Nutrisystem is doing great as a company. I wonder if they sped the demise of Atkins.
Posted on 07/31/2005 5:35:50 PM PDT by SmithL
NEW YORK - Atkins Nutritionals Inc., the company that promoted low-carb eating into a national diet craze, filed for bankruptcy court protection Sunday, a company spokesman said.
Atkins has been hurt by waning popularity of its namesake diet, which focuses on eliminating carbohydrates such as bread and pasta as a way to shed weight. The diet quickly became one of the most popular in U.S. history, spawning numerous derivatives and a virtual cottage industry of low-carb regimens - but also drew criticism from many experts for its focus on fatty foods and low fruit and vegetable consumption.
A hearing on the prearranged, Chapter 11 filing was scheduled for Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, spokesman Richard Rothstein said. The privately held company, founded in 1989 by Dr. Robert C. Atkins, said it had reached an agreement with the majority of its lenders to give them equity in exchange for lowered debt.
President and CEO Mark S. Rodriguez said the company has in the past year "adjusted our organization to accommodate a smaller business" and will promote its brands "more broadly for consumers who are concerned about heath and wellness."
After it leaves bankruptcy, the Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based company will focus on its nutrition bars and shakes, Rodriguez said in a statement.
Private equity firm Parthenon Capital LLC acquired a majority stake in Atkins, in October 2003. Goldman Sachs Capital Partners owns a smaller stake in the company, as does the estate of Robert Atkins, who died in 2003 from injuries he suffered in a fall.
The company said its bankruptcy filing would not affect its day-to-day operations.
My elder brother and his wife did the Atkins diet for quite some time. After she stopped, she absolutely ballooned. Now she's on that diet where you eat nothing but foods made out of soy. He wound up having his first kidney stone at the relatively young age of 31. And he also became obese again after he stopped. But neither one of them ever exercises, so it's no wonder.
My biochemistry professor would spend significant amounts of time talking about the Atkins rage in his lectures on carbohydrate and fat metabolism. His bottom line was that, while the Atkins diet did work, it could create health problems if followed long-term, and was no more effective in the long run than a reasonable diet and exercise.
Everything in moderation, I guess.
I had a friend that was a big Atkins fan for a while. He just got tired of peeing on the popcicle sticks. He's doing something else now.
I have lost 130 pounds by doing a moderate carb diet. I simply eat real regular foods and eat absolutely no white stuff, high fructose corn syrup, and partially hydrogenated fats.
I'm no expert in dieting, but counting calories is what works for me. Now, my body really doesn't know if it's getting 800 calories from veggies, meat or ice cream and cake..
So with vitamin supplements, I could eat 800 calories a day in ice cream or cookies and still lose weight. No flames..please :)
sw
Nutrisystem is doing great as a company. I wonder if they sped the demise of Atkins.
I knew they should have merged with Krispy Kreme!
Guess this means they won't die as fat cats?
He died from a head wound when he slipped on the ice.
The truth is we are all different, the high carb diet was the absolute worst thing for me. I did that diet and gained weight rapidly. Once I added in adequate fats and protein, and eliminated the excessive carbs I have lost 130 pounds. The key is to pay attention to your body's signals and adjust accordingly. Do what works and makes you feel good is my motto.
K-Mart went chapter 11, too, proving that big box stores were just a fad.
It doesn't me but only because I dropped Atkins products some time ago. They were great for people like me who have to watch their sugar but they were costly and full of sugar alcohols.
I can't take the sugar alcohols. They make me lose weight in a most unpleasant manner.
these extreme diets always make a quick change that evaporates. And it sad to see people hop from one thing to the next in a desperate for the "quick fix".That said, there are a few nuggets of wisdom in Atkins, but no real quick fix.
There are no quick fixes.
But if someone decides to just do a few things differently,every day, over a long term...they can change their lives.
As a formerly chubby fellow, I know of what I speak. I'm no Adonis now, but that was never my goal. I was just tired of having a "beer belly" and feeling 45 at 28.
In fact, Sebastian Kresge died of something or other, proving that being near a Kmart is bad for your health.
The diet works and I know tons still using it, the problem is two fold. One, atkins products were over priced, two they mostly tasted like crap, especially when the big food companies got into the game. They would have done better to licence the name than to try to make food.
The only effective and realistic way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat less and exercise more.
Any radical "diet" simply isn't sustainable.
Just my 2 cents.
I tried it, lost a ton of weight, and gained perfect colestorol levels, and enhanced muscle tone. Ever think you aunt may have done something else to get kidney trouble?
We're still doing it, though not as extreme as we were at first...but enough for us to both maintain our weight loss.
I think it taught us to steer away from so much processed empty carbs and eat more veggies and high fiber carbs. Totally turned my IBS around and I've not been bothered with it for almost a year and half.
Steve lost 45 pounds and I lost 15. And we've kept it off easily.
The south beach diet is part variation, part fad, and mostly knock off. The sad thing was atkins couldn't and didn't even try to out market it.
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