Atkins Diet Producing Major Health Turnaround

We all know how incredibly awesome the low-carb lifestyle is because so many of us have made it a regular part of our lives for months, years, even decades. But there are so many people who are finding out about this way of eating for the very first time week after week that it's fun to see their reaction to it.

While the Atkins diet has been promoted primarily for weight loss (which it does an amazing job of producing--180 pounds lost on it for me!), just as impressive is the way it helps bring about major improvements in the health of the people who are doing it as well.

Such is the case with an e-mail I received this week from a woman who began livin' la vida low-carb to help with her myriad of physical issues. Despite having a typical case of what is affectionately referred to as the Atkins flu (it means you're doing low-carb EXACTLY right!), this precious person couldn't be more giddy with excitement about her health turnaround thanks to Atkins.

Here's what she wrote in her e-mail:

I read your blog, and it helps me stay on track with the Atkins diet which I began a week and a half ago. I am still in the Induction phase, and I have had some side effects--mainly the only trouble so far is headaches and being very tired, but tonight I am headache free, and wide awake, so this could be that burst of energy I hear about. I'm hoping it is!

Despite the crummy side effects I have felt, there are other health issues I have been dealing with for over a year that are subsiding. I have struggled with my weight for most of my life, and have tried many things, all of which have failed.

I even tried medication, which left me with a host of new health issues--Raynaud's Phenomenon and erythromyalgia--both of which are peripheral nerve damage diseases.

One would cause my blood vessels to constrict in the slightest cool breeze or in an air-conditioned room and the other caused my blood vessels to contract in the slightest warmth, even cooking, touching a warm cup of coffee, getting a shower, etc.

It was all painful, my hands would become unbearable, and there was no happy medium with temperature, the slightest change would cause a flare.

My hearing also was affected, I have high blood pressure, very strong palpitations not only in my chest, but my neck and head as well. I am not sure if it was the medication which caused them all or if it was all inevitable. But I can honestly say that since starting the Atkins diet, I have noticed a drastic decrease in all of these conditions.

The flare ups are occurring less and less and I am able to tolerate temperature changes better, the hearing problem I had has improved, this tightened feeling that ran from my ear down to my neck has disappeared, and my blood pressure has gone down. Best of all, my heart palpitations are almost non-existent! Yeah!

I have lost 10 pounds in ten days, even though I was too tired to do much some days, and I hope to lose more. Despite the headaches and tiredness, I feel my overall health is improving and I wasn't expecting it to.

I started this hoping to lose some weight. But now I want to adopt the Atkins lifestyle permanently. Also the anxiety I have struggled with most of my life is completely gone, and for once, I can sleep at night. I don't just lay there for hours tossing and turning because my insomnia is gone.

It really doesn't surprise me that everything I have ever learned about health and nutrition were wrong. The very foods I was taught to limit are the ones that are saving me now.

I am 25 years old and I have previously felt so alone and doomed according to my doctor. I am too young to have health problems, so they don't look as closely at someone my age for problems or take as seriously because I don't fit the profile.

I don't need my blood pressure medication anymore, and I can't wait to tell my doctor the kind of diet that I used to lowered it. ;)

I just wanted to share my story, although I haven't been on this diet long, because I can already see the improvements.

Isn't that just remarkable?! Where's the media reporting of THESE kind of positive results from livin' la vida low-carb, hmmm? If a 25-year old is getting her health in order by eating this way, then why not recommend it for a 15, 35, 55, or even 75-year old who is suffering from illnesses that could be improved by it as well?

We're at the point where the preponderance of the evidence, both scientifically and anecdotally, is clearly showing the low-carb lifestyle is an excellent way both to lower your weight and bring about improvements in your health.

Whether it is lower blood pressure, dealing with hyperinsulinemia, helping teenagers effectively shed the pounds, controlling blood sugars, improving HDL "good" cholesterol and triglycerides, helping with heart health, treating diabetes...I could go on and on.

We know the truth and so do those who are put in charge of protecting public health. The only difference is they won't share the truth with you--but I will! This woman who has begun this new journey for herself is exhibiting the truth with her life and there are millions more just like her who need to start livin' la vida low-carb, too!

If you are thinking about low-carb as a lifestyle change and have any questions about it, then please don't hesitate to contact me anytime via e-mail at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

Getting Through The Atkins Induction Flu

I wish I had a dollar everytime I heard one of the following:

"Why do I feel so rundown on the Atkins diet?

"Why did I get this massive headache starting low-carb?

"Why can't I feel good during the Induction phase of Atkins?"

"Will I ever feel 'normal' again being on low-carb?"

"Is the low-carb lifestyle worth all this pain?"

I suppose if you go on a low-carb diet for two days and suddenly quit, then you probably have fallen prey to the notion that how you feel early on in the beginning stages of livin' la vida low-carb is how you will ALWAYS feel eating this way. Take it from someone who has been through that difficult aspect of the Atkins diet, it doesn't last very long at all.

If you have read my book about my 180-pound low-carb weight loss in 2004, then you know what life was like for me in the first few days of this new lifestyle change. Especially on day one when I quite literally wanted to kill myself that's how bad I felt, I didn't know if I was going to make it. Headaches, body aches, shivers, cold sweating, dizziness, nausea...sound familiar anyone?

Just like a drug addict who is taken off of the culprit in their addiction, so too must a carbohydrate and sugar addict be weaned off of unnecessary carbs. It's a necessary step for anyone who wants to lose weight and get healthy the low-carb way. Best of all is that it is only a temporary feeling that quickly gets better once the Atkins Induction flu passes.

My friend Kent Altena who, like me, used to weigh over 400 pounds and lost 200 pounds on the Atkins diet has been sharing videos about this way of life to help educate people. His videos so far include "How to do Induction," "What You Can Eat on Induction," and "What About Loose Skin After Atkins Weight Loss?"

This latest video addresses the issue of the Atkins Induction flu:

INDUCTION FLU: SIGNS OF PROBLEMS OR PROGRESS?



Kent said his Atkins Induction flu lasted an unusually long 3 1/2 weeks, but that's not typical. Mine, for example, was about three days before I started feeling like my old self again. Once you get past this minor bump in the road at the beginning of low-carb living, the rest is a breeze in comparison. And it is ALL WORTH IT to get through this temporary discomfort. The proof is in the results that both Kent and I have experienced.

I get amused when people tell me that people who eat low-carb are always angry and fly in a rage. LOL! No, I think that would be the people who eat a low-fat diet because they're STARVING! Hee hee! Na na na na na, I get to eat this steak while you're stuck sucking on carrot sticks with fat-free dip. Mmmmm...NOT!

No, as Kent so beautifully illustrates in his video, other than the first few days or weeks, low-carb is not that bad. But you will go through the pain up front, so BE READY FOR IT! Don't let it knock you off course because this is arguably the most important part of livin' la vida low-carb you will go through. Be tough and make it through. You WILL survive and be successful on the Atkins diet if you simply persevere in the early days.

I was just talking with a friend of mine last night at dinner and he was simply amazed by the paradigm shift that has happened to me. As I was describing to him my former eating habits compared to what I do now, he was captivated. How in the world do you go from eating a whole box of Little Debbie snack cakes in one sitting to refusing to eat ANY sugar? How can you drink upwards of 16-20 cans of Coca-Cola per day and change that to water and diet soda? That's the miraculous changes that happen both physically and mentally when you start livin' la vida low-carb.

Kent admits eating this way "is a dramatic change, and some people resist change" because they are unwilling to go through what it takes to become the success that will inevitably come to anyone willing to put forth the effort. Get through those first few days of Induction to get your body into fat-burning mode and the pages of your low-carb weight loss success story will begin in earnest.

Be sure to leave any feedback regarding this video at Kent's blog so he can address any questions or concerns you may have about what he said. THANKS again, Kent! ANOTHER great video my friend! Keep 'em rolling!