My doctor wants me to eat low fat, not low carb

[Hot Tamale]

Heidi - I'm assuming that you might be younger than me (I see PSU as your location...if that's Penn State I'm a PSU grad!)... If you are in college - and quite young - you may still be thinking that doctors are pretty darn smart and we need to listen to them. Well... You know what? Doctors are pretty smart - but so are regular people like you and me. Our bodies don't lie. Low carb is good for us. Makes us feel better. We do lose weight - and not after 8 weeks!!! LOL That floors me! Back when I did low-fat I ate SO carefully AND walked/jogged 3 miles 4-5 times a week. In three years I GAINED 30 POUNDS!!! Well, I digress, but I strongly suggest you try to find a different doctor. If, for whatever reason, you can't, then do what others have suggested: eat low carb and just tell your doc on your next visit that you have been working at "eating right." Your doctor is not some "god," they are just a meteorologist of medicine...they try to determine what YOU should do based on what has worked for others in your situation. They base your diagnosis on what they've read - sometimes in OLD reports or with ANTIQUATED medical/nutritional guidelines. Stick with what you know works for YOUR body! Its YOUR money and doctors work for YOU. STAY STRONG!

[hollyoak]

Originally Posted by Heidi Bowen

I went to the doctor today.
My doctor asked about my weight loss. She asked what I was doing. I said low carb.
My doctor said that low carb isn't healthy. The only way to lose fat is to eat low fat.
She printed out a list of foods I should be eating to lose weight. She said I'd start losing weight in about 6 to 8 weeks.
Pasta is okay. I asked if whole wheat pasta was better. She said it didn't matter because pasta is low in fat. Low fat lunch meat. No red meat. No butter. No cheese. Only low fat salad dressing. Cereal with skim milk for breakfast. Only egg whites, no yolk.
She also wanted me to join Weight Watchers online and to stay away from doing low carb.

Does low fat really work better than low carb?

I tried to explain to the doctor that since I've started low carb I felt so much better. I also told her when I stopped eating sugar that first day it felt like I was withdrawing from the sugar. She said that doesn't happen.

I'm just confused about what to do.

I think it's your doctor who is confused, not you.

[junkfoodmonkey]

I think I'd have walked out of that office and never gone back. If they are so unable to think for themselves on that, what else are they so closed minded about? Has this doctor ever cracked open a medical journal since they qualified, do you think? Or do they think everything they learnt at med school was carved on stone blocks by the hand of God and is totally infallible and will remain unchanged from now until the end of time itself?

[miss sparky]

Originally Posted by Heidi Bowen

So, how do I find a doctor who is more accepting of low carb that is still in my HMO group? I had no idea until today what my doctor's view on weight loss was.

Don't be scared of your doctor....
It sounds as though WW type low fat diet is just her personal choice. She can't come home with you and watch what you eat.
Trust yourself. Eat good food.

Egg whites????!!!!!!

[jezzie]

Originally Posted by Heidi Bowen

I tried to explain to the doctor that since I've started low carb I felt so much better. I also told her when I stopped eating sugar that first day it felt like I was withdrawing from the sugar. She said that doesn't happen.

I'm just confused about what to do.

Low fat doesn't mean you are required to eat sugar.

It depends on how much faith you have in your doctor.
If you have done your homework and are convinced your
doc is wrong ... find a new one.

I personally would be 'uncomfortable' with a doctor who
believed there was only one plan even though WW can be
a good one.

[flatferenghi]

There ARE doctors out there who, if not enthusiastic, at least tolerant of low carb. Then, when you get to goal weight, come back show him/her the proof. You might win a convert. I am on weight watchers. I do not espouse low fat, and i told my leader that. she is fine with it. Love & Profits: FLATFERENGHI

[sugarless4life]

Low fat doesn't mean you are required to eat sugar.

Perhaps not, but the truth is, that many many many lowfat products have more sugar in them (the processed lowfat foods). Pasta, while sugar free, is a STARCH that your body turns into SUGAR when it hits your bloodstream. End result, your blood sugar rises and then falls through the floor and you find yourself ravenously hungry shortly after eating. When you're HUNGRY all the time, you eat more. Simple science. And a dieter's nightmare.

Fat, on the other hand, fills you up, keeps you satieted, and thus, you eat less. Not only that, it tastes GOOD!!

Me? Trade the fat on my steak for pasta? RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT! Thanks to the fat on my plate, I no longer have fat on my hips!

Betty

[belleadonna]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Look, it's your body. The doctor does not own your body nor are they nutritionists. They have precious little training in nutrition in medical school. Just do the low carb and either find a new doctor or just lose weight and show her it works.
[/COLOR]

[Rory8343]

Originally Posted by sugarless4life

................. Thanks to the fat on my plate, I no longer have fat on my hips! Betty

Can I put that on a tshirt?

[sugarless4life]

Originally Posted by Rory8343

Can I put that on a tshirt?

YES YOU CAN !

[redtoile]

You just need a new doc thats all

Mine was 100% ok with LC.
However, on a funny note, he said he did it forever and never lost a pound.
But he's a healthy weight already so it may not have been much of a change for his body type.

I think it's so important to find a doc that can open their mind.
I REALLY can't stand the God complex ones though, YUCK.

[somethingblue2u]

I would just do what I wanted anyways no matter what the doctor said. I can see why your doctor would say that. The doctor has been brainwashed like 95% of the population. I would eat low carb and not say another word until your next visit and you'll be quite a few pounds slimmer and then you can lay down the truth. That would be kinda fun.

[AllieCat0817]

Originally Posted by Heidi Bowen

I went to the doctor today.
My doctor asked about my weight loss. She asked what I was doing. I said low carb.
My doctor said that low carb isn't healthy. The only way to lose fat is to eat low fat.
She printed out a list of foods I should be eating to lose weight. She said I'd start losing weight in about 6 to 8 weeks.
Pasta is okay. I asked if whole wheat pasta was better. She said it didn't matter because pasta is low in fat. Low fat lunch meat. No red meat. No butter. No cheese. Only low fat salad dressing. Cereal with skim milk for breakfast. Only egg whites, no yolk.
She also wanted me to join Weight Watchers online and to stay away from doing low carb.

Does low fat really work better than low carb?

I tried to explain to the doctor that since I've started low carb I felt so much better. I also told her when I stopped eating sugar that first day it felt like I was withdrawing from the sugar. She said that doesn't happen.

I'm just confused about what to do.

Time to find a new dr. Period. That dr is ignorant.

[H20Goddess]

Originally Posted by sugarless4life

FIND AN EDUCATED DOCTOR.

Betty

Ditto to that.

[dawnyama]

I took my eldest son to the doctor last year for some kind of condition--I don't remember if it was a cold or whatever. Anyway, I told him that I was not thrilled about using anti-biotics for just a cold and if they weren't necessary don't give them to me. I asked him what he thought about using naturals/herbs for healing versus conventional medicine. I wanted to use oregano oil on Ken, who is 12 years old. I also told the pediatrician that I would never give my kids something I don't use myself. I don't want them to be guinea pigs. He surprised me with this answer "I have a friend who studies this and I will ask her opinion." I was floored that he didn't come right back with "No I don't believe that will work." So, you never know......another doctor is in order I think. When I started Dr. Atkins way back in 1999 my physician was less than thrilled that I was doing Atkins. She said that a lot of her patients ended up with diabetes after following Atkins. I didn't listen to her--fortunately I was able to find another doc after that LOL. I no longer discuss diet with my physician. No need to. But I have no health issues that keep me going to a doctor either. Good luck.

[BeThin]

I did the Weight Watchers thing... IT did not work for me, I gained weight.....

IF LC is working for you and you are losing weight then why switch.. Next time you go to the DR. just be honest with them and tell them what your doing... Eating healthy LC.. I am sure they will be happy with your weight lost.

My DR. did not like LC in the beginning but when I went back and had lost 15 lbs he said "so my diet is working for you", I said NO, I am doing a healthy LC, and he was fine with that and told me to keep up the good work.

You have to do what is right for you and what works. IF LC is working don't switch... Just be honest with the DR.

[Livywilltim-mom]

My DH's cardiologist suggested a [COLOR="Purple"]lower carb [/COLOR]diet to help lower his slightly elevated triglycerides. DH has Crohn's Disease and sees many specialists at the top hospitals in Boston, so I know this cardiologist is top notch.

Your Doc seems to be completely uneducated in nutrition.

Best wishes to you as you work this out.

Peace

[scandalouslyglam]

I cannot get over the fact that the Dr. Told the OP regular pasta is "the same" as Whole wheat pasta,"low fat". Yeah...Low fat but absolutely ZERO nutrition in it. At least w/ Whole wheat you'd be getting a bit of fiber....

Why do Dr's like this set us up to FAIL??? NO RESULTS in 1.5-2 months? I'm amazed. But, not suprised.

[junkfoodmonkey]

Originally Posted by dawnyama

I took my eldest son to the doctor last year for some kind of condition--I don't remember if it was a cold or whatever. Anyway, I told him that I was not thrilled about using anti-biotics for just a cold and if they weren't necessary don't give them to me. I asked him what he thought about using naturals/herbs for healing versus conventional medicine. I wanted to use oregano oil on Ken, who is 12 years old. I also told the pediatrician that I would never give my kids something I don't use myself. I don't want them to be guinea pigs. He surprised me with this answer "I have a friend who studies this and I will ask her opinion." I was floored that he didn't come right back with "No I don't believe that will work." So, you never know......another doctor is in order I think. When I started Dr. Atkins way back in 1999 my physician was less than thrilled that I was doing Atkins. She said that a lot of her patients ended up with diabetes after following Atkins. I didn't listen to her--fortunately I was able to find another doc after that LOL. I no longer discuss diet with my physician. No need to. But I have no health issues that keep me going to a doctor either. Good luck.

Glad you've got an open minded doctor there. Though I hope it wasn't just a simple cold he was going to give your son anti-biotics for. That really steams my broccoli. The indiscriminate use of anti-biotics for colds and flu - which they have no effect on - is one of the stupidest things humans have ever done! Anti-biotics are miracle drugs, they've saved millons of lives, they changed the world. And we've been wasting them by innappropriate use, causing them to become steadily less effective. It may get to the point where they are ineffective, and then we're stuffed. Welcome back septecemia, we didn't miss you at all.

Sorry to threadjack. [/rant] Pet subject of mine, since me and my sibs wouldn't even have been born if the then new-fangled anti-biotics hadn't saved my mother from dying of TB meningitis when she was 12.

And I know doctors come under pressure from patients asking for anti-biotics for conditions that don't need them. But that's definitely a time for the doctor to stand firm and insist they are right.

[Recluse]

After seeing my Doc (my doc of over 20 years) for the first time after losing 46 lbs a couple of years ago he asked how I did it - I told him he wouldnt be happy with this Atkins thing - he said that the "smart" people are now starting to come around and think that it doesn't matter much how you do it as long as you do it. Everytime I go to see him and he looks at my chart he comments on how pleased he is at my weight loss! Personally I would never lose on low fat - this has been the biggest advantage for me - I feel satisfied...

[KINDERHORE]

I lost 85 pounds in a year on low carb and never felt better. I started doing WW and eating low fat, hardly any meats and fats (high on the points meter) and ate low fat, high fiber and my blood sugars went out of control and I didn't lose any weight. I had never felt worse.

[Moretta]

Please do get another Dr. who is willing to listen to you, not go against your wishes.

Good luck in finding another Dr.

[Sleepy]

low fat will just make you fat
id find another doctor also

[sappl38220]

Yup, you need a new doctor, one who has studied medicine in this century. There is way too much medical evidence out there to the contrary.

[Margot 65]

I was told recently to 'believe only 1/2 of what your Doctor tells you, and to do your own research on the other 1/2'

Doctors are trained in medicinal ways of treating disease, a lot of them are diseases or 'symptoms' of diseases we did not have hundreds of years ago.

hundreds of years ago a 'low-fat' diet was unheard of

Sad about your HMO (is that what is is called?) we really should be allowed a choice.

[LisaWV]

Doctors are like snowflakes man... they're all different...

Some say Okay... some say no...

[Margot 65]

oops I got my quote wrong and it makes no sense LOL

"Do NOT believe half of what your Doctor tells you, and do your own research on the other half"

LOL when I was pregnant and suffering from SPD, my doctor had NO idea what it was or why it hurt or what to do about it.. he just called it pregnancy woes.

I did my own research and found a chiropractor that had me running up and down the stairs after 2 visits. Prior to that I could not lift up one foot to put on a pair of panties.

this chir has been treating women with SPD for years, and could not figure out why my Doctor had never heard of it.

[afuentes]

Originally Posted by steady

I just told the doctor what I DON'T eat (no sugar or processed foods)...and then they see it as a very healthy diet. Unfortunately doctors are no better informed about nutrition than the average lay person. This burns me up...

This is what I do. When I share what I don't eat, everyone says how healthy it sounds. Once I say low carb or Atkins, I get crucified.

[afuentes]

Originally Posted by myanv

Isn't weight watchers a lower carb diet now? I notice a lot of their yogurts are low carb

My mom goes to WW's so I have been to some of the meetings with her. They, or at least her leader, push veggies/fruit/yogurt, etc instead of white starches. They push whole wheat products alot more now. However......they still push lowfat.

[afuentes]

Thanks to the fat on my plate, I no longer have fat on my hips!


Sugarless4Life - that one is great!!!!