Your attitude shows a lot of disrespect for Dr. Atkins. You want to trumpet all the "other low-carb" plans that are just copies of Atkins with just enough variation that the author can claim his/hers is "better than Atkins".

The fact is that all of these other diets (including Southbeach) took at least 90% of their material from Dr. Atkins, who was the true medical pioneer.

None of them would exist, including the most popular, Southbeach ... if Dr. Atkins had not put his own reputation and career on the line and stood stedfastly in what he believed in. Which of the "other" diet doctors lost money year after year because they stood for "low-carb". How many of them are even doctors?

If it were not for Dr. Atkins, you would probably still be following the low-fat diets that made you fat and would have no hope.

So please do not disparage Dr. Atkins and his diet when people come here looking for support. If they want to know about the importance of Ketosis, they are on the right track. Don't try to disrail them before they even begin.

Ketosis is the process of breaking down fat. It is impossible for a person to lose (fat) weight without being in a state of Ketosis.

People who go on low-fat diets, low calorie diets, and even low-carb diets that do not restrict carbohydrate enough might still loose "weight". But what is it they are losing?

Without Ketosis, it is absolutely certain it is NOT fat they are losing. It is some combination of water and lean body mass. Losing lean body mass (catabolism) is one of the worst things you can do in dieting, as it will slow down your metabolism and reduce your caloric needs.

Catabolism is the process that takes place when the liver breaks down proteins and converts them to glucose. The protein comes partly from dietary intake, and partly from the breakdown of muscle mass and even the organ tissues.

This is what the "other plans" will do to your body. Only in deep ketosis does the body send out the proper hormones in the right levels to prevent catabolism.

If the goal is to lose "weight", any diet plan will do. Low-calorie, Low carb, Low-fat ... they will all cause you to lose "weight".

But if the goal is to lose "FAT", then Ketosis is an absolute MUST. Atkins induction seeks to establish your bodies ability to get into Ketosis as quickly as possible. This reduces the amount of catabolism as quickly as possible, and adjusts your body to the correct metabolic state to use body fat for energy.

After you get beyond the induction period, you then slowly increase carb intake. The rate of increase is tightly controlled in order to prevent your body from going back to a glucose based metabolism.

Other diets that skip this first step never establish the bodies ability to burn fat. People on medications or those with thyroid issues never discover the problem, and catabolism literally shrinks their muscles and organ tissues. They go on their happy way, thrilled about "losing weight", not realizing that they are destroying their body, while the fat cells have not given up an ounce.

These are the facts, this is why establishing Ketosis is important, and this is why Ketostix are part of the Atkins program. If you cannot get a reading on the Ketostix after a week of 20g of carbs per day, you have a problem which needs resolved before any further dieting.

Switching to "another plan" or concluding that Ketostix are just "a game" is to ignore what is happening inside your body. Your metabolism is not "a game", and Ketotix are the best indication of what is happening.

Those who follow Atkins correctly will do induction correctly, and establish Ketosis ... and will ignore the naysayers here on this message board who claim it is not that important.

I beg to differ! I am one that does not 'like' the Ketostix because I rarely showed even a trace but, was dropping the pounds like crazy. I was drinking too much water to show the color change. I lost over 100 pounds in 10 months and have MUCH more muscle/lean body mass than I have had since I was in my 40's. I have the discipline to keep my carbs low enough to take off 111 pounds and not cheat even once in 14 months. There are many reasons for the stix not to change colors and it doesn't have to have anything to do with lack of discipline.

They are fine if they work for you and give you good (accurate) feedback, but they made me feel as if I wasn't doing something right, even when the scales and measuring tape said that I was doing it exactly right. I manipulated them once by allowing myself to become dehydrated and they finally turned dark purple, then I threw away the rest of them. The gallon plus of water I was drinking a day was doing more for me in losing fat than peeing on a stick.

Sunny!

While I am more than willing to debate the facts and science, there is no point in participating in what amounts to a religious debate. We will simply have to agree to disagree and leave it at that.

So what you're saying is that since I used less than one bottle before I threw them away (and bought a few steaks and a whole sirloin tip with my money), that somehow my weight loss of 111 pounds since September 15, 2005 is bogus, BUT since you are spending your $29.20 a year on pee stix, your weight loss of 49 pounds since November 2005 is evidence of how much discipline you have keeping your carbs low and is superior to my pounds of fat lost? I don't think so. You, being a man, should have lost a lot more in a year than an old lady.

Incidentally, if all my 111 pounds that I lost was lean body mass, I wouldn't even be able to stand up! Wanna see pictures of my biceps? Just because my Ketostix didn't show purple doesn't mean that I haven't been in Ketosis. I follow Atkins to the letter. Actually, better than to the letter. He allowed a lot of stuff that I have had to cut out to make this work for me.

Sunny!

Dr. Atkins says that using lipolysis testing strips (LTS) is not necessary and that the strips are just a tool.

From DANDR (January 2002 edition) pages 137 and 138: "You don't have to use LTS, but doing so can be an extremely convenient aid to doing Atkins." and "Remember, the strips are tools; making them change color is not the sole object of the game."

I am one who was never able to get the strips to show any color. I even got some freshly calibrated strips from a hospital lab and still could get no color on them. It didn't stop me from losing body fat.

The Ketostix had exactly the effect that they should have. You did not get a strong positive reading, which indicated there were problems with your metabolism.

You were in contact with a doctor, and were taking drugs and/or prescription supplements.

In no way is this an argument AGAINST Ketostix, it is actually supportive of the fact that they will give you knowledge when there is a problem.

But nowhere and no way did Dr. Atkins ever say that Ketosis was not neccessary, or that induction was not neccessary.

The Ketostix are a TOOL which reveal to you if the diet is working.

The headlights on your car are also "just a tool". You can drive at night without turning them on if you choose. But most people benefit from being able to see where they are going.

I didn't expect much of a response from my last post. I typed it up because there are other people on here looking for answers, and I did not want them to go away thinking that they didn't really have to play those Dr. Atkins "games" in order to lose weight.

Ketosis is NOT optional. Any dissenting opinions need to stop claiming they follow Atkins

jds, what you seem to be forgetting is that most of us can have 30g or 40g of carbs in our diets (or possibly more), and still be in ketosis... so no, 20g is NOT required. it's a YMMV thing. CAD by the drs. eades ends up avoiding ketosis because of the "free hour" you get. does that mean nobody ever lost weight on CAD? of course not. and remember, just because people don't REGISTER ketosis doesn't mean they're not IN ketosis. you seem to have ignored that too.

i can appreciate your loyalty to the late, great, doctor, but why get so worked up over what works and who came up with it? you sound like a die-hard tolkien fan who's ranting about D&D not being "true" to the master, or worse, claiming that j.k. rowling outright plagarized tolkien.

nobody's abandoning principles, we're all just going with what works FOR US. if it doesn't work, we change it. if we didn't want to change, we wouldn't be here.

and hey... for all any of us know, wbahn really is smarter than dr. A.

Quote from DANDR '92 chapter 11 pp143
"Each persons metabolism is different and therefore will turn the sticks a varying degree of purple. In addition the time of the day, whether or not you exercise and what you ate at your last meal will all affect the test strips. Don't worry about the exact level of ketosis indicated by the strip. The important thing is to see how your clothes are fitting and what the scale says. And, remember, you don't necessarily need to use the strips at all."

[QUOTE=jds8957]
Your attitude shows a lot of disrespect for Dr. Atkins. You want to trumpet all the "other low-carb" plans that are just copies of Atkins with just enough variation that the author can claim his/hers is "better than Atkins".

The fact is that all of these other diets (including Southbeach) took at least 90% of their material from Dr. Atkins, who was the true medical pioneer.


I trust you only drive FORD motors brand vehicles as all others are meerly imitators that have stolen from the original genius of Henry Ford.

no need to pee on a stick to know if your in ketosis...there's a free way even if your too poor to buy 8.00 sticks because you have big problems. if your pee is a dark yellow when your fully hydrated and your breath stinks congratulations, your in ketosis....

CAD was not written by Drs Eades. CAD was written by Dr. Richard and Rachael Heller.

Dr. Michael and Mary Dan Eades wrote Protein Power and Protein Power Lifespan Plan which are both very useful in understanding the science of low carbing.


I've never used a ketostick.


Beth

37 posts and you want to tell us how to work our plans.

That says all I need to know.