Rating: 
Summary: the naysayers are NOT informed
Review: First I want to say that the Atkins diet has SAVED ME. I was not morbidly obese, but I was overweight, and I have struggled with Hypoglycemia all of my 24 years. The reason I am writing this review is because I heard two comments over the weekend on the same day that amazed me. The first was from a doctor who I will NOT see again). He asked me what I was eating and I told him I have been on Atkins for about two years. The first thing out of his mouth was that it wa not healthy and did not provide me enough fiber. Excuse me.....I guess those two salads a day, veggies, AND fiber supplement aren't giving me enough fiber. Nor are the low carb breads I eat, I guess. (???) The second comment was from my father's best friend. My father and his friend went on Atkins a few years ago, for about a month. They quickly went back to their old eating habits, and I didn't know why. Over the weekend when he made his comment to me, I found out. He said that he had gone to the hospital because he "went on Atkins and cut out all fiber". (isn't fiber one of the most important things about Atkins? it is carb-free and keeps you healthy.) Apparently his wife had "printed a bunch of stuff off of the internet" and my dad and his friend were eating bacon and eggs and cheese every day and calling it Atkins. He doesn't know I am on Atkins, and I didn't feel like an argument. He is an ignorant person anyway, and I don't care......Anyway, this book is a Godsend. It is well-written, and takes you through all phases of Atkins. In the back are enough recipes to get you started cooking (and I recommend cooking. You might even make your own recipes). Some of the editions even come with a $1 off coupon for any Atkins product. Mine even came with a tear-out carb counter card to take with me anywhere. This diet IS healthy. After your move through the phases and add carbs in you will see that it is truly the diet nature intended. Anyone who tells you that Atkins is high fat, low fiber, and dangerous probably had someone close to them go on their own version of the diet like my father and his friend.
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: A stop-gap solution, but for the long term?
Review: If you have an urgent need, this may work like a short-term fix, much like a medical drug. However, I'm uncomfortable doing this for the long term. Many find this method draconian, and not the most easy to do, and the results and benefits still questionable by the experts, who remain divided. Go back to basics, look at alternatives like "This Body This Life" from Asia, which seems like a down-to-earth, honest and practical approach for the long haul. No short cuts, but it works.
Rating:
Summary: For The Weak-Minded
Review: This seems to be a quick solution for fast weight loss. It isn't. The reason you are losing weight is simply because you are cutting down on food intake. The real solution to good health and weight maintenance is exercise and eating healthily. For crying out loud do not cut down on vegetables and fruit. I agree processed bread and sugar are bad for you, but that is because of the chemical processes. If you want to eat all the meat and eggs you want, as according to this diet, that is fine, but haven't you ever heard of clogged arteries? Fat intake this extreme is very bad for your heart in the long run. Quit looking for a quick way out and get off your lazy behind and exercise.
Rating:
Summary: I'm an Atkins convert
Review: I'm 37, male and like to exercise and play sports. When I was 25, I got overweight and decided it was time to do something about it. I read the low fat books and followed the approach. I actually had good success and lost 25 pounds, which put me at 180lbs. But I was younger, jogging 30 to 45 minutes almost daily on top of other activities. Then I got a desk job and soon after, a knee injury. Within 3 months I had regained ALL the weight back(this was 4 yrs ago). Since then, I have not been able to get the weight off. After healing I went back to my old ways, counting my fat calories. I tried jogging but found it hard to do every day. When you get older the body just doesn't recover that quickly. Then I decided to try Atkins last year about this time. I had no appetite but then I got bad headache, fatigue & constipation on the third day and went off the diet thinking this was nonsense. I then took the weight lifting route, as more lean mass turns up your resting metabolic rate. I put on some good muscle and after six months, felt better, more proportional, but no fat loss. During this phase I was reading Body Building for Men(1980 by Arnold Schwarzenegger (he was one fit guy!). In his nutrition section, he said that to reduce your weight, you need to eat less carbs, specifically, less potato and fruit and keep your carb intake between 60 and 100 grams. Hmm, Never understood this until I got the new Atkins book. I read the book carefully this time. Atkins really spells out the problem from a medical perspective. When you realize that two cups of concentrated orange juice you might have for breakfast is about 100 grams of carbs, it really puts things in perspective. The book inspired me to give this diet another try. This time I spent about two weeks just eating at the maintenance phase to let my body adjust to different ratio of carbs, protein & fat (I highly recommend this for people who find induction hard). Then, I reduced carbs to his recommended 20g. I did feel tired again for 72 hours but started to come around after that. I made sure I took a fiber supplement and multi-vitamin. No problems this time! I only drink water/soda water and some coffee with splenda. The critics jump all over ONE phase of this diet (induction) and yes, it is not balanced, but Atkins admits this is true. It's to counter the unbalance high carb diet that made you fat. Orange juice, cereal with skim milk, toast & jam is not healthy or balanced. Some of the negative comments are directed at Atkins himself, like he's trying to kill people. He was a cardiologist who had a great deal of knowledge on the subject of weight loss. He basically was doing his job, using this method to help his patients loose weight who were in high risk group. He obviously understands a great deal more about how the body works than some yuppy nutritionist who push herbs and juicing vegetables.
Well, I've read some pretty dramatic stories about weight loss here. I use to view Atkins as a 'fad' diet, now an Atkins convert, and looking forward to shedding these pounds finally! [...]
Rating:
Summary: Difficult at first... but quick results!
Review: If you enjoy eating carbs, this diet is going to be really hard for you... but the good news is, it works and it gets better with time. I'm not a big fan of meat, cheese, and eggs... basically EVERYTHING Dr. Atkins wants you to eat, but after two VERY hard days, it got easier, I stopped craving sugar, stopped carving carbs and saw weight loss right away. In the first week I lost 6 pounds and I didn't exercise once! It's a great diet. If you stick to it, it WILL work for you too. Good Luck!
Rating:
Summary: Khazar-El Truth
Review: Partake: the true ORIGINAL Atkins-El
Return to BEGINNINGS
eat in sacred HEALTH
grasshopper termite grub
wild PIG
BEFORE SLAVERY
many would hide
Atkins-EL is PROPHET
Yeah!
Rating:
Summary: Why take weight loss advice from someone who's overweight?
Review: May Dr Atkins rest in peace, but why would anyone take advice from someone who was overweight and out of shape?
Rating: 
Summary: One Year Later
Review: January 1, 2003, I started the Atkins diet. After two weeks I quit induction and went onto maintenance. I lost fifteen pounds in the first two weeks, and five more pounds in the following months (without trying). (At only 5' tall, 20 pounds makes a HUGE difference.) I have kept them off and don't feel deprived. Actually, I don't count carbs -- I just avoid carbs as much as possible and don't snack (which was previously all carbs anyhow). My calorie intake is the same as pre-Atkins.
Two months ago (11 months after I started Atkins) I had a check-up. My already pretty low cholesterol had risen by a point, but this consisted of a 8 point drop in LDL (bad cholesterol) and a 9 point rise in HDL (good cholesterol). My triglycerides dropped 20 points.
This isn't the diet for everyone, but it worked for me.
I give the book only a "4" because it's sloppily organized.
Rating:
Summary: Atkins Diet
Review: Alas, what stupidity exists among the human race. The Atkins Diet, which is the most popular of all high protein diets, is simply a fad diet. People claim that they have been successful using this diet, but in reality, this diet does far more harm than good. There is simply so many negative things I could say about the Atkins Diet and I will probably not convince anyone to get off of it, so I will say only the following. Dr. Atkins, who died just about a year ago, weighed about 250 pounds and had for a long time suffered from heart problems. This man who preached an absolutely pathetic diet must have been so foolish to believe that he would do anyone any good at all. It should have been enough evidence that he was obese and highly unhealthy, but apparently this "Dr." wasn't intelligent enough to realize his dietary ignorance. It may be very hard to accept for some people, but the healthiest diet is that of a vegan. The Atkins Diet is simply working in the wrong direction. Anyone willing to follow it is foolish, misinformed, and downright imbicilic.
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