I saw this in Women's Today i think... I guess some university.. i forget where has combined Atkins with the mediterranean diet saying its atkins turbo charged and that you can loose more wieght and eat 30g of carbs in the first weeks (saying its as fast as lipo!).. Anyone else see this?? as far as I could see they just added in more fish in to the diet... I didn't have much time to read it though..

Woman's World is notorious for printing exagerated diet claims, and questionable crash diets.

They're famous for quotes on the front page "lose up to 30 lbs a week," and when you read the story the person who lost 30 lbs their first week, weighed 1200 lbs. Really do they think the average Woman's World reader has 1000 lbs to lose?

They also featured a story about the notorious Kim who advocated a modified Atkins that was extremely low (almost no) carb, virtually no-fat, and extremely low calorie. The woman claimed to have lost tons of weight, but it turned out she was still heavy, her before and after photos of herself and others were forged (stolen from other weight loss and foreign bride sites), and made tons of money on "life time memberships" to her weight loss website (and kicking anyone out who disagreed with her, with no refund of their life time membership fees). The diet she advocated was extremely dangerous and dieters were told that the dangerous symptoms (diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, weakness) were good signs that the diet was working, rather than the dangerous protein poisoning that it was (often called rabbit starvation, protein poisoning is a bit of a misnomer, because it's not the amount of protein that is the main problem, but the lack of fat and carbohydrates which is dangerous in combination).

The magazine was extremely irresponsible in publishing her story, because they didn't do the minimal fact checking that would have revealed the deception. When she refused to be interviewed in person, but only on the phone to "protect her privacy," that should have raised a huge red flag. Refusing to be photographed is one thing (but still a little bizarre), but refusing to meet with the article writer, the first thing I would assume (and I have no journalism training) that the information was false and the woman had not lost the weight (or had rapidly regained it). That her before after photos of herself and others on her website were often clearly not the same women (some notable inconsistencies, such as women magically reverse-aging and changing skin color and facial bone structure) apparently also didn't concern the magazine editors. I believe at the time the article was written, lawsuits were even pending by customers of her website, including death and injury claims.

I do like the Woman's World magazine. It's a fun and entertaining read, but it's not hard journalism. It's essentially a tabloid, and fact-checking is obviously not a priority (if they have anyone doing the job at all, which in light of the Kim/Atkins fiasco, I suspect not).

It's still perfectly legal to make outrageous weight loss claims. Even when it IS illegal, enforcement and prosecution are rare, so there's little deterrent. Writing diet propoganda is one of the most effective "get-rich-quick" schemes. A lot of money can be made before anyone questions the science and accuracy of claims.

Educate yourself on basic nutrition and be skeptical of extreme claims. "As fast as lipo," is a red-flag if ever there was one.

Right now, that's a common claim among diet-designers wanting to make a fast buck. It's either as fast as liposuction or gastric bypass. If a diet existed that produced results as quickly as lipo or wls, no one would be undergoing those surgeries.

wow.. i've never paid attention to womans world till I saw 'Atkins'.. i guess its just another tabloid mag. huh

I remember reading about that K**K*I*N*S plan....what a debacle!
Anyone with any sense should have been able to see that it was dangerous right off the bat. I was horrified when I read what she browbeat them into eating/restricting.

I would say that Woman's World is sorta the tabloid version of Good Housekeeping or a mag like that. Has all sorts of beauty and fashion tips but they seem to have some sort of extravagant diet claim on the front cover every single month, I've noticed. And most of them are....more or less no-brainers when you actually read the article. They'll lure you with attractive claims, for instance, about one simple ingredient that can rev up your metabolism and help you lose an amazing amount of weight....then you read the article and it's actually green tea. Not that there's anything wrong with green tea...in fact, it works great for stomach cramps...but we all know it's not gonna perform miracles when it comes to metabolism or weight loss. Might it help metabolism? Sure. But miracles and extravagant claims? No.

And Woman's World would not be in the ballpark of The Globe or any of the really crap tabloids. All of their weight loss claims do have some basis in reality....but they hugely exaggerate their effectiveness and power.
I remember seeing one where it turned out to be this cake recipe that was gonna work magic. Basically, you have to take their exaggerated claims with a big grain of salt.

deena

Atkins itself is a turbo WOE especially if your diet consisted of eating carbs. Atkins has a great effect on the body is many ways. While there may be stalls...it seems it is a turbo way of losing weight for me. It also helps keep muscle tone while you are losing and you have more energy on this WOE. I love it

When I really think about it....Atkins Induction is turbo and then the Mediterranean diet is maintenance. That diet looks like clean eating to me...and that's basically what Atkins maintenance is.

However, combined simultaneously...I don't see that working very well. Definitely wouldn't work for me. I'd have to do one and then maintain on the other.

deena

Oh, and for Jessica....because Woman's World has some sort of huge weight loss secret promise on the front every single month....logic tells you they can't ALL possibly work as well as claimed because they'll often end up contradicting each other. That alone makes me skeptical.

And really...is weight loss the number one issue for American women? What about affordable child care, equal pay for equal work and access to health care?

I bought this magazine coming home from work the other night and thought I would give it a try. I will let you all know if it really works or not. So far since I have had my daughter I have done nothing but gain 50 pounds. The more I diet, the more I gain. Not even Jenny Craig helped me to lose weight.

I hope this one gives me a jump start my weight loss.

Hi robynlmac! Welcome to the forums.

Have you ever considered the Atkins way of eating, just according to Dr. Atkins himself? All the "turbo" stuff is something new; an unauthorized variant at best -- at worst, a metabolic disaster waiting to happen. I just got my copy of Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution (2002 ed.), from a seller on eBay, and every time I refer to it, I meet science and common sense and walk away feeling not only thinner and healthier, but more educated in sound nutritional knowledge. I like knowing that my choice is backed by science and has now had many years of studies to back it all up.

Good to have you here! I'm new too.

Hi robynlmac and welcome.

Listen, since you actually bought the magazine with that particular plan in it....can you tell us a brief synopsis of it? Especially regarding what foods you can and cannot have.....mainly WHAT carbs are you allowed? ANY simple carbs....any bread or pasta?

If it's just more fish added to Atkins, I would not think that would be a problem.....but additional categories of carbs could be. I'm really curious to know just how much of Atkins and just how much of the Mediterranean diet they included in that plan.

And yes...if you run into problems with it....I would definitely try doing strictly Atkins the right way. It's interesting that you posted that the more you diet, the more you gain. That's exactly what happens to me when I eat too many/simple carbs.....why Atkins works so great for me.

Also.....have you ever noticed how the movie stars/celebrities always seem to lose the weight after they have a baby? I suspect it's because they don't stay home and take care of their children most of the time. I remember when my sons were young....standing over the sink, literally shoving something in (usually their leftovers) and barely even tasting it....in the few seconds I could grab while caring for them. There's something about being a stay-at-home mom that makes us go into a nesting/homemaking/cooking mode....which puts us into an eating mode. It's extremely frustrating...cooking for the children, eating their left-overs, etc.
Not to mention that you HAVE to get the Halloween candy, HAVE to get the birthday cakes, HAVE to buy the candy for the school fundraisers that your kids are selling, the ice-cream man, the fast foods on the boardwalk on the beach or at carnivals, etc......tricky foods constantly in front of your face, it seemed like....when I remember back.

But even though we're not celebrities, we can and do lose the weight that accumulated during those "having children" years. I think being on this message board is a great start.....mainly because we usually experience a lack of adult conversation when we spend most of our time staying at home and caring for children. Message boards/forums can be the next best thing.

deena

I picked up the book and read through this article while I was in line. All I remember was that you are to eat fish at least 3 times a week, (or more is better) and drink red wine every night.

Wine every night? Sounds more like Turbo FATkins to me.

Wine every night? Sounds more like Turbo FATkins to me.

Hahaha! How about Turbo TIPSYkins?

deena