Atkins Diet

Matthew the brain

[matthew_the_brain]

Question for the Freepers...I have been on Atkins Diet for about 2 months, and I absolutely love it. Naturally, many family and friends have pointed to the many websites out there that condemn the high protein, low carb mentality, but what I have found is that most of these anti-Atkins sites are nothing but fronts for Vegitarianism, Peta, etc, etc.

Any thoughts?

[Phantom Lord]

Duke University did a study on the Atkins diet several months ago to see if it worked, what it did to your cholestorol levels, etc... and at the conclusion of the study they were shocked to learn that it worked and had no adverse impact on the peoples cholestorol levels or other factors that determine health.

I am sure a quick google search will find the study for you.

[Sam Cree]

Nope, nobody on FR has any thoughts about the Atkins diet :-D

[mombonn]

There have been numerous threads on the diet - try a search, and you'll be reading for days.

;-)

[buffyt]

It works. Dr. Rosenfeld was on TV this week saying it works and no one seems to suffer from it. I wouldn't stay on it forever. But to lose weight it works. We looked into it. I am doing a modified version of it. I am eating less fat, more protein, and whole grains, brown rice, etc. Giving up the fatty, sugary, high carb. foods or cutting them way down. I am working out at gym three times a week for two hours. Bike spin class one hour then weights one hour, Mon, Wed, Fri morning. Then some times I go back at night with hubby a couple of times a week to do the stepper and different weights. I have lost 17 lbs so far. I can live with this system forever. Instead of just doing Atkins or Bill Phillips Body for Life for a few months.

[linn37]

not me for sure ,all I lost on the Atkins was 55 lbs and have kept it off by staying low carb,nope nothing to say at all.

[Mr. Bird]

I have gained a bunch over the past 5 years (post wedding, of course) and talked to my doctor about losing it. The recommendation was to avoid "program" diets, because you won't stay on it forever. I've simply cut calories and moderately increased my exercise and have lost 15 pounds in 6 weeks. I'm currently 6'2" and 210 to give you an idea of the percentage loss...

[goldylight]

http://low-carb.org/faq - good luck - i myself am on a CKD diet - atkins for body builders.

[octobersky]

bttt

[Corin Stormhands]

Many folks have had a lot of success with the Atkins diet. I think as long as you're not just sticking to the first two week plan and that you're following the long term variation of the plan you should be fine.

I didn't care too much for it though. Quite frankly it left me constipated.

I've had significant success with Michael Thurmond's Body Scuplting Makeover. I'm down 50 lbs and almost three pant sizes since January.

[JimVT]

I've used it a couple of times in recent years and it works pretty well.

My only complaint is that I get tired of the meat and eggs game after a while.

BTW...did you know Dr. Atkins died this week?

I don't think it had anything to do with high cholesterol.

[onyx]

Bookmark www.atkinscenter.com/

[BrooklynGOP]

I am on my day #5 actually :)
I am 6'1", 195lbs. Not fat, not even chubby! But summer will be here in a few weeks and I need to get just a bit leaner... I am loving it so far. Been eating lots of beef and poultry. Just ordered a food dehydrator from amazon - going to make beef jerky to snack on at work (the vending machine here is stacked with crap).
There's even a low car beer - Michelob Ultra Light - but I think I'll wait till my induction phase is over and then I'll have real beer (just a bottle or two).

[DannyTN]

I lost about 40 pounds on the adkins diet in a two month period. I loved it too. Sinuses cleared up, quit being sleepy in the afternoons, slept better at night. I've gained a lot of it back, but it was due to coming off it and eating a lot of sweets and bread.

On the fourth day I was on the diet, I had a breakfast of egss and sausage from McDonalds. For lunch I had a slab of BBQ Beef Ribs, and a salad. For supper I had a huge steak and another salad. And then... I had been drinking water for three days because I didn't want Aspartame in diet drinks and I was looking for something else on the diet to which is on the diet and I drank that. Then I looked at the label and realized I had just drank 50 servings at 32 calories or 1600 calories in addition to all the other calories I had had that day. I was down 3 pounds the next morning.

Atkins is right. You don't have to count calories if you cut the carbs. In fact, the more fat the better.

[DannyTN]

One thing Atkins did in his book is he quotes study after study and they are referenced. Plus Atkins is a cardiologist by training. So when I hear someone criticize him, I look to see what their qualifications are. Often they aren't even a licensed medical professional.

[DannyTN]

The other thing you will see is that they often lump Atkins diet in with "high protein powder" diets that don't have the fat content or natural foods of Atkins. It's not a fair comparison.

[dandelion]

I'll agree on the anti-meat stance of most anti-Atkins sites; they are clinging to the outdated notion that all meat, especially red meat, is bad. They also want us to believe that fat, in all forms, is the enemy. The food pyramid is our savior, according to these folks.

Unfortunately for those of us trying to stave off diabetes, the old notion that one can eat 2 - 4 (or as some recommend, 5) high sugar value fruits, in ADDITION to 6 - 11 carbohydrates per day, is a straightline path to high glucose readings. NO ONE who is diabetic or pre-diabetic can follow the food pyramid without serious consequences at the next finger-stick.

These anti-protein, anti-fat jihadis are the same ones who rant about the high rate of diabetes in this country. Perhaps they should do a non-insulin study and see what the Atkins diet did for me; lower blood sugar, lower weight, higher energy, and within WEEKS, not months.

[Corin Stormhands]

Unfortunately for those of us trying to stave off diabetes, the old notion that one can eat 2 - 4 (or as some recommend, 5) high sugar value fruits, in ADDITION to 6 - 11 carbohydrates per day, is a straightline path to high glucose readings.

Agreed. That goes for the high sugar fruits and especially for fruit juices. Sure they're "healthy" but a glass of OJ is like eating five oranges...

[dandelion]

Here is a very enlightening article on the food pyramid, and "how it all went wrong" from the Jan 2003 Scientific American.

I believe that the work of Dr. Atkins will finally be recoginized, if not embraced, in the future.

[Sam Cree]

"And then... I had been drinking water for three days because I didn't want Aspartame in diet drinks and I was looking for something else on the diet to which is on the diet and I drank that."

I was wondering exaclty what you ended up drinking. Was it more water?

[Sam Cree]

I am a believer in Atkins, and similar lo carb diets. I am able to stay thin enough, by avoiding starch and sugar, that it can be a little difficult finding the motivation to go exercise.

I used to follow a lo fat diet, eventually I got to feeling so bad I think it was actually killing me. Lo carb is much better.

[DannyTN]

"I was wondering exaclty what you ended up drinking. Was it more water? I drank a lot of water. 50% heavy whipping cream and 50% water tastes a lot like milk, add sugar free Nestle for chocolate milk. Diet Rite came out with Sucralose in their drinks, so I drank a lot of those. But sucralose seems to break down after a while. Tastes terrible when it does.

[Chemist_Geek]

I am able to stay thin enough, by avoiding starch and sugar, that it can be a little difficult finding the motivation to go exercise.

I have the exact opposite problem - exercise and diet don't do anything for me, even after a while. Since there's no perceptible improvement in the situation, why bother?

[DannyTN]

Oh, A pint of Heavy Whipping cream. Can't believe I left that out. Kind of takees something away from the story.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

I didn't care too much for it though. Quite frankly it left me constipated

My wife lost a fair amount of weight on it, but it also left her constipated. She went off it, but gained some of the weight back. She went back on it this week. It's the only diet that has worked for her.

Funny thing is, I don't go on the diet, but when she is on it, I lose weight, too, just following along.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

BTW...did you know Dr. Atkins died this week?

I don't think it had anything to do with high cholesterol.

He slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk and suffered a severe head injury.

[warchild9]

As a vegetarian, I can tell you this: eat less and exercise more. Anything else is masturbation.

[sharktrager]

I know lots of vegitarians, and I have many friends who won't touch meat.

They are not as a group healthier than my other friends. They may be leaner (not all, and not much in many cases), but there is more to health than that.

I do find, however, that they believe they are superior for some reason.

[Sam Cree]

All the low fat, eat lots of grain and veggie diets require alot of exercise. IMO, you have to exercise alot on a low fat diet because you are so hungry all the time that you tend to gain weight unless you exercise like crazy.

[Beelzebubba]

My svelte and beautiful wife likes the diet, and has read up quite a bit on all sides of the issue.

Michael Fumento is an outstanding conservative science writer who has been effective as a debunker of environmental and health scares, and wrote an excellent book about diet issues called "Fat of the Land." ALL his books are worth reading. One of them was instrumental in turning me into a conservative.

He criticizes the Atkins diet, although my wife (with her biochemistry degree) thinks Fumento is wrong on this one.

Nonetheless, he is probably the most reliable and honest critic out there, with no particular axe to grind. He should at least be a good source for a compendium of the credible criticisms. (Fumento is also an occasional Freeper.)

http://www.fumento.com/sufat.html

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The problem is not enough fiber. Tell her to add some type of fiber supplement to the diet.

I liked the Metamucil capsules because you can spread it out. Two with every meal worked for me. Don't get the kind with a laxative.

[thetruckster]

I read an article from a source that originally condemned it, and they have done, not quite an about face, but a quarter turn, and said that it is more dangerous to be obese than to run the risk of the high protein Atkins diet. The diet has been known to change liver enzymes and function, perhaps in certain individuals based on genetic, environmental, life-style, and other factors, but quite a number of people.

This source went on to say that it is an effective way to lose weight and spotlighted a middle-aged white male who had been on it for years. After reaching his weight goal, he maintained it with a high protein diet but modified with more carbs and veggies than the initial part of Atkins.

[Mark]

I have a 60 yr old brother who has been on it for 30+ years. He is in perfect health with yearly check-ups- low cholestral, etc. He looks about 48-50 yrs old. If the good Doctor had not died from an accident, I wonder how long he would have lived?

[CindyDawg]

I can lose weight on it fast but it makes me miserable and irritable. My doctor said he had never seen anyone as addicted to carbohydrates as me. The last time I went on it, after 3 days the people in the office with me closed the door and force fed me a cupcake. They couldn't stand it any more.

[warchild9]

There's vegetarians and then there's vegetarians. While I am an "ethical" vegetarian (it's a voluntary part of my religion), I feel I'm only better than my old self who did eat dead animals. I'm not responsible for what other people do. (Mrs. Warchild, for instance, is a meat-and-potatoes monster, and I think no less of her.) And my unfortunately-expanded waistline expresses my love of junk food. Chocolate...ummmm...

[restornu]

I think if we could get enough folks togather to a Low Carb site here!

Sugar in general bothers me, always did!

LowCarbOutlet.com