Well, if you already have them (mine were the size of grapes) then flushing is hellish.
By coincidence, Dateline’s weight-loss documentary concluded last night. Among the six who used various diets from Weight Watchers to hypnosis, far and away the most weight was lost by the Atkins dieter. Over a hundred pounds and 16 waist inches in 6 months. And yes, he is healthy and well.
If you read the Atkins book and the medical sections on diabetics, it seems to be quite logical that it would work for long-term obese and pre-diabetic people. I did not realise this before I read the book, but it appears that obesity itself causes and maintains obesity: like a vicious circle, because obesity causes insulin sensitivities that in turn lead to continued obesity.
Before, I always though obese people were just lazy/greedy. Now it appears that some of them at least literally cannot lose weight, even on a 1000 calorie diet. It is not in their genes, but in the fact they have been obese for so long.
Another reason why “Atkins works” is because it is easier to stick to: for two reasons. Firstly, you can eat fats, which give taste and flavour to food. Secondly, because of the strict carb control, you don’t get blood sugar spikes, and you rarely if ever crave, and most of the time you are not even hungry. I say this from personal experience, and the anecdotal experience of friends.
The point someone makes about cows is interesting. Dr Atkins uses the example of bears, which spend most of the year eating raw protein. Only in Autumn do they concentrate on roots and berries (which are higher carb), deliberately to put on weight for their winter hibernation.
There are two problems with the perception of Atkins.
Firstly: the existing “weight loss industry” is primarily based on calorie controlled, LOW FAT products. They have a specific business interest to find against and discredit Atkins, and the “low fat” thing is so long and well established that it is hard for some dieticians and medical practitioners to learn to question it. It is my belief that the “low fat” industry has deliberately pushed the widespread but totally erroneous claim that Atkins is “no fruit or vegetables” or “no fruit”. In fact the diet prescribes far more vegetables (tubers/roots excepted) than most people ever eat normally, and fruit is both permitted and encouraged after the first two-weeks.
Secondly: since Dr Atkins died, the Atkins Foundation has turned itself into a cash cow, and IMO is perverting his original vision. The true Atkins diet is about getting back to natural foods and wholefoods, eating lots of green vegetables, and exercising. The Atkins Foundation doesn’t make money by selling such products. Therefore it endlessly pushes highly processed, chemical-packed “low carb” products, such as “candy” bars entitled things like “Endulge Chocolate Fudge Caramel Cream Whip.” Dr Atkins, if you read his book, never intended for people to live off such products, but unfortunately that is what many Atkins dieters now do.
I anecdotally back up the insulin/blood sugar spike thing that istara mentions. The impressive result that I achieved* may indeed ultimately be caused by reduced calorie intake, but the point is (and one that many of the detractors miss) that it’s way easier to avoid those calories when you’re not craving food, something that a low carb regime definitely does for many people.
*I lost 30 lbs in 3 months. I went back to my regular eating habits a year ago, during which time I’ve put 15 of those pounds back on. However, I’m back on low carb again and hope to lose them and another 5 by the spring.
Having had to drive my wife to the ER at 3am one cold night due to a gall stone, I’ll never dispute the pain anyone feels from them. The flush is supposed to keep them from crystallizing into gallstones, not get rid of existing ones.
Errr… no offense, but if they were that big, then woudn’t you have to get rid of them one way or another anyway? I thought that was pretty large.
This is, of course, purely anecdotal. An extremely obese woman of my acquaintance (400 lbs. plus) tried Atkins. She didn’t bother to get a doctor’s exam first, nor did she even bother to read the book or any other literature. She ate a dozen eggs and a pound of bacon for breakfast each day, among other high-fat goodies. Six weeks after she started her diet, she dropped dead of a heart attack. It was felt that the sudden increase in her cholesterol intake aggravated a latent heart condition.
My own experience is that Atkins is not good for people who are minus a gallbladder, as I am. I tried it for about three days and got horribly sick. I just can’t eat that much fat at one time anymore. YMMV, of course.
Robin
The scientific research I’m seeing says several things:
- Atkins works at short-term weight-loss.
- Atkins done well has sufficient fiber and vitamins in it.
- Lots of people doing Atkins don’t do it well, and therefore don’t get sufficient fiber and vitamins.
- Atkins does not outperform the ADA-recommended diet (a moderate, varied diet rich in whole grains, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables).
- Benefits of the Atkins diet may (this is unclear) derive from decreased caloric intake.
I don’t think the scientific method can be faulted for not having a firm result yet; this issue is still under study, and it’s an extremely complicated issue to study.
Daniel
I’m very sorry for the woman, but it simply isn’t right to say that she “tried Atkins”.
As she would have known if she’d have done the actual diet, he spefically urges a doctor’s checkup and a cholestorol check beforehand, and says it’s not an excuse to binge.
If she died from what she ate, then the Atkins diet really isn’t to blame.
Actually, you start with 20 carbs and go from there. Way back when Atkins first outlined his diet (about 30 years ago?) it was 0 carb, but it’s been 20 carbs on induction for quite a while now.
I found that 50-60 carbs a day works well for me in maintaining my weight. That works out to plenty of vegetables, some nuts, a slice or two of diet bread, and the occasional low carb bread-type snack (muffin, brownie, etc).
Part of what sold me on Atkins last year was that you don’t need to buy anything from his company to do it. All the information you need is on the website. You won’t get the detailed stuff, but I’ve never bought the book and have had no trouble following the diet.
I would imagine most people, whether they need to lose weight or not, would benefit from a couple weeks on Induction, just to lose their cravings for carb-rich foods. Ever eaten an entire bag of chips, box of crackers or package of cookies?
The most recent study I read (sorry, I thought it was on cnn.com but I can’t find it) studied three groups of people. One high-carb, low-fat; one low-carb, lower calorie; one low-carb, higher calorie. In order to minimize the dieters from making mistakes, all the meals were provided by an upscale Italian restaurant (3 meals and a snack). The low-carb, higher calorie dieters lost the most weight. I want to say their caloric intake was somewhere around 1700-1900, but I still can’t find the study. I believe the other two were about equal in the amount of weight loss. I don’t know if they studied overall satisfaction.
My experience with Atkins has been people hear “Atkins Diet” and think all you eat are bacon and eggs and lots of red meat. You really need to read the book, and (as with any diet) discuss it with your doctor. A co-worker tried it and developed gout. She’s now trying the South Beach diet.
I’ve lost about 60 pounds on Atkins, but I’ve been eating mostly chicken and fish, and only minimal amounts of red meat. I found some wonderful turkey burgers that are only 90 calories, no carbs, and with a little honey-mustard dressing (5 carbs in 2 tablespoons), made a tasty lunch. No bun, of course.
As I’ve mentioned in other threads, and as FairyChatMom said about her friend, by cutting back on carbs and getting refined sugar out of my diet, I’ve nearly gotten rid of crippling migraine headaches. I feel better than I have in years. It’s not for everyone, but it sure worked for me.
Atkins works. It works it works it works. It just fucking works.
But I didn’t stop to say that, I had my gall bladder removed 10 months ago. I continued to suffer from some IBS-like symptoms when my diet was completely unrestricted. I went low-carb and Poof! My system is perfect. (I consume fiber supplements several times a day, as well, no matter what I’m eating.) I took a break from low-carb for the holidays, not pigging, just eating potatoes and bread, and Bam…screwed up guts.
I also suffer from IBS, and all my symptoms went away while on the diet. And my skin cleared up, and I slept like a baby every night. YMMV!
I would actually disagree that it’s a good treatment for epilepsy. For one thing, Atkins may not be restrictive enough for epileptics. For another, according to The Epilepsy Cure Project, a ketosis-inducing diet (like Atkins or similar) has only been proven to work for some children. The study that was done by Johns Hopkins included a sample of only six children, three of whom had any effect in their seizures through Atkins’ diet. For more info on the effect of ketogenic diets on epileptics, check out this cite: [URL http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/ketogenic_diet.html] http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/ketogenic_diet.html .
Further, as an epileptic, I’ve been specifically warned by my neurologist to stay away from low-carb diets because diets like Atkins affect your metabolism, which could change the rate at which anti-epileptic and other drugs are absorbed into your body. Also, he told me that Atkins and other ketogenic diets should be used only in very specific cases, as they put a strain on the liver and kidneys, which are already stressed by the seizure medication. While I was on Depakote for my seizures, my liver failed almost completely and I was in the hospital for quite a while. If ketogenic diets are already proven to stress my liver, and I’m already taking something that stresses my liver, I don’t think it’s a good idea to go on one. But, since I’m not a doctor and am only quoting things that my neurologist told me, I could be completely off base. So I think that it would be somewhat inaccurate to say that Atkins works for epileptics.
But then all we’re really saying is that if you eat less, you lose weight. That’s beyond obvious. From what you’ve said, the study only showed people lost weight because they took in fewer calories, not because they stopped eating bread.
No, the question is whether it’s the method at all. If you switch to a low-calorie, low-fat diet, you will lose weight. The percentage of carbs is irrelevant unless you show that equal caloric and fat intake but with different percentages of carbs produce different results.
Otherwise, it’s like saying “I put a Jesus statue in my car the same week I started taking the train to work, and now I use less gas because of the Jesus statue.”
Bippy, are you concerned with discovering whether a low-carb diet works in the first place, or whether it works better than an isocaloric low-fat diet?
Please refer to my earlier comment:
I’ve done a few diets. This is the only one I’ve seen that actively negates food cravings.
That’s the ticket jjimm - people don’t stick on diets if they are hungry (well, most peopel don’t at any rate).
If we were caged like rats and only got to eat what we were fed, any low calorie diet would cause weight loss. In the real world, people can only stick on diets if they don’t get too hungry And low-carb diets reduce the craving.
BTW- What ever happened to Susan Stop The Insanity Poweter?
Just my own personal experience: I started on Atkins last Spring. I did not count calories. I did not just “stop eating bread.” I know some people say Atkins forces you to eat less because the food choices are limited (e.g., you can eat all the butter you want, you just can’t have any potatoes or bread to put it on - whatever).
Anyway, I usually had 2 slices of bacon and an egg in the morning, or maybe an omelet with cheese and ham or sausage. For lunches and dinners I had a huge salad with maybe a chopped hard-cooked egg, shredded cheese, cherry tomatoes and real, full-fat dressing. Sometimes I’d have lunchmeat rolled up with a lettuce leaf and a slice of cheese. Other times I’d have a turkey burger or a tilapia (whitefish) filet, or a chicken breast. If the grocery store had them, I’d get scallops with bacon wrapped around them, and broil them for something special. Sometimes I’d have a steak or hamburger, but I kept the red meat to a minimum. I ate lots of leafy green veggies, and drank lots of water. I found some low-carb shakes by a company called EAS that were pretty good and I had those a lot over the summer when I was at the pool with my kids. The Atkins-brand foods are hideously expensive, and IMO, not all that tasty.
For snacks, I’d eat pork rinds for something crunchy, or I’d microwave pepperoni slices for about 30 seconds, and have a handfull of those.
As I said, I did not count calories at all. I have no idea how many calories I was eating each day. I was never hungry, and felt satisfied. If I wanted something to eat, I could eat it. All I counted were the carbohydrate grams. And I lost 60 pounds.
The thing that bugs me about Atkins is the lack of long term success stories. I’ve heard a handful, some here on this forum. Usually they are form people who are on it about a year or so. This is fine and dandy, but I’d what I’d be more impressed by is Atkin’s successes participating in the National Weight Control Registry.. This group is self-selected and the requirements are that you lose 30 lbs. and keep it off for a period of one year.
So far, Atkins (or any low-carb diet for that matter) is woefully underrepresented on this registry, making only 1% of participants. Surgical methods have a higher representation than that.
Its not like Atkins has lacked time, his book has been out for something like 30 years and isn’t exactly unpopular.
But this does not jibe with the Atkins success tales I have heard on this forum. Mind you, I’ve also heard plenty of “Atkins failed for me” stories, but I’m sure any diet has a level of failure. (Although the number of folks who blame themselves for failure at Atkins is worrisome).
So for those who have been succesful with Atkins to the tune of the terms listed above (30 lbs, more than a year). I beg of you, no challenge you to register with the registry. The science of weight loss needs your input!
Go ahead, flame me if you must.
Don’t know why I end up in these diet threads.