Posted on 05/21/2003 2:20:12 PM PDT by Johnny Gage
Two Studies Vindicate Atkins Diet
May 21, 2003 4:00 pm US/Central (AP) A month after Dr. Robert C. Atkins' death, his much-ridiculed diet has received its most powerful scientific support yet: two studies in one of medicine's most distinguished journals show it really does help people lose weight faster without raising their cholesterol.
The research, in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, found that people on the high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet lose twice as much weight over six months as those on the standard low-fat diet recommended by most major health organizations.
However, one of the studies found that the Atkins dieters regain much of the weight by the end of one year.
Atkins, who died April 17 at age 72 after falling and hitting his head on an icy sidewalk, lived to see several shorter studies that found, to researchers' great surprise, that his diet is effective and healthy in the short run.
Although those reports have been presented at medical conferences, none until now has been published in a top-tier journal. And one of the studies in the journal lasted a year, making it the longest one yet.
"For the last 20 years that I've been helping people lose weight, I've been trashing the Atkins diet -- without any real data to rely on," said Dr. Michael Hamilton, an obesity researcher who was not part of either study. "Now we have some data to give us some guidance."
Now, he said, he would neither trash it nor endorse it. "I'm going to say I don't know. The evidence isn't in," he said.
One study ran six months and was conducted by the Veterans Affairs Department; the yearlong study was led by Gary D. Foster, who runs the weight-loss program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Atkins' diet books have sold 15 million copies since the first one was published in 1972. From the start, doctors branded the Atkins diet foolish and dangerous, warning that the large amounts of beef and fat would lead to sky-high cholesterol levels. In both studies, the Atkins dieters generally had better levels of "good" cholesterol and triglycerides, or fats in the blood. There was no difference in "bad" cholesterol or blood pressure. Dr. Frederick F. Samaha of the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, who led the VA study, said both studies indicate that people do lose more weight on Atkins, "but the difference is not great."
The 132 men and women in the VA study started out weighing an average of 286 pounds. After six months, those on the Atkins diet had lost an average of 12.8 pounds, those on the low-fat diet 4.2.
The other study involved 63 participants who weighed an average of 217 pounds at the start. After six months, the Atkins group lost 15.4 pounds, the group on the standard diet 7.
But at the end of a year, the Atkins dieters had regained about a third of the weight. Their net loss averaged 9.7 pounds. The low-fat dieters had regained about one-fifth of the weight, for a net loss of 5.5 pounds.
The year-end difference was not big enough to tell whether it was caused by the diets, Foster said.
About 40 percent of the patients dropped out of each study. And while supporters of the Atkins diet say it is easier to stick with, people on the Atkins regimen were just as likely to drop out as people on the standard diets.
The important finding, Foster said, is that the Atkins diet appears to be a healthy short-term way to lose weight. Nobody has studied it long enough to tell whether it is a healthy way to maintain that loss, he said.
Collette Heimowitz, director of education and research at Atkins Health and Medical Information Services, said people there were not surprised by the weight loss and improved cholesterol.
"But I'm thrilled that serious researchers are taking a hard look at the program, so that health care professionals and physicians would find comfort in offering Atkins as an alternative to the one-size-fits-all hypothesis of low-fat, low-calorie," she said.
The studies did not convince Kathleen Zelman, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
"There's never been any denying that low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets such as Atkins do, absolutely, cause weight loss," she said. "But do they hold up over time and can you stay on them over time?"
From Foster's study, it does not look like it, she said.
Now, my husband did make me Ghirardelli brownies the other night since I had gestational diabetes during my birthday and couldn't have any cake. They were yummy, but after the bloating and mood swings that came with them, I was happy when they were gone.
All I can say for me is that when I started low carbing to deal with my own medical problems I started to lose weight and feel great.
If I start eating high carbs again I get cranky, irritable, my symptoms return. Listening to the "experts" in the 80's about nearly ruined my health.
Everybody is responsible for their own health. If low carbing doesn't work for you then fine, find what does work for you and don't worry about what everyone else is doing.
However, I prefer a good cut of steak, small salad with olive oil and vinegar, broccoli with butter and a dessert of sugar free cheese cake with fresh strawberries over tasteless fat free fare any day. JMHO
I think this is what turned the corner for me. I started walking everyday back on March 1. I started out by walking 3 miles a day at lunch. By April, I started getting up an hour early so I could walk three miles in the morning as well. So I now walk at least six miles a day and I am now dropping 2-3 pounds a week.
Why 10,000 steps? It is roughly five miles a day and it is the benchmark to shoot for when you are losing weight. Anything over 10,000 steps is gravy. Now I don't know anything about you and it might take you considerably longer than I to work up to 10,000 steps a day. But I can tell you that this is the only thing that has ever worked for me with respect to losing weight. My new diet plays a role as well (elimination of processed and junk foods from my diet) but I know that wouldn't be as successful by itself. You really need the exercise as well. Also, all the walking I am doing actually decreases my hunger. Good luck.
My wife, Katie Colic thought about posting "I am so Republican I feel guilty when I recycle"! She didn't do it despite my urgings!
LOL, I may borrow that to use in the teacher's lunch room. (I teach in a middle school, and I am surrounded by the enemy every day. ...although you would be amazed how many teachers tell me privately that they agree with my views -- they just won't say so in public!)
About 7 years ago my wife brought home "Protein Power" and announced that we were going on this diet. I immediately vetoed the idea and she suggested that I read the book. I did and discovered that the diet plan was very similar to my eating habits when single. We went on it. I read up on nutrients and took 400 mcg of Chromium Picolinate in the morning and 15 mg of vanadyl sulfate at night along with a gram of 1 gm of L carnitine at every meal. These nutrient are supposed to improve your insulin sensitivity so that you need less insulin in circulation to maintain a proper sugar level. Less insulin means theoretically a greater corresponding weight loss. I cut my carbs to less about 40 grams. I also walked 4.5 miles everyday before dinner at a 14 to 15 minute a mile pace.
To make a long story short I lost 20 lbs in two weeks! I lost 32 lbs in five weeks! People I knew were doing double takes when they saw me.
I was told it was impossible to lose that much weight that fast! (I was heavily into ketosis and as such I didn't need to burn that many calories to lose a pound of fat. As you know without glycogen or glucose your body cannot completely burn fat and it excretes incompletely burned fat in the form of ketones in your breath, urine, and feces. I like that kind of weight loss! It is easy!)
The walking on top of the diet made my weight loss SURGE.
The best thing is not to keep any soda, candy, cookies, ice cream, etc. in the house, and we've been doing well! (We're going to cheat tomorrow at the Memorial Day Picnic.)
One of the things that made me decide to lose the weight was my national convention in Florida back in March. Last year, I had bought a new $400 suit because all my other ones no longer fitted. This year, the suit barely fit and at the banquet, I had to unbuckle my trousers so I could sit down comfortably. I was disgusted and I resolved myself then and there to lose the weight and keep it off. I'm a goal-oriented person so once I commit to something like this, it gets done.
Well I put the suit back on yesterday and the trousers fit so loosely that I needed a belt to hold them up. But I'm not finished by a long shot. I'm back in "boot camp."
That is money you should be happy to spend!
When I was in the Marines, I was running several miles a day and I could walk all day long without even breaking a sweat. I remember how great I felt all those years ago and I never thought I'd let myself get out of shape again.
For years, I had thought about getting back into a walking or jogging program again but I always rationalized against it by saying I didn't have the time. Well it all started in early March when on a balmy day, I decided to go for a walk at lunch instead of getting yet another sausage and meatball sub. During that walk, I realized that I could get in 3-4 miles every day with no loss of productive time. It felt so good walking again that I decided to get up an hour earlier (5AM) and walk three miles BEFORE work as well. So now I get 6 miles a day and none of this cuts into my personal time. When I go home after work, I still have the entire evening to do what I wish (except I have to go to bed an hour earlier which is no big deal).
Once I reach my target weight, I'll probably give up the 5AM walks but I'll still do the lunchtime ones to maintain. So during this time of getting up at 5AM, I consider myself "back in boot camp."
But at age 40, enough is enough. I'm back in "boot camp."
I am 41 now. I need to start getting regular exercise. Our bodies are on the way down if we don't watch it. Due to a variety of conditions I find myself in a job were I work on my feet. I have been an engineer but had a medical mishap that left me blind in one eye and undergoing a series of surgeries. It took over three years to get finished due to a variety of reasons way beyond my control. Working on my feet and doing some physical labor has helped but sooner or later I will be working a real job where I sit on my @$$. I want to be in the habit of exercising when that occurs.
Twinkie,
That is Atkins. Remove all the processed food from your diet. Limit high sugar and high glycemic natural ones. Eat quality natural fats and proteins. My breakfast is 3 Egglands Best Eggs, 4 oz. of meat, and blueberries and heavy cream followed by 2 tbsp of omega 3 fish oil.
I will eat that over the American Heart Association approved Count Chocula. ( I am serious, the same people who tell you the whole natural foods in Atkins are bad, give their seal of approval to Count Chocula). Atkins is not what Redbook and Katie Couric make it out to be.
I had a real shock today when I put some Catsup on a left over hamburger steak and it tasted like pure corn syrup. When I read the ingredients corn syrup was 4th item listed. You have to really read the labeling closely...
It won't be over unless you let it. My daughter is getting married Nov 1. I bought the gown; it fits great, (size 6) and I don't intend to put on one single pound! I've been walking a mile every day, and we've been doing a version of Atkins for months and months. It really works. I bought Suzanne Somer's book, "Fast & Furious," which is similar to Atkins, and I like it a lot.
Some people are so lazy, if given the choice between eating dog crap and exercise to lose weight, they'd chose the former...
There are some of us who don't have any choice in the matter. I can not exercise regularly. I have to lose weight before I can begin exercising due to problems caused by crohns disease, and the medications I take to control the symptoms (presnisone for 18 years has lead to osteoporrosis). I break bones in my feet by doing much walking. And swimming or water aerobics is out, again, due to the crohns. The Drs say I need to lose at least 50 pounds in order to begin exercising on a regular basis, and I'm hoping to get there using Atkins. We'll see. The biggest problem is that presnisone and dieting don't go together well. Being hungry all the time and retaining water really sucks.
BTW, I've never minded exercise. I even enjoyed the 2 a day lacrosse practices in college, although some of the cardio work they had us do really sucked... like shovelling the snow off of the football field!
Mark
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