I’m looking for horse’s mouth info on Atkins- people who have tried it and had results, be they good, bad, or ugly-- anecdotal warnings about how your wife’s brother’s housekeeper’s hairstylist ate 80 devilled eggs and four pounds of bacon a day on it and developed heart disease are discouraged; i’m looking for critique and commentary on a realistically “healthy” approach of fish and veggies and eggs and stuff.
http://www.animalrights.net/articles/2003/000165.html
This cites an April 2003 study of Atkins in JAMA, which says basically that it works by restricting calorie content. I went to the JAMA website, but you have to pay bucks for the actual text of the article. But that was their conclusion.
I have been on it since January 1, 2003 and I have lost 45 pounds. I have about 15 pounds to go, but Atkins encourages you to lose the last bit slowly.
It works for me and my cholesterol has IMPROVED in every way.
The examples in the OP would not be things you would do if you were following Atkins.
If you are looking for critique and commentary you should probably have put this in GD or IMHO, and not here. This forum is for questions with factual answers like 7, New Mexico, green, Walter Raleigh, and 1812.
If you want the SD on Atkins, you should read the Atkins book. There’s a lot more detail than most soundbites will give you.
I haven’t seen the text of the AMA study, but there’s research dating back to at least 1981 demonstrating that total caloric intake is not the only factor in body mass/composition changes. Read this article (part 2) for more details. As a high-protein diet, Atkins definitely takes advantage of the high cost of digesting protein, and for many people, there’s more to it.
Yeah, I have the book and glossed through it last night-- I just want to take what Mr Atkins himself says with a box of salt. After browsing the web for real data, I guess you’re right that there still isn’t any definitive factual answer, good or bad, that I can be asking for, so IMHO is where it should be.
So far it seems like there is proven data that it is good in the short term; what I could use more of is data, even anecdotal, on long-term effects, especially from people who wholly abandon the diet after awhile, or go softcore. Thanks for the info thus far!
I only did the “induction” phase (2 weeks long), and lost about 4 pounds. Since then I have lost another 5 or so. I run a lot, too, though. That’s really all I wanted to lose though, maybe a little more.
It worked, but it sucked. Especially trying to run during those two weeks, with low carb intake and high energy requirements! I always felt hungry.
Now, I’ve adopted a more reasonable plan (to me, anyway) of keeping my carb intake relatively low (maybe 30-40 % of the US RDA) and running a lot. I feel a lot better and am still losing weight.
I’ve been on Atkins since January. I’ve lost about 35 pounds and 5 pants sizes. I’ve reached my ideal weight, and am now on the “maintenance” level.
I have type 2 diabetes, and my blood sugar had been 200-300 before the diet. Now it’s 100-120 (normal) and steady. I no longer have to take insulin. My blood pressure is normal now, and my cholesterol is still a little high, but less than half what it used to be. And I have more energy than I’ve had in years.
But the most amazing thing is that I no longer have cravings and binges, like I always did. This was not true for any other diet I’ve ever been on.
I wouldn’t advise going on this diet without reading the book. You can’t just start eating all the steaks and bacon you want; you also have to exercise and take lots of supplements. Plus, there are 4 stages of the diet, and too many people stay on the first stage, lose the weight, then go off the diet entirely, and gain back the weight and then some. It’s not a diet that you go “off;” rather, in time, you work your way up through the levels, adding more carbs, and stay at “maintenance” and your ideal weight, for the rest of your life.
It’s not a diet to screw around with, but if you do it intelligently, it can literally save your life.
I’m reviving this two-weeks old thread because I just found it. As you can tell by my registration date and post count, I’m a very occasional contributor to the STMB. Anyway, here’s my testimonial:
I was clinically obese and went on the Atkins diet in 2002. I lost 61 pounds, and now I weigh less than I did as a senior in high school (I’m in my thirties). I’m actually skinny now, and it has been amazing to see how differently I’m treated by strangers. Overweight people face a lot of prejudice.
I was attracted to Atkins because diabetes runs in my family, and low-carb diets are necessarily low-sugar diets. Low fat diets failed for me in the past because I was always hungry, but Atkins allowed me to learn portion control without suffering from nagging hunger by satisfying my appetite with fats.
I have maintained my current weight for nearly a year, and I know that I won’t gain it back. I feel a complete sense of control over my weight that I have never known before. I still avoid sugar and high-carb food most of the time, but I eat what I want in reasonable quantities. I believe that portion control is the key, and Atkins was the method that got me there.
Pass on the anecdotes.
You will hear much argument for and against these sort of diets. IMHO a balanced diet and exercise is the healthiest.
I have read articles saying that although the Atkins diet can lead to dramatic weight loss, it can lead to kidney disease, heart attacks, cancer and brittle bones.
From Nutrition Australia, who I consider to be fair and balanced.
For guidelines on sensible, healthy eating: NHMRC
Advice from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
I’d like to see documented cases in which that has happened–I don’t believe there are any. The problem with critics of the Atkins diet is that they chronically misrepresent it. For example, there is no lack of dietary fiber as your citation claims. The average American diet is imbalanced because of the overload of refined carbohydrates. The bottom line is, being overweight for life is far more unhealthy than going on the Atkins diet for a while.
Restricting your body and brain’s most useful energy source isn’t the way to go. Why are most of the people on Atkin’s losing so much weight? Because they ate like S**T beforehand. They have a lot of weight to lose! Now when you drop the McDonald’s before bedtime, the chips before bedtime, the soda’s etc. etc. etc. of COURSE you will lose fat! And most people on diet’s tend to do more physical activity, contributing to more fat loss.
All I’m saying is don’t get so caught up in the Atkin’s diet. The key to SUCCESSFUL weightloss is not supressing your insulin, but keeping it steady. Carb’s stimulate your insulin production, so you can’t tell me ~20 grams of carbs daily is enough to keep it steady. No way.
The way the Atkin’s diet produces results is so basic it makes me laugh when someone praises it. But then again I envy all the $$$ the promoters have made from it.
I disagree, based on my own experience. I ate very healthy foods before losing weight with Atkins, but I ate too much of them. I stopped going to fast food restaurants for a long time (after reading The McDonaldization of Society and Making Fast Food), and haven’t had a soft drink in over a decade. Different diets work for different people. Zorba Paster, the Wisconson Public Radio physician and radio host, was once an ardent low-fat diet booster, but on the basis of recent research acknowledged that low carb diets work well for some people, and more power to them. In the face of an obesity epidemic in America, why knock “basic” results, if they are indeed results?
Then I’ll move this thread to IMHO. Sorry for the delay.
bibliophage
moderator GQ
G’day
I haven’t been on the Atkins diet, but on a somewhat less extreme low-carbohydrate diet described in the book Protein Power by Eades & Eades. I am writing in the hoe that you will find my experience useful anyway.
I used to weigh 127 kg. My waist was 47". My blood pressure was moderately elevated, cholesterol 6.8 mmol/l, and my liver enzymes were elevated (the result of fatty change in my liver). I tried a conventional low-fat high-complex-carbohydrate diet and moderate exercise. I was often hungry, craved sweet and starchy foods, and found it more than I could manage to stick to the diet. In two years I lost 10kg.
Then I tried the low-carb diet, plus a course of chromium supplements. I got to eat food I like. I was never hungry. I ceased to crave sweet and starchy foods. I dropped 9kg in the first fortnight, and a little under 1kg/week after that. My blood pressure and cholesterol are now normal, and my liver enzymes are now normal (indicating a reversal of the fatty liver I previously suffered). I don’t know what my LDL:HDL ratio was, but now it is a healthy 3.0. I had a kidney function test in case the high protein diet threatened my kidneys, but my kidney function has remained perfectly healthy. Now I have a 36" waist and according to the blood tests I’m as healthy as a horse. Today I spent several hours in menswear stores buying a new outfit in size M. Tomorrow my XXL stuff goes to the Salvation Army.
By the way, my diet has not been short of dietary fibre. Aside from my daily ration of protein I have been eating mostly green leafy vegetables. Lettuce, rocket, cabbage, bok choy, choy sum, silverbeet, and spinach are all low-carb, as are broccoli, pumpkin, cauliflower, cucumber, and celery.
Who can say whether this diet worked by lowering my insulin and raising my glucagon, thus signalling my adipose tissue to release rather than storing fat and switching my biologically active tissue over to a fat-burning metabolism, or by reducing my energy intake? I think it probably lowered my energy intake by means of the endocrinological and metabolic changes. But who cares? It was easy, it was satisfying, it is proved to have been healthy, and it worked spectacularly.
Regards,
Agback
I’m a very, very newbie to Atkins. I started last Tuesday (8/26) and have lost 7 lbs so far. I didn’t eat like total “crap” before, (very little fast food, chips, candy, etc.) I did eat larger portions than I should, and I don’t exercise. I started with about 40 lbs to lose.
So far, I basically don’t care whether Atkins is working because I’m eating fewer calories, or if it’s because I’ve kicked into “ketosis” as Atkins claims. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m eating much less because my appetite is under control. The food I’m eating is satisfying, and I haven’t had any processed food in a week. I can’t imagine that skipping the bread with my sandwich and eating more leafy greens to make up for it is unhealthy. I haven’t added more fat to my diet. I’m probably eating a bit more protein rather than pasta. I’m also being vigilant in taking a multi vitamin, plus extra vitamins C and E.
I just hope the weight loss continues. But truly, I’m feeling very good, have gotten past the lack of energy I had the first few days, and feel that this is something that I can stick with.
It’s not the only source of energy your body uses, nor is it necessarily the best. If you’re overweight, you want your body to use your fat stores, not the carbohydrates you ingest.
Yes, you’re correct, but you’re underestimating the ability of low carb diets to ELIMINATE cravings for those foods.
Incorrect. I do 6 hours of exercise a week and have for 7 years. I’ve lost 37 lbs since Jan 1.
Yes and no. The low carb diets do keep your insulin steady, which is the key to successful weight loss. As you said, carbs stimulate your insulin production. High carb foods spike it, causing you to crave more carbs, feel false hunger pains, and eat more than you should. Good low carb foods like vegetables keep it steady. And the ~20 grams of carbs is only during induction. It helps you flush the carbs from your system so you can stop the cravings. My breakfast this morning was a very high fiber hot cereal (12 carbs per serving, 10 of which were fiber, for a net of 2 carbs which actually affect your blood sugar). I had to stop and think if I even ate breakfast this morning, because I just don’t think about food all the time any more.
The fact is, it does produce results, and it does it in a way no other diet I’ve tried has: eat whenever I’m hungry; no cravings; no false hunger pains (except during TOM, but that’s the exception rather than the rule now); steady weight loss; no apparent loss of muscle (for the first time in my life, I can do a push-up); and less concern overall about food.
Oh, and to cover a point you might bring up when I point out that I can now do a push-up, at 19 I weighed 115 lbs and couldn’t have done a push-up to save my life. Now (age 29) at 157, I can do one (a real one, not on my knees). I’m female, in case that wasn’t obvious.
My husband has also been on the diet and he can now do 15 push-ups, more than he’s ever been able to do in his life.
the myths that Atkins relies on portion controls are pretty much a crock.
i’ve been on Atkins since about the beginning of June, when my mom came to visit and gave me a copy of the book. during the Induction phase i lost at least 5 pounds. to date, it looks like i’m down about 17 total since then. my husband willingly joined me on the program, and has made major advances also.
our basic program is reducing the carbs. period. portion control? you joke.
we eat meats that are prepared in appropriate ways: broiled, baked, occasionally fried. if breaded, it’s using a mix of the Atkins Bake Mix and an equal portion of seasoned bread crumbs, plus herbal seasonings. veggies are buttered (or soft-margarined, actually–squeeze-soft margarines are nearly as low on carbs as butter) and seasoned; we’ve never been big on sauces there. cheese, eggs, bacon… << sings >> * Heaven, I’m in Heaven…* this is a terrific plan for natural carnivores like myself.
what we HAVE dropped are all the starchy sides – no more potatoes, rices, pastas, breads. when i initially read about the diet, i was sure that part would kill me. i loooooove rice; mashed potatoes are always yummy; bread is my “comfort food”. i was just amazed at how quickly they came to mean nothing to me anymore; no cravings, no big temptations when i’m shopping.
the change in shopping habits, however, is a headache at times. now i have to read all the labels to figure out the carb load on anything i haven’t already re-incorporated into the new lifestyle (and it is going to be a LIFESTYLE. people need to stop thinking of it as a diet). that, and buying some of the specially-formulated low-carb products (which of course equate to “more expensive than regular off-the-shelf versions”), whether they’re under the Atkins label or any other “low-carb friendly” makers. thank Og some of the local grocery stores are starting to put low-carb sections in now, in addition to their Natural/Organic stuff.
IF we eat less, it’s because we’re satisfied by the amount and things we are eating – NOT because we’re only allowed “so much”. i simply don’t last on deprivation-based diets.
i have a desk job that’s quite sedentary, although caring for our horses helps offset that a fair amount. my husband is similarly deskbound, but his energy levels have gone up enough that he’s actually using his workout equipment down in the basement (after all this time).
i try to keep from evangelizing about the Atkins plan, simply so i don’t annoy everyone. but i’d heartily recommend it as a means of getting control over your weight and probably your overall health.
Since you’re asking for anecdotes I’ll chime in. I’m sick of “fighting” with the uninformed about Atkins so I’ll just post my personal experience.
I’m 24 year old woman and weighed 315 lbs this February. I’ve been doing Atkins since then, exercising regularly, eating a completely balanced diet (including whole grains and fruits, thx) and I have lost 65 lbs in 6 months. I’m now “thinner” than I have been in 6 years.
My blood pressure is still 120/74 (it was always good). My cholesterol had never been checked until about 2 months into Atkins and it was slightly high then. However I’ve been told by both my support group (check out www.talkinglowcarb.com ) and my doctor himself and it’s also in the Atkins book that it takes about 6 months for cholesterol levels to normalize.
If you want more anecdotes from people who have actually been on Atkins and other low-carb lifestyle plans for a good while, check out the message board I linked to above. Also see the personal story of the woman who runs www.lowcarbluxury.com - she has been on Atkins for over 4 years now and says her new way of eating has saved her life for sure.
I know that carb reduction alone can accomplish weight loss to a point, but my friends who have tried this approach invariably hit a plateau well shy of their ideal weight. A common but erroneous claim is that Atkins is an all-you-can eat diet, but Atkins himself didn’t promote that view, and the multi-phase diet he created ultimately leads to a portion-controlled, moderate carb diet.
Reaching a point where you can eat less and be satisfied with eating less is definitely a process of acclimatization, and I know from experience that Atkins can facilitate that process. But I think dieters have to see that eating less food than they did before–not just different food–is the overarching goal, otherwise I doubt their ability to lose the weight and keep it off.