Rating: 
Summary: Beware the Vegans trying to shove their religion on you
Review: There was a review of this book above talking about some teenager dying. This sounds like the classic scare tactics that the vegans use to try to force their religion on people by telling them that eating meat and dairy is bad for you. Humans evolved as hunters and our natural food is animal flesh and fat, not carbs. Carbs mangle our metabolism and are unnatural to us. Vegans are responsible for perpetrating the "low fat" myth and have cause much pain and suffering to millions over the last 50 years by rigging scientific studies and outright faking science regarding fat. The Atkins diet saved my life - 126 lbs later I have normal cholesterol, normal blood sugar and feel better at 41 than I did when I was 21 - kind of reverse aging! This book and its lifestyle is a godsend! Ignore the crackpot vegans - their religion is bad for your health and is against nature.
Rating: 
Summary: Several unanswered health issues
Review: The diet works in reducing weight, hence the stars.The book doesn't however, address fundamental health questions. It deals with some obvious ones, but doesn't mention that the diet can double the risk of certain cancers, esp. meat-sensitive cancers, like colon cancer. The link between animal protein and certain cancers is as solid as the link between smoking and lung cancer. Stomach and esophageal cancer are linked to populations that do not consume sufficient fruit (there is little or no fruit on the Atkins diet). Foods that are known to prevent cancers, such as fruit, yellow and orange vegetables and beans are drastically reduced under Atkins. Supplements cannot make up for this. As mentioned, the high protein foods recommended for these diets are animal foods. These foods must be cooked. Cooking destroys nutrients (one of the main reasons diets don't work in the first place; the body is continually hungry, not for fuel, but for nutrients, which are lacking in cooked food, so it keeps craving food). Animal proteins contribute to heart disease, immune dysfunction, colon and reproductive cancer, prostate enlargement, diabetes, and a host of less serious conditions. Many people here argue in their reviews that their cholesterol levels have decreased on the diet. True! But it turns out your cholesterol level is not as good an indicator of cardiovascular health as is your homocysteine level. It's not the cholesterol in your blood that's bad, it's the cholesterol stuck to your artery walls that's dangerous. Many heart attack victims have "normal" serum cholesterol levels. The above is largely compiled from medical research readily available from the internet. I love meat and would love the diet to be beneficial (I know that the weight loss is beyond doubt), but I need to have satisfactory counter-arguments regarding the above before I proceed. Atkins has addressed some health concerns in his book, but none of the above. If anyone can address any of those concerns, please e-mail me at lkratochvil@hotmail.com - I would be very grateful. Best regards from London.
Rating:
Summary: 1 yr later and it's the best thing I've ever done for myself
Review: Well I can't believe it's been a year already! If someone would have told me this time last year that I could be sitting here 71 pounds less I would have not so politely asked them to have their head examined. It seemed too good to be true!
This time last year I was 252 pounds (a tight size 22) and at the rate I was gaining (about 10 pounds a year) I was well on my way to 300. My height allowed me to prolong the denial because people still can't believe it when I tell them what I used to weigh, a 5' 11" frame hides weight gain well - up to a point. But believe me my body knew the truth all too well! I was only 31 years old but suffered from excruciating pain in my heels every time I took my first step in the morning, my feet hurt so bad I would be doubled over in pain to the point of tears. I was on an acid reflux medicine, I had GERD so bad I went to the emergency room 2 times thinking I was having a heart attack. My back would go out about 5 times a year and I would be "paralyzed" for about 2 weeks. I was only 31!!! What the heck awaited me when I was 50 or 60 - would I even MAKE it to 50!?! I had open heart surgery when I was 6 years old and they corrected a congenital defect - they had saved my life and for all intents and purposes I was normal - and here I was throwing away all of their hard work and skill and condeming my heart to a taxing existence!
The thing that really did it was when my father said (not meaning to hurt me) that I wasn't his little girl anymore and that he was very concerned about my weight. I thought "what do you mean I'm not your little girl?!?! It's still me under all of this weight!!And I'm miserable to boot! My husband and I were thinking about trying to start a family, but I had no energy just to keep myself moving much less chase after a child. I would come home from work, eat dinner and collapse on the couch. I was afraid that if I got pregnant that would only add more weight on to me (then how the heck would I get THAT off too!)and how could I possibly function enough to take care of a child?!?!
I saw one of our MIS guys here at work who only comes in occasionally and he had lost 60 pounds!! At first I thought he was sick because that's the only way I knew you would lose so much weight in so short a time but he told me he had done it with Atkins. Then I talked to a friend's girl friend over New Year's Eve, she spoke of how she had done Atkins and lost 30 pounds easily. I then threw myself into researching Atkins. I read the reviews here for New Diet Revolution and saw that there were basically 2 kinds:
1) People who had done it, were successful and totally changed their lives (the vast majority) and
2) People who didn't understand what the heck they were doing - it was obvious they hadn't read the book or really committed to making it work.
I ordered the book.
Until the book came I cut out sugar, bread, rice and other obvious carbs I had learned about on the Atkins website. When the book came I read with a determination I hadn't felt for years. I had also ordered the Winsor Pilates DVD's and vowed to make 20 minutes for myself each day. On January 12th 2003 I started induction according to the book and tried to make it through the Pilates DVD. I could do only about 30% of the moves the way you're supposed to the rest I had to do the "modified" version. I forced myself to get on a scale again - we didn't even own one because I wouldn't allow such "things" in the house - why face the truth? I had to use my parent's so every other week or so I would go to their house and I couldn't believe it but IT WAS WORKING!!
In 2 weeks I had lost 13 pounds! Then all of a sudden a month had gone by and with it 20 pounds were gone - there was a light at the end of the tunnel. My acid reflux stopped - a 3/4 bottle of the prescription sits in my medicine cabinet! My feet stopped hurting and my pants and rings were getting loose! Now I could do 50% of the Pilates DVD the way you're supposed to. My backaches and headaches were a thing of the past! I could wear regular shoes again without orthotic insoles!!! I actually feel like I could handle having a child!!!
2,3,6 months went by in a flash and the pounds fell off too! Somthing more profound was happening too! I started to love myself again, I started to feel in control of my destiny.
So here I sit today - one year later weighing 181 - and only 23 pounds left to my goal, in size 14 pants (loose), my rings are ready to fall off, my aches and pains have vanished, that Pilates DVD is a breeze now (100% the way you're supposed to do the moves), my self confidence and self worth has reappeared, we're comtemplating starting a family this year, I'm Daddy's little girl again, and I've helped my brother and many friends find their way to the Atkins way of eating.
I only wish Dr. A was around to thank in person, he truly saved my life!
Rating: 
Summary: Do your homework please!
Review: To all of those who had negative comments regarding the Atkins diet, I would advise them to all read the book. I have read so many misconceptions from reviewers that do not do their homework. 1) Vegetables are allowed. Actually you eat more vegetables than you would on a normal diet because on other diets you are too busy trying to eat fruit, yogurt, cookies, pasta, rice, potatoes, and ice cream. 2) Moderate amounts of protein is allowed. No where in his book does he suggest eating 5 cheeseburgers or a pack of bacon a day. 3) Induction is the most restricted stage, which jump starts weight loss. After this phase (a minimum of 2-weeks) you can add more carbs to your diet. You should not gain weight ever again if you make it through all 4 stages of the program (ultimately Lifetime maintenance) because you will know your daily carb limits. And yes you can cheat a little (especially holidays) but you must know that you have to get back on the wagon again. As with all diets, you have to make a life change you cannot go back to the same old habits and expect the same results. Atkins = moderate amounts of carbs, exercise, vitamin supplements (as with all diets), and yes--VEGETABLES! Works for me, I've lost 10 pounds (since 1/1/04) and counting. Slow heart disease? I say no! Being overweight for long periods of time = slow heart disease. DO YOUR HOMEWORK (as with all diets)! & GET YOUR DOCTORS ADVISE!
Rating: 
Summary: Good way to die of heart disease
Review: Stop. Get ahold of yourself. You know this is another fad. So what if he is a doctor? There are a million more like him. He just figured out how to get rich off of your bad self image. Just eat a healthy, balanced diet, and get a fair ammount of exercise. Do it for the rest of your life. Or follow this diet, lose a few pounds, gain it back after your body adjust to the diet and then die young of heart disease.
Rating:
Summary: It works!
Review: I lost 175 lbs in one year on this diet. You have to work at it and can't give in to sweets. And you need to get off your butts and exercise! I wiegh 175 lbs (half the man I use to be) and have never been more fit. And for some reviewers who don't check facts, DR. Atkins died from falling on the ice, not a heart attack. He had a heart attack several years ago, but not related to diet. (Just like John Ritter)
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying and easy to stick to
Review: My sister and I started on the Atkins plan in February 2002 after the death of our stepfather from lung cancer, which was made all the more painful to watch due to his extreme obesity. In the past, we tried the agony of counting calories, Weight Watchers, The Zone and many other popular plans out there. The result was gaining back what we lost plus a few extra pounds to go with it. When we started Atkins, we weighed 350 and 410 lbs respectively. After almost eleven months, we have lost a total of 200 pounds combined and are still going strong. Everyone wants to know our secret and we continue to emphasis that our success is because we did the research and READ THE BOOK. Also, there are tons of low carb substitutes that now exist that didn't just a year ago when we started including bread, pasta, sweets (lots of sugar free chocolate)and much more. These substitutes are carried in health food stores and more recently, we've found many of them at the local grocery store. Prices are high, but they are continuing to drop as the demand increases for low-carb foods. The key is knowing how to read food labels and how to figure out net carbs. So for all those just getting started, hang in there. Once you are into the induction phase, your cravings for "bad" carbs really does go away and you are left eating delicious food including "good" carbs and protein that has flavor and really satisfies. It will take another year for us to reach our goal weight of 170, but this is the closest that we've ever come to it. Yes, we have our times when we've fell "off the wagon," most recently during our holiday vacation. But each time, we just can't wait to go back to the induction phase and start again. Good luck!
Rating: 
Summary: Just as Punishing & Unrealistic as Low Fat Diet
Review: Like a lot of 30-something American males, I have 20 pounds to lose. Even though I work out five days a week, I still can't seem to take it off, mainly because I tend to overeat at meals and give in to junk food too often. I tried this diet and it didn't work for me...I made it five days. Mentally, I felt like a thick fog had come over me. I literally couldn't think or concentrate at all. At the gym, I had no energy to lift or run on the treadmill. I usually run three miles, but after five days on Atkins, I couldn't even make it a half-mile without exhaustion. So for me it's back to basics. Three reasonable-sized meals a day, counting calories and hitting the gym hard. And no snacks in between. Yes, it's painful, but not as painful as this diet, at least for me. And good luck to everyone in 2004 on their weight goals, no matter what method or diet you use!
Rating:
Summary: Give me my carbs (and my Health!)
Review: High protein, low carb diets are nothing new. In fact, they've gone in and out of vouge since approximately the 1860's. They SEEM to work at first, because one does lose weight. The trouble is, this type of eating puts the body into a state called Ketosis, which basically means the body is unable to properly metabolize fat, due to a lack of carbohydrates! So it starts feeding off of muscle tissue for energy.
Carbs are needed to metabolize fat for energy, and without the proper amount of carbs,you will tire out more quickly when exercising than someone who has an adequate carb supply.In fact,the human body needs on average about 300 grams of carbohydrates a day. 60 grams a day are needed just to maintain proper nervous system function.The simple carbohydrates found in fruits and vegetables are quickly used by the body. Complex carbs,found in starchy foods,are stored in the body until needed for energy.If they aren't called on for energy,you gain weight.
Much of the weight lost on a low carb diet is water weight (mostly from muscle). In fact, for every two pounds lost on a high carb diet, 1 pound of it is muscle! Hardly a good trade off for anyone.
If you're considering this type of diet, consider this instead..eat less, do more! In fact, I lost 20 pounds in two months simply by doing more and eliminating fast food.(I've maintained the same bodyweight for the past 7 years, even though I've had fast food for lunch every day. How is this possible? Activity level!)The only other change I made to my diet was cutting back to one soda a day and drinking water, fruit juice, or a sports drink the rest of the day. But there would have been no way I could keep up my activity level by robbing my body of carbohydrates.
If you're obese (or even if you're not),see your doctor about and exercise/diet program. It's better to lose a pound every week or two than to lose it too rapidly. (People who lose it rapidly often put it back on).That may seem like a slow way to go about losing it-and it is-but it's simply not worth the risk to your health for a quick fix. (and didn't Dr. Atkins die from heart attack?)
Eat Less/Exercise: Good
Ketosis: Bad!
Rating:
Summary: Our whole family is on Atkins
Review: I have lost over 55 lbs with Atkins and even more impressively have kept that weight off even over the recent holiday season. On most diets, we have lost weight only to put it right back on again.Another thing; the weight we lost was true fat, not just water and muscle as with most diets.Ou daughter is also on the program has lost weight and is more alert. As a side benefit, school became easier for her and she is now getting straight A's in college! Another bonus is that her new figure has attracted a new and exciting love in her life.Great program. Highly recommended.
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