My mom did the Atkins thing (and just about every other fad diet that I can think of). She was on it for just a few months and lost about 20 pounds. She was thrilled, until she ended up in the hospital after collapsing in her office after her aerobics class. She was kept in the hospital overnight because her heart was beating irregularly and she was dizzy, but basically she was okay (though it was quite frightening for all of us). The doctors simply observed, but never really gave us any answers. We have no idea if the Atkins diet had anything to do with it, but she dropped the diet right after that and gained the weight back. Eventually, she moved onto The Zone diet, which takes a lot of work but seems to be more balanced. While on the zone she has lost more than she did on Atkins. My mom’s an active woman who, in her mid fifties, walks in the morning and takes exercise classes at the gym of the university where she works during many of her lunches (keeping right along side 20 year old college students too!). The heart thing could have been, and probably was, totally unrelated to Atkins, but it was enough that she stopped.
As for me, I’m a vegetarian and I think I would simply starve on Atkins! No thanks for me, I’d rather just try to eat healthy and exercise regularly.
Sure, from a quick google, I found here.
I am thinking of promoting the AnTeChINuS diet: spiders, insects, lizards and worms - and baby wrens on Sundays.
Could be some money in it.
I considered and rejected Atkins in favor or the South Beach diet. Atkins struck me as more extreme than I was willing to follow, and I watched some friends and family members flail and fail on that program. I read the entire South Beach book before starting the program, having a past full of Weight Watchers, “grapefruit diet”, “hardboiled egg diet”, weekly-shot-in-the-butt-near-starvation diet, low fat, and who can remember what else I tried. The book made sense, and Dr. Agatston made some easily verifiable claims.
First and foremost to me - cravings for sweets was supposed to disappear after 2 or 3 days. And they did! I have one serious sweet tooth - love my candy and ice cream and pastries, but honest-to-goodness, after 2 days, I was walking past the candy machine at work without a glance. Someone brought donuts to work, and I had to pass the table half a dozen times - never even opened the box to see what kind were in there. This from the person who would have snagged 3 in the past. So this impressed me from the start.
Second was the claim that there would be a lot of belly fat loss. Well, I’ve already had to retire 3 pairs of jeans, and there are probably 3 more pair I could get rid of, but I haven’t gotten any replacements yet.
Third - it’s really easy. The first two weeks were a challenge, as is any lifestyle change. But I’m in phase two now, and it’s become second nature. I’m eating lots of fruits. I’m really enjoying whole grain breads (got some killer good rye last night) and I’ve found some sugar free ice cream bars that are tasty and just enough to make me think I’m getting a treat.
I’ve eaten out several times and it’s lots easier than when I did Weight Watchers. I’ve also found that I am satisfied with lots less food than before. I got myself a candy bar a couple of times, but a small bit of candy is quite enough for me now. I still find that hard to believe.
I started on July 6. I’ve dropped about 23# so far and I’ve been sleeping better than I have in a long time. When I go for my annual checkup in January, I’ll have a full blood workup then, and I can’t wait to see how my cholesterol and triglycerides have changed. (That’s the main reason I did this - losing the weight is nice, but my dad’s sudden death by heart attack made me consider my own mortality.) So, there’s some anecdotal info about an Atkins alternative. I’ll shut up now.
My husband and I started Atkins on May 5. We’ve both lost over 30 pounds each. I’ve still got a few more to go, but he’s down to what he weighed when he graduated high school (he’s 30 now). He’s gone from a tight 38 to a comfy 34. I was struggling to get into 14s, and now I’ve got 10s that are too big.
For anyone who wants factual, clinical information regarding low-carb diets, please check out www.lowcarbresearch.org. I used cites from two studies found on that page for a persuasive speech in favor of low-carb diets. The biggest problem with low-carb research is that no truly long-term studies have been done. The NIH is looking into starting up a five-year study here soon.
My personal favorite low-carb website is www.low-carb-friends.com. They’ve got BBs, a recipe room, links to sites where you can buy stuff, etc.
As for all of the claims of kidney failure, heart attacks, cancer, etc., I must say “cite?” The government-funded Medical Research Center “claiming” things means nothing to me. The medical community has been condemning low-carb diets for years. If they change their tune now, they will have a lot of egg to clean up.
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As far as mentioning the “food pyramid,” I would ask that you read the article from Scientific American found here.
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I’ve been eating Atkins since June - 33 pounds gone.
A lot of people are under the misconception that Atkins is all meat, cheese and eggs - that simply isn’t true. I never eat eggs and bacon. Breakfast for me is usually leftover vegetables from the night before. Lunch is a salad with tuna, chicken or ham diced on top. Dinner is 4-6 oz. of protein (fish, chicken breast or steak, I usually grill it), with a side of vegetables. If I want a snack, I have fresh or frozen berries. How can eating like that be bad for you? And there are carbs in Atkins, but the majority should come from vegetables.
Cravings for sweets and junk food - gone.
Heartburn - gone
Energy - way up!
I also totally cut caffeine out, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I don’t miss it a bit. I also don’t miss eating sugar, flour, or potatoes. I survived a whole weekend with 6 pieces of sugary sweet birthday cake in my fridge, and I wasn’t even tempted to take a taste.
The great thing is, if you do Atkins correctly (start with induction for at least two weeks, and add carbs back in the proper way) it is super easy to do. I am not hungry betweeen meals, and I am satisfied eating a lot less food that I used to be.
Being overweight isn’t healthy, I’m happy I found something I could do about it (and stick with!) before it was too late for me.
antechinus wrote:
Thanks for trying, but, again, this article makes the claim that the diet could cause kidney damage without offering any evidence that it ever has.
Critics continue to misrepresent the diet. The way I eat is very similar to a diabetic diet. Considering the skyrocketing rates of adult-onset diabetes, isn’t it common sense that reducing the amount of sugar in your diet is a healthy choice? And by sugar I also mean excess refined carbohydrates and starches. We may quibble over what constitutes an excess, but the recent attempt to revise the food pyramid–in part because supposedly heart-healthy low fat diets often allow for a pancreas-busting overabundance of carbohydrates–shows that Atkins addresses some serious dietary concerns.
Can anyone answer the question about whether the Atkins diet is good for those who have just been diagnosed with type II diabetes?
I would have thought that controling your insulin release with food, and in the process losing the weight that contributed to the diabetes in the first place, could only be a good thing.
My father, however, was told not to do this by his doctor, and go on a regular low-fat diet (something he has tried before without success). I have been on Atkins for about 3 months and lost 12lb (about half what I want to), and suggested that he try it.
He doesn’t want to go against medical advice, but I am worried that the advice is outdated. Anyone know of any papers, research etc?
He really needs to lose the weight. He does no excersise, as his knees hurt from carrying too much weight, and I am worried about him. I think that he would find Atkins easy, and would love for him to do it if it were safe.
I have been doing the diet, and
Oops, ignore that last sentence.
I have had some very good results on it. However, as in all diets, if you revert back to your previous habits you will gain weight.
At first it wasn’t too bad, but after 6 months I began to crave carbs. I think though that there are enough to new low-carb snacks that this would be lessened for me.
Did it from January to June and lost 30 pounds. I started to add carbs back into my diet (fruit, the occasional piece of toast, small side of rice or potatoes) and the most amazing thing happened- the weight didn’t come back! After losing the weight my diet pretty much consists of eating normally, but avoiding pasta, rice, bread and potatoes. I do eat them now and then though- I had pizza last weekend and had a few potatoes with a curry the other day. My diet now is the “avoid the side dishes” diet. But I’ve been right around 82 kilos for 3 months of not following the diet strictly, so I think I’m good to go.
I still have a little paunch that I want to get rid of, so I am thinking of going back on the strict diet again in January and have a flat stomach for next summer. But I am now fitting into my old 34’s and feel great. I’m on this diet for life, it’s cool.
-Tcat
I would hesitate to give medical advice to anyone, especially one with a serious condition, so keep in mind that I’m not a medical professional. But anecdotally, many diabetic people on the lowcarbfriends message board who’ve been on this diet have been able to control their diabetes with diet and exercise. Perhaps he could contact the Atkins Center or one of the centers for one of the other low carb diets (like the South Beach Diet FCM mentioned) and get some advice on who in his area he could speak with about this.
Thanks DeadlyAccurate for that. All the stuff that I had read was anecdotal as well, but I guess with no long term studies on low carb diets, the information I would like just isn’t out there.
This site has many references to epidemiological studies of the health risks presented by a high protein diet.
Here is a healthy diet recommended by dieticians.
Of course a diet high in refined carbohydrates is bad for you. Dieticians recommend complex carbohydrates and avoiding refined sugar.
If you eat lots of lollies and drink soft drinks you are a good candidate for mature onset diabetes.
You are aware, ** antechinus **, that the PCRM (the people who put out that website you linked to) are animal rights activists, aren’t you? Of course they will say that high-protein is bad for you, and offer their own vegan way of doing it. Take a look at their “Healthier Choices” link.
Well, without very many cites yet, but at least a few, this is what I’ve read & heard.
Some of the arguments its proponents raise are strawmen: nobody will argue that cutting out lollies, cakes, donuts and soft drinks is at all bad for you. Any sensible diet will do this.
The Atkins diet can indeed work for weight loss, for several reasons:
- Restricting calories will always help weight loss.
- Eating meat and fat does seem to give a sensation of fullness, which helps someone keep an otherwise restricted diet going.
- Low carb diets deplete glycogen in liver and muscle tissue, which binds water. (So a high proportion of the weight loss is meaningless and very quickly regained.)
- Actual research has shown that a high protein diet can help with weight loss.
- Actual research has shown that dropping potatoes, white bread and some other carbs can help with weight loss.
What actual research?
The particular high protein diet tested by the CSIRO is NOT the same as the Atkins diet. Here’s a start:
The thing is, it seems, that you can eat foods other than protein that also make you feel full. Complex carbs are among these. The low GI diet sems to be the latest thing in medically endorsed diets, and this one suggests (similarly) dropping potatoes and white bread - but replacing them not with protein and fat, but with other low GI complex carb foods such as sweet potatoes and wholemeal bread.
This is the CSIRO page - complete diet included:
http://www.csiro.au/index.asp?type=division&id=Human%20Nutrition
Some of the problems with the Atkins diet are serious:
My partner’s family is very prone to bowel cancer, and irritable bowel, so keeping up the fibre is seriously important. My family has a lot of heart disease. Saturated fats seem like a bad idea to me. Both of these seem to be a problem with this diet.
Now, whatever you think of the PCRM site’s recommendations instead (and I concur in the suspicions) they do at least have an analysis of the sample menus for the three stages of the Atkins diet taken straight from the book. So you can look for yourself. (They cite Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution (pp. 257-259)). It is low calorie, but also low fibre - until you get to the maintenance level which seems a bit saner. It is also indeed high in saturated fats. If anyone has the book they can confirm or deny whether this is accurately cited.
cajela wrote:
Atkins strongly recommends fiber supplements during the induction phase, which the PCRM didn’t take into account. I ate wheat bran. For most people the induction phase lasts only two weeks, so whatever its nutritional deficiencies, they are very temporary. Induction is a “baptism by fire” exercise to get people off their old high-carb diets. I haven’t seen anyone argue that Atkins is unique for encouraging people to give up donuts and cake. He does encourage dieters to become aware of other forms of sugar that people often don’t consider, which I think is worthwhile.
Taking a long-range view, the maintanence level is, ultimately, the diet, and should be the focus of criticism. Too many people look at the induction phase and portray that as the entire eating plan. My complaint with the PCRM’s evaluation of the Atkins diet is that they pull out three possible menus out of a wide range of choices, and use them to represent the diet as a whole. The quality of most people’s diet varies from day to day, and eating a menu like that on occasion wouldn’t be especially harmful, but that isn’t how I eat, and I doubt many people eat that way day after day.
The various kinds of fat are worth discussing, but we should also put things into perspective. If dieters who have failed year after year (and I was one) successfully lose weight with Atkins and keep it off, we should ask a couple of questions. First, which is worse, being clinically obese for life or eating more fat than many nutritionists recommend? Most sources I’ve read cite obesity as the paramount health concern. Also, once you’re thin and in control of the way you eat, you can tweak your diet if you have concerns about fat or meat-eating or whatever. You have learned weight control, and congratulations! Second, is it better to discourage obese people from using a diet that could work for them because a “healthier” diet exists that does not work for them?
Hi,
On the fiber issue- the diet actually encourages being aware of your fiber intake for two different reasons- one is if you don’t ingest enough fiber, you will have some digestion issues and secondly, you can substract fiber grams from any carb count, thus being able to eat more filling portions of veggies and allowed grains (like flaxmeal-if thats a grain). For example, I have keto hot cereal for breakfast in the mornings , took some getting used too but with sugar substitute and a pat of butter, its quite tasty. The cereal has 12 g. of carbs in a serving- over half the “allowed” carb count for Atkins Induction- but it also has 10 g of fiber. So I start my day with a dose of fiber to keep things going, have a generous and healthy breakfast and only use up 2-3 g. of my carb count. Since I have generous amounts of raw & cooked veggies, and/or salad for lunch and dinner- I find that I have no problems at all with fiber intake. I am always surprised at how many people I come across that aren’t aware of this formula of figuring out effective carbs- they are the ones who are the examples people like to point too when they say Atkins followers aren’t eating enough veggies (I’m eating more than ever) and are just eating meats, eggs and cheese. Without the fiber intake formula, carb intake is severely limited on Induction- but by using the formula, even Inductionees get generous amounts of healthy veggies.
I have been on Atkins for 8 months (stalled for a few, because I was being stubborn about cream in my coffee). Yes, people do have weight loss plateaus- thats true of any diet. What people have to realize is that heavier people burn more energy- they can lose more weight faster. I’m 35 lbs lighter, so just moving around doesn’t burn as much of fat or calories as it did when I started- so naturally things will have to be tailored, exercise levels adjusted, etc to continue losing weight at a decent rate. Personally, I don’t mind the slower weight loss- if its slow I know its not water and I will have fewer strech/weight loss marks. I’m very satisfied in the diet, I don’t cheat because I don’t care if I ever eat another potato or piece of bread (NEVER thought that I would say that). I feel great, my blood sugar is stabilized- the main reason I don’t cheat is that I remember how awful I felt after a high glycemic meal. Actually, I remember how horrible I felt every day eating a “low fat” teriyaki bowl with rice. Low fat shouldn’t weight you down and make you feel like a nap. Instead I have a salad w/ cheese and lean deli meat or leftover chicken and veggies for lunch- and feel energized, not sleepy.
For very heavy people, I think they can do the heavy meat/cheese thing, with some veggies, and lose alot of weight. I think for people who have trouble controlling their appetite- a diet where they can eat huge portions of something and lose weight is a start. Its less dangerous than maintaining an obese body condition. I think if they stick to it, the way the diet is tailored to add healthy carbs and control cravings will develop into a healthy lifestyle for them. The key though is getting started- when you have that hunger/blood sugar/craving cycle going, its very hard to stop it on a low fat diet. I have lost lots of weight on low fat diets but never learned to control my body’s cravings- I was always hungry but just learned to “control myself”. Now I don’t have to control anything, my diet does that for me and I actually have to make an effort at times to eat enough food for the day. When I do reach my ideal weight, I look forward to a healthy diet that will satisfy me and give me the tools to recover from a venture outside of the diet. I have a planned cheat on my b-day in Nov- Thai Buffet :). But I’m confident that I can do that, eat reasonably then (still won’t endulge much on noodles & rice) and have a structured plan of returning to my diet. No other diet has done that for me- it was always “just eat less (fat, calories, etc)”- no real information on how to maintain that in the face of carb induced cravings.
Some people get food cravings due to carbs raising their blood sugar levels. That is why some people need to stick to a low carb diet to keep levels low and reduce craving for high carb foods.
Although I haven’t seen studies yet, I’m hoping someone is studying children who have a family history of diabetes. I believe that’s why some children gain weight in childhood. They tend to be addicted to carbs from the start.
I did the induction phase for 2 weeks, lost 14 pounds. Then one day I woke up and felt as if I had broken my foot. I figured I injured it somehow exercising, but the pain was way worse than any break I had ever had. I went into the emergency room, since it was a Saturday, and hobbled around for a couple hours till I could see the doc.
Some background. I’m male, 36, exercise regularly, never had any major health issues (other than the demon nicotine, which I quit 10 months ago).
The diagnosis? Gout. Gout!!?! I said. What the hell is gout? Isn’t that something that they bitch about on the Golden Girls? What’s next? A goiter? Unknown to me, gout can be a side effect of atkins. It hurt like hell. I bought and ate a twinkie on my way home. I’ve gained ten of the pounds back. I keep convincing myself that it’s muscle. (some of it actually is).
kate22 wrote:
I agree completely, but my point is that those food cravings led to overeating. So when people switch to a low carb diet, the goal should be to stop the cravings and eat less, not continue overeating but with different foods.