DIET is a Four-Letter Word
Written: Oct 08 '00 (Updated Oct 08 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to follow; Success without Cravings
Cons: Can be taken to extremes
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| pogomom's Full Review: Atkins Diet |
I am incapable of losing weight; I simply misplace it. Like those keys that consistently fall to the bottom of my purse, pounds of ugly fat are magnetically attracted to the bottom of my . . . well bottom. Like it or not, genetics dictate more than the color of our eyes and whether or not our hair will live to a ripe old age.
According to a recent survey sponsored by the insurance industry, fifty-three percent of Americans are overweight and twenty-one percent are considered morbidly obese. In other words, a large segment of the population tips the scales at an excess of twenty percent more than the recommended weight for our body types.
Thanks to frightening statistics and the fact that baby boomers are fast discovering the true meaning of ‘middle-age spread,’ weight loss is one of the free world’s fastest growing industries. Billions and billions (sorry Mr. Sagan) of dollars pour into the coffers of those with products geared to take off pounds by emptying our wallets. Purveyors of diet books, health clubs, nutritional advice, dietary supplements, prescription weight-loss drugs and exercise videos are becoming fiscally fat off our total and complete lack of willpower. Had one person been behind all of these products and services, that individual would make Bill Gates look like a piker.
I admit allocating my fair share in an attempt to regain my youthful figure. The first three and a half decades of life lulled me into a false sense of security. Skating through the years without a care, eating everything that caught my eye and never varying more than a pound or two made me believe I was one of the chosen few. Assured that my metabolism achieved a perfect balance, I never complained about the annual trek to shop for a new bathing suit and actually considered frequenting nude beaches for the perfect no-line tan.
Horizontal stripes were not the enemy in those bygone days Three-way mirrors never evoked nightmares. Narcissistic tendencies propelled me to seek out my image in plate glass windows and any shiny object that reflected the formerly slender and desirable me. My insecurities remained hidden behind a façade portraying a woman comfortable in her own skin.
Who is that Woman in the Mirror?
Oscar Wilde had me in mind when creating The Picture of Dorian Grey. The portrait in my attic expired on my thirty-fifth birthday leaving me with a body fully capable of displaying the abuses suffered during years of mindless gluttony. Like a slap in the face, reality reared its ugly head and exposed me for what I had become — chunky.
With my new silhouette came paranoia about being followed. Many times, as I walked down a hallway or crossed a street, I had the distinct feeling that someone or something echoed my every move. A glance at a full-length mirror rudely spoke the truth. A ridge of wiggly, jiggly fat surrounded my middle converting my former hourglass shape into an exact replica of Humpty Dumpty. The mysterious stalker was simply my butt!
I joined Weight Watchers™ that week. Purchasing the prerequisite paraphernalia, weighing in and sitting through my first group session, I felt content with my decision. Sure, it would require a learning process and a switch from those happily spent hours in the grocery store. No more impromptu Chinese, Thai, Mexican or Deli lunches with the girls for me; I was resolute. I walked to work, the library, doctor’s appointments and my Weight Watchers meetings stopping at every bathroom along my route. I drank eight to ten eight-ounce glasses of water daily (which explains those regular pit stops.) I counted, measured, weighed and spent my days obsessed. I lost nine pounds, of mostly water, the first week. The second week proved less eventful, my official weigh-in showed a loss of only four more pounds. Week number three began the plateau of one pound per week. I hated the diet, hated the food, hated the prepackaged foods, hated the meetings and remained hungry. My energy level hit an all time low as I continued abiding the Weight Watchers’ biblical rulings. My kidneys felt as if I worked part-time as Mike Tyson’s punching bag. This was simply too much pain for so little progress. At six weeks, I decided to cut my losses and enjoy life as a size nine. After all, I still managed to squeeze into single digits and doesn’t everyone gain a few pounds once middle age approaches?
Insidiously, my skin, organs and nerves conspired against me. Each year following the first signs of a spare tire gave me approximately five pounds of rubbery fat. Whether I exercised or not, my waistline spread, my hips spread, my thighs began to rub together and my cheeks took on the familiar chipmunk appearance of my youth. By my fortieth birthday, I toted an extra twenty-five pounds with the ease of a weight lifter. My size grew so slowly that I managed to adjust to the “new” me with little notice.
The First One’s Free, Babe
Medical problems and the corresponding prescribed drugs piled the pounds on this tender frame from age forty-two to almost the present day. I tried everything with little success. One ill-advised physician suggested Phen-Fen (or is it Fen-Phen?) after submitting me to all the right tests. Within twenty-eight days, I lost thirty-six pounds and nearly had a stroke. This is no exaggeration. I stood in an aisle in our local grocery store and could not read the labels. The printed letters made no sense and I nearly passed out in fear. During the month of Phen-Fen, I became obsessed with my weight, the amount of calories absorbed into my system, the fat content of any food I considered and vomiting. The drug equaled instant anorexia nervosa with a touch of bulimia thrown in for good measure. I am fortunate that I suffered no permanent damage from that experience.
After withdrawing from Phen-Fen, I surveyed friends and family about their weight loss successes and failures. Many lost on Weight Watchers’ plans but gained back the weight and more within months or weeks of reaching their goals. Overeaters Anonymous came up as a viable solution from several sources. The Grapefruit Diet, The Zone, Dr. Atkins, The Cabbage Soup Diet, the diet pill Meridia and a wealth of more obscure methods came to light. Discarding the ones that provided an instant fix or required a prescription, I decided to try the oldest of the “fad” diets, the one touted by Dr. Atkins.
What’s Up Doc?
I am fortunate in that my Equal Half also felt the need to shed some poundage. Making a drastic change in one’s diet or any lifestyle change requires support. Equal Half made life so much simpler by supporting me and joining in the regimen.
Thirteen months ago, we ordered Dr. Atkins’ books, searched the net for testimonials and slams and visited our physician for the suggested blood tests and chem screens. Knowing my husband’s penchant to have one last fling before starting any restrictive activity, I started our diet without his knowledge. He did not appear to notice the lack of bread, rice or potatoes those first few days. We already had the practice of drinking at least a gallon of water, each, under control so that little bit of subterfuge was unnecessary. Four days into the new lifestyle, I informed Equal Half of my actions. We approached the scale with trepidation. I lost seven pounds and he lost nine. That served as incentive to continue with the plan.
The plan is simple to follow and implement. The lengthy list of acceptable foods is easy to remember. Rule of thumb dictates consumption of pre-packaged foods is a diet killer. Fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, poultry and some nuts provide the basis for optimal weight loss. My husband and I found renewed energy from the first day on Dr. Atkins’ plan. Our goal was to keep our carbohydrate intake down to under twenty grams per day. The pocket Carbohydrate Counter, published by Dr. Atkins, was our bible those first few weeks. After practically memorizing the contents, thanks to constant referral, the carb counts of most foods became second nature to both of us. Reading product labels in grocery stores helped keep “bad” foods out of our cupboards. The lifestyle fit well enough to become permanent.
We extended our initial period of severe restriction a bit beyond the average fourteen days mentioned in Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution. Even with strict adherence to the guidelines for the Induction Period, our weight loss slowed drastically the second week resulting in a total loss of sixteen pounds for Equal Half and twelve pounds for me. The additional days following Induction guide brought us to the weight we felt would serve as a great jumping off point to the next step, OWL or Ongoing Weight Loss.
The next step could not have come at a worse time. Halloween and all that chocolate were right around the corner. Following closely would be more food obsessive holidays, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas and New Years. I happily did not consider Valentines’ Day or I might have given up at that moment.
We made our decision to stick with the program, no matter the temptation. For the first time in memory, we shut off the front lights and burrowed in during Beggar’s Night and Halloween. Equal half volunteered to walk the streets with his Crime Watch Organization. I watched scary movies and felt sorry for myself. I love doling out Snickers®, Three Musketeers® and Milky Way® bars to the little ones. Last year I missed all the fun. Still, the weight fell off and I felt great; that is definitely worth a few sacrifices.
We managed to make Thanksgiving a true celebration minus the stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pies and home made rolls. Turkey, fresh cranberries sweetened with artificial sweetener, marinated asparagus and mushroom salad instead of the usual green bean casserole followed slivered fresh vegetables dipped in Grandma’s Cream Cheese-Anchovy Spread. Sugar-free cheesecake served as dessert. Jell-O™ with walnuts and whipped cream sated our collective sweet tooth. Thanks to the turkey, we still suffered the usual Turkey Day drowsies also known as falling asleep before sundown.
By the time Chanukah, Christmas and New Years passed; individually we discovered the truth about what happens after consuming too many carbohydrates via cookies, cakes and other holiday goodies. The sudden drop in energy level and in my case, the headaches prevented any additional experimentation. The scales showed little improvement during those holidays but we did not gain a pound. In other words, the OWL portion of the Atkins’ Diet successfully saved the day.
As with any life changing ordeal, the Atkins’ New Diet Revolution plan took months to become second nature. Fortunately, we suffered little stress between September and February. Stress is the enemy! Landmarks, such as the day I zipped my ancient size nine jeans for the first time in almost ten years, reinforced the good fight. Wearing a shirt tucked in without overflow seemed to put Equal Half into overdrive! The best of all possible case scenarios came to us in the form of a computer printout.
Six months after having the prerequisite blood work and chem panels completed, we subjected ourselves to more poking and prodding. Physically, we looked and felt younger and healthier. The reports from the laboratories proved the diet had positive results on more than our waistlines.
Diagnosed with hypoglycemia many years ago, I dealt with the symptoms by eating a small amount of food every couple of hours. If I failed to, a creeping pain traveled up my skull, just behind my ear. Instead of breaking out into a sweat, my skin would ooze grease leaving me oily, breathless and headachy. The blood work showed a drastic improvement in my levels, bordering on low normal in the glucose categories. A more extensive glucose tolerance test gave out more startling results, it appeared that particular malady was more than under control.
Equal Half received a call to come in and discuss his blood and urine tests. Due to the frightening nature of that call, we arrived at his doctor’s office in tandem. The doctor smiled and shook my husband’s hand and then presented the results. EVERYTHING was normal. No more high cholesterol, no more high triglycerides, no more borderline PSA – Equal Half achieved normalcy without medication. Diet and exercise alone put those numbers within normal ranges.
Nothing’s Perfect
By March, Equal Half’s loss totaled 36 pounds and my own loss hit 31 pounds. Our elation over successfully switching from fat and frumpy to slim and desirable was short lived. My Mother-in-Law passed away the first week in March. Equal Half compounded the stress-filled time when falling while playing tennis. The fall culminated in a shattered wrist, broken arm and crushed hand. He never does anything half way. The added stress and my own ongoing medical treatment brought many new trials into our lives along with several boxes of jelly donuts, pizza and anything containing flour, sugar or potatoes. Within days, the old reserve was gone. I willingly cooked, baked, fried or sautéed anything that pleased our palates.
As you may guess, the sudden shock to our systems resulted in almost immediate weight gain. I say “almost immediate” only because the horrendous diet we enjoyed did not take effect as quickly as some might assume. It actually took weeks before our gluttony showed up on the scales. With a rational mind, I now see this as a good sign that even little detours from Atkins’ Plan will not make a permanent dent in the success of the overall plan.
Back to the Future
This past June, we resolved ourselves to the facts. With Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, we feel healthy, lose or maintain weight and enjoy eating. Our energy levels remain high, we sleep better and still occasionally enjoy treats not listed on the Induction or Ongoing Weight Loss plans without guilt. We both want to lose another few pounds, more for aesthetic purposes than health. Soon, well jump from OWL’s 40 grams of carbohydrates or less to Maintenance’s self-determined levels and expand the variety of foods enjoyed.
After more than a year of experience with Dr. Atkins’ method, I can honestly say, this plan works for us. Not only do we look and feel better but also the laboratory tests prove the benefits are not imaginary. For us, the monitored carbohydrate diet is a way of life, not a temporary fix. We went about it with the approval and under the supervision of our family physicians. For us, it works and we endorse the plan when used with common sense and moderation. Anything taken to extremes is dangerous; dieting surely falls into that category as well. Our weight loss success is attributable to adhering to the plan and following a daily exercise regimen.
Controversy regarding the FDA’s Food Pyramid seems to be a moot point these days. The guidelines determining healthy intake of foods, as determined by our government and medical authorities, changed this past week. For more information on the new guidelines, visit Dr. Koop’s web site or the US government web site.
Anyone interested in finding out more about this particular diet might consider spending less than ten dollars on “Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution” and “Dr. Atkins’ New Carbohydrate Gram Counter,” the essential tools for success in this endeavor. Before starting any diet or exercise program, consult your physician and use common sense. Leaving a pretty corpse should be low priority. Be smart, eat smart and stay healthy at all costs. Good luck and remember, spare tires belong in trunks not on them!
Read my review on Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution at:
http://www.epinions.com/book-review-43C8-4D7CBC7-389DA346-prod2
Recommended:
Yes
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pogomom
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Web/puter person who, disguised as mild-mannered Pogomom, offers unsolicited opinions to all she encounters.
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