Undoubtedly we won't all agree with all of this, but ....

mandycat223

... it makes for interesting reading. The topic is why we might not be losing on Atkins and of course not everyone here is following the Atkins WOE. But there are some points that merit our attention because they could apply to any LC program. The points I liked the LEAST were: (1) Calories count. (2) Not all carbs are created equal; we can be counting carbs but disregarding personal food sensitivities. I myself could be taking in way too much bacon and dairy. (3) Unlimited fat can be our downfall. Boooo, hissssss, string her up.

This lady goes way back, having succeeded with the original, early 1970's version of Atkins. (Who knows, she and I could have passed each other in the street, wearing identical orange corduroy mini-skirts and crocheted granny square vests.) She describes some of ways today's Atkins is markedly different from the good doctor's plan. That was an eye opener in itself. Also, she gives a formula for figuring out when "zero carb" foods are not.

So for whatever useful tips you can gain, even if you violently disagree with the rest, here 'tis.

https://kickincarbclutter.blogspot.com/2017/01/not-losing-weight-on-atkins.html

LizinLowell

That was interesting. I agree about needing to count calories, at least for myself. But this paragraph seems to directly contradict what Fung & others are saying & just seems kinda nuts TBH, I don't know where she got this science:

Violet_Flux

sixaround1 wrote: »

That was interesting. I agree about needing to count calories, at least for myself. But this paragraph seems to directly contradict what Fung & others are saying & just seems kinda nuts TBH, I don't know where she got this science:

I agree. I think the implication, or assumption, was that insulin resistance is all-or-nothing, so if IR affected you in this one way, then everything else insulin did to/for you would be equally impacted. Which I don't believe is the case.

Apart from that though, most of it rang true to me as well.

JohnnyLowCarb

Fat cells might "always be open" but when insulin is spiked those cells cannot be accessed for energy.

KnitOrMiss

I didn't read the article, but sadly, the IR means that my fat cells are ALWAYS locked... or one way doors - things can come in but not leave (Hotel California anyone?). However, I have the added component of cellular energy resistance which means that my cells don't want any energy over their imaginary thresholds, whatever those are. Too much of those, and my system overloads. It doesn't matter if it is too much carbs/sugar or too much ketones, but body shuts up shop to attempt to deal with it all. I hate the reaction, as I can't seem to place the triggers!

KenSmith108

JohnnyLowCarb wrote: »

Fat cells might "always be open" but when insulin is spiked those cells cannot be accessed for energy.

I'm not completely onboard with this.
When I was much heavier I had to inject quite a bit
more insulin. As the weight came off my insulin was cut back.
So to say my insulin was always elevated yet I could still
use the fat cells for energy.

or

kpk54

I liked the article. A lot. The part on insulin resistance was interesting to me and I'm not insulin resistant. I just hear about it a lot in this forum and I think this article takes an interesting perspective on it.

There are many in this forum with legitimate health issues that interfere with weight loss so I'm not pointing fingers. I know for me, I became over weight because I ate too much. Acceptance of that really sucked. For me. I'd so love to eat all the things, all the time. Calorie awareness and making behavior changes needed for weight loss and weight maintenance are not high on my list of things I want to do for a lifetime but whatever it takes for it to work for me.

The author's 31 reasons present something for everyone. #10 (tasting food when cooking) and #17 (eating when not hungry) became key for me for ease in maintenance. Behaviors I have/had that are not conducive to weight management.

anglyn1

Overall I thought it was a good article. I know for myself calories do seem to count. I didn't really have any lab tests that indicated I had any metabolic syndromes and I don't think I was insulin resistant. I did have some hypoglycemic reactions before that aren't a problem now. I started keto to see if it would help my RA flares and had honestly given up on losing weight all together. I did successfully lose over 30 lbs. and I think it's because I'm less hungry and thus able to eat less calories. So I probably lost because I was eating less calories but I could not stick to that calorie level if I were getting those calories from carbs because I'd be starving and miserable.