Just had a lecture from my doctor

[marvid486]

Was at my GP on Thursday who told me that the Atkins diet does not work and that Dr Atkins died an obese man! Oh please - just because you've got an excellent memory to recall every last thing you've ever read does not mean that you are RIGHT! As I keep reminding lots of people - doctors are only human and they do make mistakes. They are in a position of trust, just like the UK's biggest known serial killer, Dr Harold Shipman!

Anyway, my Dr started spouting on about how this diet has the same effect on the body as type 1 diabetes and that the brain won't function properly as it needs carbs (I've heard it needs FAT and WATER too for optimum fuction).... I've also heard that if your body needs 'glucose', it can turn protein into glucose....you are running on adrenaline, that's why you don't feel hungry.... you are starving your body and using up your lean muscle mass .... your blood pressure will be sky high (it was only slightly elevated as I'd just exercised). Didn't bother to mention the fact that I'm working out in the gym 3 times a week, swimming twice a week, playing hockey and training twice a week - all on less than 30g of carb a day! Well, I'll just let him think he knows it all - he's a doctor afterall!

I've lost 19lbs in 4 weeks and feel on top of the world! When I ate 'normal' amounts of carbs I felt like s**t. I couldn't keep my eyes open I was so tired and my mood swings were horrendous. I sleep better, I wake more refreshed and everyone is commenting on how well I'm looking - must be all that butter I'm eating!

We'll see Doc!

[Sunny_0ne]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

Marvid, my BIL went to the doctor the other day and asked him if Atkins would help his diabetes.

His doctor said YES, and encouraged him to start it!!!!

So not all doctors are terminally dumb.

[EverLosing]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

Well, I must say, at least you've got a terrific attitude about your encounter with the good doc!! I'm glad you didn't let him beat you down. He's probably spent most of his career scrambling to pay his six figures of student loan debt and malpractice insurance premiums. He's not going to let one Atkinseer walk in and change any of those opinions he paid so much to memorize. He's not a thinking person....they're so abundant and around every corner. Good for you for not letting him change YOUR thinking. That's what matters most. YOU are the one who has to carry that body with you everywhere you go until you die, not him. Make sure you go back in a few months. Then, let us read all about that!

[Scribbler]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

Just smile and waive .. You know better

[Pam112]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

I have had one doctor in my lifetime get sarky with me. There was a kleenex box handy on his desk that mysteriously landed upside his head. (It was a very emotional health issue he was belittling at the time.)

Don't worry about him. The bright side is that there are an array of doctors out there that probably would only be too happy to take payment for seeing you when need be.

[Desertthorn]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

Get a new GP. Dr A didn't die obese!! OMG is that old tale still going around

[not2late]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

Actually, the Atkins Diet is similar to the diet used to TREAT Type 1 Diabetes before the discovery of insulin in the 1920s. So it looks like your doc isn't into the history of medicine.

But you should ask your doctor to read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution and discuss it with you. If you're the really sneaky type....you might want to start a thread about what questions you can ask your doctor to make sure he really read it or if he didn't. You know, like a quiz or sorts.

[tfek70]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

Marvid, I posted this on the 5th. It's good reading.

I had my lipids tested yesterday to compare with my pre Atkins numbers. My total cholesterol dropped from 188 to 137, triglycerides from 149 to 71, LDL from 117.2 to 93.8. My HDL was also down, from 41 to 29, but the not smoking thing I was doing didn't work so good and I don't get enough vegetables. My doctor wasn't overly concerned since my total cholesterol was so low. She is very anti-Atkins, but she is very intrigued now that she has seen my results. She's also a vegetarian with a higher LDL and total cholesterol than me. My VLDL also dropped from 29.8 to 14.2, so everything that Dr. A promised has been delivered, at least in my case.

[marvid486]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

Wow! Thanks for all that support and info. I think when you live inside your body for a few years, you get to know what works for you and what doesn't. I know this works for me and I will stick with it for the rest of my life - maybe my Doctor could try it, he needs to lose a few pounds as well! tfek70 that's amazing that your cholesterol is lower than that of a veggie. My brother-in-law was a die-hard veggie for over 20 years. He spent so much time off work with depression and anxiety until he started eating meat again and now he has totally changed his views. The more animal fat in something, the better as far as he is concerned and I'm starting to feel that way too! Best wishes to all!

[imagood1]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

I go to my endocrinologist and internist on the 17th. The internist can be a jerk...when I told him I'd lost 5 pounds on the diet the nutritionist put me on, he told me "if you eat less you'll loose weight, just push away from the table"....if I could loose weight by pushing myself away from the friggin table I'd be so thin I wouldn't have been heavy in years (don't get me started - my mother has said the same thing all these years).

I'm not having any blood work done this time but I have something that proves to me this works...my blood glucose numbers are wonderful. Before I started Atkins my numbers were in the 140-150 range .... within a couple days of this WOE my highest number has been 111 and most of the time I'm in the 70-90 range. That cements it in my mind! I'm looking forward to the blood work later - because my triglicerides were sky high (almost 400) and I'm taking 4 fish oil caps a day (prescription type, not over the counter) which with our co-pay is $50.00 a month...I'm wanting off those, and the high blood pressure and cholesterol meds! I'm hoping with more weight loss that the diabetes meds go away also!

I agree with the line that the doctor doesn't have to carry your body around everyday -- that is so true. I KNOW I feel better, I KNOW I look better, my mood swings are gone, I don't cry at the drop of a hat. I KNOW this WOE works for me and I'm sticking to it.

Carole

[MommaRuthie]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

Even after my cholesterol dropped again (for a total of 43 points since I began!) My GP still told me that this diet was dangerous!! LOL What a quack!

[Milliesman]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

Have some fun with your doctor! Tell him that you are no longer going to do Atkins, but instead you are going to cut out processed foods, flours, and sugars. Tell him that you are also going to cut caffeine and increase the amount of water you drink every day. Tell him that you are going to increase your vegetable and fiber intake and that you will be eating various proteins and then see what he says. If he doesn't recognize this as Atkins, drop him. He's not a doctor, he's the janitor trying to see you naked.

[NewToAtkins]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

From a medical standpoint the brain needs very few things. It is made up of water, protein, and fat (and less than 1% of other "stuff"), and to function it needs only one thing - glucose. Your body will take care of making the glucose from what it has available. The number one thing that hinders brain function is actually dehydration. A drop of 5% in hydration levels can cause all sorts of bad things, and chronically dehydrated brains are now being investigated and linked to alzheimer's.

Sorry to lecture...I just got my masters in education and took a bunch of cognition courses.

[NewToAtkins]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

He's not a doctor, he's the janitor trying to see you naked.

Too funny! I guess I should have been a janitor!

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

Re: Just had a lecture from my doctor

I'm sorry you have a doctor who doesn't understand - I understand people that DON'T "approve" of atkins mainly because when I was on weight watchers and was a huge advocate of low fat/"good carb" and that "low-carb" was bad - but that was because I wasn't educated on WHY low-carb diets ARE good for some.

MY doctor is actually the one who TOLD me to go on atkins - but for a year I didn't listen to her, and when I finally realized that I was NOT going to be able to lose weight the way I had before, and I HAD to try something different - that's when I finally gave in and listened to my doc...but along the way, I've been educating myself on WHY low carb diets ARE good for some and NOT the way to go for others.

Just remember that your doctor has been taught - as have most people - especially because mainstream media only likes to preach "low fat" - that MOST people, including your doctor, unfortunately, are just "ignorant" to why low-carb is actually good for you and they refuse to educate themselves because most people (like my fiance whom I love to death) are just soooo dang stubborn and will never change their mind.

Just remember - you know that it works and it makes you happy!