It sounds too good to be true:
Eat all the meat and fat you want and still lose weight. But small clinical trials show that Atkins does help peel off the pounds. What’s more, the regimen appears to help raise HDL cholesterol (the good kind) and lower triglycerides, another fat in the blood that is connected with risk of heart disease. One potential problem: the flood of low-carb foods - all typically high in calories - now on the market. Calories count, and gnoshing on too many “carb-free” snacks will only put the pounds back on.
Is the diet healthy? Debatable: The Induction phase is highly unbalanced, with a mere 20 grams of carbohydrate per day. In the short term, you take off pounds, and blood lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides) seem to improve. But nutritionists balk at the high fat and saturated fat content of the steaks, chops, and other foods that Atkins promotes. Also unclear: the health impact of a lifetime of restricted carbs and high protein.
What do the experts say? Registered dietitian Jane Kirby, author of ‘Dieting for Dummies,’ second edition (Wiley Publishing Inc., 2004), gives the plan a thumbs-down. “Most nutritionists recommend that 55 to 60 percent of your calories come from carbohydrate,” Kirby says. “With a 1,500-calorie weight-loss diet, that would add up to 188 to 225 grams of carbs per day. Even the maintenance phase, which recommends 40 to 60 grams, is far too low.”
Weight-loss researcher Gary Foster, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, admits he’s surprised by the fact that the Atkins diet, while successful at producing weight loss, doesn’t seem to raise the risk of high cholesterol and heart disease. “We thought that the harmful effects of a low-carb Atkins-style diet might be the high amounts of saturated fat,” says Foster, who recently published a one-year study comparing Atkins and a more traditional weight-loss diet. “And that turned out not to be true, at least at the one-year mark.” So Foster is working on a longer diet comparison study, this one for five years.
Bottom Line: This one’s a puzzler. No nutritionist in her right mind would endorse a bonanza of high-fat, high-saturated fat foods like bacon, steak, cheese. Although Atkins is an average diet plan, it’s just not in the same league with today’s top diets like Nutrisystem or Medifast.
Hi, I'm a dietitian with experience in hundreds of weight loss programs and fad diets. When forming my list of the
I tried the atkins diet about 5 years ago and weighed 235 lbs. In 7 months i weighed 155 lbs. I was so pleased, but the diet is difficult to make maintain. As soon as I stopped counting the carbs, I started to gain the weight. I was so tired of the diet and eating meat,eggs and cheese. The worst thing I disliked was the constipation. I stopped doing atkins and now I weigh 225 lbs. Its been about 2 yrs. battling with trying to lose the weight again, only healthy.
I couldn’t say it any better than Sean. People hear Atkin’s and all they say is, “I can’t eat only meat” or “I have to have more carbs than that”. These people are the ones who have never actually took the time to read the details of the diet.
The first time I did the hard core induction phase I got sick the first day or two. I think it just shows hows unhealthy I had been eating. I lost 20 pounds that first month. Since then, I had a baby and found out that I have a thyroid problem. But, once that was under control, I started Atkins again. I’m down 33 pounds over a year time span…
It’s the easiest diet for me, I don’t like worrying about portions and feeling hungry all day. When I’m going through busy times, I don’t count carbs, I just keep weighing in to make sure I’m not blowing it. When I want to drop a few more pounds, I cut out the egg rolls, burritos and chocolate. It’s all about eating well. Now, if I could just find time for more exercise!!!
I tried the Atkins Diet about 10 years ago. I’ve struggled with my weight all of my life. I was a “chubby baby”, a “pudgy child”, a “full-figured teenager”, and now an out and out “overweight adult”. When the diet first became the latest rage, I admit that I fell victim to the fantasy images of myself as the slim and trim thin girl I was always destined to be. I purchased the book and read it cover to cover in 2 days. I rushed to the market, eager to start my diet and be on the road to a slimmer, healthier, sexier me. After 3 days of nothing but meat meat MEAT…my moods had deteriorated to the point of my co-workers literally **BEGGING** me “For goodness sake, PLEASE eat a cracker or something!!!” I have 2 words for Atkins, UNBALANCED and WORTHLESS!!