Considering Atkins

That doesn't really answer my question. And also WTH??? I think you may be confusing participants in this thread.

I thought I had answered the question. If I did not, I have to ask you to reword it... because my previous post did not answer your question to your satisfaction, then I really dont think I understand what you are asking. Sorry about that.

Also: no, I did not confuse posters. You just quoted my response to someone else. Since it was someone else's post that spawned the post I made, that you then asked a question about, it was necessary to include for context. I assume you are referring to the 'uneducation' comment when you asked that, btw...if you are not, then I'm not sure what you mean.

still doesn't answer my question of why - if someone is asking for support in going Low Carb - immediately the army of naysayers descend to dissuade him or her. Mostly making blanket statements based on hearsay and their own aborted experience with the Atkins induction phase.

Zeromilediet - LOL ditto to everything you said also! You seem to be eating much like me. You are always welcome on the Primal/Paleo group.

Zero mile diet, interesting name! I *try my best* do the 100mile diet - your name makes me think you may be doing the same?!

For those that don't know the 100mile diet isn't a diet at all persay but a commitement to eating, buying and supporting locally grown foods that are seasonal, fresh, hormone and not genetically modified. Anyone interested for more read here: http://100milediet.org/why-eat-local

The name comes from trying to grow my own food, walking to the backyard for my food: zero miles :-) It's not easy with a growing season that lasts 145 days but have a garden planted with beets, onions, brussel sprouts, carrots, radishes, numerous lettuce varieties, swiss chard, kale, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and apples. Local bylaws prohibit keeping chickens so I get eggs and meat from a nearby farm. People who have ethical problems with eating beef raised in feedlots (like me), can get grass-fed, pasture raised meat which has the added advantage of being leaner (same amount of fat as a skinless chicken breast) and containing CLA, and omega-3 fats (2 to 4 times of feedlot beef, almost as much as wild salmon). The consumer owns the marketplace and if people start demanding grass fed beef in the supermarket, maybe we'll see healthier meat choices more widely available. I'm lucky to live close to a farm-gate source.

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still doesn't answer my question of why - if someone is asking for support in going Low Carb - immediately the army of naysayers descend to dissuade him or her. Mostly making blanket statements based on hearsay and their own aborted experience with the Atkins induction phase.
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I think Freerange's frist comment here tells it all for the OP

Just make sure you read the book and FOLLOW it. Too many people stop at the induction phase and then wonder what went wrong. Check out Paleo/Primal it's a lot like Atkins but IMO better.

Zeromilediet - awesomeness! You think much like me!

This is just MY experience and I think you should do what you feel like is the right thing for YOU after educating yourself about every single angle.

After having 2 ruptured disks and weighing 250 lbs I was desperate to lose the weight. I tried diet pills, starving, yadda yadda...

I did Atkins for a year, I stayed in ketosis and never went out of phase 2 (my doctor at the time recommended it) not one single time did I slip, I drank ONLY water and I walked religiously 3 miles every day. In that year I lost 100 pounds and I felt AMAZING. My big staple was taco salad without the taco shell and I ate it all the time. I did miss fruit a lot though, I love fruit. After I lost the weight my husband at the time went ballistic and I gained every single pound back. I do believe what they say about the 'golden' FIRST time...the first time you try it, pounds will literally fly off. But once you jump off the wagon it never ever works the same again (it didn't for me anyway, I'm sure everyone has individual results).

Five years later I have lost 50 of the pounds I had gained back, only through exercise and eating right. I do fall off the wagon sometimes but it's not like Atkins where it takes 3 full days to fall back into ketosis. It may be in my head but I really think I lost a lot things my body needs now and if I could go back in time I would've never done it that way.

The largest piece of advice I have after going through all of the ups and downs is to do weight training on top of the cardio. It took me 34 years before anyone actually taught me this. it IS in magazines and all over the internet, but I didn't fully understand it. You must do BOTH to lose weight and be healthy.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do. After every single diet in the book I personally think that eating a balanced meal and exercise is the ONLY way there is...and everyone is right, once you lose it by eating that way you have to remain eating that way for LIFE or every single ounce and all of your hard work will be for nothing.

*I thought I made a post about this, but I could not find it.*


I am considering Atkins and I know that many frown upon it, but I have been doing alot of research and I really think I would like to give it a go. So much has changed since I tried it 8 years ago. So, I would like to get reviews from anyone who has tried the new Atkins and had success or failure. I want honest reviews and honest opinions please.

Thanks in advance!

Okay, so to actually responded to the OP

I have never really "followed" Atkins. My mother went on Atkins 15 years ago when she was told she had diabetes. In the years since she has remained rediculously devoted to her low-carb lifestyle, her diabetes is gone, along with a whole host of other health problems, she feels great and is in amazing shape. She has said it has never been hard for her to sustain Atkins because she feels so much better she would never want to go back to her old eating ways.

Through her influence, I began looking into low-carb eating, and played around with my diet for years- i've been vegetarian, vegan, raw-vegan, I've done all organic, I've done "complex carb" dieting, and waaaayyy in the past I did all the "diets" of the SAD- weight watchers, eating all smart ones and lean cuisines and slim fasts.

How I got healthy, and the way of eating that I found for myself through experimenting that made me lose weight the easiest, is closest to Primal/paleo, of all the "defined" ways of eating.- Really, I just try to eat low-carb and natural.
(I eat as much of the organic/free range stuff as I can- lots of lean meat, tons of eggs, lots of berries and avocados and greens and many many other veggies. I also enduldge in the occasional bit of dairy, Zevia soda, and suagr free gelatin...)

So if nothing else, what I'm really recommending is experimenting with yourself. I think it's a great idea to try Atkins if you haven't found what works best for you yet. Atkins might be it! And it might not be, but at least you'd learn something about your body.



Best of luck and love to all

Please don't do that. All my aunts who did atkins have gained the weight back plus some....though when they were doing it they all lost tons of weight and looked great, it wasn't worth what they're dealing with now....more weight and disappointment:(

You can do it w/o atkins:flowerforyou:

consider south beach over atkins if you really insist- atkins is just not good.

Please don't do that. All my aunts who did atkins have gained the weight back plus some....though when they were doing it they all lost tons of weight and looked great, it wasn't worth what they're dealing with now....more weight and disappointment:(

You can do it w/o atkins:flowerforyou:

the point is: not all people can. for instance, people who are already insulin resistant will do very well on a carbohydrate restricted diet. And, after having gone through all Atkins phases, a person may end up with an eating pattern that isn't so weird, but that contains: a very little amount of carbohydrate from grains, much more carbohydrates from fresh, non starchy vegetables, protein from lean sources, a bit of protein from legumes and healthy fats, perhaps a little dairy and a sensible intake of fruit. all in all, a very healthy way of eating.

Anyone who starts eating according to their previous pattern after having restricted their intake of anyone will gain weight back. It's not typical for Atkins that that should be happening.

I've spent years living in the Romance countries of Europe and yes, my diet consisted of a lot of pastas and cheeses and wines, but I lost weight and was smaller than I had been since I was 12--but then, I was also walking everywhere (or, at the very least, walking to a bus or train) and spending a large portion of my time outside moving around, which in the US is not very common.

Also, I'm with the person who said "we're not judging you, we're judging your diet"--I certainly have nothing against the Paleo/Primals, I'm very happy that they've found a lifestyle that works for them! Truly! :happy: But I really wish they would (1) change the name and the way they describe it, because it carries a connotation with it that it is the way humans originally ate or were originally intended to eat [:noway: VERY VERY WRONG] and (2) be a little bit more careful about the way they encourage people into their fold...the fact is that, like any diet that restricts entire food groups, it's not across-the-board healthy or recommended for the average person.

I'm not a nutritionist, but I am an archaeologist (and have taken several classes on human nutrition as well as the history of the human diet) and I've seen hundreds of generations of bodies who have given me all the proof I need. :flowerforyou: Whole grains are your friend...not that there's anything wrong with you yourself cutting them out if you want to (Seinfeld!), but to spread the idea that they are bad for you or in any way OUGHT to be cut out for one's health is untrue and irresponsible.

We've all come here to support each other and yes, these days research can be found on the internet to support almost anything, but maybe we should concentrate on just encouraging each other to eat a healthy, balanced diet that is based on decades and decades of research.

I'm not sure it will really matter though...I sense this thread is about thisclose to being shut down since it's getting people a little riled up.

Atkins doesn't cut out "entire foodgroups" as you still will be eating carbohydrates. Of course, those of the paleo persuasion will ditch grains, legumes and dairy, but what exactly is "bad" about that? In the SAD fat was almost entirely cut out and see where that has brought us. If you are really an archeologist, could you tell me what exactly is the scientific basis for _your_ sweeping statements? What is that diet with decades and decades of research that you speak of? Also, people around the mediterranean are among the most unhealthy Europeans, with Greece topping the list with a whopping obesity rate. The "mediterranean diet" is an invention based on a selective interpretation of the "7 nations" diet.

Also, people around the mediterranean are among the most unhealthy Europeans, with Greece topping the list with a whopping obesity rate. The "mediterranean diet" is an invention based on a selective interpretation of the "7 nations" diet.

Also also, though nearby to some, Greece is not one of the Romance countries I referenced. You seem to be confused. I've never lived in Greece, so I couldn't really comment about their lifestyle--good thing I didn't. All I said was that when I lived in Europe I used a lot more public transportation than I do now...not sure how that ties in to your schpiel about greasy Greek food.

I've spent years living in the Romance countries of Europe and yes, my diet consisted of a lot of pastas and cheeses and wines, but I lost weight and was smaller than I had been since I was 12--but then, I was also walking everywhere (or, at the very least, walking to a bus or train) and spending a large portion of my time outside moving around, which in the US is not very common.

Also, I'm with the person who said "we're not judging you, we're judging your diet"--I certainly have nothing against the Paleo/Primals, I'm very happy that they've found a lifestyle that works for them! Truly! :happy: But I really wish they would (1) change the name and the way they describe it, because it carries a connotation with it that it is the way humans originally ate or were originally intended to eat [:noway: VERY VERY WRONG] and (2) be a little bit more careful about the way they encourage people into their fold...the fact is that, like any diet that restricts entire food groups, it's not across-the-board healthy or recommended for the average person.

I'm not a nutritionist, but I am an archaeologist (and have taken several classes on human nutrition as well as the history of the human diet) and I've seen hundreds of generations of bodies who have given me all the proof I need. :flowerforyou: Whole grains are your friend...not that there's anything wrong with you yourself cutting them out if you want to (Seinfeld!), but to spread the idea that they are bad for you or in any way OUGHT to be cut out for one's health is untrue and irresponsible.

We've all come here to support each other and yes, these days research can be found on the internet to support almost anything, but maybe we should concentrate on just encouraging each other to eat a healthy, balanced diet that is based on decades and decades of research.

I'm not sure it will really matter though...I sense this thread is about thisclose to being shut down since it's getting people a little riled up.

Traveling is great huh! Seeing how others live and eat, etc.

I live in one of these Mediterranean countries; while the obesity rate is much less here then in the US, I'm not going to say here we have the 'prefect' eating plan' we do enjoy breads, pastas, cheese and wine, ... and the cake too on occasion. People here also general walk much more and are activity. But with that said McD has also made an invasion and all the teenagers eat there. So the average person is much bigger then in the past generation. With the exception of Italy, McD has made an invasion of all our countries in the same way.

And I think in the most general sense if you make a change from eating fast food or even home-cooked greasy of the unhealthy foods theeen to move to country with where the food is mostly vegetable based,portions are smaller, meals are a form of art and enjoyment not usually binge fasts then YES you will lose weight!

I'm living as I said in a Mediterranean ... have all my life. I ate this way, very few times I went to McD ......yet I'm obese! And many more like me!

But for some it may not be enough! I know many many on here have said LOW CARB is the ONLY way! Well they are zealous, what can I say! But you know, I have heard the same schpiel from vegetarians and vegans too! So I don't think one size fits all. BUT I would say to everyone out there ... give it a chance! Cut all the wheat, dairy,soy and genetically modified foods for 2 weeks ... and see how your body reacts. If you see a good difference, you may decide to continue GREAT! If you dislike the reslt, then cleary it's NOT for you! I think may of us are just saying give it chance ...

I'm also not sold on the names this lifestyle has gotten. But it's catchy! It's meant to be catchy - to catch the attention of people. But in reality this lifestyle wasn't invented by the authors of these books or even back in the 60s with the 'back to nature" movement. Many people around the world were and are eating like this ... take the Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean it's a naturally lower-carb quasi-Mediterranean diet/lifestyle where olive oil, red wine and fish are the main staples. It's isn't a diet where people eat on the plan for certain amount of days, lose the weight then go back to their old many times unhealthy ways, but it's a lifestyle.

And this lifestyle (also called Primal or Paleo or many other names) encompasses other acespts of life, not only food ... but fitness, choices we make that will effect our enviroment and allowing/not allowing known toxins in our bodies.

So anyway, while some of my other Primal lifestyler may agree or disagree - I agree with what you said read, read, read, read, filtier out the lies, learn, trail and error!

To go back to the original poster.

I think you have two groups of people posting here.


1. The dieters, who are looking for something magical that works for them, in this case Atkins, but there are many different fad diets, HCG, Paleo, it is hard to keep up on what the flavor of the month is. The bottom line is, if it works for you, and you can loose and keep the weight of, great go for it. The only thing that matters is calories in and calories out. Any diet that restricts calories intake will cause weight loss. But for most dieters it only works for a time, they yoyo in weight up and down, and blame their lack of adherence to their diet, hence they try to have more faith and better stick with it. And like religion, they seem to want to spread their faith.

2. Secondly, if you have health issues, like high cholesterol, diabetes, etc, yes you need to work with a dietitian to come up with a sustainable diet that works for you. Don't try to get this on this board or any website, too much of the stuff is just plainly made up, distorted, and likely will do you more harm than good.

3. In my opinion, for most of us, eating less and substituting healthier items in your diet is the way to go. There is no quick solution for weight loss, and the ones who think they have it are just yo-yoing up and down all the time. Check out "The hacker diet", he said it best. If you got overweight, your bodies control is out of control and you need to keep track of your calories and eat less to keep your weight in a healthy range. So forget about diets, either eat less calories or exercise more to lose more calories. That's it, nothing magically that you need to do.

I've spent years living in the Romance countries of Europe and yes, my diet consisted of a lot of pastas and cheeses and wines, but I lost weight and was smaller than I had been since I was 12--but then, I was also walking everywhere (or, at the very least, walking to a bus or train) and spending a large portion of my time outside moving around, which in the US is not very common.

Also, I'm with the person who said "we're not judging you, we're judging your diet"--I certainly have nothing against the Paleo/Primals, I'm very happy that they've found a lifestyle that works for them! Truly! :happy: But I really wish they would (1) change the name and the way they describe it, because it carries a connotation with it that it is the way humans originally ate or were originally intended to eat [:noway: VERY VERY WRONG] and (2) be a little bit more careful about the way they encourage people into their fold...the fact is that, like any diet that restricts entire food groups, it's not across-the-board healthy or recommended for the average person.

I'm not a nutritionist, but I am an archaeologist (and have taken several classes on human nutrition as well as the history of the human diet) and I've seen hundreds of generations of bodies who have given me all the proof I need. :flowerforyou: Whole grains are your friend...not that there's anything wrong with you yourself cutting them out if you want to (Seinfeld!), but to spread the idea that they are bad for you or in any way OUGHT to be cut out for one's health is untrue and irresponsible.

We've all come here to support each other and yes, these days research can be found on the internet to support almost anything, but maybe we should concentrate on just encouraging each other to eat a healthy, balanced diet that is based on decades and decades of research.

I'm not sure it will really matter though...I sense this thread is about thisclose to being shut down since it's getting people a little riled up.

What kind of diet are you on, counting calories, vegen, south beach?

That's the thing, they arent bashing YOU. They are bashing YOUR DIET. Not the same thing. You are just interpreting it way too personally (which is what I was referring to when I mentioned the shooting your dog thing). Though I would imagine there are many who say "YOUR DIET SUCKS AND YOU ARE A MORON FOR USING IT!!!!!"....caps lock is cruise control for cool you know, but, you know...those people make me laugh too; I'm talking about them as well.

I’m not sure if you’re naïve, too young to know better or what, BUT. Saying I like Ford trucks better than Chevy Trucks, because Ford has more horse power, gets better gas mileage, has more room in the cab, or whatever is A LOT different than saying Chevy trucks SUCK.

In one you are giving a reasoned argument as to why you think Fords are better than Chevy’s, in the other you are attacking the truck for no apparent reason, AND you are attacking the person that would buy a Chevy truck. The implication is, if you are stupid enough to buy a truck that sucks, then you suck too.

Like I have said I don’t care how a person eats, I don’t care if they have well reasoned arguments why they THINK low carb is not healthy, or just not for them, it’s the haters that I have a problem with, and when someone says things like;

“It's a horrible diet”, It is sooo not healthy!! Why try a gimmick, enjoy having a stroke, goofy fad diets, but there are many different fad diets, HCG, Paleo, it is hard to keep up on what the flavor of the month is.

They are attacking, some may be doing it without realizing, but I know a couple here are doing it with full realization. And then there are just plain ignorant statements, and I mean ignorant as in, uninformed. Calling the statement ignorant is IMO calling the person ignorant, but that is not an insult it’s just a statement of fact, calling them stupid would be an insult.

I liked South Beach. You can print the food lists on line. I bought the Atkins book but I did South Beach I lost about 27 lbs on it.