This was actually a great discussion to read through everyone! I have officially finished 14 days of induction - today is day 16 and I have lost weight and am feeling really great.

In the first week I felt so crappy that I couldn't believe it and with the help of many on this forum learned about potassium, magnesium and calcium, picked up my water intake and hung in there. There was a 6 day stretch where my weight didn't change at all.

I am so glad I persevered and although I feel I have a lot to learn I truly feel like my blood sugar is stabilized (no more shakes), I don't have any cravings and I feel so good on this eating plan that I don't really care if I lose weight or not.

Glowingly,

Sally

When I was younger I really lost weight on Atkins!!! It works!!!! This time is slow, cause I have a thyroid problem...BUT, believe me...for the amount of food I'm eating, I should be the good year blimp....I'm losing....or staying the same...So if my metabolism was normal...I'd probably be chucking the weight off!!!!! I'm not giving up!!!!!!!

Elihnig,

This is interesting because I just saw a documentary on a local public television station that showed that early humans were not really hunters, but rather gatherers. Just like monkeys today. Even if you look at our teeth, they're not shaped like those of carnivores, but rather like those that eat everything. They stated that humans hunted when they couldn't find anything else to eat, but mostly they went for the easy food sources.

LOL

So in other words, since the diet isn't working for you...it's completely wrong?

If you know so much, why don't you come up with the perfect diet, stick to it, lose weight and have scientists and history prove your theory right.

While we're waiting, I will stick to atkins and continue to get healthy, lose weight and be beautiful.

Well there's always Jenny Craig

If Atkins can say that anything but his diet is wrong, I can also say that a diet that makes me feel miserable and makes me take fistfulls of artificial supplements can't be that good either. Looking at it logically, I can't believe that something that categorically says that fruit is bad can be right. If caveman ate meat, he (she) certainly ate fruit as well. Hey, look at Adam and Eve!

I think I came to a conclusion that any diet that categorically (OK, not categorically, just limiting to a minimum) excludes any natural foods can't be good. Everyting in moderation for me.

I think you're all great people. I wish you all the best. If this diet makes you happy, go for it. I would, however, like to quote my favorite movie "Michael", starring John Travolta. He's an angel and he says "You can never have too much sugar". (see, I just had a very nice meal and I'm very happy and kind again).

yeah, but wasn't that angel really fat? wasn't that why that statement was ironic?

No, actually the angel was in perfect shape. Watch the movie, I promise, you'll like it!

Those are the "natural foods" excluded on Atkins WOE, right?
I rest my case.
A

No, those are excluded by any diet... but man, were they good!

Um, I am not Christian. I am Pagan so....the whole Angel, Adam and Eve thing doesn't really prove a valid argument to me. We won't go down that path though.

But... to quote a ficticious "Angel" in a Hollywood movie and consider it something valid enough to actually take as words to live by is quite sad, actually.

If you don't like the diet, please go away and stop trolling these boards.

Alleine

Come on! Take it easy! Do you actually think I was serious??? It's probably all the meat you're eating that's draining all the "fun" energy. Lighten up!

By the way, if you're pagan, you may be interested in a collection of crystal balls I have on my site. I know this message board does not allow me to advertise, but if you want to know more, let me know.

From forum rules:

"Who Is Welcome Here?

Anyone interested in low-carb issues. Feel free to ask any questions and be polite in your answers. If you have a lot of weight to lose, very little weight to lose, or just want to follow low-carbing for good health, you are welcome here.

If you do not believe in low-carbing and have strong arguments against it, you are welcome as well, but please restrict your posts to the "War Zone". If you have scientific or medical references you wish to share with us, please post the material in the "Low-Carb Studies" section of our forums."

Atkins is hard if you make it hard, you got to play by the rules.I genuinely believe this is how we should eat, what makes it so hard is the rest of the western world. We dont need sweets and chocolate, chips potatoes and all these other high carb things but we are surrounded by them,we grew up on them, alot of companies make HUGE amounts of money producing them.

We can choose how we want to eat and what we want to eat, personally i could live on chocolate but it has made me fat and unhappy with my appearance so i have chosen to give it up. I know why we all want these things and it will be hard to give them up.

But I, an adult of sound mind and reasonable intelligence have CHOSEN to break from the high carb cycle. I wish you luck in your attempt to lose weight but no matter what diet waffles and condensed milk aint gonna do the trick!

Somehow, I don't think "everything in moderation" is what got you to the point of needing to lose weight, but if that's your plan for now and you can stick with it, I wish you luck. There isn't a diet on the planet that I know of that doesn't deny (or greatly restrict) something whether it be carbs, calories or fat. For some people, there is no such thing as carbs in moderation, at least until they get a handle on their carb/sugar addiction.
I have to ask what exactly you think that you are missing from fruit that you cannot get from another natural source?
I'd also like to point out that the fruit we have today isn't exactly as natural as you'd like to believe. It's been tweaked and bred until it's far sweeter and has a far higher sugar content than that which the hunter-gatherers of much earlier societies ate (or actually probably wouldn't have eaten since it was likely pretty sour).
Atkins never says you have to forgo your favorite foods forever...have you read the chapter on maintainance yet or read Atkins for Life? I have and I think it fits pretty well with the "everything in moderation" theme. It's just that those with a problem with carb metabolism must moderate some things more than others if they wish to keep the weight off and stay healthy and those wishing to lose weight need to moderate them even further.