I'm a die-hard Atkins fan who lost 70 lbs in eight months on it. Before I started it I tried exercising to lose weight, swimming. I swam five times a week at lunch hour instead of lunch. Before Atkins, and after three months of the swimming regimen, I gained a half a pound, and had gone from struggling to swim 200 yards, to struggling to swim 300 yards. Once I seriously started Atkins, I went from struggling to swim 300 yards to struggling to swim 2,000 yards (that's more than a mile) in six weeks.
Cholesterol cratered, BP cratered, waistline cratered - my doctor thought his office scale was broken at first. Fantastic results!
To the poster that said "moderation is the key" - Wrong! No moderation for carbs, "cutting down" doesn't cut it, at least for me. Carbs required eradication before the benefits kicked in.
you will gain weight back after going off any diet if you return to a junk food diet, full of starches and sugars.
Might surprise you but, I worked with body builders that used the Atkins diet, the only time they ate pasta/starch was JUST before a contest. To puff up the muscles. Afterwards, they went right back to the Atkins diet.