Rating: 
Summary: Amendment to previous review
Review: To briefly recap my previous review: I lost 130 lbs. on the Zone diet, I still have 100 more to go, but I have been on a plateau for the past year. I then switched to the Atkins diet, and lost 8-10 lbs. in one week. I believe most of that weight was water weight. For the past 6 days I have been unable to lose any weight at all, despite keeping my carb consumption well under the 15-20 grams per day recommended by Dr. Atkins. I am in ketosis, which Dr. Atkins claims is a sure sign of burning fat, but nothing is showing up on the scale. The worst part, though, is that this diet is, to put it bluntly, GROSS. I'm sick of eating nothing but eggs, cheese, meat, and fat. The tiny amount of vegetables I'm consuming (about 1 cup of broccoli per day) is not enough to make the diet bearable. I feel sick to my stomach most of the time. This is NOT a diet I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. I've decided to give the Zone another try. The Zone IS a diet that I could easily do for the rest of my life. I have never felt more energetic, more healthy, more just plain GREAT than I did on the Zone. I was never hungry, and I didn't have a single stomach problem, ever. I'm not hungry on the Atkins diet either, but I just can't eat this way. My gut is telling me (both literally and figuratively) that the Atkins diet is not healthy. A person needs fruits and vegetables; it's as simple as that. I spoke with a Zone counselor today; she advised me to cut down slightly on carbs, and slightly increase fat. This is the same thing Dr. Sears (the "inventor" of the Zone) told me in a chat room recently, and it is closer to the Atkins approach, but it still permits me enough fruits and vegetables to allow me to feel like a normal, healthy human being. My mistake was that I didn't give this a fair chance; I just switched over to Atkins, lured by the promise of super-fast weight loss. So now I am going to give it a fair chance. I just have to have faith that this will eventually break my impasse. Do keep in mind that I lost 130 lbs. on the Zone. That's a lot more weight than most people have to lose. I would urge anyone who wants to lose weight to give the Zone a try first; it is the most sensible, intelligent, pleasant way of eating I have ever found. Sure, I still occasionally missed pasta, pizza, ice cream, and all the other "goodies" on the Zone, but the fact is, after I eat those things, I feel terrible, so it's not as if eating those things is nothing but wonderful. At least on the Zone I feel wonderful after I eat, and my hunger is satisfied. That's a more than fair trade-off. I'm still giving the Atkins book three stars because it may well work for some people. I do think that limiting carbs is the only way to lose weight. But the Zone does this too, only in a more sensible, pleasant way. If I can be of further help to anyone, or if anyone wants to follow up on my progress, feel free to email me. Steve
Rating: 
Summary: Got a Kidney Donor?
Review: Sigh...never fails, people will believe anything...especially when it comes to diets. And now that every celebrity in the world is becoming a walking waif (or is it a walking corpse) because of the Atkins diet, it really is becoming a "hit"...there are 2 sides pro-atkins and pro-health...The Atkins diet starts off with the assumption that carbohydrates are evil...which is beguiling to me because the first people (and Im not talking adam and eve) had a carbohydrate diet because they were food foragers....Western Culture is attacking everything it can about diet...except for the right answer. There are diets saying that carbs are bad, sugar is bad, fat is bad, protein is bad, carrots are bad...its preposterous. What is bad? Not having a well-balanced meal and not having a healthy lifestyle. Meaning having a exercise regime that focuses on muscle toning and aerobics, drinking 8 glasses of water a day, not drinking or smoking, and avoiding stress...ohh and having faith in whatever religion you believe is a big factor as well. The Atkins diet claims that carbohydrates are the cause for hunger, which will then cause you to overeat and thus gain weight. So by that logic, if you eliminate carbs and increase protein and fat intake to satisfy hunger instead, your body will thank you for it by losin weight without food cravings. What is the diet? Thick fat steaks with slabs of melting butter, crisp bacon, eggs, thick cream, mayonnaise-based salad dressings, fried pork rinds and, rich desserts like cheesecake and mocha pie. And were supposed to believe that this diet is safe because we lose weight from it...Anorexics lose weight from starvation and bulimics lose weight from vomiting, but is that safe? No and neither is Atkins. Eating as much protein and fat as you want is unsafe and unhealthy. Why has Atkins not be labeled as unsafe? Well for one, it has...but since Atkins is "new" meaning it has just started to become a fad within the last 5 years...the long-term results are unknown...but use your brain...high fat and high-protein and low-fiber diets have been linked to heart disease and cancer...but because you will be skinny when you die of colon cancer, thats supposed to be okay? Atkins makes the erroneous claims that ketosis is the key: Without incoming carbs, your body first burns its carbohydrate stores, and then the protein in its lean muscle tissue for energy, both of which release a lot of water. Your body also starts burning some fat in an inefficient way that creates toxic by-products called ketones. These build up in your bloodstream and need to be processed through your kidneys to be eliminated....this is scary. The major lab diagnostic for discovering anorexia is that ketosis is present...when we starve ourselves, ketones are then in our blood and our urine. Atkins diet is an anorexic diet except minus not eating. Look at all the people on the Atkins diet...they have no muscle mass...even Jennifer Aniston pre-Atkins had muscles...post-Atkins she is just bone. When one starves themself...the first thing that is depleted is our muscle...People thinking they are losing weight...they are! But they arent losing fat as much as they are losing little fat and all their muscle. Too many ketones in your body can cause dizziness, headaches, mental confusion, nausea, fatigue, sleep problems and bad breath. Also, high protein intake causes your body to lose calcium, so add weakening bones to the list...So while Jenn Anison looks slim now, when she turns 50 she will have osterporosis among other things. Your brain and body are designed to get energy from carbohydrates, anything else would be abnormal food, especially ketones. Ketosis, as I said before, is a sign that your body is going into starvation mode. When your body thinks it's starving, it slows down the metabolism rate in order to conserve its fuel and will eats at its own muscle tissue to get at the carbs stored there as glycogen. The worse part, after you quit the diet, your body fights to turn every bit of food you eat into fat because it doesn't know when you're going to starve yourself again and it needs to build up a bigger reserve than you had before. You gain more fat than you had when you started. If you lose weight, you'll gain it all back - and more - once you stop the diet. If you dont plan on quitting then don't expect to have healthy kidneys for the long term: Over time, the stress of processing so many ketones can damage your kidneys, causing ketoacidosis or toxic ammonia in your blood. Be smart...go see a Registered Nutritionist, not some "doctor" in a book.
Rating: 
Summary: Sixty pounds and five years later - it's a miracle!
Review: After thirty years of fruitless dieting - and the accompanying, constant hunger and weakness - I must say that there is only one "side effect" to the diet: eating with others will solicit comments about how "I thought pasta was good for you" and the like. I've known others who, like myself, actually read the entire book and had similar (or greater) success. (A co-worker lost 130 pounds and has maintained that loss for three years to date, for example.) There truly is no hunger, no cravings, no fatigue, no needing to be obsessed with dieting, no living in a gym - and no regain. But I have frequently been puzzled when I have met or heard from those who cannot take Dr Atkins' word for what his diet is. They combine the "sage wisdom" of other plans, believing they read it in Atkins book, or take prejudiced comments from elsewhere and assume them to be true. The common assumption - that Atkins dieters are constantly stuffing themselves with high fat foods, undoubtedly in a contest to see who can consume the most calories in a day - is absurd. After the first few weeks, one experiences a blessed reduction in appetite and absence of any cravings. (Politically incorrect as it is to state the truth - for many, though not all, people, eating high carbohydrate foods when hungry has an effect similar to drinking from the ocean when thirsty.)Though there is no weighing, measuring, or keeping diaries, one finds that one's caloric intake is drastically reduced. The other fictions - that this is a temporary diet (that is true only of Induction - which prejudiced reviewers present as the entire diet) - that Atkins dieters are aiming for a heart attack soon (I doubt a cardiologist has much interest in killing his patients..) - that staying on the diet leads to weight gain - all are ridiculous. It is true that one will gain weight if one goes back to a high carbohydrate diet - but why would anyone who has a problem with carbs want to do so? Those contemplating following the diet MUST read the book in its entirety, and not add what they were taught elsewhere. Everett Koop's "successes" lost only 12 pounds in a year. Other "successes" with high carb, low fat programmes, of which I've read on the Internet, had track records such as losing 19 pounds and gaining half of it back soon. I've seen studies where those who "successfully" lost weight through exercise lost only six pounds in a year. The new wisdom is that one should not lose more than a pound a month. ...I'll take Atkins any day.
Rating:
Summary: Diet works, but has terrible long term consequences
Review: I didn't know anything about this diet other than its fad appeal until I took a graduate level health course. Unfortunately, the Atkin's diet while it does work, can lead to serious long term problems. Most of the weight you lose will be from water loss which can lead to elecrtolyte imbalances and kidney stones. The trick of the diet is that carbohydrates turn on insulin which puts the body into anabolic mode (meaning it will rebuild tissue such as muscle and fat). The body is tricked into thinking its in what nutritionist's call "fasting mode" when its given a diet without carbohydrates, there will be no new tissue produced or regenerated, the body thinks its starving. The problem is that while no one wants their fat replenished, your muscle doesn't get replenished either. Further, if you go off the diet and resume a normal one, you'll gain more weight than you started with. The only cases where the medical/scientific community agreed that the atkin's diet would be beneficial is in the severly obese and children suffering epileptic seizures that could not otherwise be treated with drugs. If I've already lost you in scientific jargon, I apologize, but one really must have a good education on this level to fully understand the interplay going on that this diet manipulates (biochemsitry, nutrition, physiology). It took me months of learning to fully understand the terrible consequences of this diet. Unfortunately, the hazards do not show up for months to years, so most people who buy this book and use its advice will be so overjoyed to see themselves losing weight, they will shut their minds off to the truth. These hazards can range from muscle loss (including heart muscle which is irreplaceable, kidney and/or liver cancer, serious electrolyte balance just for starters). Another element I am seriously troubled with is that Atkin has an M.D. and a plethora of education on this subject, so he must know that he is not presenting all the information in an objective manner. With his education, he knows the FDA will not regulate him (because the FDA only regulates drugs and alcohol, not diets or vitamins). Much like a used car salesman with a first time car buyer, He is literally steering people toward a road that will offer only short term results @ the cost of their health, and by the time they do suffer from its results it could be years later, so they will not associate this with his diet. Most REAL nutritionists are very upset with Dr. Atkin, and feel he should be stripped of his M.D. for violating the hippocratic oath. The road to losing weight in a healthy manner is hard, its takes a long time, and there are no quick results. Please believe my sincerity on this issue if you do not have the medical knowledge I have discussed. Other books or programs on dieting by Jenny Craig, Dr. Andrew Wiel and Dr. Dean Ornish provide healthy diets that will not cause long term harm.
Rating:
Summary: JUST GIVE IT A TRY!
Review: AFTER BEING HEAVY OR LET'S USE THAT WORD...FAT...FOR MOST OF MY ADULT LIFE, I HAVE FOUND THAT THE ATKINS DIET WORKS. I HAVE SEVERAL FRIENDS THAT ARE ON THE DIET AT THE SAME TIME AS ME AND THAT REALLY HELPS, WE HAVE A LITTLE SUPPORT GROUP. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THIS BOOK GIVES YOU THE HOPE, THE INFORMATION. ALL YOU NEED IS THE WILLPOWER TO GIVE IT A TRY. I WAS A NICE 250 POUNDS, NOW I HAVE LOST ABOUT 20 AND FOR THE FIRST TIME I MIGHT BE ABLE TO BE MY CORRECT WEIGHT FOR MY HEIGHT. I DONT CARE HOW LONG IT TAKES, OR WHAT OTHERS SAY...THIS IS A LIFE STYLE CHANGE NOT A DIET!
Rating:
Summary: Just as misleading as before
Review: The fattening of America: Are carbohydrates the cause? Well, because Americans get only 40% of their calories from carbs, and have more heart disease, insulin resistance and diabetes than the Chinese who get 80% of their calories from carbs, carbs can't very well be "the enemy" now can they? A shame Atkins didn't look into this and other basic facts before he wrote his books. Indeed, scientists have studied low carb/ ketogenic diets for decades -- 15-20 lbs of what you lose is water. What fat you do lose is due to appetite suppression, not ketones. Apparently, there's only so much meat, lettuce and butter you can choke down in a day. The Atkins diet is notorious for being just another low CALORIE diet in disguise. Why not go on a proper low calorie diet instead, one that's healthy and sustainable (e.g. books by Roy Walford, Barbara Rolls...)? Any dietitian will tell you there are better ways to curb your appetite than cutting fruit and other healthy foods out of your diet. Atkins diet is even high in saturated fat -- ironically one of the greatest risk factors for insulin resistance (!) Do the math and you'll also notice it's deficient in vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Yuck! What a waste of trees.
Rating:
Summary: A Number of Attempts
Review: After a number of willpower trying attempts, I am almost 40 lbs further away from my goal than I was when I first started trying the Atkins Diet. Not that this is any fault of the book itself, Whenever I am able to force myself to follow the diet, i almost instantly drop 20 lbs, become sick, and then cut back to eating what I was eating before, and the cycle is a rough one... I am still going to strive to living an Atkins Life, but the book does not provide that which is needed most in this diet, Moral Support.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book - excellent diet
Review: Dr. Robert C. Atkins deserves, as far as I am concerned, a full-blown statue. This book and this diet is a lifesaver. I followed the diet and lost over 80 pounds easily; and I will follow this diet for life. Why? Very simple: because this book contains The Truth. It works, it is *very* healthy, easy and completely safe. Don't believe the nay-sayers (there are zillions of them), all their arguments (I have heard them all, believe me) are completely and utterly untrue and not based on any scientific fact. All my values changed for the better: bloodpressure back to normal, triglycerides back to normal, cholesterol normal. I feel better than ever in my life, more energetic, and excellent health. Dr. Atkins saved my life. So, if you are overweight, and sick and tired (literally) of the calorie-myth, or the highcarb junk the Government wants you to eat, read this book. And DO try this wonderful diet. Or, better said, way of eating. You and your doctor will be thrilled at your dramatically improved vital signs and normal weight. Lose weight, dramatically and easily, and keep it off, easily - and feel better and healthier than you have felt in years. And... most important: you will have *no* hunger at all with this diet c.q. way of eating. You can eat wonderful, delicious foods, healthy foods. This book really helps you finding the right stuff to eat in all the junk available. You will love it! And after you reached your goal weight, and are feeling well and healthy, read the critics of Dr. Atkins again. And laugh about the utter nonsense they say about this innovative, courageous and brilliant doctor. Or, maybe better yet, do as I did: write them strong-worded letters. Don't expect a reply, though... Think of this book and the good doctor Atkins, next time as you see a (Government sponsored) ad for putting sugar on your veggies. Good health to you all.
Rating:
Summary: Very difficult diet
Review: I'm on the atkin's diet right now, and while I'm sure that you will drop pounds, I've found there is a very small variety of food that you can eat. No bread, no fruits and no sugar...you can only have 20 grams of carbohydrates a day. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but you don't realize how little 20 is! Basically, the only think you can have is plain ol' eggs and meat....meat, meat, meat. I like meat, but I like to eat more than just meat for a meal. I'd like to have a few veggies, but, oh wait, it doesn't take very many to put you over the 20 gram limit. Just about any kind of prepackaged (canned/frozen) vegetables you buy at the store have sugar in them, which makes them a no-no. And I hope you don't like milk...one good sized glass and you've had your 20 grams for the day. I thought I would give salad a try. After examining the salad dressings in the refridgerator, I can't find a single one that is sugar free. Did I mention that the 20g limit is only for the first two weeks? Atkins makes it sound like you'll be able to indulge in some of the other foods out there after the 'induction period'. I was hoping I'd at least be able to have one sandwhich a day, but one slice of bread has 16 grams of carbohydrates. After the induction period you can move up to 25-30 grams a day, so you could blow all your variety for the entire day on one sandwhich! In the book, Dr. Atkins says you'll never be hungery on this diet, but I find myself frequently hungry because I can only eat so many eggs, steaks, sausages, and bacon slices before I get sick of them.
Rating: 
Summary: Love the Atkins Diet!!
Review: Dr. Atkins new Diet Revolution is the best diet book ever written! Although at times it can seem a bit long-winded, all the information in this book is key to understanding the incredible diet, and why it works!! In addition to being informative it is very easy reading! I am 22 years old and have always struggled with a weight problem - I have been atleast fifty pounds overweight since I was 12 years old, and have tried every conceivable diet from shakes to counting calories to nutrionists, but never with any lasting results. I am in my fifth week of the Atkins Diet, and have lost 22 pounds and counting!! My advice to you is to read the entire book. Its very helpful as a reference guide whenever you need it!
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