HOLD THE LARD!: The Atkins Diet still doesn't work

Reason.com ^ | Dec. 5 2002 | Michael Fumento

[A_perfect_lady]

For breakfast I sometimes add 2-3 egg whites to a small tin of tuna, mix it up and nuke it for a couple minutes, then add a dollop of mayo, mix it up some more... it's quite edible.

I just started a version of the Atkins diet 3 weeks ago and have lost 8 lbs so far. There really is something to it. I don't get those shooting pains across the top of my head, or in my throat, when I'm hungry. I don't feel as though I'm going to faint 4 hours after my last meal, I can go 7-8 hours without eating (unheard of before). I'm a believer.

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

LOL, I wasn't angry, in fact, I haven't seen anyone angry like you mention. Care to expound how my post somehow supported your silly rant, as if you could...

[Mr. Mojo]

Casually mentioning the fact that it amuses me to see certain posters spew dogmatic nonsense about diets qualifies in your little brain as a rant? LOL...You're quite a headcase.

[Dianna]

Rush claims his diet is a low-fat diet, so apparently not.

One of the things I remember Rush mentioning about his diet is that he hired a good cook. He said the diet was easier to deal with because he didn't have to think about, or plan his food intake. (and he acknowledged that he was fortunate to be able to afford to do this. Many people struggle because they HAVE to shop and deal with food)

The implication I got was that not thinking at all about food made it easier for him to resist unhealthy food. It became more about about fuel and less about socializing, or the sensory experience.

[stylin19a]

I'm somewhat confused:

He(Westman) reported that the Atkins group lost twice as much weight during the six-month study period as did the high-carb group.

and
60 Atkins dieters in the Westman group analyzed for weight loss, the dropout rate was 43 percent.

Lost twice as much...when ? before or after the dropout ? with or without the 43% for the full 6 months ?

It's not that the Atkins diet doesn't work (it does), It's like anything else one doesn't stick to...a fallback to familiar/old behavior patterns.

[RaceBannon]

LOng as you put a Steak in my stomach, instead of a stake in my head! :)

[SpeakLittle_ThinkMuch]

"Only if you want a high risk way of getting salmonella. A decade ago it was mostly on the shells. But since then the salmonella has gotten inside the egg itself -- especially in the eastern part of the US."

Not a problem anymore. Just buy pasteurized eggs. They are right next to the regular eggs and are only about $ 0.20
more per dozen. No taste difference.

[Your Nightmare]

Here is a revision of the food pyramid by Dr. Walter C Willet of Harvard's School of Public Health. The one put out by the Dept of Agriculture, also shown, is terrible:



If you follow this revised pyramid (notice what's at the base) you will lose weight and be healthy in the long term. You also want to take fish oil supplements - everyone should.

This is all discribed and backed up with extensive research in his excellent book, Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be rational about their diet.

[oldoverholt]

You are correct when you say that people should exercise. However, I was in a car wreck many years ago that has left me handicapped. Exercise is not an option for me. The Atkins diet works for me and I am glad I went on it. Not everyone who is fat is just a lazy slob, like many on this site seem to think.

[savedbygrace]

If you combine whatever diet program you like with the Eat Right 4 Your Type program, you'll have a winner.

http://www.dadamo.com/

The main reason Atkins or any other diet doesn't work for everybody is because different blood types react to foods differently. For example, diets high in meat are great for Type O, but horrible for Type A.

[ventana]

Just went over and read the AIDs article. Hate to digress here, but I still don't get the African Aids problem. Does Fumento explain the transmission there? (BTW, like you, I argued ten years ago that the hetero prediction was a myth, I was fighting the sex ed hysteria at my kids local Catholic school--all AIDS all the time--I got explicit numbers from the CDC which when examined showed there was no hetero epidemic and point nothing percent risk of female to male transmission. It showed IV drug use and bisexuality as the only factors; mothers would get hysterical when I would tell them this and accuse me of all kinds of stuff). V's wife.

[JoeGar]

Ultimately, Atkins is nothing more than a low-calorie diet in disguise.

The Atkins diet works because the carbs it eliminates generally represent about 60-percent of the calories one consumes. Consume fewer calories than you burn and you will lose weight. A Texas A&M urine analysis study pointed out the most dangerous, long-term unresolved issue with the Atkins diet is the loss of calcium it causes. Is osteoporosis in an Atkins dieter's future?

[meyer]

I have no dog in this fight, but I must admit it's amusing to see just how angry some Atkins advocates get when their dogma is challenged. I hope you survive your fatwa, and that the diet Jihadists find another outlet for their energies.

I really don't have a dog in the race either, but I get a little frazzled when someone refers to peoples' successes as "dogma". Liberals use dogma to support Kyoto. Dieters use several methods and settle on the one that works. For many people, that is Atkins.

[ko_kyi]

Don't worry Senator, when we all drop dead at 45 because of the diet you can dance on our graves and sing a "See, I told you so!" song.

The diet works for a lot of people, including me. I certainly thought it was nuts until I read more about it, and was still skeptical until I tried it. I suspect that more and more studies will show it works until the evidence is pretty much indisputable, but that is no reason to change your mind.

People that are using the Atkins method are not pushing a Dogma on the world, they are trying to pass on a method that worked for them. If it goes against the prevailing DOGMA of lowfat high-carb diets, and lets smug non-Atkins people say stuff like "All you have to do is exercise," then everybody wins, I guess.

[meyer]

Interesting food Pyramid there. I'll have to look at that a bit.

[Mr. Mulliner]

Your experience sounds a lot like mine. I lost 35 lbs through a combination of exercise and the Atkins diet. Well, exercise is part of the Atkins regimen anyway. And like you, I found that losing weight through Atkins increased my energy so that I could exercise more vigorously and longer.

I saw your pics. Way to go!

[meyer]

I have eaten Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner with Annie, on 3 different dates, and she eats normal, trust me. She even cleans the plate.

That is reassuring to the fan club which includes myself (and you truly are a lucky man in that respect).

BTW, great job with the weight loss. As for running, I had to give it up as well. It basically hurt from the knees down. I am fortunate enough to live in a hilly area so I can get a pretty good heart workout just walking. Hopefully, you can enjoy a good stiff walk on an incline treadmill or up and down hills.

[AmusedBystander]

I read the book. He recommends a very low carb diet. That's what separates him from every other diet. Carbs make you fat. Fats make your arteries fat. You will lose weight eating lots of red meat and bacon and your casket will be lighter.

I seriously doubt that your arteries are going to fill with fat when your cholesterol level is falling or for the short time that you are on a high fat diet. The people Dr. Atkins is helping are ALREADY fat and thus have ALREADY been putting "fat" into their arteries. Without an intervention, they won't stop. Get it now!

[fogarty]

I understand, clearly there are people who can't exercise due to medical conditions. I am happy you've found the Atkins diet works for you, and I certainly won't throw stones at you for doing what you can to lost weight.
I really believe however that a big portion of folks on Atkins right now could see significant weight loss by exercising. Except for a small portion of the population, not many Americans exercise regularly. And looking at the next generation (school-age kids), they spend more time watching TV and video game and less outside exercise than ever before.