Guest guest Posted January 1, 2003 Report Share Posted January 1, 2003 Hey Group, Well, It's a new year and my primary resolution is to lose about 20 pounds. I've been reading Dr. Atkin's book on how to lose weight by reducing carbohydrates. He says that America's diet has changed over the years and consists of too many refined carbohydrates such as those found in processed foods with refined sugars, starches and enriched flours. While I guess I agree with his position, as a vegetarian I am having difficulty coming up with a low carb diet that doesn't include meat. If I eliminate most fruits, breads, grains, most dairy products and starchy vegetables, there is not much left to eat. I spent $150 at the grocery store today buying only foods that less than 10 carbohydrates per serving. While I may not be able to follow the diet completely, I would think reducing carbs would be a good thing. Have any other vegetarians in the group tried this diet? If so, what was your experience? I'm committed to losing weight and appreciate anything you can suggest. Thanks. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 1, 2003 Report Share Posted January 1, 2003 Richard, check out my email to this group on 12/29/02. It details how I lost 39 lbs during the year using the soy zone diet of Dr Barry Sears. It's not as protein heavy as Adkins. Dave Richard wrote... >>...Have any other vegetarians in the group tried this diet? If so, what was your experience? I'm committed to losing weight and appreciate anything you can suggest. Thanks. Richard<< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 1, 2003 Report Share Posted January 1, 2003 " SirLancelot9 " <SirLancelot9@i...> wrote: > While I may not be able to > follow the diet completely, I would think reducing carbs would be a good > thing. Nothing wrong with reducing carbe, but please please PLEASE check your ketones regularly if you’re going to do Atkins, and do remember to add the carbs back in when you’re allowed to (many people don’t, cuz they’re so thrilled with the results they get in the first few weeks of almost no carbs). Do some research – there are still significant concerns about the risks associated with the high protein/low carb diet Adkins advocates. Personally, I can’t believe that intentionally kicking your body into ketosis can be a good thing, but that’s just me. I’m not a big believer in “diets” of any kind. The only way I’ve found to lose weight in a healthy manner and maintain it has been to change my eating habits in ways that I can (and intend to) maintain, and increasing my activity level. > I'm committed to losing weight and appreciate > anything you can suggest. Have you tried watching your fat calorie intake? I’ve had the best success this way, and honestly after a couple of weeks of missing the taste, I find myself cringing when I smell anything high fat cooking. My palate changes enough to make high fat food seem “icky” I guess. My room mate has has remarkable success by stopping eating anything where more than 10% of the calories come from fat – not the whole recipe, but each individual ingredient. Yep, that means no more butter, cheese, etc, because they’re all high fat, but once you get past the initial cravings its not that difficult to do and there are great alternatives available (like straining yogurt and using in place of butter or other high fat things that are “spread on bread”, cooking with broths instead of oils, steaming rather than sautéing, etc). Also, many people have great success with grazing as opposed to eating one or two large meals/day; just keep the fridge stocked with things that are easy to grab and munch on. We spend one day/week doing massive amounts of cooking and food prep: washing and chopping veggies, making tabouleh, couscous and other salads, and a variety of things that we can just grab and go all day long. I really need to start doing that again…… -- Sherri If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 As we all know (and have heard lamented on this list) diet and nutrition information is often controversial and has a wide scope of opinion. I know some people swear by Atkins and Sears and swear it works for them--and this is great. I don't believe that the same diet works for every person. However, my college nutrition teacher was highly opposed to these diets for various reasons; he felt they were too high fat, relied on too much meat (soy zone obviously is an exception), eliminated an extremely important food group (carbs), and placed the body at risk due to too much protein (ketosis, potential kidney damage, gout, kidney stones, and heart damage). Also, if you are female high-protein diets can put one at an increased risk for osteoporosis, as too much protein can cause a negative calcium balance in your body--causing you to leech calcium from your bones. (Dave did point out though, that Soy Zone is not as high-protein as Barry Sears' original Zone diet.) Dave said the Soy Zone diet worked great for him and he feels great--which is wonderful and I wouldn't doubt him. But I wanted to post a couple things of an opinion in the opposite direction just to inform. I'm not trying to cause a debate or argument on this list as I truly believe that the best diet is the one that makes you feel great, feel healthy, and maintain a healthy weight, and is above all--workable for your life. I don't personally think that carbohydrates are inherently evil. What the diets most often have in common (and is what probably the element that makes them successful for weight-loss and health) is an aversion to REFINED carbohydrates (white sugar, white flour, etc) and an aversion to overly-processed foods. I guess what I'm saying is what works for some will not work for all, so it's good to be informed of the choices. http://www.cspinet.org/nah/11_02/bigfatlies.pdf http://www.drmcdougall.com/ http://www.drmcdougall.com/debate.html SirLancelot9 [sirLancelot9] Wednesday, January 01, 2003 5:50 PM Dr. Adkins Diet Hey Group, Well, It's a new year and my primary resolution is to lose about 20 pounds. I've been reading Dr. Atkin's book on how to lose weight by reducing carbohydrates. He says that America's diet has changed over the years and consists of too many refined carbohydrates such as those found in processed foods with refined sugars, starches and enriched flours. While I guess I agree with his position, as a vegetarian I am having difficulty coming up with a low carb diet that doesn't include meat. If I eliminate most fruits, breads, grains, most dairy products and starchy vegetables, there is not much left to eat. I spent $150 at the grocery store today buying only foods that less than 10 carbohydrates per serving. While I may not be able to follow the diet completely, I would think reducing carbs would be a good thing. Have any other vegetarians in the group tried this diet? If so, what was your experience? I'm committed to losing weight and appreciate anything you can suggest. Thanks. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 Ray, Your email is well put together and quite informative without playing games with words. A comment for what it's worth: The cspinet article is from the " Center for Science in the Public Interest. " I've supported that group headed by Michael Jacobson with donations for over 10 yrs because for the investigative work they do regarding food and nutrition. However, the CSPI is the driving force behind the recent movement to ban Quorn in the US by the FDA. Everything sounded quite objective until reports began hitting the press that Jacobson was closely linked with the head of the company producing the Gardenburger. I contacted Jacobson personally for a response. Needless to say, it was less that satisfactory. What does this all mean? Well, I've trusted CSPI for a long time, but today, I'm unsure about what kind of agenda really is behind his/their stated purpose. Dave Maija.Ray [Maija.Ray] Thursday, January 02, 2003 7:12 AM RE: Dr. Adkins Diet As we all know (and have heard lamented on this list) diet and nutrition information is often controversial and has a wide scope of opinion. I know some people swear by Atkins and Sears and swear it works for them--and this is great. I don't believe that the same diet works for every person. However, my college nutrition teacher was highly opposed to these diets for various reasons; he felt they were too high fat, relied on too much meat (soy zone obviously is an exception), eliminated an extremely important food group (carbs), and placed the body at risk due to too much protein (ketosis, potential kidney damage, gout, kidney stones, and heart damage). Also, if you are female high-protein diets can put one at an increased risk for osteoporosis, as too much protein can cause a negative calcium balance in your body--causing you to leech calcium from your bones. (Dave did point out though, that Soy Zone is not as high-protein as Barry Sears' original Zone diet.) Dave said the Soy Zone diet worked great for him and he feels great--which is wonderful and I wouldn't doubt him. But I wanted to post a couple things of an opinion in the opposite direction just to inform. I'm not trying to cause a debate or argument on this list as I truly believe that the best diet is the one that makes you feel great, feel healthy, and maintain a healthy weight, and is above all--workable for your life. I don't personally think that carbohydrates are inherently evil. What the diets most often have in common (and is what probably the element that makes them successful for weight-loss and health) is an aversion to REFINED carbohydrates (white sugar, white flour, etc) and an aversion to overly-processed foods. I guess what I'm saying is what works for some will not work for all, so it's good to be informed of the choices. http://www.cspinet.org/nah/11_02/bigfatlies.pdf http://www.drmcdougall.com/ http://www.drmcdougall.com/debate.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 On Wed, 1 Jan 2003, SirLancelot9 wrote: > thing. Have any other vegetarians in the group tried this diet? If so, > what was your experience? I'm committed to losing weight and appreciate > anything you can suggest. Thanks. Hi Richard, I'd really like to warn you against the Atkin's diet, as you've mentioned it's very vegetarian unfriendly & high in fat products (such as meat). Dr Atkin's himself recently had a heart attack which I'm sure had nothing to do with a diet high in fat and animal protien . Any fad diet can be dangerous. I know a couple of people who have tried various diets and as soon as they came off them they put the weight back on. The best way to keep excess weight off is to have a healthy lifestyle and diet overall. I will try to find some articles for you on this that I have read & will forward them on if you like. For losing weight, I must admit I naturally have a high metabolism & have never been on a weight loss diet. However I think if you try to elliminate highly processed foods, foods that are high in saturated fat, junky foods and not over eat you should be okay. Also if you replace junky stuff you are eating with nourishing things it will help. For example eat fruit instead of lollies or sweets, lowfat products where possible, use raw sugar in baking rather than refined sugar (and don't use lots of sugar anyway) or wholemeal flour rather than white. Also a bit of excerise wouldn't go astray, simple things like walking to the local store instead of driving or using the stairs instead of a lift are really easy ways to incorperate more excersise into your life. I know I need to get fitter & tried to do these things & it did help me physically. Another suggestion I have is maybe talking to a nutritionist, I don't know how much you weigh, maybe you are in a normal ratio for your hight without realising it, and a nutritionist will probably have some good ideas to help you have a healthier diet or lose weight effectively. good luck. Regards to the fish, LisA ICQ#: 15562604 *** www.gu.uwa.edu.au/clubs/vegies *** " I think---therefore I'm single... " -Lizz Winstead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 ok. here's my two cents: My girlfriend had been on the adkin's diet and ended up taking a whole bunch of supplements to moderate the chaos she was causing in her body. I know that she mentioned Ketosis and was taking a bunch of other pills for other stuff... seemed to me to be a whole lot of trauma to her system. The weight did come off, but all she ate was meat, cheese, water and pills. Made me crazy. -dawn , Lisa Green <moonbug@u...> wrote: > On Wed, 1 Jan 2003, SirLancelot9 wrote: > > > thing. Have any other vegetarians in the group tried this diet? If so, > > what was your experience? I'm committed to losing weight and appreciate > > anything you can suggest. Thanks. > > Hi Richard, > > I'd really like to warn you against the Atkin's diet, as you've mentioned > it's very vegetarian unfriendly & high in fat products (such as meat). Dr > Atkin's himself recently had a heart attack which I'm sure had nothing to > do with a diet high in fat and animal protien . Any fad diet can be > dangerous. I know a couple of people who have tried various diets and as > soon as they came off them they put the weight back on. The best way to > keep excess weight off is to have a healthy lifestyle and diet overall. I > will try to find some articles for you on this that I have read & will > forward them on if you like. > > For losing weight, I must admit I naturally have a high metabolism & have > never been on a weight loss diet. However I think if you try to elliminate > highly processed foods, foods that are high in saturated fat, junky foods > and not over eat you should be okay. > > Also if you replace junky stuff you are eating with nourishing things it > will help. For example eat fruit instead of lollies or sweets, lowfat > products where possible, use raw sugar in baking rather than refined sugar > (and don't use lots of sugar anyway) or wholemeal flour rather than white. > > Also a bit of excerise wouldn't go astray, simple things like walking to > the local store instead of driving or using the stairs instead of a lift > are really easy ways to incorperate more excersise into your life. I know > I need to get fitter & tried to do these things & it did help me > physically. > > Another suggestion I have is maybe talking to a nutritionist, I don't know > how much you weigh, maybe you are in a normal ratio for your hight without > realising it, and a nutritionist will probably have some good ideas to > help you have a healthier diet or lose weight effectively. > > good luck. > > Regards to the fish, > LisA > ICQ#: 15562604 > *** www.gu.uwa.edu.au/clubs/vegies *** > > " I think---therefore I'm single... " > -Lizz Winstead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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