Atkins Diabetes Revolution Read Online Free PDF Page B

32 years ago when Dr. Atkins’ original book, Dr.Atkins’Diet Revolution, was published. I am a registered nurse and, at the time, I was working on a surgical unit. Although I was doing well on Atkins—losing weight and feeling good—the surgeons I worked with were vehemently against it. They told me I was going to get sick and that it would ruin my kidneys.They were on me about it every day.Atkins was a brand-new concept at the time, and I thought, “Well, what if they’re right?” So I did go off the program after about 12 weeks. During the 30 years since then, I have been on every conceivable diet there is, never with any real success.
    In 1996, I was placed on the drug Lupron and had a hysterectomy. From that point on, my weight problem only got worse. No mat ter how little I ate, no matter what diet I tried, I simply could not lose any weight.

    N AME : Ann McKay
    A GE :57
    H EIGHT : 5 feet 0 inches
    W EIGHT B EFORE :
         247 pounds
    W EIGHT N OW :
         205 pounds
    About two years ago, I found myself at a depressing 247 pounds—I’m only 5 feet tall—and wearing a size 26. I also discovered that my blood sugar level was going up—it was around 170 mg/dL. When I spoke to my primary-care doctor about it, he wanted me to go on a 1,500-calorie-a- day American Diabetes Association (ADA) diet. I told him, “Well, I’ve been on a 1,000-calorie diet pretty much my whole life, one way or another, and it hasn’t worked.”
    I had even been hospitalized in the 1970s for my weight problem, where I was placed on a 700- to 800-calorie-a-day diet. I remember waiting for my eight o’clock snack of Tab soda and celery sticks. It was really sad. I was there for three and a half weeks and I gained 5 pounds.
    All these years later, not wanting to be put on yet another low-calorie diet, I asked my doctor,“What about Atkins?”And he said,“Oh, I just lost 40 pounds on Atkins! But I don’t want you on it.” He was apparently concerned about my medical history—I’ve had some serious health problems. I don’t think he wanted to do the close monitoring that he thought would be necessary if I went on Atkins. So, he handed me the 1,500- calorie ADA diet and said, “Try this for two weeks and then come back and we’ll see what we’re going to start you on.” I knew what that meant: He was going to put me on diabetes medication.
    When I got home, I was very upset. I knew I had the phone number for The Atkins Center somewhere in my house and began madly sifting through my papers to find it.When I called the number, a nurse answered the phone and I spilled my guts to her. “I just left my doctor’s office and I’m very angry and upset,” I said.“I know where’s he’s heading. He wants to put me on medication. Also, I’ve been seeing him for hypothyroidism, and I feel he’s not looking at it properly.All my hormone levels are normal but I know there’s something wrong with my thyroid. I was just wondering if Dr. Atkins still sees patients?” I was told he did. I breathed a sigh of relief. She faxed me a questionnaire that day, I filled it out and, three weeks later, I had my appointment. I did one day of lab work and then saw Dr. Atkins the very next day.
    I liked Dr. Atkins right away. He reminded me of the old-time GP I had as a child. He was solid and confident.“You’ve got a complex medical situation here,” he said, “and it could have been straightened out years ago.” He asked me several questions, went through the eating plan with me, and told me I’d need to come to The Atkins Center once a month for follow-up. So for the next six months, I went every month—a big commitment when you have to drive three and a half hours to get there. Fortunately, my husband was willing to get up at six a.m. and drive with me each time.
    When I first saw Dr. Atkins, my blood sugar level was 179, my cholesterol was 215, my triglycerides were 158, my HDL was 41 and my LDL was 142, and other lab results