. It's almost invariably better after they low carb. If that's bad health, give me more of it.

The whole "fat is bad for you" is an example of the big lie. Something repeated so often that it becomes accepted, regardless of the factual basis. With the exception of trans fats and most polyunsaturated oils, fats are not only noy dangerous, but essential. Nyah Levi

Ditto. Despite the fact that there is no sound science demonstrating that dietary saturated fat and cholesterol have more than a minor impact on blood cholesterol, there is no law that states you must eat the fattiest cuts of meat on low carb. If you can't get past the thought that fat is bad for you (although it would be a good idea to try because not only is it not bad for you, your body does need it), choose leaner cuts of protein sources.
Juli...if it concerns you that much did you get your blood work done prior to low carb as Dr. Atkins suggested? If so, get it rechecked and see where you stand.
I agree that to understand why a banana may be a less good choice for some than prime rib, re-read Dr. Atkins' explanation and also read through Protein Power. Between the two, they present a very sound and detailed explanation of why fat is not the enemy and insulin/blood sugar spikes are.

From DANDR page 123 Rules of Induction:

I agree that eating too much fat is bad, as eating a whole stick of butter ast once may give you nausea.

But except from that, I work out, never get sick and enjoy all around good health while eating a diet that is 70-80% fat by calories.

I would take bacon/eggs over an apple every day of the week.

The apple is going to make me sleepy, cranky and craving sugar about 30 minutes after eating it.

The eggs and bacon are going to satisfy me and keep my energy very high for about 4-5 hours.

I eat tons of fat, and I eat pork rinds maybe twice a year. My lipid profile is perfect (though I believe it doesn't really matter), I feel better than I did when I was a teenager, and I maintain a healthy weight pretty easily. The fat is doing something right!

I use lots of coconut oil, I have a pot of clarified butter cooking as I type this, I take cod liver oil and Udo's Choice oil blend, and I eat a generous amount of avocados, nuts, dairy, and non-low-fat meats. I, too, have had heart issues - I used to have these really scary palpitations and irregular beats - and they're virtually gone.

Fat is your friend. Fat does not make you fat. There is no evidence that eating "too much fat" is bad when you don't eat refined junk food carbs. Our grandparents and previous ancestors ate plenty of fat - just look at a really old cook book. Everything was made with lard (fresh lard, not hydrogenated crap), eggs, and cream. They ate far less sugar, and heart disease was practically unheard of. In fact, the inventor of the ECG machine was told to stop wasting his time and talent in cardiology. Sure, there were bigger killers back then and you could argue that people died younger, but still - eating the way they did, if "too much fat" was a problem, they all would have been dying of heart attacks in their 40s.

Every food - whether it's apples, bacon or pork rinds - can be healthy or unhealthy. Is the apple somehow more 'virtuous' than pork rinds if it's loaded with pesticides or it's been genetically altered to be way more sweet than your-deity-of-choice created apples? Not to majorly slam apples, but you can't compare apples to oranges... or pork rinds.

Of course you don't want to be kooky about consuming fats but they are a necessary part of a complete diet. I eat fats according to how I like them. I like chicken skin and I eat without regrets. If my cholesterol or triglycerides were bad as a result from that, I would change, but it has not been that way. My cholesterol and tryglycerides are exemplary

This post reminded me of a Simpson's episode where Marge is asked, over the phone, by her family to bring home a bucket of fried chicken with extra skin.

With what I have been learning about chicken, as well as other meats, you might want to worry more about what is inside your chicken! They are injecting them so they appear bigger and heavier than they really are!

I'm seconding the link to the weston price page - know your fats.
Fat is incredibly healthy, if you want it to be healthy just make sure your consuming the best kinds.

Certain fats are unhealthy..overconsumption will cause problems. Just do your research, if you're not comfortable with it do what works for you. A lot of people limit their fat intake while eating low carb.

Just a little trivia about pork rinds, from an old post ..


1. Pork rinds are high in protein, zero carbs and only modest amount of fat. Added seasonings may contain carbs though.

2. Pork rinds do not contain transfats. Transfats are made when polyunsaturated fatty acids are hydrogenated. Pork rinds are cooked in pure pork fat (lard), which is comprised of mostly saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids which are stable at high heat.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a comparison of pork rinds with other lowcarb foods.

• 4 oz (112g) cooked lean ground beef has: 302 calories, 27.5g protein, 0 carbs and 21g fat.

• 3 oz (85g) natural cheddar cheese has: 342 calories, 21.2g protein, 1.09g carbs and 28.2g fat

• 4 hard-boiled large eggs have: 309 calories, 25.1g protein, 2.23g carbs and 21.2g fat

• A whole 2 oz (60g) bag of plain pork rinds has: 308 calories, 30g protein, ZERO carbs and only 20g fat

We can plainly see that pork rinds are lower in fat, higher in protein and zero carbs compared to similar calories' worth of cooked lean ground beef, natural cheddar cheese or boiled eggs.


Enoy your pork rinds!!!



Doreen