I did the Adkins diet and followed the book along with several friends. As SOON as we went off the diet all of our weight jumped back on us so fast it was kind of scary!
I agree with the others that pointed out that going off any diet will cause a regain. The diet really lasts forever.
But, studies have shown that of those that regain weight after a diet, those that lost on low carb diets regain faster than those who followed other types of diets.
The intent of this information was not to @#$@ anyone off.Be objective when you look at the research.....
Actually, I've been quit objective in looking at the research. Some research links Atkins to serious risks, and others do not, and still others link it to health improvements. Two reviews of the research, one fairly recent (I'll try to find the source, as I know I have it somewhere) - concluded that they could neither endorse nor condemn the Atkins diet (which to me indicates that more research needs to be done). I've read a fair amount of the research, and I would also say that there is no more evidence AGAINST Atkins as there is in it's defense.
Personally, I believe that anyone can conduct their own research - in that if they attempt the diet, or any other to do so under doctor's supervision. If your personal results are improving your health indicatiors (cholesterol, blood pressure), and you're feeling healthier, then that's pretty good evidence. And on the contrary, if at your checkup your cholesterol or other health indicators have worsened - then maybe that's evidence that the diet is not for you.
For most of my dieting live (over 3 decades) I dismissed all low carb diets as extremely dangerous (without looking at the actual research), and when my doctor recommended low carb, it took almost a year (and another doctor's consensus - a doctor who had lost almost 100 lbs herself on a low carb diet herself). Then I went to the research and found as many studies exonerating Atkins as condemning it.
As for low carb diets resulting in faster regaing - It doesn't surprise me much, becase the carb/blood sugar/insulin spike cycle has many parallels with true addictions. And just as many drug addicts will spiral into severe drug addiction faster after a period of abstinance, so I believe is true with carb-addiction (this is a theory, not a proven fact). It's been my own experience that high carb foods trigger an insane hunger response - and it's a vicious cylcle the high food carbs make me very hungry - for more high carb foods - which trigger my eating more carbs, which makes me hungrier for more carbs.
Not everyone has this response to carbs (which the research also shows). Some people are more resistant than others to vicious carb/binge cycle, and I wouldn't advise those folks to resort to Atkins, as less extreme methods are likely to work equally as well. However, for anyone who HAS experienced the insane out of control carb-triggered binging, low carb may be the only reasonable option.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harrismm
The intent of this information was not to @#$@ anyone off.Be objective when you look at the research.Research costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.They dont spend the money for no reason.Talk to many physicians, some will tell you losing the weight is better than being fat, others will give you stories of caring for patients who have had irreversable damage from atkins dieting.Be reasonable.I could tell you many stories from my cardiologist father.Trust me.I am just concerned for everyone here.People tend to take dieting advice as personal as religion and politics.....
I'd like to begin by making it clear I am not @#$@ off
My beef (no pun intended) is people....as well as the medical profession...dissing Atkins when accurate research has not been done.
Almost 5 years ago when I began Atkins, I heard comments such as "Eating all that bacon & red meat will kill you" "Atkins causes kidney damage" "Atkins causes heart disease" etc. etc. etc. Obviously, none of these people have ever cracked the Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution book or they would KNOW, these comments are total lunacy.
I don't doubt your cardiologist Father has cared for patients with irreversable damage from Atkins dieting which I am sure is the result of doing Atkins totally incorrecly....or....worse yet, trying to do Atkins as a NO carb diet. People unfortunately do not take the time to read the book to obtain knowledge of the plan & the way it works....as well as how to do it CORRECTLY. Instead, they eat a bunch of things they THINK they are allowed to eat on Atkins and they don't feel well from it ....or....they don't lose any weight. They then turn around and say "Oh yeah, I tried that Atkins diet and that doesn't work"
Speaking for myself, Atkins has worked beautifully for me. I can honestly say I eat healthier now than I've ever eaten in my entire life. My nearly 79 year old Father was just told by his cardiologist & primary physician to eat eggs, meat, vegetables, cheese (in limited quanities)....that is ATKINS! My Dad is an insulin dependant diabetic for many years, as well as someone who suffers from congestive heart failure and in Aug 2007 underwent open heart surgery. When its done CORRECTLY, its healthy
My advice is & has always been, if you want to do Atkins....READ THE BOOK!
Last edited by JerseyGyrl; 04-03-2009 at 02:43 PM.
I also was not offended - I'm not even on Atkins. Atkins seems to allow unlimited protein and fat, but it really does not. It states very clearly that you are supposed to let hunger control your appetite (that is what is often called mindful eating). You're supposed to eat only until satisfied, not full, just until you are barely no longer hungry. I don't know if I wasn't born with a hunger shut-off switch, or decades of dieting turned mine off - but I can overeat on any program. After Atkins, I tried South Beach - but again I can overeat good carbs nearly as easily as bad. Calorie counting only works if I also avoid carbs, so I chose an exchange plan. Old-fashioned, but sensible because it enforces a certain amount of balance (but one can make bad as well as good choices in each category. For example, both hot dogs and chicken can be used as protein sources. Beans can be as well (but their a combination food, half starch exchange and half protein exchange). I was also told by a friend that exchange plans are too high in carbohydrates (not true, exchange plans come in all carbohydrate levels, in fact there's no "law" against choosing which and how many exchanges you need to include).
People have misconceptions about many diet plans, and it doesn't always seem to matter whether or not they've "read the book." Many people seem to interpret Atkins as "all you can eat," literally meaning all you can stuff into yourself without puking. That is NOT Atkins. Many do not eat their 20 carbs, because they eat little to no vegetables, because they don't like them. That is NOT Atkins. Many people ignore the warning against preserved meats, and fill up on bacon, hot dogs, bologa, and sausages and luncheon meats, without even checking the label for preservatives, including the nitrates and nitrities that Atkins warns about (Again, NOT Atkins).
Part of the confusion, I suspect, is the "urban legend" aspect of Atkins that color the judgement EVEN of many who read the book. There is also a diet that gets passed along (it's so old, that the first copy I was given was mimeographed) that I think adds to the confusion. I've seen it titled "The Mayo Clinic Diet," (although the Mayo Clinic did not develop the diet nor have ever endorsed it), but I've also seen it titled "Atkins in a Nutshell," (which it so, is not).
I don't remember the diet exactly but it was large amounts of meat and eggs (sometimes with a half a grapefruit at every meal).
Even if studying Atkins followers who ARE following the diet as written, I don't think the studies will be reliable until they are studing the internal variables more closely. Atkins is too variable - which is why many only do study induction - because the carb content has to be under 20. In OWL, there is no stated carb content for any individual - A person is supposed to find their optimal level by trial and error, adding 5g of carbs a day each week until they stop losing, and then backtrack. Optimal carb level for weight loss or weight maintance could be as low as 20 or as high as 200 or more.
Aside from people just not following Atkins as outlined, there's also a lot of variability in how any one person's diet would look, even if following Atkins to the letter. In a sense, studying Atkins is like studying veganism - Veganism is linked to many health benefits (providing the person has educated themselves on veganism). However it is also linked to nutritional deficiencies and health problems (if the person is following a vegan diet, with no knowledge of nutrition).
I went on the super hard-core original Atkins diet in high school...this would have been in the 1970's, the FIRST Atkins "diet revolution," which called for no carbs and by that I mean NONE, NADA, ZERO CARBS.
After a few days of hard boiled eggs for breakfast, turkey slices for lunch and hamburger patty/cottage cheese dinners, I was down several pounds, had no energy, bad breath, and was literally dreaming about food at night.
I was sitting outside by the pool trying to force yet another dry hamburger patty and my mom was picking tangerines off the tree....I almost started crying because I wanted a tangerine so bad. My mom was like GO OFF THAT DAMN DIET! But I wanted to fit into some dress for dumb date or something and I didn't go off it til after that event and then BOY DID I EVER! Gain it back? Oh yes, and then some.
Apparently Dr. Atkins mellowed out later in life and decided a little broccoli ain't gonna kill ya. But I have unpleasant memories of it.
