Atkins vs. Low Cholesterol Diets - Janis' Story

This was written by my friend Janis from About.com's Weight Loss forum. She's a huge Atkins supporter because of how it lowered her weight and cholesterol. Her numbers are now normal for the first time in her life. She's been on Atkins about two years, one of those years in maintenance. She's been able to maintain with no problem at all.

I think one of the reasons Atkins was so perfect for me was because I was on low fat/low cholesterol for sooooo many years. All of the forbidden foods suddenly became okay to eat without guilt and my cholesterol is finally FABULOUS. I'm still on a high when I eat them! Egg salad, bacon, chicken wings, mac and cheese, grilled cheese.... YUM!

She started just wanting something to jump start her weight loss and only planned to stay on it a month because of the mistaken belief that it raises cholesterol and hers was already too high. But then the doctor started doing the blood tests on her and the results showed lower cholesterol. She stayed on it and the results just got better and better. Her doctor didn't believe in Atkins before, but he does now, and has asked her to stay on it for life, something she is more than happy to do.

I relate to Janis because 1) we're both on Atkins, 2) we started only months apart, and 3) she started at almost my start weight (she started at 207 and I started at 206), and we have almost the same goal (her goal is 137 and mine is 142).

Something to think about for those on a low cholesterol diet because their cholesterol is too high.