Two New Studies Back Claims of Atkins Diet (Ruben "Round Mound of Sound" Studdard Alert)

Wall Street Journal ^ | May 22, 2003 | David Armstrong

[Mister Magoo]

The popular but controversial low-carbohydrate Atkins diet helped obese patients lose weight faster and with potentially more health benefits than the conventional low-fat diet, according to two studies published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.

The researchers involved were quick to say there were several caveats and that they weren't endorsing the diet. Still, the appearance of the studies in a prestigious medical journal is certain to give a boost to the often-derided approach designed by Robert Atkins, who died last month.

[Axenolith]

Bravo 11/3!

[Positive]

"As someone who used this diet to drop 10 pounds for a vacation, I can personally attest to the fact that it's a very difficult diet to maintain. Eating ONLY meat, day in an day out, contrary to my initial elation, is a PAIN IN THE ASS! They need to market that fact to the public."

You typed ONLY in all caps as if to assert that it is so. I am an Atkins follower and the way of eating is NOT confined to meat. Rather it is more disinclined to carbohydrates.

Here's an example. I happen to love an Italian sausage sandwich; with Mozzarella cheese, peppers with a Marinara sauce.

So I tried this: I got sausage, cheese, peppers and a jar of sauce. I pan fried the sausage, then I simmered them in some of the sauce, then I heeped cheese over and then peppers then stuck the pan under the broiler for a couple of minutes...all the flavor, half the price.

Next time you consider a sandwich - just ask for the bun or roll and see what that tastes like. I consider the bun on a hamburger to be just a "holder" to keep the mess off of my hands.

Oh! Tip number two - when you go to an all you can eat buffet, if you like Eggs Benedict, eat just the eggs, ham and sauce...it's remarkable how little you miss the English muffin.

Oh! Tip number three - if you like fried Chicken; put some toasted sesame seeds into your food-processor and grind it to a flower like texture, dip your chicken in whipped egg, roll it in the sesame "flower" then fry it. It's great.

Finally - the real secret is AVOID SUGAR! Check out the low-fat salad dressings label and look for sugar/carbos and you'll be shocked.

Sugar is the devil!

[jlogajan]

You'll always lose weight if your calorie intake is less than the calories you burn.

As a new "body builder" I've gone on both mass gain and fat lose phases. During fat loss phase I switched to a 40/30/30 calorie ratio of protein/carbs/fat. This is not really Atkins, but never the less I was losing a pound of fat a week on it over the course of 11 weeks. I retained most of my muscle mass and gained the couple pounds lost in just a few weeks back on mass gain.

Good sources of protein could come from lean beef, chicken, turkey, or whey.

High glycemic carbs were best avoided -- but so too were high fructose (even though fructose has a low glycemic index.) Oatmeal is an excellent low glycemic carb. Potatoes and instant rice are not so good in that regard.

Saturated fats should be minimized -- should avoid eating them along with carbohydrates. A good source of fat is flax seed oil because of its Omega 3 EFA (essential fatty acid.)

[Positive]

I'd like to try it but I'd not be able to keep off the carbs. :-( Sorry the delicious picture of the beer isn't included in this "quote."

Anheiser Busch has recently introduced a new beer called "Michalob Ultra" - all the kick and 3 point something carbs per 12oz. bottle.

I say if Bud is going low carb there must be a good demand/justification.

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

Aye but I have heard that Michalob Ultra is like make loving in a boat (to steal a gag), although I have not tried this "devils potion" for myself yet.

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

Another Flashman aficionado?

Indeed I am. It's the book I was re-reading when I signed up. Seems like yesterday.

[Pukka Puck]

Yes, when the shit hit the fan in Afghanistan, I re-read the first Flashman. I enjoyed it so much that I re-read all the others that I had already read, including Flashman at the Charge and I hunted down and read the rest of them too.

I just finished reading "Quartered Safe Out here" a couple of weeks ago.

Good stuff.

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

Did you enjoy The Pyrates?

[Pukka Puck]

Got me.

I haven't read The Pyrates, The Hollywood History of the World, Mr. American, or Black Ajax yet.

I did slog through The Steel Bonnets, though.

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

The Pyrates is LOL funny but most of the humour does have a British twist to it.

[SamAdams76]

I've been eating a lot of chile peppers recently. Especially jalapenos. I toss a few of them on the grill most every night these days.

I'm not officially on the Atkins diet but I'm pretty close to it. For three months, I have eliminated a lot of carbs from my diet. This is combined with a program of walking 6-8 miles a day (measured by a pedometer I wear on my waist).

I do feel great. In fact, my body craves certain foods that I never thought I'd eat again in a significant amount. For instance, eggs. I will boil up a dozen eggs at a time and have them for breakfast during the next week. (I eat one or two a day). I have a can of sardines packed in olive oil for lunch. And usually a good dinner with a good slab of meat (or fish) and plenty of vegetables. I usually slice up a raw tomato with some grilled jalapenos to go with it.

While I've cut back on the carbs, I still eat enough not to go into what they call ketosis. For example, I usually have a couple of beers every night and I do have rice or cous-cous several times a week. But I believe those are complex carbs, which are semi-ok in the Atkins book. I do avoid breads and pasta for the most part and pretty much all processed foods, candy, soda, etc.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Atkins will have done more to kill humans than to save them.

"When you lose weight quickly on any fad diet, it's only because the diet has manipulated your carbohydrate and protein intake to cause quick dehydration. And that's only for the first two weeks. If you continue to lose more than one to two pounds per week, it's because the diet is turning for fuel to your muscle mass as well as fat. Although your body fat will be burned, you are losing a great deal of lean body tissue as well. This is because muscle is more readily available fuel than fat, and when the body is being starved of carbohydrate energy, it turns to the more efficient source -- protein, not fat"

Atkins was a fraud, and made money off deceiving people.

[aruanan]

Two New Studies Back Claims of Atkins Diet

No, they don't. Too bad we have journalists who are incapable of reading and keep promoting this nonsense.

But after a year, the weight loss for the Atkins group was only 9.5 pounds while the other group was 5.4 pounds, a difference described as statistically insignificant.

The title is disproven by the text.

[lawgirl]

You are a better man then I am Gunga Din

Gunga Din! What a great classic flim with my favorite actor Cary Grant. Mtngrl--alert! Favorite movie ping!

On topic: I tried Atkins but couldn't give up milk as much as you needed to. All my carbs were milk- and I love bread too much to give it all up too.

[mtngrl@vrwc]

Gunga Din! What a great classic flim with my favorite actor Cary Grant. Mtngrl--alert! Favorite movie ping!

Oh I do love that movie! It is quite possibly my favorite Cary Grant movie and that's saying a LOT! I have yet to watch a CG movie I haven't liked. I say it's quite possibly my favorite because I have at least a dozen of his films right up there vying for that top spot.

About the Atkins type diet, it's funny.....the longer you go without eating carbs, when you do eat them they aren't as good as you remembered them being. At least, that has been my experience. I am almost always disappointed when I finally eat whatever it was that I was dying to eat. On the other hand, I can't seem to eat enough eggs. This diet really changes your cravings after a while.