Atkins Diet

[Maully]

[color=green]All, and i mean all of my friends are on the Atkins diet. If you don't know, this diet is the high protein low carb diet. You completely deprive yourself of carbs the first two weeks and then eat as few of them as possible forever. When I say forever, it could be figurative or literal, because as soon as you start to consume carbs again, you put the weight back on.

As you can probaly tell, I am against this trendy diet. I think it is not a healthy remedy, at least from the information I have gathered. I cannot seem to convince anyone else of this though. Yes, it is a really fast way to lose weight, but it will make your hair fall out...

So, what do you think: Atkins is it a quick fix fad or the answer to prayers?[/color]

[RPCrazy]

My sister was on it for a few months and it made her terribly sick, which included vomiting and pain during menstruation. Another friend of mine from GA has been getting terrible head aches since she started the diet...though she refuses to believe the diet is the cause of it, but after my sister I know better. However, friends of said GA pal are on the diet and are doing fabulously well. -shrugs- I suppose it depends on your body type and lifestyle.

Personally, I'm against the diet. You're totally depriving your body of a substance that it [I]needs[/I] in order to function and survive. You could never convince me that's a good way of living. Plus you're missing out on such wonderful, wonderful foods like pasta, cake...for gods' sakes, you can't even eat the bun of a hamburger.

After almost 3 months of my sister not listening to me (only to see her quit the diet a month later), I've given up on trying to convince people of the destruction the diet does to their body. Eventually, something will happen that will make them see it's not a particularly healthy thing...and I've found all you can do is hope for that moment.

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1]For some people, I suspect the Atkins diet will work tremendously well.

There was this study done, and apparently the different type of blood you have affects what you should eat for you to stay healthy and thin. For instance, apparently O type blood should eat protein, and less carbs -- if an O type person went on the Atkins diet, they'd probably do better than someone better suited to eating carbs or fruit and vegetables. [Isn't it amazing the sorts of things you pick up in the work experience lunch room?]

I mean, that could be one factor to why people do better on some diets than others, although, I'm not too sure how factual that theory is.

To me, that sort of dieting doesn't seem healthy. Since I've spent my entire life having peopel drum into me that you shouldn't diet, you should 'adopt a longterm lifestyle change' -- which means better food, more exercise, and healthier living generally. To me, that seems to be the best -- and, yes, hardest -- way to getting healthy.[/size]

[Sara]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Molleta [/i]
[B][color=green]You completely deprive yourself of carbs the first two weeks [/color] [/B][/QUOTE] [FONT=arial]Well, for crying out loud, what do you eat?

I guess one of the girls at our lunch table tried it, and she couldn't do it, heh. She broke it the first day, then claimed she was going to do it "every other day," and finally gave up when we had spaghetti for lunch on a "diet day."

I can't say it sounds like a good idea to me. I mean....yeesh, deprive yourself of something your body uses to work properly? I mean, obviously, everything in moderation, but....that seems a little extreme, and not exactly healthy.

Heh, I'm all about the food groups pyramid, and I've been told [i]you need six to eleven servings from the bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group a day[/i]....since I was four years old. Heh.

I know I could never do it, heh. I love pasta far too much.[/FONT]

[Mitch]

[size=1] If you want to lose weight just do what I did. Starve yourself for the first few weeks, excercise daily, and eat as little as you can forever.

Oh wait, this is almost like the Atkin's diet.

Anyways, if someone wants to lose weight, all it requires is a lifestyle change--more excercise, less concentrated foods, more veggies, more nutrutional crap. You get the idea.

Dieting is going to hurt you either way, really. It gets obsessive, trust me. When I feel very full I usually feel like puking, and I usually starve myself for that day mostly. I even feel like I want to give into the urge to puke.

I've been eating more lately though lol. So that's good I suppose.[/size]

[LostProphet]

[color=blue][font=arial]I'll be a first on here and say it worked for me. I weighed 230 pounds, but in order to qualify for the military, I needed to be at 196. I jumped on it in Late January, and by the time Mid-March rolled around, I was at 194. I've been off it for a while now, and have actually lost even more. I currently sit at 180 pounds, and I'm happy with the results.[/color][/font]

[GrimmFang]

I heard of the Atikins Diet I was going to try it but my aunt who is a head nurse said it was a bad idea. She said that those kinds of diets could hurt your body more than help them. I decided to try Trim Spa instead and it worked real well I lost almost 80 pounds I weighed 240lbs now I weigh 164lbs.

[Drix D'Zanth]

Let's see.. from a medical perspective we've all got our horror stories. The times a kid ends up under near-anorexic effects. The atkin's diet allows certain foods that aren't usually allowed on other diets, meats, for instance.

Personally, just exorcise and eat well. Eat sugar/fatty foods sparingly and in SMALL amounts. The atkins diet DOES produce results, but that means sacrificing alot of foods we really wouldn't have to.

Let me give you an example: When I see a bowl of m&m's, I tend to gobble them down, not even bothering savoring the flavor. Give me two or three at a time.. and I eat them slowly, I enjoy what I have.

Eat certain foods like this sparingly, and provide good foods (grains, veggies) in large amounts.

Really, It's all willpower, and people are short on it.

[satan665]

I heard that the really high protein diets change the way you smell (serious). They give you funky meat breath (still serious). Anyone else heard of that or am I crazy?

[Heaven's Cloud]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by LostProphet [/i]
[B][color=blue][font=arial]I'll be a first on here and say it worked for me. [/color][/font] [/B][/QUOTE]

[color=indigo]The Atkins diet is a very effective and good diet for two key reasons.

One, it is a high protien diet. Protien encourages the body to build lean muscle, which helps breakdown the natural fats in the body. If you follow the atkins diet and lean meats that have a low fat and cholesteral content your body will break down fat storage and use it for energy, instead of relying/focusing on carbohydrate intake for stored energy.

Two, it encourages you to eat five or six times a day. Eating often helps speed up your metabolism. Actually, eating five small meals a day actually encourages a more rapid loss of weight than only eating three of those same small meals...

The only major problem with the Atkins diet is how to eat afterwards without encouraging weight gain. Obviously, first and foremost is regular excerise. Although a balance of weight training and cardio is ideal, twenty minutes of cardio first thing in the morning three times a week can really help to encourage a healthy metabolism. When you have reached your desired goals on the Atkins diet the most important thing to do is not binge on simple sugars and carbs, this can lead to rapid weight gain and to bloating. The best thing is to maintain a healthy diet. Continue to eat five or six small meals a day (if your lifestyle is too hectic for five real meals supplement with a protien bar or meal replacement shake) and try to keep a 4 to 1 protien to carb diet. Also, do not deny yourself sugars. This tends to lead to binging. If you have a craving for a candybar, try eating a miniture one instead of a whole candy bar, have a small piece of cake, ect., ect.

Anyway, I hope this advice was usefull. I am a bit of a fitness nut (although I have been fighting a slight belly for years, mainly because I don't follow my own good advice ~_^) and this seems to be the concensus opinion amongst most nutrtionists and trainers these days...[/color]

[Genkai]

Put it simply: Just because you are thin doesn't mean that you are necessarily healthy.

[Darkness]

After the first two weeks of diet, you gradually increase the amount of carbs you take in until you stop losing weight. Once you get to that point the true "diet" part is over. You just have to make sure that you don't intake any more carbs than your newfound limit and you won't gain weight. I have a few friends that did the diet and it worked great for all of them.

[KKC]

Both my parents have been on it for quit a few months now and their doing just fine. My dad has lost alot of weight and nothing about pains and hair loss has happened (he's losing his hair anyways) and my mom is doing fine as well. I think you have to be older for it to work well.

[stardust]

idk,I hate diets of any kind. It's all my friends talk about,seriously. I ahve a friend who is normal weight,on the skinny side to,on this diet and she's lost 10 pounds already...grrrr...*kicks diets*

[Artemis]

I've heard of lots of good results from this diets, but I have two major reasons for not using it myself (besides the lack of discipline...)
1. I've heard too many stories of bad side effects. I'm afraid it might be dangerous.
2. I consider breads a major food group. You'd honestly think I'm Italian or something based on my absolute craving of carbs. I could give up superficial sugars and fats for biscuits, pasta, and homemade wheat bread.. mmmm....

I won't tell ppl not to do it, b/c it may work for you. However, I'm not going for it myself...

[KarmaOfChaos]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Genkai [/i]
[B]Put it simply: Just because you are thin doesn't mean that you are necessarily healthy. [/B][/QUOTE]
[color=deeppink]
Amen to that.

I'm the right weight for my height and age, but I'm not too healthy. During a recent doctor's visit, she saw my weight and was quite pleased, explaining that many girls my age are either over or underweight.

I proceeded to laugh loudly, and told her that I consume, on average, 2 to 3 cans of Mountain Dew a day, usually get about 4 hours sleep on weekdays, sometimes less, and that my eating habits are highly irregular, and that I'll often go for 7 hours not eating anything, then have about 3 small meals in a row, each one relatively close to the other.

Suffice to say, she was a little shocked. Thinking back, I'm rather glad my mother wasn't there for that particular visit. ^^;; However, this is how I chose to live. I fully aware that it's not healthy, and I really don't care. I'd rather live life and die young, than constantly worry about my health. Death is not something to be feared.

As for the Atkins' Diet, yes, it works if you're trying to lose weight. Of course, starving yourself also works. I don't think it's healthy, nor would I ever, ever attempt it. I live on carbohydrates.

My dad uses this diet frequently. He'll lose 10-30 pounds, go off the diet, gain it back, go on the diet again, lose it again, etc. That's the problem with all diets. Like Mitch said, if you truly want to change your body and weight, it requires a change in lifestyles, not a temporary adjustment. And diets often deprive you of a certain thing your body needs, while assigning you an excess amount of another.

So, all in all, I believe the Atkins Diet, and all other diets, are a bad idea. Either make a full effort to be healthy the rest of your days, or accept the fact that you just don't care enough to do that, and be unhealthy. Don't go inbetween diets and not, that just adds undue stress to your life. And that's that.

-Karma
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