The Atkins Diet - Classic or Dud?

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have you tried it? and why do pork rinds say on the package " Not a significant source of protien " when they have 8 grams per serving?

― Mike Hanle y (mike), Monday, 14 July 2003 02:52 (twenty-two years ago)

atkins can suck the protein from my nizozzle

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 14 July 2003 02:56 (twenty-two years ago)

(actually i have no opinion - i just felt like being crass)

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 14 July 2003 02:57 (twenty-two years ago)

jim, you're being "witty".

what gets my goat are those who profess to have unlocked some previously unknown code for weight loss/dieting. cut the junk and exercise. pretty fucking easy really.

― Chris Radford (Chris Radford), Monday, 14 July 2003 03:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I know people who swear by Atkins. Do they not realise that yes, these "diets" work, but they do so because you starve your muscles, thus making them effectively eat themselves? Yeah, I want to age my body in the name of being stick thin...

I agree with you Chris - people seem to ignore the obvious "eat less, move more" rule.

― Trayce (trayce), Monday, 14 July 2003 03:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't think that makes any sense. If the muscles ate themselves they'd be eating almost pure protein. Bodybuilders eat very high protein diets.

My natural eating habits are pretty atkins-like (lots of meat and vegetables, not much starch) but I'd be skinny no matter what I ate.

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 14 July 2003 04:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Germans and Italians aren't fat and they consume tons of starch, so I don't know about this Atkins business. Asians eat rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and they aren't fat either. What do they eat in Samoa?

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 14 July 2003 04:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I perhaps worded it very badly with the muscle thing. But I recall reading that its something about the imbalance of starches and proteins that can damage the muscles. Not the excess protein - the lack of carbs/sugars. I have no idea what I'm talking about mind you. I just dont see how any diet that advocates extremes of any sort can be good for a person.

― Trayce (trayce), Monday, 14 July 2003 04:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Not a good diet from a vegetarian point of view, i.e. it advises against it!! Apparently the results are good, but when 'normal' eating is resumed, all hell breaks lose! Not to mention the bad breath aspect!

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Monday, 14 July 2003 11:34 (twenty-two years ago)

>What do they eat in Samoa?

Turkey tails are the local "delicacy" - a gristly part of the turkey usually considered inedible in the US, so they send them to the Samoans, who love them. Besides this, lots of junk food.

The big secret of how Germans/French/Italians/Japanese keep thin is, get this, they control how much they eat and don't stuff themselves like pigs. Yay.

― fletrejet, Monday, 14 July 2003 11:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Germans and Italians aren't fat

what about the stereotypes of chunky blokes in lederhosen and swarthy mafiso?

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 14 July 2003 11:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I recommend the Juan Atkins diet.

― Tag (Tag), Monday, 14 July 2003 11:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I recommend the Juan Atkins diet.

At the end of that you have the body of a model, but you weigh 500lbs. Do you see, etc.

What did that BBC show - Diet Trials, was it? - have to say about Atkins? I think it showed the quickest initial weight loss and, to the surprise of some the nutritionists on the panel, no terribly adverse side-effects (aside from the halitosis/constipation thing), *but*, over the whole trial period (several months) was ultimately no better than something sensible like Weight Watchers (= keep the lid on yr calorific/saturated fat intake and take the occasional brisk walk).

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Monday, 14 July 2003 12:06 (twenty-two years ago)

At the end of that you have the body of a model, but you weigh 500lbs. Do you see, etc.

best Detroit techno joke evah!

ONLY Detroit techno evah, in fact

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 14 July 2003 12:11 (twenty-two years ago)

apart from that 'Underground Resistance are revolting!' thing

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 14 July 2003 12:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Halitosis and constipation are pretty bad side effects if you ask me.

― RickyT (RickyT), Monday, 14 July 2003 12:14 (twenty-two years ago)

It's not just constipation. It's bouts of constipation interrupted by those hideous pebbledash the bowl shits you have, the kind you get after a large night out.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 14 July 2003 12:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm on the cantaloupe and spinach diet, so named because those are my favorite examples of what are called "fruits" and "vegetables." You eat, like, five or six servings of them every day, and you're surprised by how much energy they contain, and you don't get hungry as often, and even when you do, you eat yogurt instead of pork rinds. You shit normally, even. Better than ever. It's amazing. Everyone has to try this diet!

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Monday, 14 July 2003 12:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Halitosis and constipation are pretty bad side effects if you ask me.

Well, I agree - I probably should've used another term. I meant that the half-expected signs of muscle depletion were not observed to any significant degree. But this is just a telly prog, not a published paper; the nutritionists still had their concerned faces on.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Monday, 14 July 2003 12:25 (twenty-two years ago)

One of the guys on Diet Trials and his wife were both GPs. He was on Atkins and thought it was great (mostly because he was living on cheese), but his wife said she would rather he took up smoking as it would probably do him less harm in the long run.

(N.B. she may have been slightly exaggerating, but I think the point is that it's not the healthiest diet in the world).

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 14 July 2003 20:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Samoans eat missionaries. preparation involves stuffing the missionaries like pigs. yay.

― isadora (isadora), Monday, 14 July 2003 20:42 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.detroithistorical.org/promo-techno/images/tnobjuan.jpg

― Andy K (Andy K), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 01:31 (twenty-two years ago)

(There are PLENTY of Detroit techno jokes, btw. Clearly you DO NOT UNDERSTAND. You need to walk down Techno Blvd at 3AM on a Sunday to get the various knock-knock and "How many copies of 'Sharevari' does it take to..." jokes, etc.)

― Andy K (Andy K), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 01:34 (twenty-two years ago)

there has been a lot of research and second looking at foods that have previously been considered very bad for you . For two decades we have been told that we shoudl eat mostly carbs (the "bread" group), and that saturated fats give you heart disease , and that fat makes you fat. But most of this is propoganda from powerful agriculural industries who make money from soy oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, Partially hydrogenated fats , and trans fats. I think in the years to come, much of what we have learned about a healthy diet will be questioned and changed.

― Mike Hanle y (mike), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 01:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Juan is looking pretty rough these days. It is probably in your best interest to avoid his weight loss methods.

― Mike Taylor (mjt), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 02:51 (twenty-two years ago)

but Mike, bread by itself is virtually fat free. and Saturated fat makes you totally fat!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 06:09 (twenty-two years ago)

although, once one has slimmed down by cutting way back on saturated fat, a more zone-ish diet can help you maintain.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 06:22 (twenty-two years ago)

but Mike, bread by itself is virtually fat free. and Saturated fat makes you totally fat!

These are exactly the kinds of misconceptions we're now dealing with. Bread is fat free, yes, but fat is not what makes you fat. Excess caloric intake is, and bread is loaded with carbs you almost certainly won't burn (esp. given our sedentary lifestyles. What are you doing? Sitting at the computer? Ok, then... you don't need a lot of carbs for that). And saturated fat does not make you "totally fat." It makes you about as fat as unused bread.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 06:44 (twenty-two years ago)

sorry Kenan, but that is my personal experience (losing about 40lbs and keeping it off for 10 years mostly through diet).

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 06:48 (twenty-two years ago)

and the problem with discussing diets is that people are coming from different places. I personally was eating WAY too much ground meat and fried foods and cheese. Some others might be eating too much bread. Also, don't forget that fat contains way more calories (like 4x, right) than carbs.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 06:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Here's my personal experience: bread, pasta, and most anything made with white flour isn't very good for you. It's a good immediaite source of energy, but the complex sugars found in fruits and vegetables are much better for you, since they digest more slowly, and have more of a "time release" effect. Pasta, bread, etc are almost like eating refined sugar, as far as your metabolism is concerned. They're very easily broken down into glucose. Unless you're moving around a lot (and I'm not), things that break down easily turn to fat more quickly.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 06:52 (twenty-two years ago)

don't forget that fat contains way more calories (like 4x, right) than carbs.

But it turns to actual fat more slowly than, say, a Snickers bar. Much more slowly. It's harder to digest.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 06:53 (twenty-two years ago)

I try to eat fat in the morning. It's a good, essential nutrient, and certain fats are proven to make your brain work better, etc. But sleeping with fat in your stomach is bad news.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 06:55 (twenty-two years ago)

As far as fat goes, search: fish oil, olive oil. Oily fish is wonderful for your heart, and a recent study (I'll look for it) shows that it helps your neurons fire more efficiently.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 07:00 (twenty-two years ago)

chocolate is brain food

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 07:36 (twenty-two years ago)

i refuse to touch chocolate in this weather unless its spent at least 36 hours in the fridge

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 07:50 (twenty-two years ago)

i eat very healthily in general and even go to the gym but there's not much point as I drink like and idiot and smoke live a chimney, therefore am not fit. atkins diet = ridiculous and not nice... how much steak do you need to fill yourself up? my gues is more than you can eat w/out feeling sick...

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 10:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Umm, what? Red meat is about as filling a food you can get, in my book. I think this
thread is confused by a whole bunch of differing tastes and views on things.
I've never tried the Atkins diet (or any other diet, for that matter, don't need it)
but my grandpa was a bonafide doctor who preached a high protein diet for
most of his professional life - and he died at age 80, and was active and
athletic (handball) up to one month before he died. My dad was morbidly obese
(325 lbs) and he lost almost 80 pounds and became healthier and energetic
to boot - but mind you, it took over a year on this diet. So if you don't like meat
much the diet is probably undoable.

There's my anecdotal evidence to add to the morass.

― Squirrel Police, Tuesday, 15 July 2003 11:36 (twenty-two years ago)

(MT did you get my MT joke?)

― Andy K (Andy K), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 02:21 (twenty-two years ago)

http://technotourist.org/modules/Gallery/albums/album15/aby.jpg

If I wasn't so spaced out I would shake my fist at you.

― magic juan (mjt), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 02:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I think a diet similaer to Paleolithic diet may ultimately be healthiest.
Fish
Red gamey meat (venison, bison)
fruits
vegetables
nuts
eggs
nothing from a farm. (diary, wheat,potato chop)
but alas... WE MUST STILL EXERCISE!

― Mike Hanle y (mike), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 03:24 (twenty-two years ago)

three months pass...

Intuitively I was against this as most of you seem to be. But I decided to try it for a few weeks anyway, after reading up a lot on it. Well, conclusion so far? I've actually *lost* weight for the first time in 5 years (and in that time I've tried every damn diet in the world and exercised as much as I could) and I certainly don't feel like shit nor have I been noticing any ill effects. If anything, it's the opposite. I'd say that the only problem is that I still really have to fight temptation everyday to keep on the diet. But it's not as hard as previous diets I've been on (I'm not hungry, there are just cravings for other foods). I find the "eat less, move more" dogma a bit patronizing... That's what I've been doing for the past few years with no results besides gaining more weight.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 03:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Article here: http://atkins.com/Archive/2003/1/20-542932.html

It's on their site, but it's from the New York Times magazine.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 03:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I kind of feel guilty about the whole thing though. I don't let other people know I'm on it, I feel embarrassed saying good things about it... There's a lot of bias.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 03:54 (twenty-two years ago)

it lasted 48 hours before i stuffed a bagel into my mouth this morning out of sheer desperation

― erico b. rakimington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 04:20 (twenty-two years ago)

not my finest hour

― erico b. rakimington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 04:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm on the Soytkins diet.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 04:27 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm on the threechins diet

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 04:29 (twenty-two years ago)

why do i love fat in my women but hate it in myself?

― erico b. rakimington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 04:33 (twenty-two years ago)

why do i love holidays yet hate gatherings?

― erico b. rakimington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 04:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm on the steak tacos diet. I just had 'em for the second night in a row.

― Broheems (diamond), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 04:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Good to hear that Mel, but be sure you carefully follow the diet. Many people I talk to do not understand that you have to reall ywatch your carbs, you cant just "wing it". They thought a 16 ounce glass fo half and half was ok, but its not! it has like 24 grams of carbs! total failure for them!! also, remember most nuts are forbidden. If you get sick of atkins , you should check out the Zone diet. good luck!

― Mike Hanle y (mike), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 09:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I find the "eat less, move more" dogma a bit patronizing

Mel, sorry if I came across a bit uncaring saying that, I realise it isnt that simple, Ive just known too many people who claimed to diet but honestly didnt. I realise for some the Atkins thing does work, Ive seen the results. I just feel a concern for any extreme program I guess. But then it's easy for me, I've never really had to watch my weight, so I shouldnt say anything :/

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 09:38 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

According to Horizon and the research they cited, close monitoring of people on the Atkins Diet reveals that although they are allowed to eat loads of protein and fat, they actually don't. Their calorific intake is therefore low, so they lose weight - simple classical model of weight loss. So why do they eat less food and calories? Because further research reveals that consumption of protein seems to act as a far more effective appetite satiator than carbohydrate or fat. So, mystery solved, according to Horizon, at least.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 00:02 (twenty-two years ago)

"Calorific". That's going to be my new slogan for my company's new enterprise for ultra-fatty/sugary foods.

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 00:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Trans-Fatty Acid is my new favorite genre!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 00:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I ate an Atkins-sponsored Subway wrap today. Yummm.

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 01:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Trans-Fatty is my new favorite term for overweight transexuals.

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 01:04 (twenty-two years ago)

(kidding)

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 01:04 (twenty-two years ago)

My problem with the Atkins Diet, which isn't really something that the Atkins folks can be totally blamed for, is all the miseducation on what the diet exactly entails. The "lots of meat" part of the diet is supposed to be a very short phase, yet people just jump on, hear what friends do, and improvise on that... as long as means eating LOTS OF MEAT ALL THE TIME MMMMMMMMMMM.

The correct answer is: ask your doctor. People whose cholesterol levels are very sensitive should NOT be improvising their own Atkins diet without consultation first. That's the sad part. I've heard far too many people get hospitalized because of the after-effects of taking on the diet without any consultation.

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 01:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I dunno. It just seems to me that everyone just wants to avoid actually exercising. Including exercising self-control.

― Matt (Matt), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 01:17 (twenty-two years ago)

My favorite part of the current Atkins diet fad is the ad I saw saying "And try the low carb Smirnoff Vodka martini!"

― tokyo rosemary (rosemary), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 01:22 (twenty-two years ago)

coworkers who talk incessantly about their atkins diets, even on the elevator: c/d?

― dan (dan), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 01:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I'll reiterate my friend Yoon's comment re: Atkins: "It's all well and good, until you start thinking about pasta when you masturbate."

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 02:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Your friend is possessed of visions.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 02:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Michael Bloomberg to thread

― sym (shmuel), Wednesday, 28 January 2004 02:28 (twenty-two years ago)

JANUARY 21--New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is apparently a conspiracy theorist when it comes to the circumstances of Dr. Robert Atkins's death last April. Bloomie, it seems, ain't buying the story that the anti-carb diet guru died as a result of injuries sustained during a fall on an icy Manhattan street.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bloombergatkins1.html

― Jon Williams (ex machina), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 06:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Atkins-heads are responsible for "pizza in a can". They should all go hang.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 09:01 (twenty-two years ago)

The main thing I find wrong with the Atkins or most other readymade weight loss oriented nutrition programs is that not all human body types react to diets in the same way.

I'm also somewhat instinctually opposed to it in that one of the cornerstones of human civilization has been the complex carbohydrate. Why now go back to the paleolithic-person diet? This is certain not the paleolithic era.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 14:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Anyway, I guess what I would most like to do is urge people to reconsider jumping on the Atkins bandwagon and seek out a more accurate body type diet.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 14:13 (twenty-two years ago)

three years pass...

I'm trying the low-carb thing to see how I go. The first thing I noticed, within days, is that I'm no longer lethargic in the early afternoon. So that's a start. Have I lost any pounds? Well it's been a week and a half, so not yet.

― moley, Friday, 9 November 2007 02:50 (eighteen years ago)

two years pass...

Atkins horror stories, please.

My girlf and her friend are having some crazy meat plans to lose weight for a wedding and my evidence-based disapproval is not having the desired effect.

― Slumpman, Monday, 28 June 2010 22:54 (fifteen years ago)

Is a low carb diet counterproductive?

however, I just started Atkins again today (went off for a week)

if I play around with this diet for the rest of the year I'll hit my target weight

― serious nonsense (CaptainLorax), Monday, 28 June 2010 23:34 (fifteen years ago)

paleo/nutrition-nazi is more long-term realistic than atkins imo (and no dumb packaged-food 'substitutes')

― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Tuesday, 29 June 2010 13:27 (fifteen years ago)

I would never wish long-term Atkins onto myself
But would I go on it for a year with an occasional week off here and there, yes

― serious nonsense (CaptainLorax), Wednesday, 30 June 2010 06:21 (fifteen years ago)

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