The other night I saw a lady I hadnt seen since May this year. She was amazed about how much weight I had lost since we last spoke. She asked what had I done to lose it. I laughed a little because she was really happy for me. Then I told her that I was following the Atkins plan and then it happened. It was almost like she was hit with an anchor. She must have thought of a few ways in her mind but saying Atkins threw her for a loop. After the initial shock she congratulated me and bolted like I had a disease. Then I was surprised at her reaction and wondered the rest of the night was she talking with others about how I was doing it. Can you say, "The Salem Witch Trials". I haven't came out and told many how I have done it because I wasn't sure how people would react. But now, I probably won't tell anyone except people that may ask me and I know they would benefit from trying Atkins instead of resorting to expensive weight loss programs elsewhere. I will just say I have been working alot. Anyone else gotten some strange looks after revealing they were doing Atkins or low carb. Before I started Atkins, I remember a couple of friends laughing about how they knew someone that was eating burgers with no buns and Arby's roast beef sandwiches without the bun. When I heard that person was losing by doing this, I began to check into Atkins myself. When I saw the book at the bookstore on the bestseller shelves, I grabbed one and kept it in my dashboard away from my girlfriend. Then after a few weeks and the weight began coming off, I revealed to her how I was doing it. She is my biggest fan and supporter. She isn't doing Atkins herself but I see where she has made smarter food choices as a result. Can't believe how easy this plan is after the induction period and I could easily do this the rest of my life without a second thought. I don't know what I would have done without this forum. I might have quit during induction. All of the people here are GOD sends to me. I thank you all.

I spoke to one of my Aunt's today and told her how excited I was about having lost 18 pounds total as of today. Well, she was all like, Oh wow that's great I'm so happy for you. But then she asked, How did you do it. The minute I said, ATKINS, she was like, OH no, I would never do that I heard some people have had heartattacks from doing Atkins.

I was like, you know, first your happy for me and then you criticize my choice of diet. How dare you!

She proceeded to tell me that I should stop the diet and find something else to do cause eating too much fat can kill me. Yeah well so can being fat!!!! I was so mad!

I love this WOL and I have never lost so much weight in less than 2 months time and I'm proud of myself. My life, my choice, and it's no one else's business.


Lily

Wow. I've never gotten a negative reply when I've mentioned Atkins. In fact, more often than not the person has mentioned doing low-carb themselves. I have enough co-workers (in a school with 50 teachers plus administrative and support staff) doing low carb that I baked low carb brownies for our faculty luncheon the other day. They disappeared rapidly while the "regular" desserts had left-overs.

I think it may be due to the fact that I live in Huntsville, the "Rocket City", with so many high-tech industries and an above-average educational level (8.3% of the total population is an engineer of some type), that most people don't believe everything they hear. They research it first. Maybe I would get a different response elsewhere in Alabama.

When people ask me why I'm doing Atkins (they don't think I need to lose any more weight - although they haven't seen me naked!) I usually tell them it is to control my cholesterol and triglyceride levels, then go on to explain how those have improved since starting this WOE. That hasn't gotten any negative responses either, but raised eyebrows that it actually works.

I'm waiting, though. I'm sure that sooner or later I'll get the "you're killing yourself" speech. I'll just rattle off my bloodwork results from the last few years.

Joan (not an engineer but with a master's degree anyway)

I used to BE one of those "you're going to ruin your kidneys" people, but after reading up on it, I was converted.

Usually, I get the raised eyebrow look, or "I couldn't give up my bread" remarks.

The funniest was from a neighbor (with a heart condition) who spent loads on Herbalife, laser treatments to quit smoking (then STARTING smoking again to lose weight) and now spends her money on hypnosis...said "hypnosis works better because when I sit down at the bar and drink all night, I don't even have to unbutton my jeans anymore"... and "Atkins won't work, it's too expensive to eat that way..."

Obviously, MENSA isn't in danger of getting overcrowded....

I have had very few negative reactions to doing Atkins. When I get one I just say that it has really controlled my blood sugars and I am now off all my diabetes medication. That stops them from making any more negative remarks.

I have had a quite a few "subdued negative" reactions. But the tide is really turning! People can be such lemmings!

Including the medical profession. My doctor used to be apprehensive about Atkins, but by the time he was my doctor the Duke U study had come out and he was much more accepting of it. Of course he is skinny as a beanpole.

Seems like 25% of my fellow employees are on it!

I've had mixed responses from people when I've mentioned being on Atkins.

My girlfriend is incredibly supportive, especially after I explained hyperinsulinism and how many symtoms I have that are associated with it.

My parents were cool, too. And what a change in perception for them....I was vegetarian for 10 years (which OF COURSE led to me getting fat, but that's another story)! They are used to worrying about having enough meat-free alternatives for family dinners. Now for this Christmas, I just said, "I'll be fine with Turkey and salad!"

Many friends that have tried Atkins were very supportive, and I've motivated a few of them to get back to it and take it seriously.

A few friends were quite critical of it, however. I got two basic crticial responses:

- Responses critical due to health concerns: "All that fat is so bad for you!" "It's so bad for your kidneys!" "I heard of a man that died doing Atkins!" To which I usually reply by saying "You need to learn more about it before jumping to conclusions. The plan isn't like that at all. It's very healthy...and is certainly more healthy than me continuing to be as fat as I am."

- Responses critical due to its long-term effectiveness: "You'll gain it all back and then some as soon as you go off it!" To which I always reply "Just like ANY diet, if you change the way you live and eat and go back to the way that got you fat, you'll get fat again. This plan has helped me learn HOW I got fat. I'll never go back to the mistakes that made me fat before."

TONS of support. Most people have said I looked great and then asked for details of how to do it. Several friends have even started after seeing my success and a few friends (I think) will be starting soon. I have been fortunate not to have any negative reactions.

I am totally surprized at people's reactions. I have never been on a diet that had so much controversy. The statements people make are right out of the headlines of newspapers. I don't believe they read the articles just the headlines because there is nothing to back up their reactions. They make a statement and if you ask them what they mean--they can't explain it.
My reaction from my oldest sister was a shock to say the least. Two years ago she tried everything to lose weight but all she did was pack it on while staying faithful to whichever diet she tried. She would bloat up so bad. Last year she got diagnosed with overweight, middle age diabetis. She said to me not to do atkins because no carbs are bad for you. I told her I ate carbs but only 20-25. She said not good for you. I wuld have thought that her dietician would have explained to her what she needed to do for herself concerning carbs but I guess not.
angie

I agree Imber, figuring out what course I took to get fat, should be enough motivation in itself to take a different route in the future. Fast food was my crutch due to its convenience and its cost. Now that I take the time to prepare meals, I seem to enjoy them more. I actually look for different ways to spice up the dishes and its fun to see if I can create something that I will enjoy. For years fast food had became bland to me but I still jumped into the fast food hole anyway. For that, I deserved all the blame for what I had done to myself. Now I enjoy the exercise I once dreaded, the clothes I discovered in the back of the closet, and the feeling that I don't need to crunch TUMS anymore on a daily basis. I told my girlfriend that one day I am gonna walk out the house wearing my senior Class jacket. When that happens, I will feel like I made it to my goal. By the way, Potatofree that is a cool cat in the hat in the avatar window.

I guess its true, you are either D*****D if you do, or D*****D if you don't!!

More often than not, I hear "oh, my friend _______ is low-carbing and she/he has already lost _____ lbs".

Very rarely do I get someone who is misinformed about or dead set against LCing.

I've gotten a few negative reactions, but all of them have been from people who haven't the first idea what low carb really is; things like, "don't you get bored eating nothing but meat and eggs?" and "It's just not healthy to not eat any vegetables or fruits!". Comments such as that tell me that they have formed an opinion based on what the media has to say about it and not on any actual information from the book itself.
Most people, though, are either positive or take an attitude of "great for you...I just couldn't give up my bread or bagels, though, so it's not for me.".

The ONLY negative reaction I ever got was from my boss, who noticed that I was "wasting away to nothing" a couple of months ago (Nice to hear, but an overstatement to say the least). When I told him I was low-carbing he told me not to come to HIM for a kidney when mine failed and that ketosis is going to kill me, blah, blah...

But I found out last week that he went home and told his wife about all the weight I had lost and SHE started LC'ing and has lost more than 20 pounds.

My boss is a bit of a pompous ass, by the way.

The only other comments I get are from friends who say that they could NEVER give up pasta, rice, and beans because it makes up more than 90% of their diet. I used to think that too -- 28 pounds ago...

Jeannie

I get negative reactions from almost everyone around me. I was just telling people I was cutting flour, sugar and processed foods and my mother calls people up and says oh she does atkins. I think my mother just feels better with the shocked responses when they tell her its not healthy and my mother agrees and hopes I will change lol. I honestly feel she is trying to sabotage me because she is bitter that I can stick to mine and she goes off her macrobiotic thing all the time.

I just shrug it off or give smug responses to them. I did get a huge compliment yesterday from my baby cousins babysitter when I went there. She looked at me and told me I lost so much weight and looked good which was really nice and made me feel good that someone outside of my family who doesnt know I am dieting says something.

I got all those negative reactions from almost all the people I cared about in my life (aside from my dh?). The worst was my mom. Honestly I've never been brave enough to tell people outside my immediate circle (sad huh). So I have yet to get any negativity from aquaintences, and so forth. I tried to explain atkins to my aunt and she just could not grasp the whole concept. So I pretty much keep to myself now and just tell people I've changed my diet and I excercise more. It's worked so far.

As for the family I did try to share my new found excitement with, they've finally come around to my side of the fence after seeing my weight loss, body changes, increased energy level and all around better mood. My mom, is actually going on a modified atkins plan after the holidays. Totally cool in my opinion.