i think the the *only* sacred thing to a low-carb diet is low-carb..... everyone is different and the things that are "modifiable" vary for each person. I also kind of think that people on any diet have to "tweak"-- sure, LCers have to give up certain stuff, but people on low-fat have to give up high-fat stuff as well... maybe i'm not understanding u correctly, nikkil? Also, the way this forum seems to work, a lot of people weigh daily and so spontaneous attribute weight loss/gain to one minor change in their diet that occured on a particular day-- realistically, scales lie and weight fluctuates on its own. SOmetimes i think the "tweaking" gets a bit out of hand...

Have any of u heard of Lisa Sander's new book "The Perfect Fit" or something like that? She's a professor at Yale and talks about how any diet plan does work--think about it, SBD, atkins, low fat, low cal, mediterranan, cabbage soup, WW, Jenny Craigs--all of them can boast incredible success stories. Yet, with all of them, some people loose nothing as well. Its all about finding what works for you personally. As in, if u love sweets and grew up in an italian family that only eats pasta, maybe low-carb is not for you..... If u have incredible self-control and don't mind being hungry, then low-cal might be better. It's all relative.

Aspartame hoax

Basically it was an email making claims about aspartame being poisonous, there being a huge conspiracy to cover up the fact that everyone drinking it was doomed to die in horrible ways. It spread and spread. There's still tons of people that believe it.

The skin on my knuckles has always stayed puckered and I've never been dehydrated in my life. I suspect its just a normal variation on skin type.

By the way, it's the knuckle of the first joint of your fingers. Only my index, middle and ring finger have enough skin there I can actually pinch. I think on most people it'll stay puckered up for a bit. And I think its age related... I noticed mine is staying puckered longer these days. *cry*

Okay, how many of you stopped reading long enough to pinch the skin on your knuckle? That is hilarious!

[QUOTE=nikkil] Kinda reminds me of the Oil of Oregano thread on here - somebody credits their weightloss to this supplement and all of a sudden the thread is 25+ pages long and there's a shortage of ooo. I even fell for it, bought it, and managed to GAIN 5 lbs in the week I took it (got 2 of the 5 off in the 1 day since I stopped taking it). If it works for some, it may not work for all is the lesson I learned with that one!



Try running out and buying two different brands of the OOO. Like u said it may work for some, but not work for all!!!

I wish i was part of the some on that one!!!

I know there are things everybody has to give up, otherwise we could lose weight by still eating what we've been eating all along with no changes--NOT! I guess what I meant was, other than cutting down on calories I could lose weight without difficulty on WW, for example, except for the fact that I was STARVING all the time. On WW, people can eat whatever they want (I am NOT advocating low cal/low fat/high carb--just comparing ) but just limit the cals for the day via point system. So, it seems that there's a lot of tweaking going on (cheese, nuts, lc products, art. sweeteners, raising fat, lowering fat, raising cals, lowering cals, raising carbs...) and it didn't seem like a lot of tweaking had to be done with WW. I would NEVER go back to WW, I love eating this way (LC), but thought it was interesting...

Nicole

I think I know what you are saying Nicole. Since Atkins isn't a calorie based diet, people feel there must be a lot of other reasons/options that their weight loss tapers off (and DANDR supports this). However, it is always an option to cut calories and increase exericse, but that is scary to a lot of us because it sounds like the 'same old' advice we've heard all our lives and were unable to follow successfully (success defined as losing weight and keeping it off).

Bingo, Quest!! That's about what I was trying to say. I don't mind cutting calories as long as I don't feel hungry, which would be an insane idea while following something like WW, but very doable on LC. I went thru a spell where I wasn't eating enough on a daily basis. I went crazy on the frankenfoods this past week (Sat - Fri) and I was hungry all the time and craving...bad situation...I even gained 5 lbs! Cut out all the crud and went right back to Induction foods and in 2 days I've lost 3 of those pounds. Since I went back to I. levels I feel sooo much better and I'm hoping the cravings are gone (for f.f.) and I can taste ketosis so I'm hoping the reduction in appetite will come soon!

I think I'll bring my copy of DANDR to work and read again I've read it sooo many times, but once more won't hurt

I started re-reading DANDR last night also. My daughter was surprised to see me picking it up after 10 months on the WOE and asked if I was feeling the need for inspiration...LOL....the answer to that is YEP.

Earlier in the thread someone asked what is essential to being able to say we are following Atkins. Someone said the crucial thing is to be eating low-carb. But isn't it equally crucial to be eating a relatively high fat diet? Atkins specifically says that you cannot do a low fat version of his diet, because the science of it depends on the effect of eating fat on the metabolism.

Interesting thread, folks. No, I did not pinch my knuckles (I did look at them, though)! Nicole, I just recently came off of WW. I started on January 8th, faithfully followed my points, and lost 2.4 pounds in 2 months! I thought I was absolutely going to starve to death! I will never understand the WW people who bash low-carb as being a diet of depreviation! I never felt so deprived in my life as I did during those 2 months! When it's 6:00 in the evening and you have no points left for dinner, what do you do? I'm not bashing WW either. Sure, all of the "diets" out there have incredible success stories to boast, but I think it's all a YMMV thing. I agree, there is definitely no "magic bullet," because I've tried them all! Incidently, I did lose almost 30 pounds on Atkins before. I blame my failure to "over-tweaking." You know, here a tweak, there a tweak, everywhere a tweak, tweak! I think to manage this program, you have to get informed (read the book) and stay informed! I know exactly what I did the first time and why it failed for me. Basically, during all my "tweaking," I went back to eating the way I did before Atkins. One thing I didn't have before was this forum. I didn't have family support either (although my husband is being very supportive this time). I think I could live without the family support, but I'm not sure I could live without this forum!

here a tweak, there a tweak, everywhere a tweak, tweak!, Old Mcdonald had a farm...but on this farm he only grows all natural organic foods and mostly protien with carbs in the form of vegetables...
Love it!!

Well, I know it's heresy but here goes.....I believe I'm successful with Atkins because the higher level of protein satisfies my hunger and lower carbs especially high glycemic stuff as well as frankenfoods and especially avoiding sugar allow me to control my cravings and resist eating particularly in the evening. If I do this I lose weight. It also helps me to maintain my weight without gaining as I can even eat a little heavier some days if I want and, although I will not lose then, I will not gain. This all goes to say that although calories aren't all alike they absolutely do matter. OK, fire away.....

Hey, Archie, sing to us! At least you picked out the right tune (pretty obvious, I guess).

I think you sum it all up pretty well! You're doing great, BTW!

Last night I was watching Dateline and they were catching up with six folks who had lost weight on different programs for a high school reunion. They were talking about how important it was not just to lose weight, but to be able to maintain that weight loss and make what you were doing a true WOL. It struck me that some of those folks were not doing programs that would facilitate anything more than a short term fix, which often leads to gaining back the weight because it isn't a real change. 5 out of the 6 people had gained some of the weight back.

I think that for folks who are planning to eat low carb for the long haul, there is necessary tweaking, as well as figuring out what are "legal" add ins. The expert last night's comment is that you have to choose to change, and more importantly create a program that allows you to stick with it over time. She also said that ultimately everyone needs to figure out what works for them and that most people who lose weight successfully end up basing their choices on a set plan, but modify it to suit their own needs. The problem is that most folks don't stick with their program because they look at it as a diet, not a WOL. So if you can pick a program and tweak it enough where you are losing weight then able to maintain that healthy weight, that is what will keep you healthy. So I think tweaking is good and necessary as long as it means that you are still losing weight or at least not gaining anything back.

That's not heresy at all. Why do you think Dr. Atkins said to eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed? It's not just calories, though; carbs trigger that darn insulin response, making you hungry AND storing fat. Good if you're a bear getting ready to hibernate for the winter, I guess, but bad for us.

As to the original question, I think a lot of the so-called tweaks and issues with the diet are mentioned in DANDR. The water loss, the loss slowing over time, the need to self-diagnose, etc., are things he discusses. All of that implies pretty strongly that what works for one person won't work for another. What we have as a common basis is one thing: a low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet.

This cracked me up because, while I have pretty much given up potatoes (maybe some mashed once a year or so), I've had regular desserts (small portions) twice while on Atkins and will probably have one every few months or so.

suddenly i want to change the nutritional plan in my profile as "UnDeRGrOuNd aTkIn2" lol... sounds cooler than plain old Atkins