From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

[Boss]

HEY GUYS! I'm officially on my 4th day of the INDUCTION PHASE right now and it's going well so far. I don't see any drastic changes in weight but obviously it's too early to expect that. I've been reading the forum for the past week and it's really helped me to figure out what kind of foods I need to be eating, especially the combination of acceptable carbs allowed.

I'm from TX, born and raised there, but I'm currently doing Medical School abroad in the Caribbean and will be back in the states this December for preparation of the USMLE and then clinical rotations! Anyone else here in med. school? Or preparing to go?

I'm 23 and 5' 10''
Current weight is 244
Goal weight is 200 for now.

4 years ago I used to weigh 170, but that was also when I barely had any muscle mass on me, I was just REALLY LEAN but REALLY FIT. Of course college was when I put on the pounds and the last couple of years I put on A LOT! I added a lot of muscle, but A LOT of fat as well. I've been working out with cardio and heavy weights on and off over the past 4 years but I haven't dramatically been able to improve my health or decrease my weight. I'm REALLY self conscious about my physical appearance(as I'm sure many in this forum are) so that is equal motivation for me to go through with this diet aside from improving my overall health, which is obviously the most important reason.

This forum is AWESOME and it's really great for all of us to pool our information and stories together to help each other. THANKS in advance for the support guys!

Anyone else with similar height/weight/starting induction phase?

[Boss]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

I forgot to add that being on a Caribbean island and starting this diet is NOT EASY. Simply b/c there are no quick restaurants or places that I can actually go to for Atkin-friendly foods.

Out of the fastfood places we have a McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Wendy's, and Taco Bell.

There are some REALLY NICE restaurants here for the tourists but most of them are not Atkins-friendly, super expensive, and it would be impossible to figure out which foods they had that are acceptable.

Out of the other restaurants we have an Amazonia Grill here(just like Fogo De Chao), TGI Fridays, Subway, and some more.

I've bought a ton of groceries and I'm cooking most of my meals. Occasionally I'll go out and get the grilled chicken or double cheese burger and go at it without the buns!

[Slapshot]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

Hey Boss - sounds like you and I are in the same boat. 240-ish and know what it's like to get thin. Welcome to the board (I'm new too). Good luck with your journey.

I know what you mean about tossing the buns out. I get funny looks when I ask for a McDouble with no ketchup and a knife and fork.

[SunnySmile501]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

I am not in your "boat" but I wanted to welcome you to ADBB. I want to commend you for recognizing that Atkins done right is extremely healthy while you are still in medical school. When you are a full-fledged physician, you won't be telling your patients that Atkins and low carb will cause them to have a heart attack or that it will cause kidney damage.

I have lost over 100 pounds and cured several severely debilitating conditions during my three years of doing Atkins by the book. It helps that my PCP is behind me all the way.

[SunnySmile501]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

I forgot to add that being on a Caribbean island and starting this diet is NOT EASY. Simply b/c there are no quick restaurants or places that I can actually go to for Atkin-friendly foods.

Out of the fastfood places we have a McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Wendy's, and Taco Bell.

There are some REALLY NICE restaurants here for the tourists but most of them are not Atkins-friendly, super expensive, and it would be impossible to figure out which foods they had that are acceptable.

Out of the other restaurants we have an Amazonia Grill here(just like Fogo De Chao), TGI Fridays, Subway, and some more.

I've bought a ton of groceries and I'm cooking most of my meals. Occasionally I'll go out and get the grilled chicken or double cheese burger and go at it without the buns!

Hopefully, at least, you can get meat and fish that has not been industrially farmed, and loaded up with antibiotics and other poisons. When you mentioned the Caribbean, I had a flash of a perfectly grilled red snapper or grouper. Mmmmmm Our fish here on the mainland USA is not very appetizing.

[blueberrylady]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

Welcome to the board, Boss and Slapshot! This is the place to be for the support we all need to get us where we want to be!

[Boss]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

Thanks for the welcome guys! I love the positive energy on this forum...no wonder I visit it multiple times a day!

Slapshot, it's good to know someone is at the same range with the same goals...we can do this!

Sunnysmile, I am almost done with my first year of med. school and in physiology and biochemistry we have covered nutrition, obesity, and feed/fast cycles in DETAIL, PLUS all the fun biochemical pathways in our body(gluconeogenesis, glycolysis, glycogenolysis, etc.) that have everything to do with dietary foods entering our body and how our body utilizies or stores energy. After learning everything from a medical point of view I could totally see why Dr. Atkins came up with this diet. Ketosis is a GREAT way of getting rid of fat stores in your body because it directly uses up fat cells to burn off for energy rather than the sugar and carbs b/c the body doesn't have them! As long as you take your vitamins and minerals, you won't be having any kidney damage or heart failure. As you pointed out, you will actually lower your cholesterol and risk for cardiovascular disease because you are releasing triglycerides and LDL stores in your body by shedding the fat and not taking in the sugars. I'm SO GLAD to hear your health conditions all improved, and I'm not one bit surprised b/c that is the long term goal of this diet. Keep it up!

Also, I wanted to point out that a typical day for me in college or med. school has been a quick breakfast bar in the morning on my way to school(sometimes no breakfast, I know, really bad!), then a sandwhich/pizza/something fast for lunch(usually fast food), and a similar dinner consisting of either fast food, restaurant food loaded with carbs and fat, tv dinners, or frozen pizzas. Throw icecream, cookies, or any dessert in there that I could get my hands on for late night snacks. The point I'm making here is that nothing in the list above includes VEGGIES! I've only been on this Atkins Diet for 4 days and I've already had more veggies in these 4 days then I've had in a month! It's incredible. The fact that this diet requies you to have two cups 'salad veggies' and 1 cup 'other veggies' is amazing b/c soooo many millions of Americans that did not eat their veggies are now getting them! Having these veggies and ADDING THEM TO OUR DAILY DIET is one MAJOR way we are helping our entire body and system, including our organs(heart and kidneys) because they are getting the nutrients they need. I wish that is something the critics realized more...it's a shame they don't. At least WE Atkin'ers can enjoy the benefits of it!

[SunnySmile501]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

Sunnysmile, I am almost done with my first year of med. school and in physiology and biochemistry we have covered nutrition, obesity, and feed/fast cycles in DETAIL, PLUS all the fun biochemical pathways in our body(gluconeogenesis, glycolysis, glycogenolysis, etc.) that have everything to do with dietary foods entering our body and how our body utilizies or stores energy. After learning everything from a medical point of view I could totally see why Dr. Atkins came up with this diet. Ketosis is a GREAT way of getting rid of fat stores in your body because it directly uses up fat cells to burn off for energy rather than the sugar and carbs b/c the body doesn't have them! As long as you take your vitamins and minerals, you won't be having any kidney damage or heart failure. As you pointed out, you will actually lower your cholesterol and risk for cardiovascular disease because you are releasing triglycerides and LDL stores in your body by shedding the fat and not taking in the sugars. I'm SO GLAD to hear your health conditions all improved, and I'm not one bit surprised b/c that is the long term goal of this diet. Keep it up!

I thought you might like to check out this study about whole turmeric oleoresin's effect on glucose and lipid metabolism. Exciting stuff! Here's some excerpts and the link to the abstract.

Effects of Ingested Turmeric Oleoresin on Glucose and Lipid Metabolisms in Obese Diabetic Mice: A DNA Microarray Study
Female KK-Ay mice aged 6 weeks (n = 6/group) were fed a high-fat diet containing turmeric oleoresin, curcuminoids, and essential oil for 5 weeks. The same diet without any of these fractions was used as a control diet. Ingestion of turmeric oleoresin and essential oil inhibited the development of increased blood glucose and abdominal fat mass, while curcuminoids only inhibited the increase in blood glucose. DNA microarray analysis indicated that turmeric oleoresin ingestion up-regulated the expression of genes related to glycolysis, β-oxidation, and cholesterol metabolism in the liver of KK-Ay mice, while expression of gluconeogenesis-related genes was down-regulated.

This analysis suggested that curcuminoids regulated turmeric oleoresin ingestion-induced expression of glycolysis-related genes and also that curcuminoids and turmeric essential oil acted synergistically to regulate the peroxisomal β-oxidation-related gene expression induced by turmeric oleoresin ingestion. These changes in gene expression were considered to be the mechanism by which the turmeric oleoresin affected the control of both blood glucose levels and abdominal adipose tissue masses. All of these results suggest that the use of whole turmeric oleoresin is more effective than the use of either curcuminoids or the essential oil alone.

Effects of Ingested Turmeric Oleoresin on Glucose and Lipid Metabolisms in Obese Diabetic Mice: A DNA Microarray Study - Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (ACS Publications)

[imagood1]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

Hi and welcome!!! You'll have to get a cooler and take your meals with you -- there are so many things that can be packed easily and will keep you from making poor food choices. It's great that you are studying to be a doctor and understand how important this WOE is for those of us who truly believe this is the best way to loose weight.

When you get a few minutes go here Before And After Pics - Atkins Diet and see how wonderful this WOE is - it has made such a difference in so many lives and because it's real weight loss the people here take the time to help others.

Good luck on your journey -- I wish you the best of luck!

[Lil_Texas_Tornado]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

Hey there! Congrats on the med school, I can't imagine how hard that is. I am pulling enough of my hair out over nursing school. What part of Texas are your from? Good luck with this WOE.

Amanda

[Ryan.Stoeppel]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

Welcome fellow Texan! I wish you all the best with your new WOE and can't wait to hear about your amazing results! It will be so nice having a med student around these forums for some of these discussions!

[Boss]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

I thought you might like to check out this study about whole turmeric oleoresin's effect on glucose and lipid metabolism. Exciting stuff! Here's some excerpts and the link to the abstract.

That was a realllly interesting article Sunnysmile! I love research articles like that. I've actually been in a rat lab myself for a year while I was in undergrad and it's pretty fun stuff. The study just goes to prove what Dr. Atkins had discovered a long time ago. If only these facts were more widespread and the information was distributed among everyone for them to benefit from...now that would be amazing.

[Boss]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! Carole, I checked out a bunch of pics in the thread you mentioned and that's what motivated me so much to look in to this diet! What makes this forum so amazing is the positive spirit everyone on here has. It's motivational.

Amanda, I know what you mean about getting through prof. school alive while being on this diet! The diet itself isn't hard, but sometimes being a student throws you off your schedule because nothing is ever set. During exam week you go for quick fast-food and are pretty much sleep deprived with all your eating timings completely off...that's something you def. can't do while on this diet. But the fact that we're doing this while in school is a testament to our dedication and strong will. Keep it up, I'm right here with you!

Thanks for the welcome Ryan, it's nice to see another Texas on the forum. Our goal weight is pretty much the same so I look forward to sharing results with each other and keeping each other motivated!

[SunnySmile501]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! Carole, I checked out a bunch of pics in the thread you mentioned and that's what motivated me so much to look in to this diet! What makes this forum so amazing is the positive spirit everyone on here has. It's motivational.

Amanda, I know what you mean about getting through prof. school alive while being on this diet! The diet itself isn't hard, but sometimes being a student throws you off your schedule because nothing is ever set. During exam week you go for quick fast-food and are pretty much sleep deprived with all your eating timings completely off...that's something you def. can't do while on this diet. But the fact that we're doing this while in school is a testament to our dedication and strong will. Keep it up, I'm right here with you!

Thanks for the welcome Ryan, it's nice to see another Texas on the forum. Our goal weight is pretty much the same so I look forward to sharing results with each other and keeping each other motivated!

Just wait until you start your residency and fellowship. You won't have time to eat, and you will look like all those reed-thin, hungry-looking newbies at UVA whom I have had the honor of helping train (lab rat/guinea pig) for the last 12 years. I don't remember more than two out of hundreds that I have encountered that were even overweight. There was one female fellow that was really plump and the male fellow that I see mostly right now is probably 30 pounds overweight.

I suffer from a rare disorder (RSD--Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) and am the only patient to be treated at UVA to make it to stage 4 while under their care. It affects all aspects of the medical realm, so I get assigned to all the new neurology, anesthesiology, physical medicine, endocrinology, surgery and pain management residents and fellows to learn on. Actually, I feel more like a zoo exhibit since whatever procedure I have done, the room is so crowded that they have to come observe in batches. One med student seeing me in neurology was asking questions that showed me that he had not read any of my file (18 inches thick), so when I inquired, he fell down in the chair, lifted his hand about a foot over the table and said in amazement, "Have you seen how big your file is?" LOL

I'm pretty used to it, but it gets tiresome at times. I have been a part of research at the University of British Columbia and McGill University in Canada, Duke and Johns Hopkins in the US.

[Boss]

Re: From TX, but currently in Caribbean and JUST STARTED!

Just wait until you start your residency and fellowship. You won't have time to eat, and you will look like all those reed-thin, hungry-looking newbies at UVA whom I have had the honor of helping train (lab rat/guinea pig) for the last 12 years. I don't remember more than two out of hundreds that I have encountered that were even overweight. There was one female fellow that was really plump and the male fellow that I see mostly right now is probably 30 pounds overweight.

I suffer from a rare disorder (RSD--Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) and am the only patient to be treated at UVA to make it to stage 4 while under their care. It affects all aspects of the medical realm, so I get assigned to all the new neurology, anesthesiology, physical medicine, endocrinology, surgery and pain management residents and fellows to learn on. Actually, I feel more like a zoo exhibit since whatever procedure I have done, the room is so crowded that they have to come observe in batches. One med student seeing me in neurology was asking questions that showed me that he had not read any of my file (18 inches thick), so when I inquired, he fell down in the chair, lifted his hand about a foot over the table and said in amazement, "Have you seen how big your file is?" LOL

I'm pretty used to it, but it gets tiresome at times. I have been a part of research at the University of British Columbia and McGill University in Canada, Duke and Johns Hopkins in the US.

I hope you're right about me thinning out during my residency years, that would be nice! I actually lose and gain weight really quickly, and easily fluctuate. I've never been at this weight though, its my max so far. I hope it remains my max as it only decreases from this point onwards.

Your RSD is quite interesting and sad. I'm sorry for the pain you must suffer, but you are a strong person for surviving through a disorder like this AND living an Atkins way of life simultaneously. Kudos to you!
We've actually learned about this disorder and it's actually a branch of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. The disorder is usually triggered by an injury in the body though. Since you have been diagnosed with RSD there is probably not a nerve lesion associated with your disorder. If you don't mind me asking, was there an injury to your body that led to the manifestation of this disorder? It's amazing you've reached stage 4 of the disorder and are still normal and functioning, you're blessed. I'm glad you're being patient about being treated like a 'specimen under observation' as I'm sure it gets annoying. But realize that your patience and willingness to expose yourself like this will help others in the future with the same disorder so they may not have to go through what you had to. That is more than worth doing this for and I'm sure you're already aware of that.

You're research resume is quite impressive! If I'm ever in a position of applying to residencies with those affiliated schools I'll know who to contact.