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Edited on Wed Nov-05-03 03:10 PM by haele
I come from a family of genetically "curvy" (averaging around 40 lbs above what's now considered "normal", to be honest) but long lived, healthy people; good farm stock - smallish, broad frames, lots of fat storage to keep going.
Basically, my father's family was built for long periods of slow, heavy, physical labor, not for sitting at a desk or sprinting about getting things done, which is more or less what I'm doing now. (especially since my leg is screwed up and I'm on limited duty...) Mom's family tends towards the more acceptable runner's or "greyhound" look, but that's not the genes I got. I spent most of my Navy career fighting the apperance of the "body fat" issue (even though I was not obese, but was healthy, strong and active, just because I didn't look as good in uniform as Petty Officer Modelina Runningduringlunch (apologies to any native Americans who might be offended by my use of that type tag) who could barely pick up her own nail file after 1330 when she came back.
Anyway, I digress -
My point is that modern life, especially cubicle life or commuter life, where a person will spend at least 10 - 12 hours away from family and home without the ability to spend an hour or so off to exercise even 30 minutes, creates a lot of minor obesity that a modified eating plan such as Atkins with higher proteins (including vegetable protiens such as soy and nuts for the vegetarian types) higher amounts of healthy fats and less complex carbohydrates will supply enough calories to function in public - including the ability to drive in traffic for an hour or two on your commute - without having a weight issue.
And then, of course, they come back home, exhausted, spend a bit of time with the partner and kids - then go to bed. Or worse, have to go to a second or third job...
How many dieters out there have this sort of life?
I've tried "lower calories/more excersise" - it only works when you have the ability to do cardio excersises for at least two complete sessions of 20 minutes a day. No "stop and go" type "let's walk around the cubicle space" or taking the stairs vice the elevator on a regular basis exercise - which is healthy in terms of maintaining weight, but doesn't burn as much calories as you need to to actually loose weight.
Even then, one finds that it's mainly water weight one loses until about six to eight months down the way.
Every doctor and nutritionalist I've dealt with about a no-suppliment "lower calories/more cardio-exercise" type regieme tells me that it's good if you want to loose 20 real pounds in a year, with that initial 10 - 15 pounds of water weight to get you going. Meaning that for most office worker types, one should only take in 2500 calories to 30 minutes of constant execise a day with a raise of caloric intake at a 1 in for 2 out the more or less amount of calorie burning you do. That's the rule of thumb for healthy dietary change for weight loss for the normal urban dweller that doesn't do heavy physical labor on a regular basis using that method.
Unfortunatly, most people want (for whatever reason - looks or health) to loose more weight, or loose weight quicker, the average person finds themselves taking in an unhealthy low amount of calories on that sort of diet; usually 2000 less to loose the weight with a minimum of 30 minutes sporatic exercise.
When one does that, one actually ends up loosing less weight along with feeling like crap and screwing up the body because a normal metabolism recognises a decrease of calories as an indication of a possible starvation scenario, and stops buring calories at a normal rate as well as slowing down body functions to try and keep you alive. No matter what sort of vitamin/mineral/complex supplements you take, no matter if you take that shake religiously for lunch and breakfast, your body thinks it's starving.
What a diet such as Atkins does is let you do is to initally go into ketosis - carbohydrate depletion for quicker or greater weight loss, while not triggering the part of the caloric intake reaction that shuts down body functions by using protiens and healthy fats to simulate carbohydrates.
For those who can't exercise regularly, don't do heavy physical labor, or are on some sort of disability (including mental, such as bi-polar), the initial induction phase of Atkins usually gives them enough of a "head start" in the weight loss without feeling too shitty, that they have a better experiance maintaining with simpler, more healthy low calorie/carb diet that they can tailor to their lifestyle without supplements or special foods.
The thing most people I know who do Atkins or talk about Atkins as a "diet" is don't really understand is that the "diet" after the induction phase actually nothing more than just another "health conscious" cook book that stresses checking with one's doctor if there's a possiblity of health issues. Ultimatly, it's a lifestyle change of smaller portions, home-made healthy meals, less unhealthy processed fats and sugars, and more exercise, even if it's just walking the dog and gardening more regularly. That's what Atkins recommends in all the books I've read.
For some reason, the 2 to 3 month induction period is what hangs up most people who talk about Atkins. "Ooooh, can't do that fad thing, look at all those supplimental crutches and all those food restrictions!"
Heck, most real medical specialist in weight loss/obesity generally do the same thing as Atkins; most of the difference I see is the difference in flexibility on how they structure their weight loss; some prefer more carbs but less calories and more supplements which tends to bring about a slower weight loss, some prefer a quicker shock to the system...
But ultimatly, it comes down to a metabolistic YMMV and the personal preferance.
Personally, (and digressing a bit more) I'm just going to have to realise that no matter what I do, I'll still have more curves than the average woman my age. I diet to stay healthy and within a comfortable weight range, since with my screwed up leg, I can't exercise the way I should for my body type anymore. And Atkins post-induction (with just a couple weeks induction if I cheat with the 7-11 apple fritters and filled doughnuts for breakfast too many times) works just great; it's almost exactly what my great-grandparents ate back in 1910's Missouri between harvest and planting as they dropped their work level - and they lived healthy and active up into their 90's and 100's.
Off my soapbox.
Haele
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