People just don't get it

[cajunthunder]

Because everyone has different reasons as to how they got fat (I'm talking psychological reasons), how they end up losing will vary too. And unless you deal with the "whys" of gaining weight, you may just doom yourself to repeated failures. And it doesn't have to be some deep dark secret as to why you gained, it may be simple.... everyone is different.

Some people literally need someone holding their hand the whole way and telling them EXACTLY what they can put in their mouth, how much, when, etc... Food controlled them before, so they need someone to control their food, which is why I think some people go to Jenny Craig, etc.... and they probably lose weight.

But the minute they can't afford it anymore and they have to go back to making choices for themselves, they likely fail because they let the food take over control of their lives again.

It may end up on your thighs or your tummy or your butt, however, ultimately, I think it's all about what's in your head.

[G-Mom]

On a side note: there was a commercial on TV here the last couple of weeks for 'LA Weight Loss Centres' they had a girl doing a testimonial, with a picture of the 'heavier' her in the background and said 'Suzy' lost 45 lbs etc. I actually read the fine print below...and it said "This is not an actual testimonial, this is an actor and the before picture is computer enhanced to show and example of what a member can expect" I am floored they can do that!

Wow, their plan must work extraordinarily well that they couldn't find one person to represent them in a commercial! What, was no one attractive enough or something? Pathetic!

[Sarah1341]

I tried the LA Weight Loss Center :no . Ashamed to admit it. You were left feeling hungry all the time, they made you purchase their "nutritional weight loss bars" as a condition of the program, so in other words, you spend all of your money, still don't learn to eat properly and walk away broke, fat and unhappy. At least in my opinion. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I'm on the same page as Effie. I knew how to lose weight (I had great success on Atkins before resorting to this other plan), but I just didnt feel that I could control myself and my addiction to food. This made me accountable in that I had to show up there 3 times per week, give them a journal of what I had eaten every day since my last visit and I had to be weighed. Uggggh. I'm cringing just thinking about it.

[wannabethintoo]

So if you guys KNOW that the Atkins WOL is far supperior to the other "fad" diets then how did you get overweight in the first place? Were you not following the Atkins WOL and didn't you know better?

[not2late]

So if you guys KNOW that the Atkins WOL is far supperior to the other "fad" diets then how did you get overweight in the first place? Were you not following the Atkins WOL and didn't you know better?

I was always chubby. When I went to college, I gained the "Freshman 15" due to lousy eating habits: pizza, fries, etc. Throughout college, I continued gaining the "Freshman 15" every year. When I went to grad school, I gained more weight. Again, I wasn't eating properly and I was eating too much of the bad junky stuff.

I eventually decided enough was enough. My family has a habit of dropping dead of heart attacks or strokes due to our diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. So I became a low fat vegetarian....and proceeded to gain even more weight. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian (dairy and eggs). So I decided to eliminate all animal products because what little I was eating still had "evil" fat. So I became a low fat vegan. I didn't gain weight, but I didn't lose it either and I was hungry all the time.

After 2 years of low fat veganism, I decided to introduce lean meats into my diet and eat low fat. Again, I didn't gain any weight, but I didn't lose it.

Atkins is the ONLY diet in which I have lost weight. Moreover, Dr. Atkins wrote that some of his dieters noticed an improvement in asthma and allergy symptoms. Luckily, I'm one of those dieters. I'm down to one medication for my seasonal allergies and one medication for my asthma, which I really don't need to use.

That's why I know for my body, Atkins is a better diet than low fat diets, low fat vegetarian diets, low fat vegan diets. I not only lost weight, but more importantly, I'm not forced to take multiple prescription medications--and that's more than what other WOE have done for me.

Editing to add...

I never knew or really paid much attention to the Atkins diet until late 2002. BUT, I had a chance to go on it about 10 years earlier. I was working at a hospital in Northern New Jersey. One of the nurses there was very obese. She began working nights so I didn't see her for about 6 months. When she started working days again, I noticed she was alot smaller. I complimented her weight loss. She told me that she was seeing a doctor in Manhattan who put her on a special diet. Then she described this diet to me: she couldn't eat things like bread, rice, potatoes, pasta. She could eat some vegetables, full fat cheese, any kind of meat she wanted, no fruit, no soda, etc. I was surprized that it wasn't low fat. She said eating fat wasn't a problem on her diet. She was willing to share her diet info with me too, but being a low fat advocate at the time, I thought her diet was crazy.

In retrospect, I figure her doctor in Manhattan was either Dr. Atkins, himself, or one of the doctors who worked for him at the Atkins Center.

[wannabethintoo]

So if you guys KNOW that the Atkins WOL is far supperior to the other "fad" diets then how did you get overweight in the first place? Were you not following the Atkins WOL and didn't you know better?

I was always chubby. When I went to college, I gained the "Freshman 15" due to lousy eating habits: pizza, fries, etc. Throughout college, I continued gaining the "Freshman 15" every year. When I went to grad school, I gained more weight. Again, I wasn't eating properly and I was eating too much of the bad junky stuff.

I eventually decided enough was enough. My family has a habit of dropping dead of heart attacks or strokes due to our diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. So I became a low fat vegetarian....and proceeded to gain even more weight. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian (dairy and eggs). So I decided to eliminate all animal products because what little I was eating still had "evil" fat. So I became a low fat vegan. I didn't gain weight, but I didn't lose it either and I was hungry all the time.

After 2 years of low fat veganism, I decided to introduce lean meats into my diet and eat low fat. Again, I didn't gain any weight, but I didn't lose it.

Atkins is the ONLY diet in which I have lost weight. Moreover, Dr. Atkins wrote that some of his dieters noticed an improvement in asthma and allergy symptoms. Luckily, I'm one of those dieters. I'm down to one medication for my seasonal allergies and one medication for my asthma, which I really don't need to use.

That's why I know for my body, Atkins is a better diet than low fat diets, low fat vegetarian diets, low fat vegan diets. I not only lost weight, but more importantly, I'm not forced to take multiple prescription medications--and that's more than what other WOE have done for me.

So during the time you were experimenting with different ways to lose weight did you know about Atkins?

[not2late]

So during the time you were experimenting with different ways to lose weight did you know about Atkins?

I think when you were reading or replied, I edited my post above. See the edit for the answer to your question.

[wannabethintoo]

Editing to add...

I never knew or really paid much attention to the Atkins diet until late 2002. BUT, I had a chance to go on it about 10 years earlier. I was working at a hospital in Northern New Jersey. One of the nurses there was very obese. She began working nights so I didn't see her for about 6 months. When she started working days again, I noticed she was alot smaller. I complimented her weight loss. She told me that she was seeing a doctor in Manhattan who put her on a special diet. Then she described this diet to me: she couldn't eat things like bread, rice, potatoes, pasta. She could eat some vegetables, full fat cheese, any kind of meat she wanted, no fruit, no soda, etc. I was surprized that it wasn't low fat. She said eating fat wasn't a problem on her diet. She was willing to share her diet info with me too, but being a low fat advocate at the time, I thought her diet was crazy.

In retrospect, I figure her doctor in Manhattan was either Dr. Atkins, himself, or one of the doctors who worked for him at the Atkins Center.

So don't you think it's possible that a lot of people are experimenting (like you did) with different diets to see what works best for them?

Unless you have never been overweight because you always knew about Atkins and you followed it during your whole life, one should not judge others who have not found the Atkins WOL yet.

[BreakfastSurreal]

you know...maybe some of these diet centers would work out better for people if instead of selling prepackaged meals, they sold cooking lessons! At JC they give you a list of meals and snacks to choose from...maybe instead of them handing you a bag full of frozen entrees, they should have cooking classes and teach you how to prepare those meals...

[ttdriver]

All I knew of the atkins diet was that it was unlimited meat ... UNTIL I READ THE BOOK!

Ignorance made me fat and stupidity kept me fat....then came an angel named Dr. Atkins...

Betty

[wannabethintoo]

you know...maybe some of these diet centers would work out better for people if instead of selling prepackaged meals, they sold cooking lessons! At JC they give you a list of meals and snacks to choose from...maybe instead of them handing you a bag full of frozen entrees, they should have cooking classes and teach you how to prepare those meals...

Are you still having problems cooking that chicken Clare? I feel for you. I know how to cook now (I'm old) but I didn't when I was your age. It takes practice and some good cook books and being ready to eat some not so good meals while you're practicing.

Edit:

Oh and you look great by the way.

[wannabethintoo]

All I knew of the atkins diet was that it was unlimited meat ... UNTIL I READ THE BOOK!

Ignorance made me fat and stupidity kept me fat....then came an angel named Dr. Atkins...

Betty

You're a black and white kind of person aren't you Betty?

[not2late]

Editing to add...

I never knew or really paid much attention to the Atkins diet until late 2002. BUT, I had a chance to go on it about 10 years earlier. I was working at a hospital in Northern New Jersey. One of the nurses there was very obese. She began working nights so I didn't see her for about 6 months. When she started working days again, I noticed she was alot smaller. I complimented her weight loss. She told me that she was seeing a doctor in Manhattan who put her on a special diet. Then she described this diet to me: she couldn't eat things like bread, rice, potatoes, pasta. She could eat some vegetables, full fat cheese, any kind of meat she wanted, no fruit, no soda, etc. I was surprized that it wasn't low fat. She said eating fat wasn't a problem on her diet. She was willing to share her diet info with me too, but being a low fat advocate at the time, I thought her diet was crazy.

In retrospect, I figure her doctor in Manhattan was either Dr. Atkins, himself, or one of the doctors who worked for him at the Atkins Center.

So don't you think it's possible that a lot of people are experimenting (like you did) with different diets to see what works best for them?

Unless you have never been overweight because you always knew about Atkins and you followed it during your whole life, one should not judge others who have not found the Atkins WOL yet.

Actually, I only experimented with one diet--low fat vegetarianism (lacto-ovo and veganisn) and they both didn't work for me because I either gained weight or I didn't lose it. So I didn't reach my goal on that WOE at all. But I stuck with them for that period of time (over 7 years) because I thought I was "eating healthy" ---low fat, low saturated fat, plenty of fruits, vegetables and grains. It wasn't healthy for me at all and if I hadn't been so brainwashed by the "experts" I should have stopped my vegetarianisn once I gained 10 pounds. But I didn't because I was eating "healthy" according to folks like Dean Ornish, Nathan Pritikin, the USDA, etc. And for some reason I thought that as long as I ate healthy, I would be healthy.

As for people trying to find something that works for them, you're right. It took me a while to find something that did--longer than it should have imo. But when I did find it, I stuck with it. We had a thread here not too long ago asking why people fall off when they know it works. I don't have an answer for that.

By the way, I haven't passed judgment on the people who haven't found Atkins or any other diet that works for them yet. Nor have I read any posts in this thread to that affect either. I have commented diet programs that have their dieters eat prepackaged, pre-measured meals, while claiming to "teach" dieters how to eat properly.

Mind you, when I became a vegetarian, I had to learn how to eat properly to ensure I would get the proteins, vitamins and minerals my body needed. I was a vegetarian before vegetarian products were widely available in the regular supermarkets: the only soy cheese on the market was tofu. I remember I had to make my own seitan and other things. If I wanted a "veggie burger", I had to grind up my own bulgur wheat and mix it with veggies I chopped up myself. I didn't join a club that sent me pre-packaged vegetarian foods. Nope, I learned how to eat vegetarian by reading books on vegetarianism and on general nutrition.

What do programs that send you pre-packaged meals or programs that have you slurp down shakes teach you about eating properly? Nothing imo. When I was a vegetarian, I was able to eat vegetarian at most restaurants, family gatherings, parties, etc. because I knew how to eat vegetarian. Similarly, in this WOE, I have little difficulty finding something Atkins legal to eat at restaurants, family gatherings, etc. because I learned from reading the book what I can and cannot eat. I doubt I would have learned what I needed to know if I was relying a plan that took a "no brainer" approach by sending me pre-packaged meals.

[Sarah1341]

Clare, I think that is a great idea. Cooking lessons....... God knows I need them! :yikes

Wannabethin, I got heavy when I changed from an active job to a desk job, but didn't change eating habits. I didn't find Atkins until about three years later. I had great success, lost 56 pounds, felt great about myself and about life. Then I made a move from my hometown to about 4 and a half hours away and started to eat poorly again from depression. After that I found it a lot harder to get back on track (the idea of eggs repulsed me after the first go around with Atkins). So, I tried other options to see if other things might work for me as well (they didn't). Here I am again with Atkins. And even though I know this WOE works, I still find it difficult to stay focused and continue this WOE for my weightloss and health benefits. I don't know why. Wish I knew. Not sure if I understood your posts right, but maybe this at least explains my "trials" with other eating plans.

[wannabethintoo]

[
By the way, I haven't passed judgment on the people who haven't found Atkins or any other diet that works for them yet. Nor have I read any posts in this thread to that affect either. I have commented diet programs that have their dieters eat prepackaged, pre-measured meals, while claiming to "teach" dieters how to eat properly.

Don't you think that the title of this thread "People just don't get it" is judgmental? Wouldn't you say that you "just didn't get it" before you became an Atkins follower?

I guess we need to hear from the original poster of this thread as to what exactly was his point and if he "just didn't get it" before he became an Atkins follower.