The Atkins Diet...

[sonnic]

I dont know why i bring this up but does anyone believe in the atkins diet?

I just don't see how that much meat makes you lose weight. It is the opposite of what i always thought i needed to do to bulk up. No wonder why it never happened :oops:

I love meat all meat especially STEAK. I could eat steak everyday for the rest of my life and almost wouldn't care if it took off 20 years it would be worth it.

But as my dad once said "EAT TO LIVE, DONT LIVE TO EAT"

[audiopro]

I believe in this. Eat in moderation, and exercise.

How to lose weight and be healthy is top secret thing. Dr. Atkins by the way died of a heart attack and had an extreme level of cholesterol. Both an attribute likely to have been caused by all the greasy bacon and red meat. Fact is, to much of anything can be bad.

KISS applies here.. Dont eat everything you see, moderate... And try to stick to a regular exercise routine. A little common sense will do you better than any of the 3000 mega super diets out there..

[sonnic]

I couldn't agree more I am a pretty skinny guy i work out once or twice a week and eat a fair amount of food see for me is I dont eat enough. That is why the Atkins Diet troubles me because I want to gain wait and the way that i tried to do that was by eating meat and potatos well now DR. Atkins comes along and claims it does the opposite. Boggles my mind how that could work???

[Deb]

It had worked for my roommate who is considerably overweight. She had lost nearly 30lbs. I called it the Tomorrow's Diet. Cuz my roommate kept saying "I'll go on that diet..tomorrow.." nearly on daily basis *laughs*

But it has worked for some people. My mom has tried it, and she gained 10 lbs I believe and she walked on daily basis (She's the granny that walks along the road at times....walker freak I guess).

So it isn't for everybody I guess.

My diet is Eat what I want to eat and if I need to lose weight, I just become more active. (Which usually happens in the spring/summer/fall)

I have no complaints ;)

[audiopro]

lol, true... The meat and potatoes thing though is not so much to make you gain fat weight. In the sense they say eat that to gain works like this.

When you lift weights you are tearing your muscles. Those tears need to be filled, and this is done through the consumption of nutrients. Meat and potatoes are believed to work well with the repair of those tears. As does an antioxidant supplement will aid.

Once those tears are filled, the muscle retains the new size. The tears are filled, thus making the muscles bigger.

[sonnic]

lucky girl...

[Deb]

I'm not so exactly lucky lol...I'm still carrying some weight from dinner of Thanksgiving & Christmas....and it's May!! Almost time to get in swimming suit and be out on the lake and be fried like a chicken. lol

I'll be happy if I could go down one pant size. Been trying that for almost 2 years now dammit :)

But now that I've got a new puppy last week, I'll be walking (oh dear..I'm becoming my mother) the new puppy and myself in hopes to keep that danged hyper Jack Russell happy and myself losing some weight.

[audiopro]

Walking is great for both you and the pup!

One thing I like to tell people who are walking their dogs is, let them sniff around, let them take time and explore. I dont like when people get dogs, and then just drag them around. The animal does not enjoy that. Their typically locked in a house all day with no freedom. Give them that extra 30 seconds to smell that mailbox! lol..

You should take some pics of the new pup Deb.. Would love to see the little guy/gal...

[dags_lax]

Let's see ... I've been firm believer in the sea food diet. I see food and I eat it. But that's not all. My whole life I've been on a modified vegetarian diet. That's where you let the cow eat the vegetables and then you eat the cow.

Enough of the jokes. I know when you are young you have this sense of immortality. I know I did any way. You think thirty years down the road is to far off to worry about but it's not. Watch what you eat and take care of yourselves. If not for yourself do it for those who love you. Trust me, you don't want to see the look in your wife's eyes when they are hauling you off to the emergency room with chest pains. I don't want to sound like an old fart preaching to every one but I am living (thankfully) proof to the fact that you do pay for the follies of your youth. A bad heart is no fun.

[Tanar]

The Atkins diet is based on reducing carbs in your diet. Unfortunately, carbs are where you get most of your energy from. Also, if you reduce your carbs too much, your blood becomes acidic which is definitely not good. It can also effect your hormones, effect your internal organs, etc. Eat a nice round diet consisting of complex carbs, protein, veggies, etc. Stay away from refined sugar and simple carbs as well as bad fats.

One of the guys at my gym trains bodybuilders and I asked him to design a diet for me. He did, but have I religiously followed it? Um, no. The problem with North American people is the size of the portions they eat.

[audiopro]

Yeah, just about any other country you go to, the portions are about half sized. My girlfriend recently went on a 10 trip, Europe, Paris, Germany, Switz, Holland... she said the part that sucked the worst was the food. Everywhere she went they gave such small portions.

[DEATHTRON]

My parents went on atkins and it actually worked, but i think the big thing is just not eating all the crap.

Zach

[DZ314]

Moderation is the key. Lessening portions and sticking to it, most people go at it half-assed and quit before too long.

[BUddyalt]

A: Dr. Atkins did not die from a heart attack. He fell on some ice in NYC and never recovered from the trauma to his head.
B: The diet does work, if you have the discipline and focus to not call it a diet.
It is a way of eating...period. If you follow the plan fairly tightly, you find that you are never starving, eating smaller portions more often, and are forced to eat more vegetables. If you limit the saturated fats you do just fine.
I lost 40 lbs in 15 weeks. My blood pressure went from 140/92 to 118/70, and my cholesterol went from 242 to 191. It can work.
-Bud
p.s. I haven't had white bread or potatoes in 4 years, and I don't miss them.

[DZ314]

Congrats buddy! :)

[audiopro]

He absolutely did have heart problems in the past. And his death is somewhat of a controversy. See below URL. He did have a high level of cholesterol also.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/11/nyregion/11atkins.html?ex=1085284800&en=59f7b90f3f1743ea&ei=5070

Make sure you click on page 2 at the bottom of the article also.

P.S. My old boss went on the "Atkins Diet" also. He too lost a great deal of weight and IS healthier. This however is due to common sense, MODERATION, also...

[New Kid In The Hall]

Atkins diet has been mischaracterized by many people in the industry and it has been reported incorrectly too.

The only time you are really reducing the carbohydrates in his diet to a minimum is during the first 2 weeks (called the induction phase) where he prescribes not ingesting more than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. Get them however you want in whatever you want but not more than 20 grams per day for the first 2 weeks.

Next is the reduction phase. Every person has what's called a critical carbohydrate level for loss (CCLL). There is a certain number of carbohydrate grams per day that if you stay below, you will lose weight. If you take in that amount, you will maintain. If you go above that number, you will gain. The rates at which you lose or gain are directly proportional to how far below or over your personal CCLL number you are on a consistent basis. Each week, you should increase the number of carbohydrate grams per day you ingest, maybe go to 50 grams in the 3rd week and see if you are still losing a few pounds. If so, go to 60 grams per day in the next week and see if you are still losing weight. Everyone's CCLL is different. It is how your body secretes insulin that will have a high factor in your fat retention. Carbs cause insulin to be secreted to deal with the excess sugars. This is the tie in to when heart disease becomes an issue to.

I personally lost a nice 33 lbs in a easy 4 months doing the diet as indicated. Lost 12 lb the first 2 weeks on the induction phase and then took the last 21 in a nice smooth transition in my eating HABITS over the next 3.5 months.

A diet needs to be a habit change, not just something we do once we are beyond where we want to be.

One other thing, Atkins ALWAYS advocated doing vitamin and mineral supplementation because he wasn't stupid enough to think that we get everything we truly need from our foods. He also advocated exercise. His diet was NOT advocated as simply a change your eating style and lose, it was qualified. In my personal case, I supplement heavily, but I lost the 33 lb without adding exercise to the regiment that included none. Just the changes in knocking the carbs way down lost the weight for me.

I eat A LOT of beef, pork, chicken, eggs, cheese, etc. Most people look at what I eat and they are always joking about me getting a heart attack or clogging my arteries. Farthest from the truth. I recently had to get bloodwork to obtain a 7 figure insurance policy for the family and my partner, my cholesterol and tri-glycerides are fine. If they weren't I would not have gotten the policy or would have been charged an arm and a leg. If you look at the studies Atkins did on his own patients, their cholesterol levels increased slightly when they started eating more on his diet plan because their bodies were not burning the bad stuff up right. However, the body learns to burn things other than alot of sugars to make energy. There is alot of energy in alot of people stored up as fat that needs to go. Breaking that down supplies energy too. Cholesterol levels may have increased slightly early in the diet change, but they decreased over time to well below where they started based on the way they used to eat.

Atkins did not die of a heart attack, he slipped on ice near his home last winter and died of head injuries as a result of the accident. If it was later found out that he slipped because of a heart attack, that is news to me. Jim Fixx died of a heart attack!!

I researched this diet thoroughly when I discovered it because I felt the guy was onto something. For once, I could eat and be full, not feel depraved all of the time or have tremendous cravings. Higher protein diets also suppress your appetitie much better than carb and low-fat enriched diets.

Bottom line, you should eat sensibly, not overeat, and have some moderate exercise, even if it's just walking. Be aware of what carbs in excess do. They aren't good. I've always thought that the high cholesterol was a symptom of another problem, not the problem itself. Atkins is on the right track.

I am doing arm calesthenics when I play pool, right?? This is long enough.

[New Kid In The Hall]

Audiopro,

A quick follow up...if Atkins did have heart issues and high cholesterol, based on what I know, he would still be better off eating on a moderate plan of his own, than eating a carbohydrate rich diet.

I believe the evidence in the field is over-whelming even outside of his own documented research.

[9balldiva]

I have seen the Adkins work for some, and not work for others. Personally, the way I stay fit: I drink my cup of coffe in the morning, and drink water the rest of the day. No sodas, no tea, nothing but water. Occaisionally I might have me some sweet tea, cause you know us southerners can't stay away! I eat smaller meals because the water fills you up, and when I do eat, I try to stay away from fried foods, and junk. I like the way I do it, because I can still splurge sometimes!

[audiopro]

New Kid,

Sorry but I must disagree. You're assuming facts not in evidence. This plan although it has proliferated in the past 2 years, has been around a while. But not nearly long enough to be able to do long term testing on the effects, good or bad. So to say the evidence is overwhelming, wait 15 or 20 more years then let me know what you think is overwhelming.

Just as an example, 15 years ago people thought you caught a cold from being out in the rain on a cold day. About the same length of time ago, laser eye surgery was not even thought of.

The only absolute in medicine, is that it is not absolute.

And as stated before, probably very few people know the actual cause of Mr. Atkins death. Both accordding to past hospital and doctor visits, he did have multiple heart problems and was overweight. Whether this makes and case for his diet working or not is also not factual. No one knows if he followed it.. lol...

But I agree with your last paragraph. Moderate people.

[9balldiva]

well said audio. I agree with what you say. There's no sure way to know the actual affects until we are 20 years into using this...even then may not be soon enough. The "Atkins" plan needs time to set into peoples daily lives for years on end before you can do tests on long term affects.

[audiopro]

Exactly.. Things we thought were good for us 20 or 30 years ago, they now tell us is BAD for us.. Geeze... If you cook your meat to well, cancer. Not well enough, cancer. If you go out in the sun, cancer. Wear an underwire bra, cancer. Mow your lawn on Tuesday and you own a red car with one missing hubcap, cancer!!!

Everyday medicine brings forth new findings. In the end though, I guess... If you find something that works for ya, and it makes ya feel good, then do it.. I suppose...

Hmm, guess I'll go have a beer.. That makes me feel good..

Crap... Beer=Cancer too...

[Deb]

Your birth sign must be cancer too eh? :)

[9balldiva]

no beer isn't cancer...what it is: drink beer, dance on one leg, laugh out loud=cancer...you'll probably be okay

[audiopro]

Holy God!!! That is actually exactly how I drink beer.. Oh man.. Damn't... Well, chalk up another statistic folks.. I am now infected...

Deb, I'm actually a Taurus. Which I think translates to being bull headed.. lol...

Actually, I'm a Christian so I dont believe in following the stars.. :)

[DZ314]

Your birth sign must be cancer too eh? :)

Mine is haha :lol:

[9balldiva]

I don't believe in any of that follow the stars...mars jupiter...e.s.p...psychics crap! It's all a bunch of horse doo doo. I have always wondered why none of these "so-called" psychics have won the lottery yet!!?? Hmmmm....

[DZ314]

Devilry and witchcraft all of it! :P

[audiopro]

lol, great point Diva! I know if I was psycho.. err... Psychic... I would predict and win the lotto baby!!!

[New Kid In The Hall]

Boy, leave for a few hours to shoot pool and you're many, many posts behind.

Atkins diet has been in play since the 70's. That's plenty of time. Again, I think I stated that his diet is NOT a no carb diet, it's a kick in with phase in type of diet. It is based in insulin and sugar control and some people have a high resistivity to this kind of thing. They have trouble losing weight on any kind of diet. I have to say, it works for the overwhelming majority of people that use it.

I don't need to defend the diet, I just think it should be properly and completely represented. I think my previous post did a good overall job of shedding light in many areas.

[audiopro]

Did you just call me boy!!?!? :-P j/k

I don't dispute the merits of some aspects of the plan. What I dispute is not even related to the diet itself so much, but more so the misconception that comes with it. People think they can eat as much red meat and grease as they desire, and still be healthy. This is a common inaccuracy amongst many on this diet.

If you read my posts and conclude that I am attacking his plan specifically, I apologize. Let me make it clear that my gripe is directed toward the misconception that typically goes along with his diet. Whose responsible for this misconception is beyond me, but it exist.

I hope you understand my point. I think maybe with this explanation you might better understand..

I'll end this post the same as most of my others in this thread..

Moderate people... Moderate... ;)

[New Kid In The Hall]

Well, you're doing the same thing I am, fixing a mischaracterizaton. His diet has never advocated over-eating and it is as I stated all along, not a NO CARB diet. It's a moderately low carb diet with a starting point of low carbs.

I'm not so sure you can't eat beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, etc. all the time if you were careful enough not to load up with carbohydrates when you do it. Carbs ALWAYS break down first so if your body is working on those, it won't work on the other stuff and it will "stop you up." If you re-train your body to burn everything and plan what you eat, I think you can eat what you like, in moderation, and be fine. As I have said, I think high cholesterol is a symptom of a bigger, maybe as yet, undiscovered problem. Atkins was onto something noting the connection with insulin production, etc.

I eat the stuff that scares most cardio-cholesterol watchers and I'm healthy. I'm a bit heavy for my height, but I have not figured out how to tone down the portions I used to eat as a teen and into my 20's. I'll be 37 in October. I'm not a huge bread or starch eater. Don't do dairy at all outside of cheese, but I eat tremendous amounts of meat, etc. My bloodwork, EKGs, and all of the testing I have done recently shows me in great health with great HDL/LDL levels. Most would look at my diet and they get nervous...start warning me...

Oh, and BTW, I wasn't offended. It bothers me when people think they have to apologize for "offending" someone...Man, we've really gotten sensitive. Thanks audiopro.

[audiopro]

New Story

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/27/atkins.suit.ap/index.html

[New Kid In The Hall]

I'm going to read this story, but I don't like CNN any further than I can throw 'em.

[audiopro]

It has been released by AP, NY Times, as well as others.. Doesn't mean anything more though because of that... Just matched this topic so thought I would throw it in... Interesting he is only suing for 15k, I guess the cost of the surgery...

[9balldiva]

I too despise CNN, but I read it anyways! I see audios point, and agree, I also see new kids point and agree. This diet is does help peoplelose weight, but I don't beleive it is completely healthy for them all!

[audiopro]

For those that HATE cnn...
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FIT_SUING_ATKINS?SITE=APWEB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Or from this local FL source...
http://www.wftv.com/health/3353066/detail.html

Why no like CNN??

[9balldiva]

you like that wording..."is does"...please omit the "is"

[sonnic]

cnn is a communist station...LOL no but they are very to the left though. this kinda starts a new grip i have... oh a chance to start a new topic........

[dags_lax]

While CNN is "very to the left" that other station that calls it self fair and balanced is any thing but. Fox News is as far, if not farther, to the right as CNN is left. I don't watch much of either but I do catch a little of both now and then. I think it is important to get an understanding of both sides of the issues. The way both stations present information by emphasizing certain aspects of a story while glossing over other aspects, a viewer can never get a good understanding of the news from just one of those stations.

I still prefer the print media for news coverage and while there may be some bias in coverage, over all print media has a more evenhanded treatment of the news than the cable news networks. Often times the best news coverage is in the foreign press

[audiopro]

How about MSNBC??? Typically that is who I use for online world news reading. For my local news I watch a Fox channel, the people on that particular channel have great personality's.

[dags_lax]

Local television news coverage. Eight minutes each of news, sports, and commercials and six minutes of weather. Three minutes of the news are devoted to a local fluff story like how a pelican with a broken wing has healed and is being returned to the wild. That leaves 5 minutes to cover local, regional, national, and international news. That's about 10 thirty second headlines with no detailed coverage. It's not the station's fault. They only have so much air time and viewers are more interested in Friends reruns or who is getting the boot on survivor than in news coverage.

[audiopro]

I mainly just watch for weather and traffic reports. I have to take I4 aka Floridas Largest Parking Lot, to work... So I watch to see if I need to leave a bit early... The Traffic coverage on the Fox channel is really great actually...

[sonnic]

I think Fox new channel is fair and balenced certainly more than any other of its kind. Yes it does tend to lean a little to the right but that is what this country needs some equality. The papers are the worst especially the NY Times, Washington Post, USA TODAY just to name a few of the big lefties. We have to much liberal news in american and unfortunatly the liberals want bush out so they crusify the war on terror and show whats wrong with it every chance they get. Instead showing the positive things we are doing like having woman finally get to go to school. Iraq has its highest demand for power EVER. American business's are repairing the disfigured Iraqi prissoners no thanks to saddam. The media is killing our soldiers and no one is doing anything about it and that pisses me off.

[dags_lax]

The liberal press. That is the response conservatives fall back on when ever they get unfavorable press on policies and issues can not stand up to the light of day.

If you tell a lie often enough and loud enough eventually people will believe it.. The liberal press is another one of those untruths that has been bantered about so much that it is taken as truth. But for people think that Fox News and the Cleveland Plain Dealer are fair and balanced of course to them all other news outlets will seem liberal.

There is one simple fact that can debunk the whole liberal press fallacy and show that the press is actually more conservative than people realize. In the 2000 presidential election, of the 190 major newspapers that endorsed a candidate 138 of them endorsed Bush. That’s right 73% endorsed Bush. That doesn’t sound to much like a liberal press to me. http://www.wheretodoresearch.com/Political.htm#Endorsements

[DZ314]

Al Gore is more of a factor in that than anything else IMO. People were afraid of him becoming president and rightfully so! It is reflected in your stats there!

[audiopro]

I don't know why people are afraid of him.. He did invent the Internet ya know... ;)

[New Kid In The Hall]

Fox News is so fair and balanced that it appears to lean heavily to the right because we are so accustomed to such left leaning crap. There isn't a news show on Fox that doesn't do a great job of allowing people representing all sides of the issue to speak. At least you can draw your own conclusions when you watch Fox, not get your conclusions drawn for you...which is what CNN and MSNBC prefer to do for you...

[DZ314]

That's right, those who love CNN will call Fox a conservative biased station because Fox is not a liberal slant like CNN. Fox is more neutral, so of course on the political ideaology scale it would appear to be conservative by comparison and not truly conservative.

[dags_lax]

And those who love Fox will call CNN a liberal biased station because CNN does not have a conservative slant like FOX. CNN is more neutral, so of course on the political ideology scale it would appear to be liberal by comparison and not truly liberal.

I just had to play on your words Fury.

Of course Fox News has a conservative slant in its programming. You wouldn't expect anything different from a station founded by Roger Ailes and owned by Rupert Murdoch. The people he hired to run his station reads like a who’s who of the industry conservatives. The hosts for the various programs are right wing neo conservatives and guests are not allowed to adequately present differing viewpoints.

While Fox covers does a reasonable job reporting the news it is woefully inadequate and biased in it's "analysis and opinions segments." But to expect anything more is to ignore the reality of the make up of the management and ownership of Fox News.

[DZ314]

No, Fox is actually neutral while CNN is the slanted one. Nice try. CNN does not even attempt to allow a differing viewpoint other than the ones commonly associated with the left side of things. At least Fox allows the opposing viewpoints. :roll:

[dags_lax]

Gotta go Fury but CNN does allow access from all sides of the issues. One quick example:

Right to Life Committee's spokespeople have appeared on CNN 21 times (compared with 16 appearances for their main counterpart, the National Abortion Rights Action League).

[DZ314]

Well I wil concede that, but I am not watching CNN 24-7 so I did not track the abortion debate coverage.