SC - Diet Blues--OT, OOP

[Susan Fox-Davis]

Dear Aoife:

Thank you for those warnings.  I am taking them seriously.  At this time, my
endrocrine system is fine, I have no history of fibroids nor endomitriosis, but
I am being monitored appropriately anyway, getting an ultra-sound next week in
fact.

My favorite thing about Atkins is that counting every little thing makes me MORE
neurotic about food, not LESS, so limiting types of food rather than counting
grams and calories works for me.  On the other hand, the low-carb thing drains
my morale and all this talk about churros and chocolate is driving me to
distraction.  Low fat maybe?

Yours in the quest for health and happiness,
Selene

Bethany Public Library wrote:

> Margali and others,
>
> PLEASE be espescially careful of the atkins at those other hi-pro, low carb
> diets. I, too went on Atkins, and lost a goodly amount of weight (all of
> which is back on, now, btw...). The reason for this caution is more serious,
> however.
>
> Unbeknownst to me at the time, I had small fibroid tumors and then developed
> endometriosis, and I developed ampant PMS (which I knew about---who could
> miss that?). Fibroid tumors are mostly experienced by women , are usually
> benign but cause a lot of internal problems, for the curious out there. At
> any rate, the Atkins diet seemed perfect for me to shed those pesky pounds,
> since I could eat what I liked the best---fat, grease, meat of any kind, and
> it was easy to be a SCAdian on the diet without too much sacrifice.
>
> It's what I didn't know that got me, however. There were some extrememly
> important facts I needed before starting that diet, ones that the GP didn't
> understand before giving me the go-ahead.
> First and foremost, animal fats are the preferred storage place for estrogen
> and other hormones. Those hormones (many of which are given to cattle so
> they will weight more at market or will produce more milk), esp. estrogen,
> caused the fibroids to grow quickly, and caused the endometriosis to quickly
> worsen. Carbohydrates, which act as a mood soothers, were mostly missing in
> my diet and so those agressive PMS tendencies exploded. Those of you who
> know me but haven't heard this story are probably now saying "Oh! That's why
> she was such a rampant b**ch," because I rarely talk about it, and it's true
> that I was not nice to be near for quite a while. The long and the short of
> it is this: I have to live with a belly that is the size of a woman who is 4
> months pregnant. That's permanent unless I opt for surgery, though once off
> the diet and after some hormone therapy that has stopped it's rapid
> increase. The agression came under control by quitting the diet and taking
> Prozac for a while (hormone therapy worked here, as well, and that was the
> end of the mood altering substances, thank god). Hormone therapy and minor
> surgery helped with the endometriosis. I'm still struggling with all these
> things, which were present in a MINOR way before the diet, but they were
> agravated and shoved out into the forefront of my life by that damned diet.
> PLEASE don't follow it for too long.
>
> My apologies to those who are a bit squeemish about female issues, but most
> doctors now agree that the effects of that diet are woefully understudied
> and that it's probably dangerous to follow for any length of time. I was on
> it 8 months. I'll regret it for the rest of my life. There are worse things
> in life than extra pounds.
>
> My personal advice: This diet is not for you if you are female and haven't
> reached menopause (at which point the endometriosis and fibroids are mostly
> non-issues). If you're a female and fertility is valuable to you, run away
> from this diet as fast as your legs will carry you. If your endocrine
> (thyroid, etc.)system is even remotely wonky, run away. If you go on this
> diet and notice increased agression (many people, men and women experience
> this), run away!
>
> Aoife, trying weight watchers now, and having a modicum of success, but
> feeling much healthier.
>
> Margali Wrote:
> >Well, as an atkid I can snack on macadamia nuts, cracklings, cream
> >heese based 'fudge', eggs ... anything low in carbs and in >moderation.
> >[teasing] I have recipes for low carb fudge and low carb mint ice >cream