Atkins Diet Shows Surprising Results, Researcher Says

Science Daily | University Of Pennsylvania Medical Center ^ | 2003-05-22

[SamAdams76]

Well my morning 3-miler takes about 45-50 minutes and my lunchtime walk is a full hour so I'm almost quadrupling the 30-minute benchmark. I realize that it is more difficult for many others in my age and weight group to work up to this kind of mileage this quickly but I have the advantage of Marine Corps training (no pain, no gain). Pain just doesn't stop me. And I did get a lot of painful chafing, blisters and shin splints in the beginning that would have caused most people to give it up or at least slow it down. In fact, I consider myself "back in boot camp." I've been getting up at 5AM everyday for that reason. Getting up that early puts me in the boot camp frame of mind.

I don't have a stationary bike but I do have a state-of-the-art treadmill that was mostly collecting dust during the first four years that I had it. Since I started my power-walking, I use the treadmill for rainy days and I expect I'll get a lot of use out of it this coming winter.

I have also started doing situps and pushups again and once I get a level of physical fitness I am comfortable with, I might start working with some weights as well.

[WaterDragon]

Add me to your ping list. I have difficulties with carbs and just feel better on high protein, which is very different from years past when I could live on salads and little meat. I don't care for beef, though. Prefer fish and poultry and sea foods.

[At a Later Date]

I posted this on another similar thread:
I've been on every diet known to man. I've had to diet my whole life (I'm 30-almost-40-something). I've found that, for me anyway, the low-carb diets like Atkins are the most effective. I fall off every now and then, but I always go back. Yes, it is a lifestyle. American life revolves around the carbohydrate and for Atkins-ites, it can be tough sometimes. I try to NEVER eat things like bread, corn, potatoes, pasta, etc. That's tough when you just want to run into a deli and get a quick sandwich for lunch. "I'll have an Italian combo with the works on a roll. Hold the roll, please." Nope. So I end up carrying allowable snacks with me wherever I go and bringing lunch to work. It can be a pain. But what diet isn't?

Hey, eating in a restaurant is a breeze. (In comparison, eating at a wedding is TORTURE... ah, the appetizers, the pastries...)

But I think it's worth it. I lose the weight, I have more energy, I feel better and my skin clears up. My arthritis eases and my blood pressure and cholesteral are superb.

What more could I ask for in a diet?

[HEY4QDEMS]

he published his book in the early ‘70s

My math tells me that is over twenty years.

I even double checked.

[gopheraj]

Hubby and I are on it. Hubby had a cholestral problem and had a heart attack last year. His cholestral has come down drastically even with eating pork sausage and two fried eggs each day for breakfast and munching on pig skins (pork rinds) You do get a craving for sweets, but I make sugar free jello and that helps. I put fresca in for the cold liquid and it adds more flavor.

[gopheraj]

If you love bread (which I do and tortillas!!) get the Atkins bread mix. It is more chewy than regular bread - like a bagel - but sure helps get rid of THAT craving.

[KillTime]

Yup, exactally what I do and lost 20 lbs in about two months and am maintaining it now for a couple of years. All these diets, when all it is is adjusting your lifestyle so you don't eat all the crap out there and exercise frequently, at least get that heart rate up for 30 min a day.

[chilepepper]

The Atkins diet is junk science, IMHO

i thought so too until about three years ago. I HAVE to avoid being fat because of my bad hip and Atkins has helped me do this, while at the same time lowering my triglycerides dramatically.

i have dieted ALL MY LIFE (or since I was about 11 yrs old, more than 40 yrs ago), and am thinner now than i was 20 yrs ago, thanks to Atkins.

Be careful of something called "cognitive dissonance". This is what kept me away from Atkins 15 yrs ago, unfortunately.

You are the victim of science "fact" being taken as truth because it is repeated often enough...

It is not that Atkins is "junk science", rather that the science that describes nutrition is itself "junk".

Atkins has REdiscovered the true path, and his arguments as to why lo carb is the true path are compelling -- a way of eating based on high carbs has only been around 10000 yrs -- the human body can do it, but it takes a very high toll on the body. the machinery is really still set up for the hunter gatherer diet of meat and simple vegetables, fruits and nuts...not "lo fat" cookies where WHEAT FLOUR is used to replace oil - all because Archer Daniel Midlands and George McGovern talked the FDA into the famous food triangle in the 1970s (so where does the present whirlwind of obesity in the US come from? IMHO the case is pretty convincing...)

[gopheraj]

Add me to that list.

[chilepepper]

"bicycle 200 miles/week"

been there, done that. now i have a bad hip and can't do it anymore, so i do Atkins instead.

[joebuck]

My problem with this study, as reported, is that it doesn't mention whether the exercise the two groups engaged in along with their diet was the same. I have done the diet thing several times and one thing I've learned is that if you start a program of cardio exercise along with your diet your results will be 4 to 5 times what either diet or exercise could accomplish individually. My experience is that ANY diet works and works well if you are faithfull to it and exercise.

Another thing I've learned is that you can't look at it as "going on a diet". You have to look at it as "changing your diet' for the long term." If you just look at it as "going on a diet" you will get results and then gradually backslide to worse than you were to begin with. Thus, the "diet" you choose should be one you are willing to live with for the rest of your life. Personally, I have had the best results with a low-fat diet. Over the years I have been able to condense the rules for a low fat diet to the following four simple points:

Don't eat too much of it if it's:

(1) crunchy
(2) creamy
(3) dairy; or
(4) fried

(obviously there are many exceptions to these but as a general rule of thumb they work quite well)

[chicagolady]

Natures answer to gout..Black cherry juice in capsules!!

FAQ: What is Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry?

Answer: Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry contains real tart cherries that are powdered and placed in a vegetable capsule. Each capsule of Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry is engineered to contain 425 mg of Prunus cerasus (tart cherry).

You'll enjoy a full 30-day supply with each bottle. Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry is a standardized extract.

FAQ: Why should I buy Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry?

Answer: Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry is a convenient way to enjoy the benefits of tart cherries. If you don't want to carry around a bag of cherries or a bottle of cherry concentrate, Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry is the only way to get your daily dose of tart cherries!

FAQ: What is the suggested daily serving?

Answer: The suggested daily serving of Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry is 2 easy-to-swallow capsules.

FAQ: How much does it cost?

Answer: Enjoy a month's supply of Tart Cherry capsules delivered to your door for only $19.95.

Free Shipping - Limited Time Offer!

[chicagolady]

PHONE # FOR BLACK CHERRY CAPSULES
P.O. Box 1229
Bellaire, MI 49615

1-877-746-SHOP-HSS (1-877-746-7477)

The statements on this website have not been evaluated by the

[TejasRose]

I'd like to be on any Atkins' ping list that gets started.

[CathyRyan]

I just started Atkins so I am probably doing it all wrong so I would love the support and advice. :)

[CathyRyan]

I went from a size 12 to a size 2/3 (I'm 5'4").

That would be a fantasy for me. When I handed my doctor may living will I told him not to put the plug until I was a size 8. He did not think that was funny.

[Bethbg79]

Please add me to that list. :-)

[TruthNtegrity]

Add me to your ping list.

And on black cherry or other natural stuff. $19.95 for a month's supply of black cherry capsules, VS $5.00 for 100 0.6 mg Colchicine. Thanks - I'll stay with the Colchicine. I don't have to use them everyday, they last for several months - and I can't afford the increase in cost for black cherry capsules. But thanks for the info anyway.

[grimalkin]

lol. It can be done... and (thankfully) life support is not required.

[John Lenin]

My problem with the Atkins diet is that it pushes people too heavily to the meat side.

The best thing about eating meat is it takes a long time to digest so you have that full feeling for a longer period of time. It's not like eating rice where 30 minutes later you are hungry all over again.