Atkins ?

[tommyt]

I see this huge list and I am a little shocked that I dont see Atkins.

I did atkins in the past and was pretty successful with it. On SB now.

It seems that there was a big movement away from atkins when he died or maybe a little before. I think they couldnt deal with the initial success and the corp got a little greedy.

Personally I feel for people that need to loose a lot of weight ( over 100 lbs ) it is a great diet alternative. Weight loss is much faster with Atkins but it is more difficult to stick to.

I believe in the later stages they become very similar.

[barknBret]

Atkins works for weight loss, but it's hard to make a lifestyle out of it. Although the Ongoing Weight Loss and Maintenance stages have changed since the diet was first introduced, most people tend to follow the "high fat, low carb" to extremes on Adkins. While following that, it is easy to lose weight - but if you cheat you blow up fast. The reason being that one tends not to stop eating high fat, and adding carbs makes for a much worse diet.

On a side note, I was always leery of a diet where pork skins were an acceptable snack.

And you are right, the corporate side of Adkins hurt that diet, I don't believe it truly follows his plan, it's about selling products.

Dr. Adkins broke tradition, I think as far back as the 70's, by showing that weight loss and health is not necessarily about a low fat diet. But I don't think he went far enough, and that's where SBD is better - focusing on good fats and good carbs for a healthy lifestyle, not for rapid weight loss.

[melissa569]

There were also a lot of rumors that when Atkins died, he was overweight and he had "heart disease".

1. He was in a coma for a while before he died, and people in a coma get a lot of water retention and swollen organs, so they will gain lots of water weight. But he wasn't fat...

2. He did have heart disease, but it was NOT due to his diet. He had a rare form that is usually hereditary, and can even develop in small children. Had nothing to do with the food he ate.

I lost 100 lbs on Atkins. But my problem was, it kept making me hypoglycemic (that's prominent in my family), so I had to stop, after which point, I gained it back. Some people do well on it, but I guess its just not for me.

Plus there is the issue of all the "bad fats".

I like SB because, while it does follow the "limit your bad carbs" guideline (which is the only thing my body responds to), it doesn't completely forbid them. Or should I say, it doesn't forbid the GOOD ones, lol. But the point is, I haven't felt hypoglycemic yet.

[anncar1987]

I used to weigh 300 pounds and went on the atkins to lose weight. My dad kinda forced it on me. i lost 110 pounds and gained all of it back PLUS 70 POUNDS. I stupidly tried to go on the diet again and felt like crap during the induction phase-- felt horrible(nausea,terrible breath) and you basically cant workout because you have absolutely no energy...I immediately quit. it just wasn;'t a very realistic diet. i love my rice and grains. I know i have to limit them to lose weight but i realize it is not feasible for me to go low carb forever.

Its all about controlling your carb portions and building muscle mass. eventually when you lose all the weight, and you have a lot of muscle mass, you can eat carbs pretty liberally(while still making healthy choices-i.e. cooking by yourself instead of eating out, sticking with whole unprocessed foods(like sb encourages,etc.) and still maintain your weight. But you have to decrease your portion sizes drastically and get on a strength trianing program in order to lose the weight. low carb is just not realistic.

[SpoonSockSpork12]

So I got a little curious and started poking around an Atkins board. Well that didn't last too long, I got too frustrated with what seem like ignorant comments based on SB principles. Most of the comments were complaints about cravings, everybody saying to eat very little very often, hiding ketostix from loved ones, and making fun of SB because the weight loss is "too slow, I want it off NOW."

And these weren't just newbies, this was from their regulars. Sheesh!

[DebbyC]

I'd say anytime you have to hide your lifestyle [ketostix] from your family - you are doing something you know you shouldn't be doing....from alcohol to drugs to porn - that's a huge red flag!

I didn't read it myself, am only commenting from experience....

[logmyloss.com]

I had a lot of success on the Atkins Diet, both with my weight and with my health. As I neared my goal, I got weak and decided to eat anything I wanted within reason. I did that for four months and only gained a few pounds. Then I decided to go back on the diet again to lose the last 15 pounds. Of course, I decided to eat everything I knew I was going to do without during the week leading up to my starting date. Then it came the start date and I couldn't beat the cravings. I did this over and over for quite some time and never realized what was going on. Finally, I gained most of the weight back. I am definitely pro Atkins diet - it works for me; however, I don't have the willpower to do it now. I decided on the SBD because it seemed easier to stick to and is something I can see myself doing forever.

[skeeweeaka]

I'm defnitely proAtkins as well. I think it is an excellent diet and a large number of people have lost weight on it as well as reversed heart disease and diabetes, as well as a number of other illnesses...including me after the birth of my dd... Of course, that was 12 years ago and my body has changed... I started Atkins in March and to date had only lost 15 pounds...butI am on a lot of meds and have hormonal issues.... It was a slow process and I was missing fruits and veggies...and an occasional sweet treat that doesn't make me run to the toilet...

That said, I also didn't have much energy on Atkins... Since starting SB, three days, I have more energy and more variety of the things I like to eat... I belong to another group and it is low carb and the emphasis is mostly Atkins, but they do have a small SB thread... I joined here because there seems to be more info about SB....

I would thoroughly recommend Atkins for anyone who enjoys fat and high protein... It would be easy for them to stay on and maintain on....

TJ

[jen9500]

Interesting post from folks on Atkins. I, too, was on Atkins about 7 years ago - lost 40 lbs., and was soooo happy & thin! it also motivated me to walk almost every day. it took only 6 mos to acheive the weight loss, combined with my underactive thyroid. Since that time, i have kept the weight off except for about 10-15 lbs.

So for those 10-15 lbs., i've settled on SB to be the diet to get rid of it. Why? well for starters, i WANT to have grains & whole wheat & legumes. I did not want to deprive myself of them. Secondly, i heard that once you have success on Atkins, you're likely not to experience it again. I hope that SB does not have the same problem. I do believe that Atkins taught me how to eat correctly and curb my cravings for sugar & carbs. I credit the diet for that. I'm hoping that SB is Atkins is the same, but more friendlier with food!

I am not overweight, i'm in the "normal" range, but, to me, i would like to be much leaner than i am today. I think for the last year or so, i've been yo-yoing and not eating correctly, hence the extra 10-15!

I just started SB yesterday for the first time, and i hope that it will work, and i hope that it will not take too long to lose these last lbs.

[manzanita]

[quote="barknBret"]


And you are right, the corporate side of Adkins hurt that diet, I don't believe it truly follows his plan, it's about selling products.

/quote]

Sadly I think Agatston is running that risk too with things like the SBD ready meals. To me, that's a big sell out of the SBD principles.

I'm getting a right bee in my bonnet about it if you can't tell

Manzy

[barknBret]

Agree, and I've seen that discussion on this board before. But I've noticed most long time SBD'ers (including the old timers on this board) recommend against the SBD branded meals - to only have them in a pinch. If you know and understand the SBD principals, I don't see why you'd look for any type of ready made meals on a regular basis. my $.02.

[mdhoel]

I thought that Atkins and South Beach were essentially the same. I got some books on Atkins from my library, but it didn't have anything on South Beach. What are the major differences and do you know a good South Beach book that I could search the library index by title instead of subject?

[RedRox]

South Beach Diet Supercharged is the latest update to the main SB book. And no they are not all that similar, even in P1. If anything, they probably get closer in their respective maintenance modes than they ever do in their weight loss modes.

[Tuxedo]

I happened to love Atkins and did well on it. The SB diet and the Atkins start off very similar. Atkins allows high fat foods and you know that you're doing well when you are in ketosis or turning purple.
I feel that the high fat foods are not usually recommended by many doctors so I'm trying this. The only problem is I am not sure if I overdo things or not. Both remove the cravings once the carbs are cut.
Atkins does allow vegetables so it is low carb not no carb.

[RedRox]

True but they are in much smaller amounts and not the central component of the program. You cannot eat 100 gms of carbs a day on Atkins induction like you can in P1 of SB and ketosis is not a goal of SB and is something to try to be avoided.