Rating: 
Summary: You'll be suprised
Review: This diet is very workable and effective. It is NOT dangerous as some people think. In fact, my doctor, after viewing the results of many of her patients who have tried this diet, has become very supportive. It takes willpower and a willingness to stick to it. I have lost lots of weight and the best news of all is that my blood lipids are the best they have been in my entire life. Cholesterol, triglycerides, LDLs are at an alltime low. We do periodic liver testing along with a lipid profile and the levels remain normal after many months. My glucose levels are also excellent. It takes some work but it becomes second nature after awhile because you feel great and have tons of energy. You must adhere to the 8 cups of water a day and it's very important to have some form of exercise program going. My wife and I both use this low carb diet and we both find it very satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: It ain't easy but it works
Review: I went on this low carb diet about 1 year ago, and lost an amazing 50lbs. I was peaking out at 223lbs and I am only 5'6" and got all the way down to 170lbs, in just a matter of a few months. I also excercise 3-4 times a week, but I was doing this as a fat guy too. The idea of cutting out the carbs, is getting your body into the state of ketosis, which can be checked by using keto sticks. The keto sticks cost about $... for 100 sticks, and change color as they are exposed to your urine. As long as you are in a state of ketosis you are burning your own body fat. The reading in this book is not the most interesting in the world, but when you are on the diet it is a great reference book and I found that many of Dr Atkins ideas make much more sense when you experience them yourself.
I have been on a low carb diet for almost a year now and I do eat more carbs than when I first started, but that is ok. As Dr Atkins says, you can start eating more carbs when you reach your ideal weight, the only thing you absolutely have to give up is sugar(nothing but carbs, no nutritional value). I might have gained 5-8 lbs back but let's face it, it's hard to avoid all carbs (fruit, vegatables, potatoes)but I know all I have to do is get back into the ketosis state and the lbs will disappear. I know a few people who have tried the diet but they didn't stick with it, because let's face it, loosing weight isn't easy, if it was there wouldn't be so many fat people and so many diet books on the market. I just didn't want to be one of those people who lose 50lbs and gain it right back. I'll tell you another thing, people notice when you lose weight and I don't know how many people have told me I look great and that's a really good motivator for sticking with it. One thing you will notice if you go on this diet, the grocery store shelves and fast food restaurants a full of carbohydrates. It's a tough diet to stick with, but I guarantee it works, and it will make you realize that the low fat diet is a crock. Dr. Atkins states any diet will help you lose weight at first, but the idea is keeping the weight off, and who wants to be hungry all the time. If you want to lose weight, get these books and go on this diet, remember the recipe for obesity is Fat + Carbohydrate = rapid weight gain. There's no such thing as being 1/2 on 1/2 off on this diet, but after a while it's easy to live without all the carbs. It's not the fat that makes you obese it's carbohydrates, on this diet you don't have to count calories, just grams of carbhydrates. Before doing this diet, I didn't know which foods were high carb and which were not but I learned quickly. Just look at the food labels when you go to the grocery store, you will be amazed to see how many carbs are being pumped into our systems. If you want to lose weight this is the way to do it.
Rating: 
Summary: He had a severe heart attack
Review: Dr Atkins recently suffered from a severe heart attack brought on by the diet he's pushing onto others. Yes I agree that simple carbohydrates should be avoided but the brain is fuelled by glucose. And considering protien cannot be converted to glucose by the body, limiting the amount of carbohydrates you eat limits the fuel your body has available. Also having done a lot of research on it, keotis is not a natural metabolic state, it's the state your body resorts to when it does not have enough fuel to function properly, and it can ultimately lead to dementia due to the brain slowly dying. While you are asleep your body does not use much fuel so glucose resources can be directed to the brain, but while you are awake the body and the brain have to fight for the limited glucose available.
So if you want to die of a heart attack or stroke, be unhealthy, and have your mind slowly slip away from you, this is the diet for you. If not then something high in complex carbohydrates, free of animal protiens (but full of plant protien), and low in fat, will make you healthy from the moment you start until the day you die (and it certainly won't be from a heart attack).
Rating:
Summary: A practical solution for the rest of us who hate low-fat.
Review: Does a low-fat diet work? yes. My friend thrives on one and I starve to death eating the same stuff. This diet allowed me to eat whenever i wanted, however much I wanted eating all foods within the confines of <20g carbs / day, no sugar, no caffeine.I'm 6'tall 180# and a martial arts instructor. SOMETIMES i get lazy in the winter and don't really work out w/ my students. I eat more during these months. So later in the spring I jump on this diet for 6 weeks and dump 15 to 20 pounds easily as well as purge my system from the normal sugar attack. If someone told you about a diet where the rules are that you never get hungry eating a large variety of foods anytime and no limits, how undisciplined would you have to be to not succeed in this? FDA, American Heart, and the rest of the dumbed-down herd - it's not a matter of whether you're gonna eat your low-fat words, it's only a matter of time. The rest of us are gettin' sick of you.
Rating:
Summary: The numbers do not lie
Review: It's very simple. Your blood pressure drops considerably, your good cholesterol goes up, your bad cholesterol goes down, your blood sugar stabilizes. The proof is in the blood test. Don't take anyone's advice, just invest two weeks of your life in this diet and see how it makes you feel. If you want proof that it works, get the blood tests done as the book suggests. And get your blood pressure checked. Numbers do not lie.
Rating: 
Summary: One Is The Lonliest Number
Review: This book is terribly long-winded. Anyone wishing to lose weight wants to know how THEY can do it. They (most) are not interested in the author's life story, medical experience, or other (boring) details. It seems as if half of the book is about Dr. Atkins himself. *yawn* Dr. Atkins says that this diet will work for 99 out of 100 people. I guess I am the 1 out of 100. I do not wish to get into any ongoing debates with those who think the diet is great. I KNOW people who have had success with this. I, however, did not. I followed the diet to the letter and after three weeks, I had stomach pains, was lightheaded, nauseous, constipated (sorry if you didn't want to know that), irritable, and generally never felt worse. This would've been slightly worth it if I would've lost weight. However, in three weeks, I lost ONE POUND. What has worked for me (before and since) is not pigging out and realizing that chocolate and butter are not food groups. *G* This diet has worked for some people, but just as different products work for different people, this diet will not work for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: My highest recommendation.
Review: There is much controversy over low-carb eating, ketosis and other facets that come into play with the Atkin's diet, but that's only because we've been instructed to eat high carb diets for so long that everything else "sounds" dangerous. Ketosis (ketosis lypolysis) is a natural metabolic state...the state of burning fat. The body goes into ketosis while we sleep, if you don't eat before you hop into bed. The brain functions on ketones, actually. Ketoacidosis is dangerous, but this is a totally different state with a similar-sounding name. I have three more things to say to those who begin the Atkin's diet. Drink plenty of water. This is necessary for great health anyway, but very necessary to keep the wastes moving through the kidneys effectively, and 64 oz of water a day will ward off constipation. Don't rush back into high carb eating after you lose the weight. You can have carbs, just don't go crazy and load up or you will gain weight. After all, if low carbs caused you to lose weight, doesn't it make sense that you shouldn't add them back in full force or you will gain? You can have a baked potato sometimes, or pasta sometimes. Just have a protein dish as your main course and a small side of your pasta. Lastly, please begin an exercise program after your induction phase of this diet. It will up your metabolism as you settle into your new weight, and your exercise program will keep the weight off, and allow you to add those foods back in that you missed while on the diet. Also, if you watch your scale and don't allow yourself to gain more than 5 pounds, you can easily go back to induction for 2-3 days at a time and you will never be more than 5 pounds overweight again. I was a big skeptic and I've done much research. The glycemic index of foods is extremely helpful during your maintenance phase. Do a search for glycemic index and you will find resources to help you pick and choose the carbs that are least likely to start the fat storing process in motion. If you are a diabetic, you should not be on this diet without your doctor's okay, and everyone really should have a checkup with their doctor before beginning this (or any other) diet. Just don't expect your doctor to endorse the Atkin's diet. Most doctors receive little to no education in nutrition. They are trained to diagnose your problem and give you either drugs or surgery to fix the problem. There is talk of destroying muscle tissue with high protein. This couldn't be further from the truth. Muscle tissue thrives on protein. This is a plus as you begin your exercise routine as well. Protein is absolutely necessary to promote weight loss *without* muscle loss during weight training or other strength exercise!
Rating: 
Summary: futuristic nutritional approach
Review: I found some of the negative reviews interesting. "This is BAD for your body, this is not a healthy plan, it will make your body work poorly". This is simply not true. More and more articles are coming out in the medical literature about glycemic index, the low-insulin approach and the detrimental effects of high carb diets. I wonder if the other reviewers have any knowledge of these topics.
My husband is overweight and has familial hypercholesterolemia. As a doctor and a concerned wife, I put the whole family on the Atkins diet, AFTER DOING EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON THE MATTER. The results were amazing. His BP dropped, as well as his cholesterol and blood sugar. But forget the results. If you have any knowledge of how body metabolism works, you'll know that this diet makes sense. It is a shame that our authorities take so long to catch up. Our food pyramid truly needs some changes, and this is not just me talking. Read about it on the latest medical journals! WHY 4 stars and not 5? The book dwells in long explanations of why this nutritional approach works (relevant, yes. But there are way too many repetitions.) I wish they had spent more time explaining the details of how to put it into practice. It would make the lives of us doctors easier!
Rating:
Summary: Simply compelling science
Review: After 30 years and hundreds of millions of dollars of research, the medical establishment has failed to show any link between dietary fat and weight gain, or for that matter, heart disease. Furthermore, no one can explain where the "low-fat" belief came from: apparently it has never had any foundation in science. Thirty years of pain and frustration, not to mention an incipient diabesity epidemic, have led many of the American public to become sceptical and despondent at ever gaining control of their health. Meanwhile, for thirty years Dr. Atkins has been prescribing what used to be accepted belief for diabetes and other endocrinary problems: the source of weight gain is carbohydrate, not fat, and his results have been undeniably successful. His books first gained attention during the early eighties, and were lumped among the other "high-protien" diet schemes which were quickly discredited. But Dr. Atkin's quiet conviction, many pages of scholarly research references, and consistently mounting anecdotal evidence have now built to a small mountain of persuasion which cannot be simply refuted. His theory is based on a commonsense understanding of the insulin cycle which has somehow escaped the researchers. He convincingly debunks the supposed risks of his program as far safer than the low-fat, high-carb recommendations currently in fashion. Earlier editions include more scientific background, particularly the fascinating fifteenth chapter on the heart, which expertly critiques the famous Harvard Nurses Study, among others. A bedrock of current dietary belief, this study completely ignored the effect of sugar on diet because the researchers "presumed" sugar had nothing to do with it, contradicting their own results. This chapter alone should open many scaled-over scientific eyes, and rightly cause much rethinking. I challenge you to read it with an open mind, and judge for yourself the evidence, based on strict science and observable results. Drawbacks: He has not made a clear enough distinction between a high-protien diet, which he nowhere directly advocates, and a low-carb diet, which he does. It is not necessary to follow his 4-step program or take expensive supplements, though these are helpful and recommendable. He is a practicing cardiologist, not a researcher, so he must rely on others to do the necessary research to develop credibility. He should drop the hyperbolic "revolution" title, which sounds like shallow promotionalism. His biggest setback has been to accuse the American Medical Association and American Heart Association directly of bad practice, which has turned a scientific debate into a blood feud, and slowed down acceptance of his theory. We have a long while to wait for the marketing system to provide affordable low-carb products. Ultimate take-away: low-carb is good science, and low-fat has been a 30-year old-wives tale. The medical establishment should drop their defensive posture, which only sets back the credibility of the scientific community and keeps us all in bondage to out-of-date beliefs. If you want a balanced controlled-carb diet with little explanation, go with Barry Sears' "The Zone". If you want to really understand and thereby control the mechanism behind weight loss, hypertension, heart disease and diabetes, Atkins' book is a medical watershed.
Rating:
Summary: Just-released medical studies show Atkins Diet successful
Review: I am a health-care professional who has now abandoned the ridiculous food pyramid I once advocated religiously. Following the food pyramid guidelines will set you up for life as an obese diabetic. The New Atkins Diet is one of a cluster of lower-carb, higher protein and fat diets that advocate an approach to fat-loss that is sensible and achieves results. You need to take the time to READ the information, not just assume from editorials that you know what is involved, or assume that eating meats and fatty foods results in the Atkins Diet. I recommend the New Atkins Diet in addition to the Schwarzbein Principle diet and the Fat Flush Plan. Each has modifications which makes rotating them good for variety as well as helpful in preventing plateaus. As a person who had been on the slender side for most of my life, I gave little thought to the intricacies of having to follow any particular diet. I simply ate what I pleased. In the early 1990's, as the R.N. supervisor of a large residential program for the mentally ill, I noted obesity to be one of the foremost conditions needing to be addressed among that population. Armed with what was then the cutting-edge information on nutrition, I advocated for the typical lower fat, moderate protein, higher carb diets, in addition to a walking program, for the residents. A local MD was also addressing obesity, and promoting the Atkins diet. This man had been obese himself, and followed the Atkins diet and lost a significant amount of weight. Several of the clients I had counseled on weight loss, who continued to gain weight, saw this doctor and followed the Atkins diet instead, and lost weight. One of the gentlemen had been well over 300 pounds, and lost significant amounts of weight, for the first time in his adult life. However, I dug in my heels and continued to promote what was the accepted protocol at that time, and as I was starting to gain weight for the first time in my adult life, adopted a low-fat, high carb diet as my response. I was trying not to be a hypocrite, and so practiced what I had been preaching to my clients. No matter how well I adhered to the diet, I continued to gain weight. So I went even further, myself, and adopted a low-fat vegetarian diet. I continued to gain weight, an average of 10 pound or more per year. I exercised to no avail. I suffered hair loss as well. I had no stamina, developed asthma, had acne breakouts, though I had never even had a pimple in my teen years, developed dry, flaky, skin, and lost all the luster to my hair and skin. I caught everything going around, though I had not been a "sickly" person before. When a simple fall resulted in a major fracture, I knew without a doubt that the nutrition program I had been following and advocating was a disaster. By this time most of the clients were following a higher protein diet, as I could not in good faith advise them to remain on the high carb, low protein diet. Finally, I got ahold of a copy of Dr. Diana Schwartzbein's "The Swartzbein Principle", as well as Dr. Atkins Diet, and Ann Louise Gittleman's "Eat Fat, Lose Weight" book. All advocated lower carb diets, higher protein, and higher fat intake, specifying Omega 3's and 6's, in place of margarine, veg oils, etc. The principle of preventing rapid rises in blood sugar, and so preventing the resulting high insulin output as a response, made perfect sense to me. The amount of research combined in these books indeed impressed me, and I finally acknowledged that the high carb, low fat diets promoted after the 1950's, plus all the changes from butter to margarine and veg oils, range-fed livestock and poultry to grain-fed, hormone-injected varieties were wreaking havoc with the quality of nutrition in the USA. Grain-fed livestock, poultry and eggs from grain-fed poultry have far less Omega-3 fat, and it is Omega-3 that signals satiety, as well as nourishes the skin, and is healthy for the internal organs. It is essential for emotional health as well, as outlined in The Omega-3 Connection, by Andrew Stoll MD, of Harvard University and a reaearch psychiatrist at MacLean Hospital, a leading psychiatric hospital in MA. With all the processed cereals touted as good nutrition for breakfast, incredibly lacking in any protein, and hailing eggs and butter as deadly evils, we were creating a country of obese diabetics by over-emphasizing grains, pastas, quick foods and goodies. The Atkins Diet was independently tested in several universities, and results just published days ago indicate it results in just what it claims: lowered cholesterol and triglyceride levels, reduced weight and body fat, sustained weight loss, no problematic hunger, reduced blood sugar levels, and no negative cardiac implications. Ann Louise Gittleman's Fat Flush Plan advocates for a bit more carb intake, and her suggestions of sprouted grain breads instead of floured breads allows an advantage in adding some grain to the diet. Ann Louise is no slouch in the nutritional research department, and combined with the wisdom and research in both Dr. Schwarzbein's books as well as Dr. Atkins' books, one would be able to work with all three and either rotate a month on each, for example, or borrow elements from each other for a variety in the menu, while still adhering to the basic principles of preventing rapid rise in blood sugar. Those who insist that Atkins Diet is bad, or makes you sick, may need to add a bit more carb, as different metabolic types need different amounts or ratios of carbs to protein. In conclusion, I feel that I can advocate for the Atkins Diet as part of a cluster of diets that includes The Fat Flush Plan and The Schwarzbein Principle diet.
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