[CarrieM]

For those questioning the Atkin's way of eating, have you read the book???? Dr. Atkin's DOES say to limit any meats containing nitrates and that just because you are allowed a food doesn't mean you can gorge on it! He also advocates good carbs such as fruits, veggies, and whole grains. I personally am following a SugarBusters/Atkins combination and find it works really well. I'm not trying to start a war here but I'm tired of hearing that the ONLY plan that has ever worked to keep my weight off is going to kill me. Like being 150 pounds overweight isn't??

[aphil]

For me personally, yes I have read the Atkins book-from the two week 20 carb a day induction stage to the personal "decide your own carb level by how well you keep the weight off" maintenance stage. I sold it in my rummage sale this past spring.

My opinion of the Atkins Diet is not just based on reading the Atkins book alone. I have also read Protein Power, Body For Life, all of the Weight Watchers Points and Core materials,Somersizing, The Makers Diet, Volumetrics, SuperFoods, and numerous, numerous other diet plans and nutrition materials and books-it would take me too long to list them all. I have also read numerous books on exercise and fitness-everything from Pilates to Yoga...belly dance to bodybuilding. I have been a subscriber to Fitness and Shape magazines for almost 10 years. My mother is a nurse who worked in the dietary field for most of my childhood. My stepfather is a bodybuilder. I have had a very wide variety of learning in the field of fitness and nutrition.

My point, if you reread my prior post, is that there CAN be a healthful way to do Atkins and other low carb plans-if you choose to use fish, lean poultry, and egg whites as the source of your proteins-and avoid the sausage, bacon, etc. and to utilize all of the allowed carbs that you can have in the most healthful way possible-by choosing to eat fruits and small amounts of whole grains with your carb allowance-rather than Cheescake flavored low carb bars, steak sauce, and Atkins ice cream. The thing is-around here (in my area) everyone is going for the low carb ice cream and the double cheeseburger wrapped in a lettuce leaf-and don't really seem to be eating any fruits or whole grains with their carb allowances.

Atkins may state the "do not gorge" thing...but the sample menus (at least in the paperback vesion that I used to have) listed bacon and eggs as the sample breakfast on the induction portion of the book.
A vegetable omelet is a healthful low carb breakfast...but getting to have formerly forbidden foods like bacon and eggs seems to be the "selling point" for a lot of low carb diet beginners. My stepmother, her co-workers, my husband's best friend...many people around me have done or is doing Atkin's or some other low carb plan-and not doing it the healthful way.

[LaDean]

Hi, i started the atkins last july 5th. i have loss 38 lbs. and its my life time plan. but i am watching the carbs and adding some now. my friend has loss 100lbs and her daughter 80. this friend was a debetic and she no longer is on medication for that and her chol and trig all went down. but theya re doing it right. so i am doing ok with it to. but like anything. some of us bodies do no adjust to it. and if your not doing it right like said above. then it can have effects like anything. i am at my goal now. but i still read up on it and all. like any plan we should keep up with it the info and all. so this is just my imput on it. LaDean