[OT] Atkin's Diet

[Mercule]

I've known quite a few people who've been on the Atkins diet. As someone else said, the weight doesn't seem to stay off. On the other hand, it does come off fairly reliably.

I guess my advice (regardless of whether the intent is to lose weight or triglycerides -- although I've only got experience watching people lose the weight) is that it seems to work well enough. It's just nigh impossible to maintain. If you can use the Atkins diet as a "jump start" then manage to switch yourself over to a more stable diet (the Atkins maintenance plan doesn't count), it'll probably work for you. Otherwise, welcome to the yo-yo.

 

[Alchemist]

I'd strongly recommend the Body-for-LIFE program created by Bill Phillips.

- Six meals a day --- protein, complex carbs, unsaturated fat
- Three sessions of cardio per week -- 20 minutes, high intensity
- Three sessions of weights per week --- no more than an hour
- One free day a week

I've been on the program for over three years now. It's a good way to live.

My cousin has been living this way for about 4 years now and hasn't felt the need to "cheat". This is a good lifestyle change with lasting results, and you're not depriving your body of anything it needs to function properly, unlike those fad diets, which is why they are nearly impossible to maintain, putting you back where you were before, plus some more as your body corrects for the next time you try to starve it out.

 

[JPL]

My cousin has been living this way for about 4 years now and hasn't felt the need to "cheat". This is a good lifestyle change with lasting results, and you're not depriving your body of anything it needs to function properly, unlike those fad diets, which is why they are nearly impossible to maintain, putting you back where you were before, plus some more as your body corrects for the next time you try to starve it out.

I'm a firm believer. Because I live in the middle of nowhere, I have to get up at 4:45 most mornings to drive to the gym. But once you form some good habits, they are surprisingly easy to maintain.

Good luck, Griswold, and keep us posted.

 

[Buttercup]

Howdy,

Was wondering if anyone else has tried this or is using this diet, it came recommended from my doctor and just want to what it's like.

Thanks!

Gris.

Yeah, hubby & I have been on it since July. He is losing weight faster than I am (isn't that always the case?) but we both feel much better. Lots of people think the Atkins diet is nothing but meat & eggs, but that's simply not true after the first two weeks. At that point, you add in carbs a bit at a time. The key is, don't add in carbs like bread, pasta and potatoes. Instead, have a bigger salad, help yourself to vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, summer squash & so forth. Interestingly, we've both lost our taste for french fries, potato chips, popcorn, pretzels and some other things we used to love. Essentially, we eat meat, eggs, and lots of vegetables. Now and then we splurge by having a few rye crackers with cheese or some roasted, salted nuts. I don't feel like I'm dieting, since I never have to leave the table hungry. In another month or so, I will have lost all the weight I wanted to, but I can't imagine going back to a carb rich diet. Eating carbs just makes me feel yucky. (I know this because I have cheated once or twice.)

 

[EricNoah]

My father, recently diagnosed with diabetes, has been on a low-carb diet for a few months now and has lost a lot of weight. He had quite a bit to lose. As long as he keeps it up, he should have no diabetic side-effects and no need to take insulin shots.

On his advice, I started a similar diet, using the Atkins model as a guide. After doing some research I decided that it wasn't *quite* right for me. Askin me to trade in a good carb like beans or fruit for a "bad fat" like bacon or red meat just didn't make sense to me. So now I try to cut back on "bad carbs" like pasta, potatoes, candy/sugar and white bread, and try to up the amount of fiber in the carbs I do eat. I've lost somewhere around 10 lbs and could probably stand to drop another 5-10. I do still occasionally "cheat" but even then I'm eating a lot fewer "empty" calories than I have for years.

The problem I'm having now is finding fun exercise I can do in the winter (I get bored at the gym before I get tired, but I like cycling and hiking in the summer), but that's another story.

 

[Malhavoc]

went from 315 to 250 on atkins... I think i'll stay on it for a bit longer.


I keep forgetting to take those 'one a day' pills though.

"Why hasn't this cold gone away!!?? oh yeah, vitamens."

 

[Airwolf]

<snip>
... drink only water or juices (as opposed to sodapops). ...

Not drinking soda pops, isn't that a sacrilegious statement for a gamer

 

[crowquill]

If you think about Atkins or any other low-carb plan as a diet you go on to lose weight and then get off when you've reached your target weight, you will fail. It's about changing your way of eating. My wife and I have been on Atkins since the beginning of August and I've lost about 30 pounds so far. We've been very happy with the new way we're eating.

 

[Glaurung]

The Adkins diet is excessively dangerous. Be wary. Its is basically inducing an artificial state of diabetes on yourself in order to lose weight. Because of the lack of carbohydrates and excess of protein, blood sugar goes way down and the body mostly lives on ketones (derived from protein). This has a negative impact on the body similar to that caused by diabetes. It may not hurt you much in the short term, but its very bad for you in the long run. (/biochemical analysis)

Moreover, it doesn't work, at least not in the long run. My mother tried it for a while (over my objections), and although she lost weight for a while, she could not keep it off. Try Jenny Craig, its worked wonders for her.

 

[CRGreathouse]

"bad carbs" like pasta, potatoes, candy/sugar and white bread

Somehow, I don't think your diet would work for me...

You can have my pasta, potatoes, candy/sugar and white bread when you pry them from my cold, dead hands.