Atkins

[KimberlyAnne]

Ok. I have some questions. My boss is a strict vegetarian, he doesn't eat any type of meat. He told me to get off Atkins ASAP because of the harm it can do. He said that meat in the quantity we eat ups our chances of colon cancer. Because meat rots in our system before being passed on through. He said the fats we ingest up our cholesterol dangerously. And the cheese clogs us up because our stomach really has no use for it. I'm sitting here close to tears because I want this weight off but I don't want to up my chances of being sick. Heck, I'm obese and the chances are already high enough. His wife suggested I try a more balanced diet and incorporate more fruits and veggies at 1200 calories a day eat smaller meals and healthy snacks in between. I feel like I am in the middle of a tug a war. Can someone please help me?

[liv]

Re: Atkins

What happenend to your self confidence? You need to find
There are many opinions about diet - it is a bit like religion in many ways - people are pretty dogmatic and preachy at times. You have to know what is right for you and what you believe in. Read the book again and read our Celebration and Before and After forum (Look at Sabrina's pick )

I respect vegetarians but I do not take my diet advice from them. Nor do I discuss my diet with them because I know that they are pretty set in their ways.

Atkins is a great diet. It is healthy (when done right) and it makes you lose weight.
Chin up

[phil h]

Re: Atkins

Read "Good calories, bad calories" by Gary taubes and then make a decision of what path you want to take.Taubes just gives the results of all the famous nutritional studies which shapes out nutrionial reccomendations by our government. It appears that a lot of results got swept under the rug.You need to make an educated choice yourself.

[stephbob]

Re: Atkins

I echo what's been said already - you need to make your own choices. Look at all the people here who have had success with it!

What your boss is basically saying is that ANYONE who isn't vegetarian is eating themselves to death. That you should cut out OTHER food groups like dairy (from cheese) which of course we have a use for (uh, calcium is a big one here!)

You learn with time to just not talk to other people about what you do and how you do it. That's the way I go about Atkins. Not that I'm ashamed - far from it. But people ALWAYS lecture me about how I must eat nothing but fried meats, and how it's going to kill me. They don't know a thing about Atkins, it's all from assumptions. You eat far healthier on Atkins, getting vegetables and eventually fruits that most people who aren't conscious of what they're eating don't get.

[Georgiana]

Re: Atkins

Ok. I have some questions. My boss is a strict vegetarian, he doesn't eat any type of meat. He told me to get off Atkins ASAP because of the harm it can do. He said that meat in the quantity we eat ups our chances of colon cancer. Because meat rots in our system before being passed on through. He said the fats we ingest up our cholesterol dangerously. And the cheese clogs us up because our stomach really has no use for it. I'm sitting here close to tears because I want this weight off but I don't want to up my chances of being sick. Heck, I'm obese and the chances are already high enough. His wife suggested I try a more balanced diet and incorporate more fruits and veggies at 1200 calories a day eat smaller meals and healthy snacks in between. I feel like I am in the middle of a tug a war. Can someone please help me?

This is what happens to Atkineers who've been following the plan correctly for a long time:

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-low-carb-success-stories/73819-thank-you-dr-atkins.html

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-low-carb-success-stories/75085-report-my-doctor.html

Happy low carbing!

[Shrew2u]

Re: Atkins

I had a friend over the other night. When my husband told her what we were up to diet-wise, she went on a brief rant about how unhealthy the Atkins WOL sounded. I smiled and nodded and kept my mouth shut - then I lost another 2 pounds in four days while she remains 50+ pounds overweight. Ultimately, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Is your boss going to fire you if you a) don't adopt vegetarianism or b) start an Atkins WOE? If so, time to look for another job. If not, smile and nod - and do what YOU need to do to get yourself looking good, feeling good, and being healthy!

If you want to throw your boss a small boon, start taking Induction-friendly salads to work for lunch...and hide the meat under the veg!

[WetBanana]

Re: Atkins

He sounds like a real winner, lol. I'm just laughing at the absurdity of his ignorance.

His wife's idea of a balance of food is what your end result will be - you know - when you hit maintenance. The beginning stages are so you can see how food affects your body and weight loss so you know what your triggers are, what foods stall you, and what ones continue to help you on your journey to being healthy. It takes a long time to go through the different rungs because it takes a long time for your body to tell you how it feels about certain things - which is why it's recommended in the first week of re-introducing foods on a particular rung to only eat it every other day.

The whole idea of this way of eating isn't to just eat meat, cheese, and low GI vegetables - it's to wean you off of the harmful effects of sugar and white flour and slowly re-introduce all the rest of the whole foods - like dairy, nuts & seeds, berries, and the rest on the rungs (or some, depending on how your body can handle them).

So - next time your boss tells you something about his holier then thou vegetarionism, tell him to go jump in the lake.

It's a proven fact that low-cholesterol diets cause depression and deteriorate the lining of your arteries so that bacteria and virus's can attack your vital organs. Low-Fat diets deplete your brains ability to function properly, as well as your other organs. You need these things in your daily diet to help promote good development.

The difference between the Atkins Diet and Eating a moderate balanced diet is that with Atkins, you've been through the process to know what you can and cannot eat. With the moderate balanced diet, you don't develop that sense of self.

[spuffy]

Re: Atkins

Sounds like your boss is a real piece of work. It also sounds like he and his wife think they can order you around regarding your personal life. Just don't eat meat around him.

[not2late]

Re: Atkins

Ok. I have some questions. My boss is a strict vegetarian, he doesn't eat any type of meat. He told me to get off Atkins ASAP because of the harm it can do. He said that meat in the quantity we eat ups our chances of colon cancer. Because meat rots in our system before being passed on through. He said the fats we ingest up our cholesterol dangerously. And the cheese clogs us up because our stomach really has no use for it. I'm sitting here close to tears because I want this weight off but I don't want to up my chances of being sick. Heck, I'm obese and the chances are already high enough. His wife suggested I try a more balanced diet and incorporate more fruits and veggies at 1200 calories a day eat smaller meals and healthy snacks in between. I feel like I am in the middle of a tug a war. Can someone please help me?

I think you should re-read the Atkins book. That way you'll know how and why this diet works so you won't be intimidated by anyone who disagrees with your lifestyle.

By the way, do you live with your boss? I'm only asking because I don't see why it should be any of his or his wife's business what you choose to eat (or not eat), unless he and/or she are buying your food and preparing it for you.

[IrishIrish]

Re: Atkins

I agree with Megs ... education is important if you are going to listen to every person who has an opinion of your diet.

I would hate to think what would have happened if I had listened to those uneducated, pontificating blowhearts. I educated myself about Atkins. I followed it. And I'm very happy with my choice as are my physicians.

Don't let you confidence me shaken. Your boss shouldn't have a say in your diet choices.

I think too many people run screaming from Atkins because they aren't committed, they don't have the facts and they simply are used to setting themselves up for failure. Don't be one of them.

[JimH]

Re: Atkins

Ok. I have some questions. My boss is a strict vegetarian, he doesn't eat any type of meat. He told me to get off Atkins ASAP because of the harm it can do. He said that meat in the quantity we eat ups our chances of colon cancer. Because meat rots in our system before being passed on through.

I believe the Atkins book addresses some of the other things mentioned by the OP. You should re-read the first few chapters as Dr. Atkins wanted people to read these so they would be armed for these very arguments.

This thing about colorectal cancer is actually a common myth. A study published in 2007 in Cancer Science disproved this and even found that a polyunsaturated fat found mostly in fish (but also in red meat) may have an inverse relation between some incidences of forms of colorectal cancer.

The notion that "meat rots in our system" is a funny scare tactic and begs comment. Everything decomposes as it passes through - it's a very natural cycle. Would he prefer that you instead have rotting apple in your colon?

The bottom line is that obesity DOES have a high relation with incidence of disease.

I disagree with some of the posters here that say you should hide your diet. In fact, you should warn your boss and his wife that this is none of their business and begin to keep records in case this leads to discrimination or retribution.

Here's the reference to the study on colorectal cancer and meat:

Eating Red Meat Will Not Increase Colorectal Cancer Risk, Study Suggests

[msanjelpie]

Re: Atkins

The first warning bell was the term 'strict vegetarian'... The whole reason they are is because they believe pretty much everything else is bad for you...

He assumes that eating meat in the 'quantities we eat' is a higher quantity than the meat we ate before Atkins. I don't know about you, but I'm not eating MORE meat, I'm pretty much eating the same amount. I'm just not having all of the breading and buns and pasta etc... with the meat I'm eating...

I would ask for proof that a high fat diet increases cholesterol... (although at that point I wouldn't be discussing it with him further) but if everyone who succeeded on Atkins dropped dead of a heart attack, there wouldn't be anyone around to sing its praises...

Our stomach has no use for cheese? Why weren't they preaching to you pre-diet that your stomach didn't have use for sugar? for starches? for all the things you ate that made you fat? I love how people think they can tell you what diet to be on unless of course you aren't on one, then they just let you pig out and don't say a word...

A more balanced diet with more fruits and veggies at 1200 calories a day eating smaller meals WILL lose weight. However, it will not treat your blood sugar problems, it will leave you hungry and it is a slower way to lose weight. I've been on that diet, as have many of us, and we are all here because it didn't work for us and Atkins does. We want results! We want a diet that makes us feel good! Not deprived and starving...

If the subject comes up again, thank your boss/wife for their concern. Tell them that you are under a doctor's care and that for the time being everything is going according to plan.

Make sure you get a cholesterol test before starting Atkins so you can compare it to your numbers 6 months after being on Atkins... that way you have proof that you aren't killing yourself... that you are actually healing yourself after years of self abuse with the wrong types of foods.

Make sure you have read the book inside and out so that you are an expert on Atkins and can refute any naysayer that comes along... or just don't talk about it... Make them all wonder why you are mysteriously shrinking before their eyes

[spuffy]

Re: Atkins

oops