What do you think about Atkins?
Do you think it is dangerous ?
I have been doing it a few days but now wonder if it was the right decision?
I posted this here because I wanted opinions of others rather than those who do the diet.
Any of the major, scientifically researched programs (Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, Calorie Counting, etc, etc, etc) will work if you can stick to them, in my experience and opinion. All of them reduce the number of total calories you eat in different ways. On Atkins, total calories are reduced because, even though you can eat as much of low-carb foods as you need to be satisfied, those foods have "automatic portion control" - ie, one can only eat so much of them before being full!
I have yet to read any major scientific study showing serious health effects from the Atkins way of eating. There are some rare side effects that can occur, so as with any plan, you should keep in contact with your doctor to monitor as you go along.
The plan for you is the one you can stick to for life. If you go on a "diet", you will eventually go off of it. If you change your lifestyle, you can make it stick for good. If the way of eating described by Dr. Atkins is something you can do for life, I say go for it! If you can't imagine doing it for life, maybe you should read around 3FC for other plans that might be a better fit.
Since you asked for personal opinions, I for one do think the Atkins diet is unhealthy. Here’s a site with some info. I know there are lots of people who disagree and that’s fine. You have to do what makes sense for you.
I’ve found that Dr. Dean Ornish (founder, president, and director of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute) and Dr. Joel Fuhrman make a lot more sense to me than Dr. Atkins. They are not as rich or famous as the late Dr. Atkins, but I still like what they have to say.
Since you asked for personal opinions, I for one do think the Atkins diet is unhealthy. Here’s a site with some info. I know there are lots of people who disagree and that’s fine. You have to do what makes sense for you.
I’ve found that Dr. Dean Ornish (founder, president, and director of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute) and Dr. Joel Fuhrman make a lot more sense to me than Dr. Atkins. They are not as rich or famous as the late Dr. Atkins, but I still like what they have to say.
Thanks; I have lost some weight but I really dont think eating 6 eggs a day ; pepperoni, ground beef can be good for me. I feel in the long term I will be better off doing something else. It kills my craving but it donest kill my temptation. I enjoy a nice piece of cake once in awhile.
thanks
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowbunny
Thanks; I have lost some weight but I really dont think eating 6 eggs a day ; pepperoni, ground beef can be good for me. I feel in the long term I will be better off doing something else.
I certainly do not mean to cause a contraversy here but....that type of eating is not doing Atkins correctly.
Many people have the misconception that "doing Atkins" means eating lbs of bacon, butter & red meat and that is not what Atkins is at all. As I stated in my earlier post, I've been on Atkins for 3 and a half years and my daily eating consists mainly of vegetables & salad. I avoid the "white" foods...potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, white flour & sugar. I eat a lot of chicken, fish & pork. Do I eat red meat?...yes, on occasion I do. I eat 1 egg a day for breakfast and can't tell you when the last time was I ate pepperoni. I drink 128 oz of water a day. I do not drink diet soda's or Crystal Light. Since I began Atkins, I eat a salad with broccoli everyday of my life. Is that "unhealthy"?
Before I began Atkins, I weighed 245 lbs. I could not walk up a few steps without being totally out of breath. I wore a tight size 3X. THAT was unhealthy! Now, I can walk with no breathing difficulties and I can walk into a store and buy size 8 clothes for the first time in my life!!! It feels WONDERFUL!!!!
Atkins works & is a healthy way of lifetime eating...when done correctly (Correctly being the key word...meaning READ THE BOOK! Don't try to do Atkins from what you've heard from other sources)
I wanted to come in here and say that I agree with Kim.
Atkins CAN be unhealthy, but it can also be healthy as well-depending on how you do the diet. I have seen women in line at the checkout counter with Atkins ice cream bars, bacon, and a big bag of pork rinds...THAT is doing Atkins unhealthfully. It is the same thing as going on a low fat diet and eating a carton of fat free ice cream every night-just because it is fat free, and you are not going over your fat gram limit.
If you do Atkins healthfully, you need to be sure that you are having some vegetables for your daily carb allowances. Also be sure that you are eating lean beef, chicken, and fish when possible. When you are out of induction phase, and can slowly up your daily carbs by a few-be sure that you are using them for veggies, and some of the lower carb fruits-like berries.
If you want to follow Atkins, you can do so in a healthy way-but pepperoni and bacon isn't the way to go.
Thank you for this thread. I am thinking of doing Atkins after reading a success story on the Woman's Health email, but I wanted to do some research first to make sure it's something I can Stick with. iIhave a couple of ebooks on my pc I have yet to read, but am going to do so now before I go grocery shopping on Thursday. The Weight Watcher's didn't work for me, and neither is calorie counting, so maybe this will be it.
Please check with your doctor though. I went on it a couple of years ago and it put my cholesterol through the roof though some report a lowering of cholesterol.
Everyone is so different and you dont know how your body will react to the change. It was NOT for me but my sister-in-law did great with it.
All I know about the Atkins diet is that my brother went on this twice. He lost weight both times. During both of those times he was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. This could have been a coincidence... but my brother doesn't seem to think so. Also, I happened to catch Rachel Ray one day she had a guy on there talking about healthy diets and such... I thought I heard him say they are finding links between the Atkins diet and cancer. I told my brother and he wasn't suprised. Just an fyi...
All I know about the Atkins diet is that my brother went on this twice. He lost weight both times. During both of those times he was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. This could have been a coincidence... but my brother doesn't seem to think so. Also, I happened to catch Rachel Ray one day she had a guy on there talking about healthy diets and such... I thought I heard him say they are finding links between the Atkins diet and cancer. I told my brother and he wasn't suprised. Just an fyi...
If anyone is interested in the connections between diet and disease, I found the The China Study to be eye opening.
Atkins
