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Old 12-22-2008, 11:04 AM   #1  
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Default Atkins?

Is this plan safe I weigh 316 pounds I need to lose about 100 lbs. So any help?
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Old 12-22-2008, 11:23 AM   #2  
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Is this plan safe I weigh 316 pounds I need to lose about 100 lbs. So any help?
Atkins is a safe, healthy & effective lifestyle when done correctly. It is very important to read the book before you begin the program so you understand exactly how & why it works
The plan works very well for diabetics but..for someone with kidney issues, Atkins would not be recommended.
Most unfortunately, the majority (not ALL) of "medical professionals" are unfamiliar with Atkins and are often under the impression its the "all you can eat red meat, bacon & butter diet"...this is completely untrue. In speaking to a Dr. concerning Atkins...make sure he or she understands the plan accurately.

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Old 12-22-2008, 11:25 AM   #3  
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It might be perfectly safe for one person, but not for the next. For example, I have several serious health concerns and a plan such as Atkins (as written) would be damaging to my health, and my body responds better to other dietary lifestyles. However, there are plenty of people who do very well on it. You need to ask your doctor if it's the right plan for your unique body
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Old 12-22-2008, 12:11 PM   #4  
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I agree that you should talk to your doctor first, especially if you are on any medications, but especially meds for blood sugar issues (diabetes, insulin resistance, PCOS), and of course kidney issues.

My husband and I had a consult with our local weight management clinic about a year ago (I at about 370 lbs and hubby around 400 at the time), and South Beach or Atkins were recommended for us, but we were told that since we're both on blood sugar meds (I'm on metformin, and hubby is on metformin and insulin), we might need to eliminate, shorten or modify induction. My husband because he's diabetic and on insulin injections was advised to skip Atkins induction or South Beach's phase I. I was told that I could attempt the first stages of either diet, but if I felt ill, I could also move on to the next phase.

Because doctors aren't very familiar with nutrition and various diet plans, if you DO have blood sugar issues and can get at least one session with a diabetic educator, I'd HIGHLY recommend it. The sessions we had with my husband's diabetic counselor were fantastic, and really explained why low carbohydrate plans work, and how to know when you're going "too low," especially when you are on blood sugar lowering meds.
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Old 12-22-2008, 12:25 PM   #5  
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I have always known that I feel my best on a lower carb diet. Yesterday a link was posted and confirmed what I knew. The bottom line you need a plan that is right for you. Low carb is not for everyone. Try this quiz and see what is recommended.
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Old 12-22-2008, 03:41 PM   #6  
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Atkins isn't a healthy diet. Any low carb diet isn't healthy. There is no healthy way to do it without putting unnecessary strain on your body.

A lot of research on Atkins states that the only reason people tend to lose weight from Atkins is because they consume less calories.

Just make sure you incorporate plenty of fruits and greens in your diet.

Read The China Study by T Colin Campbell if you would like to know more about the serious health consequences to a high protein diet.
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Old 12-22-2008, 05:59 PM   #7  
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Atkins isn't a healthy diet. Any low carb diet isn't healthy. There is no healthy way to do it without putting unnecessary strain on your body.

A lot of research on Atkins states that the only reason people tend to lose weight from Atkins is because they consume less calories.

Just make sure you incorporate plenty of fruits and greens in your diet.

Read The China Study by T Colin Campbell if you would like to know more about the serious health consequences to a high protein diet.
With all due respect...in 4 months, I'll be on Atkins 5 years. Before I began the Atkins lifestyle, I did my share of research and I decided this was a way of eating I could do for the rest of my life. This is a very important factor because if a plan isn't "do-able" for a lifetime...be it Atkins, WW, SBD, Calorie Counting etc...you are only setting yourself up for failure. Successful & permanant weightloss & maintaince requires changing your eating habits for the rest for your life.

Contrary to popular misconception, Atkins is not a high protein diet. Atkins also does not instruct anyone to not consume fruits & vegetables. The only time fruit is excluded on the plan is during the intital stage known as Induction, which is for a 2 week period. The acceptable foods list for Induction contains 55 veggies & greens. When you progress to the 2nd stage of Atkins, known as OWL (On Going Weight Loss), nuts & seeds are added, as well as, berries & other fruits such as apples, kiwi, tangerines & plums...starchy veggies are also added, legumes are added, and yes, even whole grains! Does this sound unhealthy?? This is the way Atkins is done correctly.

More & more studies are coming out everyday promoting low carb. This is a recent one: http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/5/1/36
For a complete understanding of the low carb lifestyle, I highly recommend Gary Taubes "Good Calories Bad Calories"...its an excellent read

The bottom line is, there is a lot of misconception out there...do the research, find what works for you & stick with it!




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Old 12-22-2008, 07:25 PM   #8  
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Ready2changein09...you will get all kinds of opinions about the diet so please be sure and talk to your doctor about whats right for you.

I agree with Kim, my DH is on Atkins and has been for years. He eats plenty of veggies, fruits, lean meats, nuts and some lc bread. He used to get really bad heart palpatations but on atkins they stopped....completely.

When done correctly, Atkins is a healthy woe. I would recommend reading the book.

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Old 12-22-2008, 10:54 PM   #9  
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A lot of the research condemning low carb diets were studying low carb diets done poorly (the all bacon and butter diet with few vegetables) or low carb induction done far longer than the low carb diet being "studied" required.

Even though Atkins "allows" followers to stay on induction more than two weeks if they would like to, I think it's still unfair for research to only look at induction-level carbohydrate quantities and condemn the entire plan based on a component of the plan that most folks do progress beyond after only a couple weeks.

There's a surprising amount of research evidence that post-induction Atkins and many other lower carbohydrate plans (providing that low calorie vegetables and fruit are a significant portion of the diet) are not dangerous.

Some of the factors that make low-carb plans potentially dangerous

1. Not drinking enough water (with very low carb diets, you do need to make sure that you're drinking enough water to prevent ketosis from becoming ketoacidosis).

2. Not eating enough fat - a diet very low in both fat and carbohydrates can be extremely dangerous and result in rabbit starvation (rather than explain it, I'd just ask you to google rabbit starvation).

3. Meat only diets - probably not smart. There's very limited research that some folks seem to do fairly well on very little vegetation much of the year (such as the Eskimo/Inuit), but they also eat a lot of sea mammals and eat a lot more of the animal than the SAD (standard American diet) such as the skin, fat, and innards and I've heard it said that whale blubber has more vitamin C per ounce than many fruits - so if that's true that could account for why the Inuit are quite healthy on a virtually all-meat diet (but the vegetation that is part of the traditional tribal diets such as berries and such in summer and when available have to be taken into account as well).

4. Lack of medical supervision. For folks with any health issues, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, insulin resistance, history of heart disease, etc - medical supervision is a good idea. Even more so for obese and morbidly obese folks. Most folks do not do this, and are lucky and have no issues. However, a simple yearly checkup for healthy folks and maybe two or three times a year for folks with issues or on medication - can detect any potential problems. If your bloodwork is improving while on Atkins, then it makes sense to continue. If your cholesterol or blood pressure increase, then maybe Atkins isn't for you.

Several recent reviews of the low-carb literature has been so inconclusive that the reviewers reported that they could neither recommend for or against the diet. This suggests to me that it's very possible that the low carb diets being studied are not substantially similar, or that low carb diets may be healthy for some, and not so healthy for others.
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