[Snerfling]

I've lost 30 lbs since the beginning of the year on Atkins.

I gotta call BS on this one. One pound is equal to 3,500 calories. To lose 30 pounds means you have to either cut out 100,000+ calories over a period of time below the basic burn rate level (2,000 calories/day for a 6' man), or accelerate the burn-rate level. Since there have been 72 days since the beginning of the year, even if you subsisted on bread/water alone (which is possible for around a month), you would have burned 140,000 calories.

[need_a_screen_name]

It's not BS. You don't understand the science behind Atkins. The idea is to go into "ketosis" by restricting your carbs. Carbs stimulate the production of insulin which is what allows fat to be stored. Fat from the body is burned for fuel when in ketosis. You should go to the Atkins website and do some reading. It is not a calorie reduction diet. Here is something to think about: A person who eats nothing but a 1000 calories of fat per day will lose more weight than someone who is fasting. Odd, but true....

[valkyrieanne]

It isn't necessarily b.s. Some people who eat very high-carb diets also retain a lot of water. When they go low-carb, the diet change acts as a natural diuretic in the first month or so. So it's very possible in three months to lose 30 lbs or so. The rate of weight loss usually drops off after that, although some people (usually younger men) can still lose a fairly dramatic amount of weight for some time.

[Thommas]

Not BS at all. Protein calories are not utilized for energy production unless salvaged from the body's muscle mass after all the fat is gone. Cut the carb calories which normally fuel the liver's glucose/glucogen reserves, and the body is forced to derive its energy from its fat stores. Ergo, that 2000 kcal. a day is coming from your body's stores of fat.

I tried this 3 years ago and lost 20 lbs in two weeks. My spare tire disappeared, the striations in my muscles became evident and my cheek bones reemerged.

Nope. Not BS.

[MadelineZapeezda]

I've lost 21 pounds in 6 weeks and each evening I whip up a CUP of fresh whipping cream,, yes heavy whipping cream, with a packet of splenda and a tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder every night as my treat

[Nov3]

I gotta call BS on this one.

I lost 28 pounds in 5 weeks. Granted 5 - 10 lbs was water but I lost a solid 20 pounds and kept it off.

[conservativeatheist]

Your math is wrong. A vigorous exercise program coupled with a calorie deficit of about 1,000 calories a day, and the biochemical advantage of a low carb diet, gets you that kind of weight loss and more.

[angkor]

I gotta call BS on this one.

That's an interesting response.

Using Atkins, friend lost 10 lbs/month over 11 months for a total of 110 pounds.

Where's the BS?

[Mamzelle]

re: One pound is equal to 3,500 calories. To lose 30 pounds means you have to either cut out 100,000+ calories over a period of time below the basic burn rate level (2,000 calories/day for a 6' man).....)))

Only if you believe the mantra "A calorie is a calorie is a calorie."

I'm at 125, consuming about 1800 calories a day (though I haven't bothered to check in a year), and doing some exercise, but no Olympian, and still losing very slowly. Only 10-15% of those calories are carbs.

Men find it much easier on Atkins to lose, and Atkins says as much.

I'm afraid the sun does not revolve around the world, and certain kinds of calories act differently than other calories in the body. The American Heart Association has turned us into a nation of rolypoly diabetics.

[24Karet]

As I stated earlier in the thread, I have lost 32# since starting Atkins on 1/13/03. NotforProphet has lost 35# since 1/2/03. So, I don't disagree with not_apathetic_anymore about this what so ever. I think they are right on. This plan is fantastic.

[Notforprophet]

I have lost almost 35 pounds since January 2nd. I don't know about your math, but I know what my scale says in the morning, and I ain't lyin'.

[Washi]

I gotta call BS on this one.

I, too, have lost 30 pounds. I started Atkins on January 6th (my wife got me the Atkins book on my birthday, Jan. 5th).

I had already been losing weight by eating less and exercising, but Atkins is taking it off quicker.

I lost 30 lbs from August, 2002 until January, 2003, and another 30 since January on Atkins.

Washi