[IanG]

I am always trawling youtube for diet and health videos.

I came across this old one on Atkins and like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epxp_Viq484

In short, low carb works because eating lots of protein makes you feel full which means you consume less calories than you normally would.

It's nothing to do with ketosis or the efficiency of turning fats and proteins to energy versus that of carbs or anything to do with this BS we keep hearing about eating lots of fat (which, they find, actually make you eat more food, not less compared to a low fat diet).

It's simply that eating protein, makes you feel fuller, therefore you eat less which means less calories in.

Based on my diet experience (which is not Atkins) it makes sense.

[JerseyGyrl]

Well....I sat through this 45+ minute video. As you said, this is an old one. That said, there is a lot of misinformation about the Atkins diet, which unfortunately, isn't anything new. There has always been a lot of misinformation about Atkins since the first book in 1972 ( Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution ).

The focus of this video seems to be that Atkins in a high protein diet. That is incorrect. Atkins is a moderate protein, high fat plan. The video emphasized all you can eat meat. This is incorrect. The first phase of Atkins, known as Induction (which is a minimum of 2 weeks and is 20 net carbs per day), advises meat to be eaten until you are satisfied, not stuffed. Sadly, what most people are not aware of (and there was no mentions of this in the video) 12-15 of your 20 carbs for the day are to come from vegetables & salads on the Acceptable Foods List. So....Atkins is not No carb, nor does it dismiss vegetables.

I've been doing Atkins for 10 and a half years. My meals are focused around vegetables. They have been since day 1. If someone is "doing Atkins" any other way, they are not doing Atkins the way Atkins was written. Contrary to popular belief, I do not eat large portions of meat or bacon. I do use butter, full fat mayonnaise, cheese and eggs...but, again, not excessively as this video suggests.

As long as there are 2 people on the earth, no 2 are ever going to agree on everything. Who is right & who is wrong, who knows. Who cares! All I know is Atkins works for me and has worked for me for over a decade now and when I see misinformation about it, I always speak up

[Mrs Snark]

I didn't watch the video.

Before I was a vegan, I did Atkins the way Kim describes, mostly vegetables with some meat, some dairy, and a fair amount of fat. Once I was out of induction (which is always meant as a sort of over-correction for a high carb diet) my carb threshold for non-starchy veggies was quite high. Alot of people continue with induction level carbs thinking that's what they have to do to lose, but that wasn't the case for me.

I eventually transitioned to pescetarianism then vegetarianism then veganism, for philosophical reasons. But I lost weight and felt great on Atkins and was very, very fit and healthy.

I do think people tend to misunderstand Atkins as the "all meat" and "all bacon" diet.

[IanG]

Based on your comments I am thinking that Atkins is really just another word for a balanced diet and, therefore, not very unique at all but - obviously - effective.

I am mostly pescetarian at the moment. I just seem to have ended up this way through trial and error and it really rocks for me. I have been vegan in the past (early 20s) and that was highly effective for my weight loss but I lost a lot of muscle mass with that so I got the skinny fat guy look which was aweful. The extra fish protein seems to keep me mean and lean.