My good friend has (finally!) seen the light and switched from doing Atkins-ish diet to WW. However, her first weeks loss wasn't that high and she's very discouraged. I told her that's normal when you switch from low carb to WW. Does anyone else have any other stories or words of wisdom I can pass along to convince her that this is the way to go?

Good Job for you friend. I have been a member of weight watchers for quite some time. Congrads to you for reaching your goal I have 18 more pounds to go. I think ww is the best because it realistically teaches you how to eat in the real world. We don't only eat meat or fat free for the rest of our lives but we can eat the ww's way for the rest of our lives and I feel that it is something that all people loosing weight should factor in. Is this something that I can maintain for the rest of my life?

first i give youre friend credit: my sister has been on atkins for quite a while now and i recently visited w her trying to get her to try ww core(thing she loves most on atk is the eat til full part) i worry for her i relly do.

I did the Atkins diet...that was the worst diet ever! I got severe constipation and my hair would fall out in clumps. Definately not enough vitamins or fiber in that diet. Just like your friend, I stopped the diet and then gained A LOT of weight. It wasn't like I was pigging out, it was just that my body was wired differently at that point (used to high fat and low carbs), so it took time for my body to adjust.
The reason why the Atkins diet is no longer popular is because it is so restrictive, and because of the LARGE weight gain after either stopping the program, or "cheating" and having some carbs. You should tell your friend that you need carbs (the good ones, that is) for energy. Not to mention carbs clean out your system (all the fiber). I would tell her to slowly add the carbs back, so that it doesn't put her body into such shock. Also, let her know that she is a lot healthier now, and the food pyramid is there for a reason . One last thing, Dr. Atkins had heart disease and some other really bad health problems when he died (I can't remember, but I will look it up and get back to you on that one), so it obviously wasn't a good plan after all!!!

I know someone who did Atkins, and she yo-yo-ed so much. When she was being "good", she'd lose so much, but when she went to eating normal foods, she'd gain it all back, then diet again, and so on. She swears it is the best diet, but she can't keep it off, and it must be doing a number on her system. Although I know some people gain weight back after WW, I can say this: I don't know anyone who has done Atkins and kept it off, but I do know lots of people who have done WW and kept it off for years!

One of my good friends lost 50 pounds in about 4 months on Atkins! However, it was not something she was able to maintain and consequently gained all of the weight back.
It's just not realistic. Cutting out whole food groups for the rest of your life?
I'm on WW because it's realistic and I can eat what I like in moderation which is better than never getting to eat anything I like at all.