[stanz]

From: http://www.a-personaldietitian.com/atkins_diet.htm

The key claims of the Atkins Diet are:

1.Burns body fat: Actually, any diet that causes you to eat fewer calories than you need to maintain your current weight will do the same thing: burn your body’s fat stores so that you lose weight.

2.This diet is ketogenic: by lowering the carbohydrate in the diet, and using fat and protein as the primary fuel to supply glucose, ketones are formed. The Atkins Diet promotes this as a good thing for the average person. Ketosis can cause dramatic weight loss at first (which seems great) because your kidneys have to get rid of these ketones, and this takes a lot of water to flush this out of your body. So, much of the weight loss initially is water. Ketosis changes your body’s blood chemistry, and can be dangerous for people with diabetes and those who are pregnant.

3.“You won’t feel hungry in between meals” - A diet high in fat and protein takes longer to digest, so you have a greater feeling of fullness. However, you do not need to go to a completely high fat, high protein diet to get a feeling of satisfaction. On a low fat, higher carbohydrate diet, you should spread the fat and protein in your diet throughout the day so that you do not get as hungry between meals. Many people make the mistake of filling up on plain carbohydrate snacks without any added fat or protein. Plain carbohydrates are digested quickly, leaving your stomach with an empty feeling faster. Adding a little low fat protein like turkey, tuna, or low fat cheese to the snack will diminish this problem.

4.“Your overall health will improve and you’ll feel better” - This claim is made because they say the Atkins diet “cleans” out toxins that are stored in the body’s fat cells because fat is being burned for fuel. The other rationale for this claim is a stabilization in blood sugar levels because of the reduction in carbohydrate consumption. This claim is very dramatic, but is applicable to almost any weight loss plan where the outcome is a reduction in body weight. Most people do feel better when they lose weight after being obese. Blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and blood sugar levels typically fall when a healthy body weight is achieved. One does not need to follow a ketogenic, high fat diet to accomplish this.

If you are considering a high fat, high protein diet, find about the effects of these diets from multiple professional sources. You can lose weight on just about any diet that is reduced in calories. The reason I do not advocate The Atkins diet is because it does not promote a healthy, lifelong pattern of eating, and teaches people to choose foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol and calorically dense foods.

It is well established that once a person reaches a healthy body weight, the best way to stay there and not re-gain the weight they fought hard to lose is to follow a lower fat diet that includes healthy portions of nutritious carbohydrates and proteins, and a reasonable amount of “good” fats, not saturated animal fats.

This is the opposite of the Atkins Diet.

[carlo3b]

Thanks :) :) :).. see now even you must be feelin better because of ATKINS, got all of that off of your chest.. Great post, and something everyone that embarks on this or any diet should research before diving in..

That said read the posts and tell me that this diet hasn't captured the attention of soo many grateful folks that haven't been harmed or died as is the rant for the past.. you did good, I want everyone to check this out as do you.. {{HUG}}

[TruthNtegrity]

Look, I don't want to get in a flame war with you but you are so wrong. You make it sound like the human body follows "forces of physics" -a calorie is a calorie and now, Doctors have finally learned after listening to their patients, that some calories are different for some people.

I can guarantee that on the old Weight Watcher's - low calorie, but fairly high in carbs, I gained 2 pounds a week.

In order to lose weight, I have had to go on extreme diets as my body just does not give up the stored fat easily. Even with excess amounts of exercise.

For me, Atkins has been a God-send - a way of eating that allows me to not have to take drugs for hunger, and exercise like a nut, as I already wrecked my knees, running and playing racquetball BY MYSELF as a young professional, in order to keep my weight at a normal range.

I am closing in on my goal weight - no drugs, no insufferable hunger, no exercising like a nut, and I, for one, no longer believe in the USDA food pyramid. It is pure fiction. Not do I believe that just cutting calories and exercising is the thing to do.

So if it works for you, Fine. Do it. But there are those of us for whom Atkins is the only way we can get the pounds off.

[narses]

Doctor friends of mine, an internists of 35 years experience, a cardiologist of 25 years practice and an oncologist all use the Atkins diet themselves. A pharmacist friend who has been pushing pills for 40 years does also.