Posted on 08/03/2005 7:10:46 AM PDT by summer
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- More dieters are ditching carb counts and biting into baguettes with gusto these days. ...
This week's bankruptcy filing by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins' old company provide fresh evidence of the low-carb diet's demise, a downward spiral that began early last year. But no single new diet has filled the void.
Observers say the only sure thing -- given the boom-and-bust nature of weight-loss trends -- is that something will pop up eventually.
''There isn't one single strong contender,'' said Anne M. Russell, editor-in-chief of Shape magazine. ''If you look at what the single largest trend is, it's weight gain.''
Chapter 11 filings by Atkins Nutritionals Inc. on Monday came about a year and a half after books like ''The Atkins Essentials'' rode the best seller charts, bread makers were back on their heels and Burger King introduced a Whopper without a bun.
But Atkins has been in decline since February 2004, said Harry Balzer, a food industry analyst at market researcher NPD Group. Balzer claims Atkins was one of those demanding diets that simply ran its course, going from fad to fade like so many others before it, including the Scarsdale and the cabbage soup diets.
How far and how fast did Atkins fall? By September 2004, surplus low-carb products were being shipped to food banks in Appalachia....
Ruth Kava, director of nutrition for the American Council on Science and Health, figures it might be something like a high-protein diet.
''Somebody will come up with something new,'' she said. ''There's a lot of creativity out there in Diet World."
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On the Net:
Government dietary guidelines: mypyramid.com
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Everything else is just fluff.
Yes, but there are still a million ways to package that message in the eyes of creative marketers! :)
Damaging to the body how?
I think it failed because it is difficult, in American culture to deny yourself anything. Most Americans have been raised on a diet high in simple carbs (sugar and refined grains) and they are surrounded by it constantly. It's difficult to say no when everyone around you is eating the foods you love.
I predict there will not be any diet that the average American can stay on for the long haul. We (collectivly) are doomed to be fatter and fatter until someone invents a simple pill that dissolves fat, or something happens to make food less easily procured and exercise required (I don't mean by government regulation but in order to survive).
susie (yes, low carber since 1997)
Mmmmmm fluff.
Because it was eliminating foods your body needs and causing chemical changes in your body. It was a terrible diet. I can't believe that guy was a doctor. Though I noticed he was reportedly quite heavy at the time of his recent death.
Any diet that doesn't allow satisfying amounts of wine or beer is doomed to failure.
How exactly is it damaging to the body? Do you have proof of this, other than second or third hand rumor and gossip?
Weight lifters have used lo-carb for years. They use it to treat epiliptic kids. They treat diabetics with it.
How is it unhealthy?
I eat fresh meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, and cheese. How is this unhealthy?
I'm in thebest shape of my life. How has eating this way damaged my health? My doctor gives me flying colors when I have a physical.
How is lo-carbing "so damaging"?
"calories burned > calories consumed = weight loss."
True, but the types of food you eat can affect your metabolism which affects your calorie burning potential.
We all react differently to different foods...no one diet is good for everyone. When I cut back carbs I lose weight, feel better, sleep better, and don't get heartburn. With others, it may be the fat that is the culprit.
Atkins was too rigid and extreme though.
You are right-Atkins works!!! It hasn't failed, the business managers failed. I don't even understand how their bankruptcy has foddered these "no carb craze" discussions. What does one have to do with the other? That's like saying b/c Enron failed, energy doesn't work.
Have you read the book?
Ahh, but you can have as much of the clear spirits as you like. Gin, scotch, vodka, light rum. My sister calls this the "Gin Loophole"! And white wine has half the carbs as red.
Speaking of fluff, my college roommate had the most horrid dietary habits. We were raised on fresh or home-canned ruits & vegetables, we never had sodas in the house, rarely ate out and everything was cooked from scratch with very little frying, so you can imagine my shock when I walked in one day and she had spooned an entire jar of marshmallow fluff into a bowl, mixed it with pecans, microwaved it, and was eating it with a spoon.
It should be "moderate carbs" not "low carbs." Everything in moderation, the problem is the typical diet is extremely high in carbs. Just get carb intake down to a moderate level, but many took it as eliminating carbs altogether, which is ridiculous.
You should know that people who are diabetic MUST eat a low carb diet or it IS detrimental to their health.
1. The atkins diet is not damaging to the body, read the book, stop being a dumb ass. If you follow the instructions in the book the diet is far safer than the low fat diet, which will pack on the pounds, and leave you hungry.
2. No where does the article reference any data showing the popularity of the diet has wanned only that the company filed chapter 11. That would be like saying because Chrysler filed chapter 11 the popularity of the automobile is decreasing.
Before, all carbohydrate info-at-a-glance packaging could only be found in the painfully small diabetic foods subsection of one aisle. Now it's everywhere! :o)
1. Stupid article.
2. Wrong.
3. Ditto for your comment.
Dan (2 years + on Atkins, very healthy and happy)
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