Are we losing the LC war in our society?

[peanutte]

bag of jelly beans says "a fat free food!" And everyone knows fat is bad, so jelly beans must be a health food, right?

Oh, God, I know. A fat-free food! Yippee!

[Looweewoo]

Originally Posted by Yellobrix

bag of jelly beans says "a fat free food!" And everyone knows fat is bad, so jelly beans must be a health food, right? Especially the fruit flavored ones.

I might have to find that or something like it and purchase them just to cut out and carry around the label... so I can show it to the fat-free robots that wander around me high on sugar but convinced they are eating healthily.

[Magicsmom]

This is going to sound incredibly selfish, but it is what it is. I don't care if I convert one single person. It's not a war to me. Big pharma, big food company, and big brother can do what they want to do. I have made my personal decision about what is right for me, and I'm not in this thing to win people over. The one and only thing that convinced me this was right was that I tried it and it worked just like Michael Eades said it would. I have never been an evangelist for low carb and couldn't care less what the media and schools have to say about it. I'm doing it for me, and the rest of the world can do whatever they want for themselves.

[peanutte]

I'm doing it for me, and the rest of the world can do whatever they want for themselves.

There are people in my life who would benefit from this type of diet--who, it could be argued, really need this kind of diet. I have not preached, but I have answered their questions and they have been impressed with my results. But it comes down to "Oh, it's so great what you've done--but I couldn't do that. I just don't think I could eat that way." Back to the bread and chips and potatoes and pancakes they go. For all intents and purposes, I've stopped giving a crap.

In the larger sense of Big Pharma and the ADA and food lobbies and all that, yeah, it stinks. But unless they make it illegal for me to eat the way I want to, I'll just keep eating the way I want to.

[Magicsmom]

Originally Posted by peanutte

There are people in my life who would benefit from this type of diet--who, it could be argued, really need this kind of diet. I have not preached, but I have answered their questions and they have been impressed with my results. But it comes down to "Oh, it's so great what you've done--but I couldn't do that. I just don't think I could eat that way." Back to the bread and chips and potatoes and pancakes they go. For all intents and purposes, I've stopped giving a crap.

I stopped giving a crap too. I have had the same experience. People see the efficacy of this WOE by a preponderance of evidence in my results. They have seen what happens when I'm on and unfortunately, they've seen the results when I fell off. They know it could benefit them, but they aren't willing to make the sacrifice. This WOE is a hard sell in our culture, and a very personal decision. I don't have to wear the donuts on my arse, they do, and I have long since stopped caring what other people eat.

[Lillianna]

The fathers of two children in my dd's middle school class had massive heart attacks in the last two weeks. One was fatal...these men were both health conscious; one was an avid runner. I only know the man who lived; he ate a very low fat, high carb diet--lots of fruits and vegetables, whole wheat bread and pasta, low fat margarine, polyunsaturated oils, very little meat or saturated fat. I didn't know the other person.

The wife of the man who lived said that every once in a while he would just have a craving for bacon and he would buy some. She blames the heart attack on that.

I bought a copy of Good Calories, Bad Calories and donated it to my local library over the weekend. I made sure they would put it into circulation. Every time I hear of someone in my community who has a heart attack I will donate a copy of GCBC to another library.

I think many people (my father included) lost this war...

[anipomoni]

Originally Posted by Magicsmom

This is going to sound incredibly selfish, but it is what it is. I don't care if I convert one single person. It's not a war to me. Big pharma, big food company, and big brother can do what they want to do. I have made my personal decision about what is right for me, and I'm not in this thing to win people over. The one and only thing that convinced me this was right was that I tried it and it worked just like Michael Eades said it would. I have never been an evangelist for low carb and couldn't care less what the media and schools have to say about it. I'm doing it for me, and the rest of the world can do whatever they want for themselves.

I guess we are all just lucky that Dr Atkins didn't feel this way.

[Magicsmom]

Originally Posted by anipomoni

I guess we are all just lucky that Dr Atkins didn't feel this way.

It was his line of work, not mine. I refuse to let people make me feel obligated to convert the world to low carb. Dr. Atkins' books are a small tip of the iceberg of available information about this. I found it, you found it, everyone here found it. It's not the best kept secret in the world, and if people want to know, I'll tell them, but I'm not in a personal war to win the world to low carbing.

[Looweewoo]

Originally Posted by Magicsmom

I stopped giving a crap too.

I guess that's really the difference.

I don't make it my daily goal, and no, again, it's not that I'm all upset about what other adults chose to eat, but I do care that people who probably would be healthier by eating low carb are being given the wrong information daily by "experts".

I care that most young people are not able to make an educated choice because they are being mis-educated. As a species we agree to educate our children, most people care about that, but do we just abdicate when they are not given both sides of the question? Apparently many do.

There's a growing epidemic of obese infants. I care about that. When I see a six month old child who is twice the width of most infants, being fed HFCS in baby formula, it feels like a War. One we are losing.

[pocahontas]

I dont think of it as a war. I think of it as a secret that we all know! I dont give a dang what anyone else eats or does. Its their responsibility to educate themselves, not mine. I can find something LC to eat just about anywhere so I have no complaints.

[anipomoni]

Originally Posted by Magicsmom

It was his line of work, not mine. I refuse to let people make me feel obligated to convert the world to low carb. Dr. Atkins' books are a small tip of the iceberg of available information about this. I found it, you found it, everyone here found it. It's not the best kept secret in the world, and if people want to know, I'll tell them, but I'm not in a personal war to win the world to low carbing.

Everyone can find it. Heck everyone has heard of low carb! The people here just happen to believe what they have found. The problem is that it's contrary to everything we've been taught. That's the problem....the teaching. We're freaks. Seriously...we are the alternative, conspiracy theorist type crowd. At least, that's how we look.

Besides, no one says YOU have to do anything. I don't. But I sure recognize the problem and hope someone is doing something about it. Not only are kids being taught that unhealthy food is healthy, but nutritionists and Dr's are being taught the same thing. And worst of all, being taught to not question it. That needs to change, and someone needs to change it. No, not you and I. Just in general.

[Magicsmom]

Originally Posted by Looweewoo

I guess that's really the difference.

I don't make it my daily goal, and no, again, it's not that I'm all upset about what other adults chose to eat, but I do care that people who probably would be healthier by eating low carb are being given the wrong information daily by "experts".

I care that most young people are not able to make an educated choice because they are being mis-educated. As a species we agree to educate our children, most people care about that, but do we just abdicate when they are not given both sides of the question? Apparently many do.

There's a growing epidemic of obese infants. I care about that. When I see a six month old child who is twice the width of most infants, being fed HFCS in baby formula, it feels like a War. One we are losing.

And so what is stopping people from finding out exactly what we have? Are we a secret society or something? I'm not getting that. If people are ignorant, many times it's because they choose to be. It takes WORK to go out and research things, read, and gather information. It's easy and it's lazy to take the spoon fed information from the media.

Originally Posted by anipomoni

Everyone can find it. Heck everyone has heard of low carb! The people here just happen to believe what they have found. The problem is that it's contrary to everything we've been taught. That's the problem....the teaching. We're freaks. Seriously...we are the alternative, conspiracy theorist type crowd. At least, that's how we look.

Besides, no one says YOU have to do anything. I don't. But I sure recognize the problem and hope someone is doing something about it. Not only are kids being taught that unhealthy food is healthy, but nutritionists and Dr's are being taught the same thing. And worst of all, being taught to not question it. That needs to change, and someone needs to change it. No, not you and I. Just in general.

Actually, you and I are not far apart in our viewpoints. The way I see it, the best testimony to this WOE is to walk the talk. Anybody can talk about something, but what really means something to people is if you SHOW them it works. I have garnered a lot of interest about this WOE by having results, much more than I ever could have done talkng to anyone and everyone about it. People like tangible results, and nothing is more tangible than seeing me shrink. That is my way of letting the world know what LC can do.

[peanutte]

The way I see it, the best testimony to this WOE is to walk the talk. Anybody can talk about something, but what really means something to people is if you SHOW them it works. I have garnered a lot of interest about this WOE by having results, much more than I ever could have done talking to anyone and everyone about it. People like tangible results, and nothing is more tangible than seeing me shrink. That is my way of letting the world know what LC can do.

[FitnessWanabee]

Originally Posted by fawn

It's going to be a long fight Betty, there is no profit in good health and this economy is tightly wrapped up in poor health. Imagine if we were all well.

Well other products would arise to fill new demands by healthy, strong people! What those products would be I'm not sure, but enterprising minds would figure it out.

[Joy-FL]

Originally Posted by FitnessWanabee

Well other products would arise to fill new demands by healthy, strong people! What those products would be I'm not sure, but enterprising minds would figure it out.

[teri f]

Originally Posted by Looweewoo

No, I have no problem with the words, just their use. The USDA/Agri/media is using them to convince people that they can do "Low Carb" while actually getting 55% of their calories from carbohydrates, AKA the food pyramid.

That's not Atkins, that's not low carb, it's not even moderate carb - that's just the SAD.

And I'm not offended, I just know that it's wrong, and I despise people who try to fool the ignorant.

I eat fruits and vegetables. I love fruits and vegetables. Right now I am chewing a bite of a great salad with two kinds of lettuce, a small tomato, some avocado, three kinds of sprouts, hot peppers and Tuna. Fruits and vegetables in abundance. But a carbohydrate is a carbohydrate is a carbohydrate, none are better than any others. I can't pretend that the sugar in my tomato is anything other than sugar. That would be stupid.

But that's what the USDA wants you to think. So they use phrases like "Healthy Fruits and Vegetables". The clue is the constant adjective "Healthy". Which of the fruits and vegetables in your stores are not healthy? None, if you ask them. Therefore, the adjective is used for some other purpose than to distinguish them from the "unhealthy" fruits and vegetables, Propagandistic purposes.

They know that if they can get you to habitually use the phrase "Healthy Fruits and Vegetables" and associate it with the phrase "Good Carbs" even though both phrases are meaningless, they can turn all thoughts of Low Carb diets into the Food Pyramid again. After all, HFCS is made from "healthy Fruits and vegetables", Wheat is a "Healthy fruit and vegetable", Even cane sugar is "All natural" and comes from "Pure vegetable sources".

Let that soak into most people's brains unopposed and they will be eating "People Chow" within a decade. Wait... most people already do. See how well it works?

I don't mind what you eat and I really hope everyone reaches their goal, but I know that the Agribusiness lobby learned their methods from the Tobacco lobby and the results are the same. A flood of specious terminology bantered around by the unknowingly ignorant who blithely consume the products they are tricked into thinking are healthy, while growing sicker and eventually falling under the Jackboot of the Pharmaceutical lobby.

I'm not for it.

BRAVO!!! Excellent post.

[jezzie]

Originally Posted by Magicsmom

This is going to sound incredibly selfish, but it is what it is. I don't care if I convert one single person. It's not a war to me. Big pharma, big food company, and big brother can do what they want to do. I have made my personal decision about what is right for me, and I'm not in this thing to win people over. The one and only thing that convinced me this was right was that I tried it and it worked just like Michael Eades said it would. I have never been an evangelist for low carb and couldn't care less what the media and schools have to say about it. I'm doing it for me, and the rest of the world can do whatever they want for themselves.

[SarahAnne717]

Not geared towards Atkins specifically, but here is my opinion...

I think it is a war. People are being lied to. That's not okay. I will fight for them.

And there will be battles ahead, but you know what? We've already won the war. We have the proof, the evidence, the research, the TRUTH. It's just a matter of time.

(There is a lot of scientific research out there and there are a lot of health care professionals who are recognizing and fighting for real, quality, whole foods)

[Looweewoo]

Originally Posted by SarahAnne717

Not geared towards Atkins specifically, but here is my opinion...

I think it is a war. People are being lied to. That's not okay. I will fight for them.

Good for you! People with the "I got mine" attitude are within their rights, but it's hard to feel enthusiastic about their position.

[Moons_Mom]

All I know is that I used to be able to find low-carb products even at my small town local grocery store.

I mostly eat whole foods - so it isn't a problem. But I sure do miss being able to find low-carb sauces like teriaki or ketchup.

It made it a lot easier then to eat in a hurry because you could always fry up a chicken breast and slather on some sauce if you were in a hurry.

I haven't seen low-carb (or sugar free) sauces forever in my grocery stores here.

[Magicsmom]

Originally Posted by Looweewoo

Good for you! People with the "I got mine" attitude are within their rights, but it's hard to feel enthusiastic about their position.

Nobody seems to be asking anyone to be enthusiastic about their position except those who are suited up for battle. Just sayin'. And I don't have a "I got mine" attitude. I have the "let me show you how it's done" attitude, and a "if you want to know how I'm doing it, we can talk" attitude. Talk is cheap, but the only thing that really speaks to people is to see you walk the talk.

[Looweewoo]

Originally Posted by Magicsmom

Nobody seems to be asking an

OK, ok, you win... Yow...

[cleochatra]

I think both sides make good points.

Peace, not war, within our own threads, is a wonderful thing.

[Lillianna]

I know so many health-conscious, educated people who would never dream of questioning the advice of their doctor. For years they eat fruit and cereal for breakfast, fat free cheese and turkey sandwich on whole wheat for lunch, with fat free yogurt and more fruit, spaghetti, garlic bread and salad for dinner and wonder why they are always hungry, always snacking, always craving, and always gaining. Most people who are overweight have blood sugar/insulin issues. This kind of diet would be disastrous for them.

Why would they question the advice of their doctor? They beat themselves up for gaining weight..and when their cholesterol goes up they cut the fat even more until they are eating nothing but carbs, and getting sicker and sicker on statins. The average person listens to the advice of their doctor. I don't think we can blame people for not discovering low carb on their own. To the average person low carb is a fad diet, and the only purpose is quick weight loss. I don't know what the answer is. I quickly realized when I tried to preach low carb to my friends and family I became labeled as a strange, misguided zealot who would surely end up with heart disease.

Some of the posters here said that the tide will turn in the coming years. I so hope they are right.

[shirlc]

Someone close to me lost a lot of weight on Atkins a few years ago. Unfortunately, he put it all back on again. I had never been interested in this WOE before, but started doing it myself (when I saw that it was working for him) and have been doing it ever since. He reminded me that I had said that it was really unhealthy when he told me he was on it. I totally had forgotten that! Anyway, my DH says this person is more observing of my example of continuing this WOE than I think he is. And I think this may be true for everyone who follows this WOE...that people notice, but probably don't want us to know that they are! We just don't realize what an example we are making.

[Houston Heather]

One thing I resent, people who want me to "tell" them how to "Do it like you did" and roll their eyes when I tell them to read the book. I can't "tell" them in a minute or two, how to do Atkins properly! People will insist I am eating LEAN meats, or LOW FAT. Even minutes of explaining doesn't convince them I lost it eating high fat/low carb.

Even worse, are the ones I'm sure I instructed properly, who come up and say "I'm eating 3 apples a day like you said, but I'm not losing". Excuse me, I NEVER said that.

AGGH.

[peanutte]

Even worse, are the ones I'm sure I instructed properly, who come up and say "I'm eating 3 apples a day like you said, but I'm not losing". Excuse me, I NEVER said that.

Imagine how Dr. Atkins would feel if he were alive today. He never said a LOT of things people seem to believe are part of Atkins.

[fireflyfaster]

Originally Posted by Lillianna

I know so many health-conscious, educated people who would never dream of questioning the advice of their doctor. For years they eat fruit and cereal for breakfast, fat free cheese and turkey sandwich on whole wheat for lunch, with fat free yogurt and more fruit, spaghetti, garlic bread and salad for dinner and wonder why they are always hungry, always snacking, always craving, and always gaining. Most people who are overweight have blood sugar/insulin issues. This kind of diet would be disastrous for them.

Why would they question the advice of their doctor? They beat themselves up for gaining weight..and when their cholesterol goes up they cut the fat even more until they are eating nothing but carbs, and getting sicker and sicker on statins. The average person listens to the advice of their doctor. I don't think we can blame people for not discovering low carb on their own. To the average person low carb is a fad diet, and the only purpose is quick weight loss. I don't know what the answer is. I quickly realized when I tried to preach low carb to my friends and family I became labeled as a strange, misguided zealot who would surely end up with heart disease.

Some of the posters here said that the tide will turn in the coming years. I so hope they are right.

^^ Very well put -- and my assessment exactly. In addition I have noticed some, not all diabetics (also celiacs and gluten-allergy people) turning LC without making the connection to "that fad diet."

[Magicsmom]

Originally Posted by Houston Heather

One thing I resent, people who want me to "tell" them how to "Do it like you did" and roll their eyes when I tell them to read the book. I can't "tell" them in a minute or two, how to do Atkins properly! People will insist I am eating LEAN meats, or LOW FAT. Even minutes of explaining doesn't convince them I lost it eating high fat/low carb.

Even worse, are the ones I'm sure I instructed properly, who come up and say "I'm eating 3 apples a day like you said, but I'm not losing". Excuse me, I NEVER said that.

AGGH.

No, you can't tell them in a minute or two, and if they don't want to read any of the myriad of books on the subject, then they aren't really interested anyway. For me, reading Protein Power in 1999 was a lightbulb moment that explained so many physical symptoms I had been having for over 10 years. Reading that, I saw myself on the pages, and knew what I needed to do, but it was 5 more years and about 50 pounds later when I finally was ready to make the change. Lifestyle change is a very personal and individual thing, and people in Western society are enamored with their carbs. It's not easy to get them to give it up, and some never will.

[Dreams]

Originally Posted by Houston Heather

Even worse, are the ones I'm sure I instructed properly, who come up and say "I'm eating 3 apples a day like you said, but I'm not losing". Excuse me, I NEVER said that.

AGGH.

That is the worst. Last time on LC, my friend wanted to do it with me and I explained to her the best way that I could. I mentioned that I liked to eat most of my carbs in the morning/afternoon, rather than with dinner. Just a personal preference of mine.

She told me she would eat her doritos with her lunch because I said that was what she should do.

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. NOT.