Your Comments On Atkins??

It works for some, not for others. It seems like some people are more "carb sensitive" regarding their weight as opposed to others. I tried it once many years ago and I never felt so tired and crappy in my life. I do best with a good mix of protein, carbs and fat. I tend to take the view that no natural food should be completely eliminated from my diet, as for me that isn't sustainable. Some people have had great success with Atkins though and it really depends on the person.

If you think a low carb lifestyle is one you can maintain forever, then by all means try it out if it sounds good to you. Use the search function on this message board and you will find many other low carb people for support. If you go to the "Groups" section of the MFP Community tab, I am sure there will be an Atkins group there as well.

I like it, it works for me. My reproductive endo suggested it b/c of PCOS issues. When I stick to it, I lose like crazy and am never hungry. But sticking to it is hard, I'll be honest, especially with a family that likes pizza and a skinny hubby who can't live without a starch at dinner. It would be a lot easier if I'd plan out my meals for the week and cook over the weekend so I always had low carb food at the ready. Used to do this when I was single and skinny and it was a breeze (and I lost 135 pounds and kept it off until I had kids, so 6 years), just hard when you have three kids and work full time. But that's on me, not the diet, kwim?

Does it work long term and does it has any side effects???

Side effects include a lack of hunger, and constipation.

I don't really believe in high protein/fat, zero carb diets like Atkins. The process relies of your body being in a state of Ketosis where it burns up body fat as it has no carbs. Basically Ketosis is the state your body goes into when you have run out of all other food sources, and your body in a sense, starts eating itself. I had a discussion with my housemates when I was at uni last year (I lived with 3 bio scientists - think Big Bang Theory ) and they were explaining about how it plays on your body's absolute survival eating plan - it's not a light choie to make, it's actually quite an extreme state for your body to be in, but due to the marketing of it, people don't think it's so bad.

Slipping once and eating some bread will take you out of Ketosis and you'll be back to square one.

I just think everything should be in moderation - you should have to completely cut something out of your diet as it isn't really a sustainable lifestyle choice. You aren't reeducating yourself how to make healthy choices when you are on a strict diet plan.

I believe that anything where fruit isn't allowed is kind of stupid.

There are easier and less extreme ways to lose weight.

Also, I just think that following one set plan such as Atkins or whatever exercise tape to get to a goal weight just isn't going to happen - anyone who has lost x amount of lbs in a healthy way uses many different ways - its a long journey of education just as much as it is about weight loss. A lot of it is marketing - it's a million pound industry and I'm very wary of that. The only thing I pay for because of my weight loss is my council's gym membership fees.

I've heard side effects include bad breath.

If your thinking about dieting the only post you need to read is the one above and that should hopefully stop you!

Everything in moderation and a balanced diet

Something to add is that for every gram of carbohydrate that you eat your body stores around 3g of water with it. Therefore less carbs = less water which is where the majority of your intial weight loss will actually be from. Water is vital in ensuring you body performs to its maximum.

From diets such as the atkins you will most certainly lose weight, but is it necessarily fat that your losing?

Atkins is not about ZERO carbs...it is about very low carbs. The average macros allows for 250 carbs per day, that's a LOT of carbs. Induction is 20 NET carbs per day, and the first few days you do feel pretty rough. I only did induction once, and it was HARD. 7 years ago I was advised to cut my carbs down to 50 net per day to treat my insulin resistance. in 6 weeks I lost 15 pounds and got pregnant...and despite eating more carbs, I continued to have a slow weight loss during my first trimester.

This time around, I didn't even go near induction level carbs--I kept my goal at 50-100 net carbs per day, and I lost 4.8 pounds the first week. I was amazed since during that time we ate out--Arby's, chipotle, and one other place ( can't remember where). I just made the best choices I could. I was so proud of myself Sunday when hubby and the kids ordered pizza--I ordered a huge antipasto salad ( to share) and didn't touch the pizza!