Rating: 
Summary: mediocre
Review: This book isn't any better than Dr. Atkins' original book. There isn't a whole lot of new information, so if you already own the original book...don't waste time to get this one too.However, if you don't own one of Dr. Atkins' books...this is the one for you simply because it's a little more up to date.
Rating: 
Summary: Compulsive Overeater/Food addict
Review: Thank you Dr. Atkins. You have given me my life back. Why did it take me so long to try this diet? I certainly had tried every other diet at least three or four times. People think this is just a diet book but it is so much more than that. Only a portion of the book is about the actual diet itself. Dr. Atkins explains in detail why we can't succeed on diets and why we have these cravings. All my life I thought I had some sort of character defect. That I had no willpower. That I was weak or irresponsible. Why can't I stick to a diet?? The cravings are real and intense. I craved cake, donuts, and other items like this as if I was a drug addict. I couldn't fathom the idea of giving them up so I didn't care how many people told me atkins worked. I wasn't going to give up bread, pasta, cake etc. I was an addict. I finally got desperate enough and obese enough that I was ready to have a gastric bypass surgery and it was my doctor who told me that even for the gastric bypass patients, after the sugery the diet they are given is basically the atkins diet...low carb. He told me that I needed to try it first and see if it did not help relieve me of these horrible cravings that I couldn't beat. I had tried everything else. I really thought I had a mental disease that kept me overeating. Dr. Atkins explains very well that some of us are insulin resistant or have hyperinsulinemia. There is a biological reason for why we crave sweets and other foods like this. You will go through withdrawal for at least a week but when it's over with you will be free!!!!!! For the first time in my entire life I am free of these cravings, I am not hungry at all. I have to remind myself to eat. He taught me so much about how my body works. Now I know that if I suddenly find myself craving sweets again, that means something I ate triggered it. I can go back and find that there were hidden carbs in that food or maybe too much sugar but there is ALWAYS a reason if I start to have cravings again. Dr. Atkins taught me that intense cravings are NOT normal and that you do not have to live with them every day. You do not have to go through your life craving constantly and always being hungry. Not only that you will get your life back. Your energy level will improve. I never realized that I was walking around in a carb fog. I was depressed, tired, in pain, with mood swings and no energy at all. After only a few weeks I felt like I had been cured of a terminal disease. From someone who has been on diets for 15 years, this is not a diet. This is a way of life. People that say you gain the weight back don't understand that this is not a diet...it's a long term way of life. They gained the weight back because they started eating their addictive foods again which started the craving cycle back up again and took them back into that hell. Alcoholics don't get sober and then go have a beer, ok? You have to really read this book though. Dr. Atkins has the answer. He is the only person who knew what was wrong with me and cured it. Something Weight Watchers, Meridia, Overeaters Anonymous,in-patient treatment programs and therapists could not ever do for me. He tells you in intricate detail the do's and don'ts and if you accept what he offers you will be free of these cravings and get your life back. He has everything in this book from how to deal with your cravings if they come back, how to deal with things emotionally etc. This book saved my life, literally. Dr. Atkins is my angel in heaven. I hope that if you suffer from compulsive overeating or a binge eating disorder you take the time to read this book through, every word, twice and then give it a try. Get online too and find the "active low carb support forum" and find others on atkins. There is a way out of this hell. You are not mentally deficient or lacking in willpower. You have a biological disorder and there is a cure.
Rating: 
Summary: Atkins is only short-term..
Review: I tried the Atkins diet, incurred many headaches and followed the book's guidelines to the nose.. I did lose 12 pounds the first month, and struggled to remain "long-term" on the maintenance phase.. After all the stomach sickness and headaches, I decided to start adding a "moderate" amount of complex carbs in my daily diet, and in two months time I gained the 12 pounds back, plus 6 more!! I gained more weight back, yet I ate less carbs than what I did before I started the diet.. The diet does work, however you and you're body will suffer trying to remain on this diet for more than a few months.. And when you finally do start eating a "moderate" amount of carbs, you gain it all back, plus more!! For dieting, the most luck that I have had was with a book called the "Rotation Diet". This actually worked for me, I lost more weight, and the results were more long-term. The maintenance period and breaks also make the diet easier to sustain with.., and when you quit the diet all together, you don't gain it back like I did with the Atkins. If your goal is a "short-term" weight loss, it may be right for you, howeve the diet and weightloss is not a long-term solution.
Rating: 
Summary: "nay-sayers" are misinformed...probably didn't read the book
Review: I gave the book four stars.....I agree with some of the other reviewers that it could've been a "better read", more simply worded, and shorter, BUT being that it is a factual diet book, (not for entertainment purposes) the information is EXCELLENT and IT WORKS!!! Many people, including those in the medical field are still misinformed about Atkins. If you read and follow the book (many people don't, they just stop eating carbs altogether and call it "Atkins"), it will work and be healthy. In fact, even in the first two weeks, called "Induction", the strictest phase of the program, you are supposed to eat carbs (mostly salad and veggies, along with protien), just a much lower amount and healthier type than "normal" for an overweight American. It is not a "protien only" diet, and you don't eat bacon every day (in fact bacon, along with other highly processed foods, is not recommended because of the preservatives in it); it is a balanced diet, but much lower in the carbs, especially sugar and junk food, that the typical American diet is largely made up of. I read the whole book and lots of reviews and talked to my doctor before I started the diet, and I am doing fine. I started the diet in March, I am 5'2', and was 160+ lbs., had pain in my knees and feet, tiredness, was growing out of all my clothes....by mid-May, I was down to 140 pounds, my feet and knees no longer hurt, I have had to buy 2 sizes smaller clothing, and I have much more energy. I have slowed my weight loss, and am now starting an exercising program to help change my body shape and continue this healthy lifestyle. Now that I am in the "Ongoing Weight Loss" phase, I do eat a few more carbs, but healthy ones like veggies, salad, seeds, nuts, some fruits, and some bread. When I read the book, what struck me as making sense, is thinking about how the human body has evolved throughout time. After all those thousands of years hunting (meat) and gathering (raw veggies and non-refined carbs - fruits, seeds, and nuts) and drinking water (not soda, sugary juices, and milk) our bodies are naturally evolved to work with these types of natural fuels; not a bunch of white refined flour, and tons of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. I believe the abundance and over-use of refined carbs in many of our convienience foods are a huge reason why the American people are such an overweight group. Many Atkins DOUBTERS (who have not read the research) say all you lose is water weight and muscle tissue and that tons of people just gain the weight back after Atkins......well, just the opposite is really true, and that is addressed in the book and here. Initially you do lose some water weight (just a couple pounds are water weight) as with ANY diet, and Atkins even tells people this in the book; but if you are doing the program right, you will not lose muscle tissue, in fact, you will start building it - which we all know helps increase metabolism and burn fat faster. Also, the reason people start gaining weight after Atkins is just that....there is no "after"; Atkins is a lifestyle change, if you stop doing it and go back to eating way too many carbs for your particular metabolism, of course you will gain the weight right back. Other diets do that same thing (if you are on a low calorie diet, and then when you get to your goal weight, you go right back to the number of calories you were eating before, you will gain it all back)...but most of them don't offer a long-term maintenence plan - BUT Atkins book(s) explains in detail the "Lifetime Maintenence" phase of the program, and how to find the right level of carbs to maintain (neither lose more nor gain back) the weight you have achieved in a healthy way (no yo-yo dieting) for the rest of your life. Sorry for the long post, but when people are misinformed, I like to give them as much correct information as possible. Please read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution for more info if you are interested. It really does make sense and it works.
Rating:
Summary: Wow such ignorance here!
Review: Wow ! Just wanted to put this in the 1 star catagory as another side to this. Every review from this catagory has been filled with complete ignorance of the actual aktin's diet. Any of the people actually READ the book? I think they read the induction phase and think thats the whole diet, all you can eat for the rest of your life. Has not anyone read the recent scientific articles and research being done that back up these principles? Some people seem to think Aktin's diet is stuffing steak and lard in your face every hour. Good grief. I know this diet or lifestyle works. If done as intended. I've lost 120 lbs.on it and have maintained for 4 years,eating on the maintence plan. It's just typical human behaviour though to not get the correct facts and then subsistute rumour and gossip for a science backed formula. Old habits and old ways of thinking die a long slow death. My suggestion? READ the book front to back. If that's too long for some people to get through, or to many 25 cent words, give it up. And give up reviewing a book you havent read. As was once said " Shut your mouth, your ignorance is showing."
Rating:
Summary: Science of Atkins
Review: Duke University researcher Eric Westman, MD, made headlines last year when he reported that people not only lost more weight on the Atkins diet than on a standard low-fat diet, but their cholesterol and triglyceride levels improved. Westman tells WebMD that randomized, controlled studies published since then confirm these findings. Among them: Last May, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania reported that study participants following the Atkins diet lost slightly more weight over six months than people on conventional low-fat diets. The low-carb, high-protein diet was associated with greater improvement in some risk factors for heart disease, but there was no difference in weight loss between the two diets at one year. The study included 63 people and was reported in The New England Journal of Medicine.
In April, University of Cincinnati investigators reported that women following a low-carbohydrate diet for six months lost more weight than women following a low-fat diet. Writing in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, the researchers concluded that the low-carb diet appeared to have no negative effect on cardiovascular risk.
A small study reported in the Journal of Pediatrics last March showed that teens on a low-carbohydrate diet lost more weight than those on a low-fat diet. The researchers reported that, contrary to their hypothesis, the diet did not appear to harm cholesterol levels over a 12-week period.
Rating:
Summary: Good for perspective, but not for everyone.
Review: With low-carbohydrate and low-sugar diets gaining popularity, books like these have become staples of people seeking a quick fix with serious health and weight problems. In my own personal quest to live a healthier lifestyle, I read a number of these popular diet books in order to gain a better perspective. This was one of them, and from the beginning I had mixed feelings about it. For starters, and Dr. Atkins is the first to point this out, this is not a long-term diet solution. It is a "quick fix, no hunger" plan for people who really need one. What initially turned me off is that it replaces carbs with fat, lots of it. But he goes on to describe how the body digests and processes fats, sugars, and carbs. I founds this fascinating. What I gathered from this is that refined sugar and white, refined flour are our worst enemies, and this has been backed up by countless other diet books. What I liked about this book is the insight it gave me into carb-counting and moderating sugar intake. I will not testify to how effective the program is, but I was impressed with the ease of the diet to follow. Since you are still eating regular meals and regular portions, it is easier to follow because you are not hungry all the times. Take it as a rule- starvation diets NEVER work! But what I didn't like was the fact that, without certain carbs prohibited in this book, athletic activities are more difficult and you get tired faster. I also am curious as to how people with different genetic makeups would respond to this diet. If is definitely not the diet of choice for athletes, moderately overweight people, or people seeking long-term results. It is better, I imagine, for diabetics and the obese who need to lose weight fast. I read this book just to get perspective, and I got just that. There are some good points covered, and as a whole, I like the idea of the "no hunger" weight loss plan. But I never saw it as a long term solution to bigger health problems, and I never buy into the hype. The book is easy to follow, and easy to use as reference. Overall, a recommended read.
Rating:
Summary: Don't turn your body into a cemetery
Review: Eating too much meat will increase the chance of your exposure to hazardous chemicals (used in the meat industries). What we need is to go back to nature and look how other animals are living ""((( THEY EAT ONE THING AT THE TIME )))"" in addition they run to get their food. never seen a lion eating his cooked meat spreading BBQ sauce on it while watching the Game on TV. Atkin diet will turn ur body into a grave yard that stink, don't forget being depressed (Karma never die)
Rating:
Summary: Pow!
Review: I am 58 and had been gradually gaining weight for years, even though I exercise regularly at a gym. I had some cancer surgery at age 53 and because of that and my advancing age had figured that my weight gain and loss of energy was just a normal cycle in growing older. I decided to try Atkins when my wife bought the book and he said you would regain energy you thought you could never see again. Hell, that was worth two weeks of trying. I started at 213 pounds with a target weight of 195. The first three or four days were tough but after that it was not so bad. To make a long story short, I have lost 35 pounds, weigh less than I have since I was in my 20's, and have more energy than I can remember in many years. I am an animal at the gym! My weight loss occured over 3 months. Now, I must say, that I don't adhere strictly to Atkins now that I am in maintenance phase....I eat some potatoes, bread, etc. But I have an extremely high exercise regimen (10 hrs week, hard). I avoid my old nemesis, chocolates, chips, pastas...ie empty carbs. Generally I average about 90 carbs a day including a couple glasses of milk. I am not gaining any weight back. And it is easy for me to restrict carbs if I gain an ounce or two. I probably have my lowest body fat percentage ever. Oh, and I have been able to discontinue the blood pressure medication I had been on. Not bad, eh? I would give this a try if you've got some try left in you!
Rating:
Summary: Great Diet, book is so.. so..
Review: Having failed to control my weight for over a decade, I started the Atkins plan with some skepticism. After 3 months and 40 pounds of weight loss, I have never felt better. I believe this has book has added years to my life.
Unfortunately, the writing style is poor and boring. This book could have been written in 100 pages.
In summary, its not an enjoyable read, but the benefits are tremendous.
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