# Challenge to Atkins Dieters: The National Weight Control Registry **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 9, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720 "2004-01-09T21:28:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/1 "2004-01-09T21:28:50Z")
Many participants on this board have claimed rousing success with the controversial Atkins diet. Wherin one eats primarily protiens and avoids carbohydrates (often referred to as processed foods). Anecdotes abound, most positive, but some negative. Scientific studies on Atkins have been few and far between, and hardly proof of anything one way or the other. And something troubling about the anecdotes is that they are often from recent adherants to the diet. Which fails to track if anyone can keep the weight off. (some of the negative anecdotes about Atkins have the dieter gaining back more weight than was taken off after a time). So, for those Atkins dieters who tell stories of lost weight and complain that the world of dieting does not respect their mode of weight loss, I have the following challenge: [The National Weight Control Registry.](http://www.lifespan.org/services/bmed/wt_loss/nwcr/) This is a self-selcted group that has managed to do two things: a) Lose 30 or more pounds and b) keep it off for a period of one year or more. Anyone can sign up who has done these things. Why should you sign up? Here’s why: 1. Unless you plan on building a lab and running your own tests, this is the best way the average citizen can let the world know how she/he’s lost weight. 2. Atkins and other low-carb diets are _woefully unrepresented_ on the NWCR, gathering a mere 1% of the totals. Surgical methods have beaten this number. 3. If more people are shown to lose weight via low-carbing, that measn the industry which is presently aiming at low-carbs as a fad (who cares about carbs in a light beer?) will perhaps move to a more permenant low-carb infrastructure. So, I say unto Atkin’s users. Do this! It is free and easy to do! We can debate back and forth and tell our success and failure stories, but until Atkins shows up as more than noise on the registry, its going to be hard to garner much respect as anything more than a quick-loss diet. For the record, I have no stake in the Atkins diet one way or another. I do find the low representation on the NWCR to be a concern. I have no use for Atkins since my diet consists primarily of “car free so I bike everywhere.” So rah rah rah! Go register your diet! Keep us informed on the SDMB! GO! ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/2 "2004-01-09T23:01:34Z")
A year ago, I didn’t even know what Atkins was. As a matter of fact, I learned about Atkins right here on this message board. I knew the way I ate then was unhealthy, and all the talk about Atkins piqued my interest. So I looked into it. I started in June of last year. I am nearly 50 pounds lighter today. When my year anniversary comes around, I’ll be sure to join. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/3 "2012-11-10T16:47:03Z")
Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but I am doing some informal research about diet and weight loss. I am wondering: 7 years later, is there anyone here who is an adherent of Atkins or other low-carb diets who has lost a lot of weight; kept it off; and/or joined the NWCR? If **Hanna** is still posting, I would ask the same question of her. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/4 "2012-11-10T17:00:42Z")
[Updated website for The National Weight Control Registry.](http://www.nwcr.ws/) ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/5 "2012-11-11T01:41:44Z")
I lost weight on Atkins about nine years ago, and have kept it off. I’d lost weight on Atkins years ago when it first came out, but then gained it all and more back because when I’d gain a pound I’d think, “Oh, it’s just a pound,” instead of “If I take care of his now I won’t have a problem later.” I eat carbs now, but not nearly as many as I ate when I was heavy. And if I start to creep up, I watch my carbs for a day or two and I’m fine. I remember going on the Stillman diet when I was eighteen or so, before the Atkins came out, and that worked, too. Strangely enough, Atkins does nothing for my daughter. A balanced diet with calorie counting works for her. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/6 "2012-11-11T10:00:30Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > I lost weight on Atkins about nine years ago, and have kept it off. I’d lost weight on Atkins years ago when it first came out, but then gained it all and more back because when I’d gain a pound I’d think, “Oh, it’s just a pound,” instead of “If I take care of his now I won’t have a problem later.” > > I eat carbs now, but not nearly as many as I ate when I was heavy. And if I start to creep up, I watch my carbs for a day or two and I’m fine. I remember going on the Stillman diet when I was eighteen or so, before the Atkins came out, and that worked, too. Strangely enough, Atkins does nothing for my daughter. A balanced diet with calorie counting works for her. So did you join the NWCR and why or why not? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/7 "2012-11-11T16:18:15Z")
I dropped 55 lbs back in about 2003 following atkins. over the following years, 35 of them crept back on as I became rather careless about what I was eating. over the past year or so I’ve come back down to where I “want” to be, and have been pretty stable now as I fairly “religiously” watch my carb intake. I allow a bit of splurging once in a while (if the group’s getting pizza I won’t turn my nose up) but I’m not going to get back into the habit of eating junk again. I hope 😛 ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/8 "2012-11-12T09:32:17Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I dropped 55 lbs back in about 2003 following atkins. over the following years, 35 of them crept back on as I became rather careless about what I was eating. over the past year or so I’ve come back down to where I “want” to be, and have been pretty stable now as I fairly “religiously” watch my carb intake. I allow a bit of splurging once in a while (if the group’s getting pizza I won’t turn my nose up) but I’m not going to get back into the habit of eating junk again. I hope 😛 So did you join the NWCR and why or why not? ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/9 "2012-11-14T03:37:49Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > So did you join the NWCR and why or why not? No, because I had never heard of it until now. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/10 "2012-11-14T09:18:25Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > No, because I had never heard of it until now. So will you join now? ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/11 "2012-11-14T09:49:21Z")
I did a low carb diet in the mid '70s. I needed to lose about 30 lbs, but ended up losing more than 50. The weight loss became a goal unto itself. I ended up weighing less than 95lbs. When my friends finally convinced me to stop, I gained 10 lbs, which brought me up to a healthy weight. I kept the rest of the weight off for about 10 years. I’m on a modified Atkins now. It’s called a clean carb diet. I don’t count carbs, but, I avoid all starches and sugars. I eat chicken and fish, occasional red meat, not much. I try to keep processed food to a minimum, but that’s because of the salt and sugar content. So far I’ve lost 33 lbs, in 3 months. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/12 "2012-11-14T09:51:56Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I did a low carb diet in the mid '70s. I needed to lose about 30 lbs, but ended up losing more than 50. The weight loss became a goal unto itself. I ended up weighing less than 95lbs. > When my friends finally convinced me to stop, I gained 10 lbs, which brought me up to a healthy weight. I kept the rest of the weight off for about 10 years. > > I’m on a modified Atkins now. It’s called a clean carb diet. I don’t count carbs, but, I avoid all starches and sugars. I eat chicken and fish, occasional red meat, not much. I try to keep processed food to a minimum, but that’s because of the salt and sugar content. > > So far I’ve lost 33 lbs, in 3 months. So will you join the NWCR? Why or why not? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/13 "2012-11-14T10:29:18Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > So did you join the NWCR and why or why not? no, I hadn’t heard of it until now and I’m not going to go do something just because someone on a message board says to. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/14 "2012-11-14T12:27:33Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > no, I hadn’t heard of it until now and I’m not going to go do something just because someone on a message board says to. Lol, it’s not like he’s saying “Join the NWCR because I say so” – he offered some reasons. Now, perhaps you disagree with those reasons but it’s very interesting to me that there is hardly anyone on a low-carb diet who is in the NWCR. Anyway, thanks for responding to the question. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/15 "2012-11-14T16:06:56Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > So will you join now? I doubt it - I don’t like giving out that much information. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/16 "2012-11-14T16:26:11Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Wherin one eats primarily protiens and avoids carbohydrates (often referred to as processed foods). I don’t recall that carbs are called processed foods. I read the original Atkins book ages ago, but as I recall in that, and everything I’ve seen since, that carbs are called carbs. > [@](#): > > Scientific studies on Atkins have been few and far between, and hardly proof of anything one way or the other. And something troubling about the anecdotes is that they are often from recent adherants to the diet. Which fails to track if anyone can keep the weight off. (some of the negative anecdotes about Atkins have the dieter gaining back more weight than was taken off after a time). This seems to be true about all specific diets. I recall seeing some scientific evidence that Atkins was effective, as were a number of other named diets. The effectiveness was in losing weight, not in keeping it off. Obviously the only diets effective long term are the ones where a person continues to burn no fewer calories than they consume over time. > [@](#): > > This is a self-selcted group that has managed to do two things: a) Lose 30 or more pounds and b) keep it off for a period of one year or more. Anyone can sign up who has done these things. I’ve done this a few times in my life. That alone indicates it is not a useful measure for the effectiveness of weight loss methods long term. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/17 "2012-11-14T16:50:39Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This seems to be true about all specific diets. I recall seeing some scientific evidence that Atkins was effective, as were a number of other named diets. The effectiveness was in losing weight, not in keeping it off. I don’t get why people keep trotting this out. If eating a particular way made you fat, and you go back to eating that way after losing weight, I think it’s pretty self-evident that you’ll put weight back on. over the past year-and-a-half I’ve dropped from ~185 to 150 by sharply curtailing carb intake (not “doing Atkins” per se, I just dropped junk like sugar, bread, and chips & shit) and I’ve been steady at about 150 for going on 6 months now. Why? _Because I didn’t go back to eating the way I was before._ Fucking _duh._ ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/18 "2012-11-14T17:27:12Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Obviously the only diets effective long term are the ones where a person continues to burn no fewer calories than they consume over time. The only diets effective long term are the ones where a person changed their eating style permanently, and doesn’t go back to their previous way of eating once the weight has come off. Whether this eating style change is going vegan or Atkins, what matters is sticking with what helps you lose weight and not reverting to old habits. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-atkins-dieters-the-national-weight-control-registry/223720/19 "2012-11-14T17:32:09Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I don’t get why people keep trotting this out. If eating a particular way made you fat, and you go back to eating that way after losing weight, I think it’s pretty self-evident that you’ll put weight back on. over the past year-and-a-half I’ve dropped from ~185 to 150 by sharply curtailing carb intake (not “doing Atkins” per se, I just dropped junk like sugar, bread, and chips & shit) and I’ve been steady at about 150 for going on 6 months now. Why? _Because I didn’t go back to eating the way I was before._ > > Fucking _duh._ > [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > The only diets effective long term are the ones where a person changed their eating style permanently, and doesn’t go back to their previous way of eating once the weight has come off. Whether this eating style change is going vegan or Atkins, what matters is sticking with what helps you lose weight and not reverting to old habits. I hope you guys are agreeing with me because I’m not picking up a point of argument.