Joe and Don,

I sincerely hope that the diet you're following will make you feel better and bring good changes to your lives IN THE LONG TERM. It's a good thing that you are beeing followed by a doctor, 'cause he is supposed to take into account your particular body condition. But I personally wouldn't listen to just one opinion. Dr. Atkins plan is very controversial among the medical community, and when I have the choice of a wiser more natural path, I won't certainly follow the risky ones.

Here are just some examples of the reasons for disagreement: http://info.getbulky.com/weightloss/00013.html http://content.health.msn.com/content/pages/7/3220_136#Say

Some comments about Joe's post: there is no mistery in your much better looking glucose readings: you're drastically cutting down the "natural" sources of glucose, and obtaining your energy from body ketones. One of the ketosis state well known consequences is the reduction of appetite, so I'm not surprised you mention this. My point here is: all this can be achieved in a smooth and SAFE way. Beeing a diabetic, if you carefully moderate the amount of foods that provide glucose to your body (carbohydrates) and take some natural (or synthetic) appetite reducer you'll get the same result over a more extended period of time at NO risk and virtually at NO cost. You don't need starvation and certainly don't need to buy Atkins pills. I doubt that you have more energy now than before; the energy now is coming from other sources than the usual glucose derived from carbohydrates. Actually, in the first weeks of the diet, the huge weight loss is mainly a water weight loss and the carbohydrates stored in your muscles. Later on, this weight loss will be produced by fat (stored in your body) burning. So there is a tendency for muscle mass reduction and in fact this diet is highly incompatible with strong physical activity. What I guess you might be experiencing is a sensation of being lighter than ever, due to violent weight loss, and this of course makes light exercise easier, masking a real muscle weakening.

Joe: it's also curious to see what you call "basic foods" (like meat, fish, eggs, cheeses). I don't know what's your criteria for "basic", but from the point of view of early man's eating pattern, the basic foods are fruits, vegetable, grains, all sources of carbohydrates (and fiber). And Atkins forbids a "normal intake" of vegetables and fruits, whose benefits for human health are solidly recognized by experts.

In conclusion: I believe we live a major part of our lives maintaining wrong and unbalanced nutrition habits, and end up paying for a risky cure, with uncertain consequences in the long term, when we could follow an easy, and $ free route: maintaining frugal eating habits and exercising is much less expensive, and we save big money not having to buy Atkins pills. But I also came to know the (actually MY) reasons for an overweight tendency : our increasingly sendentary lifestyle and the massive pressure of consumption habits. Excessive food consumption and later on... pill consumption. I find it ironic. I can also tell you, from my own experience, that periods of neglecting healthy eating habits are related with excessive work and sometimes some kind of frustration. When my work doesn't go well or I have too much of it, I eat more and in an unbalanced way.

Sorry if I sound too patternalist, but I gave the subject a serious though and am just sharing my thoughts. Sincerely: good luck and please share with us some pictures of your new look!

-- José.

[This message has been edited by matias (edited 05-13-2003).]