Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution CD

Rating:
Summary: One Year Later...
Review: I've just about past the one year mark... one year since purchasing and reading the book... one year since going on the diet... and one year definitely for the better... The fact is, you'll find two types of reviews for Dr. Atkins books : Those who are appalled *in concept* by the idea of a high fat/high animal protein diet, and those who've actually read the book, perhaps even done it and also know that in the long run the diet is far more nutritionally "conventional" than all the media and PR let on. (The big message is : go natural and unprocessed... carbs *are* o.k., junk carbs aren't !) The truth is, there's one and only one way to guage any diet... 1) Does it work (and is it practical and clearly presented) ? 2) How does it effect your overall health (*more important than weight loss!). - - In my case, I'm down almost 100lbs., no longer diabetic, and my cholesterol/tryglicerides number have been cut by more than half. Chronic gout is under control (*strangely on a high protein diet !) and liver enzymes are down to normal. - - Is this all because of Dr. Atkins' claims about the overall effect of his diet, or simply because I lost the weight by hook or crook ? - - honestly speaking, I wouldn't even try to answer that. I will say this : That if you actually read the book, you'll find out that many of the more "shocking" things you've probably been lead to believe about the diet ("eat all grease, no vegetables... no need to exercise... and lose weight !) aren't true... Healthy berries, nuts and green vegetables becomes the mainstay of your diet, as they replace JUNK carbs (like potatoe chips, french fries, fried chicken, etc.) - - and no, Atkins isn't a Fast Food diet either... actually most of those foods would border on the VERBOTTEN range - - Natural fats and oils are o.k. but the PROCESSED ONES (such as those commonly used in the deep fat frier) aren't... and chemically processed foods aren't allowed either. - - As you work your way through the varying stages of the diet, it actually goes from the shocking stuff down to common sense... I mean, don't you remember Grandma telling you if you want to lose weight lay off all the bread and pasta ??? - - All in all, I can only tell you the reason I like Dr. Atkins' diet and book : Its very practical... easy to follow, no calorie counting... and actually has you eating in a way to control your apetite... this isn't to say that I do know people who've tried it and dropped out because it didn't work for them (most simply refused to give up the foods they're not supposed to) but dispite the media sensation, the idea that its "dangerous" and "disturbing" seems like pure exploitation (often egged on by promoters of other diets, food industry interest groups or of course, so called "radical vegeterians") to me... (BE particularly suspicious when you read something bad about it on the web, and there's a link to a site affiliated with Atkin's rival Dean Ornish, for example !) - - *Yes*, if you eat all meat and *NO* carbohydrates you'll end up sick... VERY SICK (in addition to painfully constipated) - - but the Atkins Diet isn't about going NO CARB... its about choosing the RIGHT carbs... and when you read the book you'll learn how to, as well as engage in a program that helps you break your addiction to the bad ones. - - Read the book, get your blood checked before and a few weeks later (*as Dr. Atkins advised) and decide for yourself !

Rating:
Summary: It Really Works
Review: I am an athletic 25 year old male. So what am I doing on a "diet?" I had surgery in December 2003 which kept me out of the gym for about a month and drugged up on pain killers for three weeks, which, combined with the usual holiday season increase in eating, left me with an extra 10 pounds and feeling depressed. I found myself pigging out on all kinds of high carb junk...pizza, lots of chocolate, nutella on white bread, etc. I tried to stop but I couldn't. After eating extremely well and being in fantastic shape for years, I found myself getting fat.

When I decided to give Atkins a shot, I was about 20 pounds too heavy. I followed phase I for three weeks and lost it ALL. After that I went straight to phase IV.

After following the Atkins approach for about 2 months now, I have noticed the following: I am never hungry. The meals I now eat are completely filling. I am STRONGER when I lift weights. I run further and faster. I feel better and I have more energy.

I eat more vegetables now than at any other point in my life. I more or less never eat any type of grain product. I eat about 1 fruit per day. I consume more fiber and omega-3's than at any other point in my life. I am, without question, consuming more healthy foods than prior to Atkins. I plan to eat like this for the rest of my life.

This book costs very little. Even if you are doubtful, consider reading it. Atkins makes a very convincing (and well supported) argument in favor of his diet. Good luck to you all.

Rating:
Summary: Please read this before buying the book.
Review: An interesting diet plan as it has you eat a lot of fatty foods. Bottom line is that you can lose weight on this diet but its long-term safety is still in question. Be aware that it restricts calories (look at the menu plans) which contributes to weight loss as well. Overweight readers with knee pain may also be interested in "Treat Your Own Knees."

Rating:
Summary: Keep an open mind and a closed mouth
Review: First off, it seems that the Atkins diet usually elicits strong emotional feelings in people who have bought into the AMA's version of the healthy diet. Added to this, since we were children, we have been brainwashed into thinking that the daily food requirements triangle chart was the last word. Keep in mind that this body of learned professionals have constantly reversed and re-reversed their positions on what is actually healthy to eat (i.e. Don't drink. Do drink. No fat. Some fat. Lots of carbs, no so many carbs. Eat meat. Don't eat meat. ad nauseum) In response to the nay sayers of this diet, keep an open mind. Experts once thought the world was flat and the earth was at the center of the universe. Maybe, just maybe, you are wrong about your assumptions of the Atkins diet too. Ok. Getting off of the soap box and getting to the actual review. :)

Atkins challenges the common wisdom of the times and gives solid facts and clinical medical studies from around the world to prove that the low carb/high protein diet works better than any diet. He also proposes the premise that people who go on this diet are actually healthier than those who are on the standard issue diets. I must admit, that this all sounded like Atkins was either delusional or crazy. But the more I read about the case studies and research done in the Unitied States and Europe, I decided to give it a try. In trying it, I can say the diet works. I have lost approximately 30 pounds on this diet since I started four months ago. Once you get over the initial shock of not having bread, pasta, cookies and other junk food in your diet, the Atkins regimin gets easier to follow. What Atkins is trying to do is to re-educate and retrain your eating habits. The diet is broken down into three phases: The Induction Diet (two weeks), The Ongoing Weight Loss plan, and finally the Maintainance plan. Atkins gives you practical advice on how to stay on the diet and keep the weight off. The book contains many helpful charts and menus for the low carb life style. Self control is at the heart of most diets. Atkins makes it achievable by satiating the hunger and opening up the "forbidden" foods that we have all been so accustomed to avoiding. Yes, the diet goes against common logic, but as you read through the book, the physiological explainations of how your body works will convince you that it can work for you too.

Rating:
Summary: The proof is in the pudding...
Review: I followed the conventional thinking of the 80's and 90's and ate my fill of carbs but counted every gram of fat that I let myself eat. The result was that I slowly gained 50 pounds in the 25 years after high school. A friend of mine, who is a retired professional (pedal) International Bike Racer told me about the Dr. Atkins diet two weeks ago; about how he had lost 12 pounds in only 14 days while on this medically sound, but unconventional low carb diet! What a crock I said, starve yourself of carbs and let your body fall into Ketosis so you body has to burn your own body fat -- Ridiculous! But with his continued insistance, I took his copy of "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" and after reading the first 50 - 60 pages I decided to start the diet as described in the book.

Now, I have already lost 10 pounds in 9 days, only partway through the 14 day initial stage of the lifetime diet approach this book promotes. Well, I can honestly tell you I have not craved any foods, including my former daily addiction: chocolate. I have not gone hungry, or had any ill health. In fact, my mental sharpness has increased, especially my short term memory! Of note, I have the one of those nifty Tanita "Fat" Weight Scales that measures your weight and also your % of body fat. My lean body mass (weight - fat = lean body mass) has stayed within one pound of my before diet LBM, so the weight loss has all been fat! My weight and my % body fat have both decreased in direct proportion, so I am not losing water, nor am I scavaging muscle protein -- it's all been fat loss! The big bonus is that my muscle strength has increased, and my build looks more and more muscular as the fat disappears. Even the double chin that I inherited from my Mother's side of the family is getting smaller every day! (Now, if only my hair would stop receding and grow back...)

I understand that I am just starting this diet, and I also understand that it runs against the current tide of low fat / high carb diets out there, but THIS DIET WORKS FOR ME! I have effortlessly lost 10 pounds in 9 days, and reduced my weight down to what it was 4 years ago. No low fat, high carb diet has done anything like that for me in one or two months, let alone in just 9 days! I now have no doubt that I will be able to lose 30 more pounds and stabilize my weight down at 200 pounds, and keep it there in the years to come!

This diet is really worth trying, especially if you can't lose weight by restricting fats and replacing them with carbs. For many of us, "fat free" foods are not the answer, and Dr. Atkins explains why in this book. Honestly, for less than the cost of a good meal at a restaurant, what do you have to lose by buying this book and trying one more diet. I hope your success equals my own!

Rating:
Summary: Surprising, evidence supported
Review: As opposed to the miriad of diets out there, the low carbohydrate-liberal fat diets have undergone medical scrutiny. Two recently published studies in the Annals of Internal Medicine comparing (head to head) this type of diet to the the traditional low fat, "heatlhy", low calorie diets demonstrate that people not only loose more weight and keep it off longer but also, against all medical predicitions, have better cholesterol profiles with decrease in bad and increase in good cholesterol levels.

I am a convert now.

Dr.Atkins showed us how mistaken we were in our simplistic approach to diets, i.e. less food (or calories) should equal weight loss, by addressing the paramount role of insulin in wight regulation.

Rating:
Summary: The AMA reports have proven nothing
Review: Contrary to what our astute Canadian says about research and reports done by the AMA concerning weight loss and a healthy diet, recent studies by Duke University and others have shown that not only do you GAIN weight on a high carbo diet, but that a diet low in fat isn't necessarily healthy because of needed fatty amino acids. The AMA has based its entire arguement that fat is the basis of high cholesterol levels on a little known paper published in 1929 which described one of two Eskimos as having an elevated cholesterol count due to high fat content in diet. What the AMA has failed to see is that people who do have high cholesterol and are overweight have a correspondingly high rate of sugar intake and processed carbohydrate products...cakes, cookies, chips, bread, pasta, etc. Before the introduction of processed sugar and flour goods in the early 1900's, heart disease, heart attacks and cirulatory system problems were almost non-existant. Since the modern diet has arrived, these diseases ane now very common. The AMA has contributed to the misinformation that cholesterol levels rise in people who go on the Atkins/low carb diet. This is a half truth. What they do not say is that in the initial stages of the diet, the first week or so, cholesterol does go up. But this cholesterol is *HDL*, or high density lipids, which are what doctors say are good for you and prevent heart disease. Overall cholesterol readings in people who are on the Atkins diet actually DROP to normal levels. So enough of this verbage by the people who subscribe blindly to the lies and misinformation. Think for yourself and READ the book. Atkins does not exclude all carbos and vegetables. There are ample lists within the book that give specific carbo counts so that Atkins dieters can eat these foods and have a balanced diet without all the carbs.

Rating:
Summary: No reason for this book to exist!
Review: First off I'm going to say that Dr.Atkins has some good points. It's true that CERTAIN carbs are bad for you, in particular ones which have processed sugar (Twinkies, Soda, Cake, etc). You should definitely cut back on these as they are unhealthy and will definitely make you gain massive amounts of weight. However, is Dr.Atkins the first to realize this? No, of course not. This is something that has been proven to the point where it's now common sense.

However, complex carbohydrates (like starches) are not bad for you, unless you eat them in excess, much like anything. How can anyone be stupid enough to go on a diet in which FRUITS and VEGETABLES should be eaten in very small quantities? This just boggles the mind. Atkins claims it doesn't matter, since you can just take a multi-vitamin. Let me explain to you the REAL reasons that fruits and vegetables are good for you.

1) Both fruits and vegetables have substances in them called phytochemicals, which ONLY plants make. Much like our white blood cells, phytochemicals play a huge part in the defense of a plant from foreign pathogens and other forms of disease. When plants are eaten by humans, not only do we get healthy vitamins and minerals, but we also consume these phytochemicals. Research is now beginning to show that these phytochemicals have a huge benefit. For example, Bell Peppers have two such substances, Lutein and Zeaxanthin, which lower the risk of macular degeneration and fight the formation of nitrosamines, which are known to be cancer causing agents. Every fruit and vegetable has different phytochemicals which range in their ability to lower cholesterol and prevent cancer and heart disease. What's my point? Multivitamins don't have these valuable chemicals!

2) Pound for pound, fruits and vegetables are extremely low in their calorie content. For example, a single spear of asparagus has a whopping 4 CALORIES. You can eat an entire garden worth of asparagus and you still won't gain a pound. Ditto goes for foods like broccoli and spinach. You can eat platefulls of this stuff and barely crack 100 calories in a meal. Contrast this to normal Atkins foods, such as steak, in which a single serving contains over 600 calories. What's my point? The more veggies you eat in a meal, the more full you feel, WITHOUT eating too many calories. Why do you think vegetarians are in such good physical form? Look around you, do you ever see a 400-pound vegetarian walking around? I strongly doubt it.

Now I'm not saying you need to stop eating meat. Myself, I eat plenty of meat. Next time you eat, have a small amount of meat, and eat two or three times the amount of vegetables as compared to the size of meat. Not only will this make you full, but you'll also be eating healthy and not consuming too many calories.

Another thing I need to mention. Atkins has this idea that humans emerged as hunters and meat was their primary staple. This is completely untrue. Atkins is not a historian and knows next to nothing about ancient history. Early humans were foragers; they ate seeds, nuts, berries, and any other plants they could find. They ate meat only when it was easy to allocate, such as when herds migrated towards their camps. Atkins thinks people were skinny because they ate meat. Wrong again. People were skinny because they were active. Life was precarious; people didn't have cars, they walked everywhere, and thus, burned off the calories they ate and could not possibly have excess weight. Nice try Atkins.

Low-carbohydrate diets have existed for decades now. Only recently have they begun to be seriously studied, since a few celebrities used the diet and now everyone is in on it. I find it humorous that literally tens of thousands of different research methods have been PROVEN by the AMA and other similar organizations to show that exercise and proper nutrition are the best way to lose weight, and yet as soon as ONE man (whose research is laughable) comes forth and states something else, everyone believes it. Atkins funds research which studies 12 people (yes, twelve). Too bad that for a study to be considered accurate you need at least 1000-1500 participants. Nice try again Atkins.

The last thing I'm going to mention is how to lose weight. Everyone, we already know how it works. Eat less, eat properly, and exercise. It's really that simple. I get tired of hearing about how people gorge on junk food, and then complain about how it's unfair that they're fat, like it's some sort of curse from the heavens. Get up and do something about it. You don't have to run a marathon to exercise, just GET ACTIVE! Walk a few laps around the neighbourhood, go walk the dog, ride a bike, jog lightly, play soccer with some friends, just do something! When you eat, you can eat whatever you want, just do it in moderation. You can have a piece of cake every so often, it won't kill you. Just don't eat the whole cake! The Atkins diet is not the answer you're looking for.

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Summary: The TRUTH about Dr. Atkins death
Review: It is astonishing to read the slam pieces here about Dr. Atkins so-called obesity and overweight condition at the time of his death. Here are the facts:
* He previously had a heart condition called cardiomyopathy -- a serious disease of the heart muscle which is unrelated to diet.
* He died of a head injury because of an accident falling on slippery ice and not of being overweight.
* His actual weight was 200 pounds when he was admitted to the hospital at the time of his accident. The erroneous reports of him weight 258 lbs was based on his weight at the time of his death. The extra weight was not fat, but an accumulation of body fluids linked to organ failure during his coma.
* His previous reported heart attack was due to a viral infection and not diet related. He spoke openly of his condition on various national news programs.
* The report that was released about him being overweight was leaked to the press by a group named "Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine", which is an ardent opponent of the Atkins diet. In short, they distorted his weight by reporting the weight at the time of death - 258 lbs, and not at the time of his admittance - 200 lbs...an obvious attempt to discredit and distort the facts surrounding Dr. Atkins death.
* A formal complaint has been filed by the Medical Examiner of New York regarding the suspicious leak of this information to the public by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine."
* The disinformation surrounding Dr.Atkins untimely death is politically driven by the AMA and other detractors of the diet.

Dr. Atkins book, New Diet Revolution has turned the AMA and other nutritional views upside down and has created a furor over the standard edicts of the medical profession. What is not said among the detractors of the Diet is that it is safe and it works. The information contained in this book will not only help you lose weight, it could save your life. The food industry, especially the bread and pasta industry have lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of the low carb revolution. Is it any wonder that this diet is under so much fire? Keep an open mind and read the book.

Rating:
Summary: Great diet ..it changed my life!!
Review: Initially I was sceptic of this diet and especially since I was an Indian (Asian Indian). My normal diet and Atkins suggestions was totally opposite or so I thought ..:-) I was totally wrong once I started the diet. I had so many options that I never had to drastically change my eating habits to adjust to the diet. I started the diet in the end of January and today after 12 weeks or so, I'm 28 pounds lighter am able to exercise regularly ( I'm now able to run continuously on the treadmill for 60 mins without any problems) and enjoy playing tennis and racquetball. My goal weight is still around 10 pounds lesser but I've decided to lose that weight slowly as now I'm feeling better and healthier like never before.
I would definitely recommend this book and the diet to anyone who has got a weight problem and would like to lose a lot of weight quickly !!