Why Does The Media Continue To Lie About Atkins?
With summertime upon us, many media outlets are offering their analysis of various weight loss programs for people to try so they can fit into their bathing suit. This News.com.au article takes a look at a few "diet" plans, including their take on Atkins. As you can imagine, they don't paint a rosy picture.
Describing the foods you can eat on Atkins, the story lists "fish, shellfish, eggs, meat, chicken, and three cups of carbohydrate-low veggies." Is that all? Gee, if all I could ever eat on low-carb were THOSE foods, then I guess I would go crazy on it. Thankfully, there's a lot more to livin' la vida low-carb than that.
The article incorrectly asserts that you can only have "20g of carbohydrate (equal to a small slice of bread or a piece of fruit) a day" while on Atkins. Not so. Actually that is only for the first two weeks while you are on Induction so you can kickstart your body into ketosis. This is the fat-burning mode that you body needs to be at so you can lose lots of lots of weight!
It is essential to start with only 20 carbs, but you don't stay there. The good news is you slowly start adding back carbs in increments of ten until you reach a level of carbs that still allows you to lose weight. For some people that number can be as high as 80-100 carbs per day! WOO HOO! For others, they cannot eat more than 20-30 carbs. It all depends on the individual about how many carbs they can eat. I get PLENTY of carbs in the foods I eat, which generally add up to around 50 per day. Believe me, I don't miss all those extra carbs I used to consume!
"Life on Atkins means bacon and eggs brekkies and salads garnished with bacon bits and grated cheese - surely every dieter's dream come true."
Yes, you can have those foods on Atkins, but that's not all we eat. Again, if I was forced to eat just that for every single meal, then I would not have been successful following this plan. It was the VARIETY of low-carb that attracted me to it.
"What you can't eat on Atkins includes fruit, bread, pasta, grains, starchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, cream, butter and other dairy products (except cheese)."
Here we go again! This kind of purposeful dishonesty by the media is why I do what I do at this blog. I have said it plenty of times before, but you can eat fruits such as strawberries and blueberries, among others, delicious low-carb breads from Atkins, the best-tasting low-carb pasta from Dreamfields, grains from the multigrain low-carb breads, nutrient-filled vegetables such as green beens, salad and more, satisfying nuts such as macadamia, almonds and peanuts, as well as seeds including sunflower that are found in GoLower nut bars, and delicious REAL cream and REAL butter that you just can't have on low-fat diets.
How can a media outlet be so ignorant about what low-carb is if they can't even tell people the truth about Atkins? I give them credit for listing legumes on the list of no-nos. But you really should stay away from legumes, or potatoes, because they are loaded with carbs, although they are making a low-carb version of that now!
Explaining how Atkins works, the article states "bread is banned but fat is fabulous" because "it causes the body to enter a state called ketosis, which means you switch from using glucose for energy, and start burning fat."
Okay, maybe the article is starting to "get" it.
Unfortunate side effects can include constipation and bad breath. Phew!
I guess not. What an incredibly lame excuse for not doing a low-carb lifestyle. I've never had a problem with constipation since I drink a gallon or two of water every day. That'll keep your body well flushed and constipation will not be a problem. As for "bad breath," all I can say it pop a mint if it bothers you. But the existence of this sweet breath should excite you because it means you are burning lots and lots of fat. WOO HOO!
Then, the self-proclaimed staff "expert" gave his conclusion about the effectiveness of the Atkins lifestyle for losing weight.
"The reason you lose weight is because you're losing water and glucose stores. And it comes with risks. You won't be eating enough veggies, which means you're in a high-risk category for bowel cancer. Even though cholesterol levels come down in the short term, they tend to come back up again. The high meat intake seems to increase aggressiveness - people tend to be in a bad mood when they're on the Atkins. And because you're cutting out whole food groups, you'll be missing out on nutrients. It's just another way of controlling your energy intake - but a lot less safe than many other ways of eating."
Where do we start with this gobbleygook of idiocy?
First, the lost of water and glucose is not a bad thing is it? I'm sure that's where most of the weight I lost initially came from, but it's got to get out of you first so you can start losing fat. The complaint that all you lose is "water weight" on Atkins is just simply ridiculous. Did I lose 180 pounds of water?! Not hardly. Enjoy your "water weight" loss because it is a positive sign of good things to come.
Second, the risks people keep repeating about doing Atkins are just not conclusive enough at this point for people to declare whether or not they exist. I am confident that the risks associated with being obese are far worse than any imagined risks of low-carb programs. There needs to be more studies on low-carb in the coming years so we can get the whole truth about these supposed risks we often hear repeated without any proof to back up those claims. We need a moratorium on warning people about the risks of low-carb until these studies can be conducted.
Third, if you are not eating enough veggies, then that's your own fault. If you are eating cauliflower, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes and other wonderful vegetables, then you have nothing to worry about bowel cancer. How many Americans actually get these foods in their daily food intake right now anyway? Why are we lashing out at a program that is attempting to help people lose weight to overcome their obesity when the real problem is with the poor food choices many people are eating to make them gain weight? Our priorities in this debate over weight are turned completely upside down.
Fourth, the warning about cholesterol levels may be unfounded based on recent findings about the correlation between cholesterol and heart disease. But this is yet another scare tactic designed to keep people from doing Atkins. The best part of doing Atkins is to see your triglycerides plummet and your good cholesterol go way up. After 1 1/2 years on low-carb, my triglycerides are 52 and my good cholesterol is at 72! Not bad considering they used to be 347 and 31 respectively! So much for my cholesterol getting worse on low-carb! LOL!
Fifth, the notion that eating meat causes more "aggressiveness" is about the most ridiculous assertion I have ever heard from one of these health experts. I guess he thinks we are all savages who dine on succulent pieces of animal flesh grilled to perfection. Sheeez! The only time I'm in a "bad mood" is when I can't eat my fair share of steaks, hamburgers, bacon, sausage, chicken, turkey and more! Arggg! What is most sad about this is people will actually believe it is true about low-carb. How dopey do you have to be to buy into crap like this?!
Sixth, you're not "cutting out whole food groups" when you are on Atkins. You don't. If the expert is referring to carbs, then I get plenty of carbs each and every day. What are you cutting out completely? Sugar maybe. And carb-loaded foods like rice and potatoes. But "whole food groups?" You're not doing that. You are actually cleaning up your food choices to make them more compatible for weight loss and eventual weight maintenance. Learning good nutritional eating habits is important for anyone wanting to get thin and stay thin. Low-carb did that for me.
Seventh, what's not "safe" about low-carb? We keep hearing this over and over again, but nobody has shown me any scientific evidence apart from their own personal bias and opinion that low-carb is anything but an incredibly healthy and effective way for people to lose weight, keep it off, and improve their health. Conjecture does not impress me nor does innuendo.
If Atkins and other low-carb plans are so bad for you, then why haven't they been banned by the Food and Drug Administration? Don't you know if these programs are as "unhealthy" for you as their opponents claim that they would immediately be forced to cease distribution of materials and resources related to them. But that's not happening because livin' la vida low-carb is not dangerous or risky or harmful or any of that. It's a way of life that millions upon millions of us have chosen.
Come join the greatest weight loss plan in the world! It's livin' la vida low-carb!
Describing the foods you can eat on Atkins, the story lists "fish, shellfish, eggs, meat, chicken, and three cups of carbohydrate-low veggies." Is that all? Gee, if all I could ever eat on low-carb were THOSE foods, then I guess I would go crazy on it. Thankfully, there's a lot more to livin' la vida low-carb than that.
The article incorrectly asserts that you can only have "20g of carbohydrate (equal to a small slice of bread or a piece of fruit) a day" while on Atkins. Not so. Actually that is only for the first two weeks while you are on Induction so you can kickstart your body into ketosis. This is the fat-burning mode that you body needs to be at so you can lose lots of lots of weight!
It is essential to start with only 20 carbs, but you don't stay there. The good news is you slowly start adding back carbs in increments of ten until you reach a level of carbs that still allows you to lose weight. For some people that number can be as high as 80-100 carbs per day! WOO HOO! For others, they cannot eat more than 20-30 carbs. It all depends on the individual about how many carbs they can eat. I get PLENTY of carbs in the foods I eat, which generally add up to around 50 per day. Believe me, I don't miss all those extra carbs I used to consume!
"Life on Atkins means bacon and eggs brekkies and salads garnished with bacon bits and grated cheese - surely every dieter's dream come true."
Yes, you can have those foods on Atkins, but that's not all we eat. Again, if I was forced to eat just that for every single meal, then I would not have been successful following this plan. It was the VARIETY of low-carb that attracted me to it.
"What you can't eat on Atkins includes fruit, bread, pasta, grains, starchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, cream, butter and other dairy products (except cheese)."
Here we go again! This kind of purposeful dishonesty by the media is why I do what I do at this blog. I have said it plenty of times before, but you can eat fruits such as strawberries and blueberries, among others, delicious low-carb breads from Atkins, the best-tasting low-carb pasta from Dreamfields, grains from the multigrain low-carb breads, nutrient-filled vegetables such as green beens, salad and more, satisfying nuts such as macadamia, almonds and peanuts, as well as seeds including sunflower that are found in GoLower nut bars, and delicious REAL cream and REAL butter that you just can't have on low-fat diets.
How can a media outlet be so ignorant about what low-carb is if they can't even tell people the truth about Atkins? I give them credit for listing legumes on the list of no-nos. But you really should stay away from legumes, or potatoes, because they are loaded with carbs, although they are making a low-carb version of that now!
Explaining how Atkins works, the article states "bread is banned but fat is fabulous" because "it causes the body to enter a state called ketosis, which means you switch from using glucose for energy, and start burning fat."
Okay, maybe the article is starting to "get" it.
Unfortunate side effects can include constipation and bad breath. Phew!
I guess not. What an incredibly lame excuse for not doing a low-carb lifestyle. I've never had a problem with constipation since I drink a gallon or two of water every day. That'll keep your body well flushed and constipation will not be a problem. As for "bad breath," all I can say it pop a mint if it bothers you. But the existence of this sweet breath should excite you because it means you are burning lots and lots of fat. WOO HOO!
Then, the self-proclaimed staff "expert" gave his conclusion about the effectiveness of the Atkins lifestyle for losing weight.
"The reason you lose weight is because you're losing water and glucose stores. And it comes with risks. You won't be eating enough veggies, which means you're in a high-risk category for bowel cancer. Even though cholesterol levels come down in the short term, they tend to come back up again. The high meat intake seems to increase aggressiveness - people tend to be in a bad mood when they're on the Atkins. And because you're cutting out whole food groups, you'll be missing out on nutrients. It's just another way of controlling your energy intake - but a lot less safe than many other ways of eating."
Where do we start with this gobbleygook of idiocy?
First, the lost of water and glucose is not a bad thing is it? I'm sure that's where most of the weight I lost initially came from, but it's got to get out of you first so you can start losing fat. The complaint that all you lose is "water weight" on Atkins is just simply ridiculous. Did I lose 180 pounds of water?! Not hardly. Enjoy your "water weight" loss because it is a positive sign of good things to come.
Second, the risks people keep repeating about doing Atkins are just not conclusive enough at this point for people to declare whether or not they exist. I am confident that the risks associated with being obese are far worse than any imagined risks of low-carb programs. There needs to be more studies on low-carb in the coming years so we can get the whole truth about these supposed risks we often hear repeated without any proof to back up those claims. We need a moratorium on warning people about the risks of low-carb until these studies can be conducted.
Third, if you are not eating enough veggies, then that's your own fault. If you are eating cauliflower, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes and other wonderful vegetables, then you have nothing to worry about bowel cancer. How many Americans actually get these foods in their daily food intake right now anyway? Why are we lashing out at a program that is attempting to help people lose weight to overcome their obesity when the real problem is with the poor food choices many people are eating to make them gain weight? Our priorities in this debate over weight are turned completely upside down.
Fourth, the warning about cholesterol levels may be unfounded based on recent findings about the correlation between cholesterol and heart disease. But this is yet another scare tactic designed to keep people from doing Atkins. The best part of doing Atkins is to see your triglycerides plummet and your good cholesterol go way up. After 1 1/2 years on low-carb, my triglycerides are 52 and my good cholesterol is at 72! Not bad considering they used to be 347 and 31 respectively! So much for my cholesterol getting worse on low-carb! LOL!
Fifth, the notion that eating meat causes more "aggressiveness" is about the most ridiculous assertion I have ever heard from one of these health experts. I guess he thinks we are all savages who dine on succulent pieces of animal flesh grilled to perfection. Sheeez! The only time I'm in a "bad mood" is when I can't eat my fair share of steaks, hamburgers, bacon, sausage, chicken, turkey and more! Arggg! What is most sad about this is people will actually believe it is true about low-carb. How dopey do you have to be to buy into crap like this?!
Sixth, you're not "cutting out whole food groups" when you are on Atkins. You don't. If the expert is referring to carbs, then I get plenty of carbs each and every day. What are you cutting out completely? Sugar maybe. And carb-loaded foods like rice and potatoes. But "whole food groups?" You're not doing that. You are actually cleaning up your food choices to make them more compatible for weight loss and eventual weight maintenance. Learning good nutritional eating habits is important for anyone wanting to get thin and stay thin. Low-carb did that for me.
Seventh, what's not "safe" about low-carb? We keep hearing this over and over again, but nobody has shown me any scientific evidence apart from their own personal bias and opinion that low-carb is anything but an incredibly healthy and effective way for people to lose weight, keep it off, and improve their health. Conjecture does not impress me nor does innuendo.
If Atkins and other low-carb plans are so bad for you, then why haven't they been banned by the Food and Drug Administration? Don't you know if these programs are as "unhealthy" for you as their opponents claim that they would immediately be forced to cease distribution of materials and resources related to them. But that's not happening because livin' la vida low-carb is not dangerous or risky or harmful or any of that. It's a way of life that millions upon millions of us have chosen.
Come join the greatest weight loss plan in the world! It's livin' la vida low-carb!
posted by Jimmy Moore at
6/08/2005 11:16:00 AM
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