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patrickh
Joined: Oct 05, 2001
# Posts: 2187
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Posted: 2003-Sep-15 21:02
Just wondering if any of you all have tried the Atkins diet, and if you have had any success with it? I am thinking about starting it but it is hard to seperate the fact from the hype sometimes.
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jcokos
Staff
Joined: Eons Ago
# Posts: 171
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Posted: 2003-Sep-15 21:11
DON'T DO IT.
I know everything there is to know about this diet, and trust me, it sucks the rag, bigtime.
My wife (and 3 of my neighbors) did it (some are still on and off with it), and here's my professional opinion on it:
1. It will make you lose significant amounts of weight
2. It does this by putting you into that "ketosis" state, where you pee on the strip to make sure that you're still there each day.
3. This, scientifically, does work, and it will make you lose weight, in big amounts, and pretty quickly. But ...
The minute you go off of it, and I mean if one day, you have one piece of bread (which is like 60 carbs), you'll gain 4 pounds right back. Why?
Ketosis keeps you in that 'zone' where you're burning everything in overtime, but as soon as you re-inject some carbs into your system, being in ketosis makes your internal systems totally "panic" and you start storing everything for a rainy day.
So, you might lose 30 pounds in 3 weeks, and then one weekend, have a hamburger, and then the next time you weigh, you've put on 8 pounds in 2 days.
This is the most extreme "up and down" plan I've ever seen. It only works if you are totally religious about it, and never, ever go off of it. I've seen people lose 70 pounds on it, keep it off for a year (on the atkins maintanance plan), and then decide "hey, I'm good, now I'll just start eating more healthy and regular".
Guess what, 3 months later, eathing smaller, healthy meals, and no desserts, put 45 pounds back on. That's because the atkins plan shocks you to the point where eating ANY carbs at all will bounce you right back, even a year into it.
Note, I'm not a doctor, and my opinion holds no medical weight, I'm just reporting what I've seen 
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oliviamck
Joined: Eons Ago
# Posts: 39
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Posted: 2003-Sep-15 21:18
I believe that anything that extreme can't be good for your body. What I have found is an alternative to this diet called "The Carbohydrates Addicts Diet" (you can find it in bookstores).
The theory behind this diet is simple: your body still needs carbs, just not in excess - which is what most people do. So, you are restricted to eating carbs only once a day and all of your high sugar, high carb content food must be eaten within one hour. This means you can have a big bowl of spaghetti for dinner with a bowl of ice cream for dessert and you're ok.
I also found that since I read the entire book, I completely understood and grasped the entire concept. I have kept my weight off for over 2 years now and it even helped with eating while pregnant.
There's my two cents...
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crash
Staff
Joined: Dec 02, 2003
# Posts: 10626
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Posted: 2003-Sep-15 21:26
My parents have tried every freaking diet out there.. they all work for a time but many with major side effects (such as doubling your weight as soon as you stop it or cheat)
The cabbage soup one, which they use off and on, does seem to work OK in limitation.
My dad, who has diabetes and can't jack with those Atkins type of diets anymore, looked into and is using the ChangeOne thing from Readers Digest. He likes it.. it's (could be understanding wrong here) not so much a diet as it is a way to help you adjust your habits to more healthy ones. The idea is that over a specific amount of time (week? month? don't know) you change one thing about your eating habits.. Like I said, he's impressed by it.
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unreviewed
Joined: Dec 07, 2000
# Posts: 6776
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Posted: 2003-Sep-15 23:11
What about this one South Beach Diet, its been getting press lately.
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patrickh
Joined: Oct 05, 2001
# Posts: 2187
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Posted: 2003-Sep-15 23:18
I've been staring at the South Beach Diet damn neam every time I log into my hotmail account -- the name alone makes me distrust it . I'll read up on it though, from what everyone has posted so far it sounds like I should pass on Atkins.
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thejenn
Joined: Aug 08, 2001
# Posts: 9196
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Posted: 2003-Sep-15 23:28
I checked out the South Beach diet earlier this year. It's sort of a modified Atkins. My aunt went on it a year ago, took off 80lbs and has been on it ever since. (Like John said, if you can be religious about it and stick with it, it's fine, but note, this is modified atkins, it's not like she gets to eat endless greasy steaks and such...)
I decided I simply couldn't hack the loss of carbs for the first two weeks. I simply need carbs to feel full.
Instead, I opted for, (don't laugh!) Slim-Fast. I took off 6lbs the first week, and in the last month and a half, I'm down 18lbs. There's enough variety in flavors between the shakes and bars that it doesn't get boring and frankly, my biggest issue with diets in the past was figuing out what to eat. Now that I only have to do that for one meal a day, it's pretty darn convienent. Plus, since there's always a chocolate option for a shake or bar, I've lost my "sweet" tooth.
Oh, and I'd always thought the Slimfast plan was a two shakes a day and a tiny meal...which is why I never tried it before.
It's actually:
Breakfast: shake or meal bar
mid-morning: piece of fruit (or some 60 calorie snack)
Lunch: shake or meal bar plus a piece of fruit
mid-afternoon: some 120 calorie snack
Dinner: 4oz lean meat, 1 medium "starch", large salad, three half cup servings of veggies and 1/2 cup of fruit.
Evening: some 60 calorie snack
I was hungry on and off for the first three days, now I find myself having a hard time eating as much as I'm supposed to. And for some reason, saying "no" to food that I love is pretty simple. Or, I'll take a bite or two an that's enough.
Yay! 
On that note, I'm off to bake a chocolate fudge truffle cake for DH to take to work tomorrow.
[ Message was edited by: thejenn 09/15/2003 03:29 pm ]
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JQ
Staff
Joined: Mar 11, 2001
# Posts: 2765
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Posted: 2003-Sep-16 04:10
I don't think I could live on a diet without carbs. I'm not a total vegetarian, though I don't eat any red meat. Chicken/fish/turkey maybe 2-3 times a week. I enjoy pasta/bread/tortillas and other carbs too much to ever give it up.
I've also been spammed to death with the South Beach diet so much that I would never even consider it just for that reason.
thejenn, nothing wrong with Slimfast. It may sound kinda corny/hokey/old-fashioned to some people but it's sound. Some of the Slimfast products are a bit expensive, though.
Trader Joe's sells Kashi GoLean bars for 99¢ and they are high-protein/fiber, a pretty good occasional meal substitute and quite tasty.
I'm also the type who sometimes just can't eat when I'm upset. I can usually force myself to suck down a can of Boost (a "nutritional energy drink" which I think equates somewhat to a can of Slimfast.
Nothing can guarantee keeping weight off until you learn to re-educate your eating habits.
Oh, and chocolate fudge truffle cake sounds absolutely yummy!
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unreviewed
Joined: Dec 07, 2000
# Posts: 6776
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Posted: 2003-Sep-16 05:34
I've never been spammed by a diet, basically the spammers ALL insist I enlarge something, never reduce.
I heard about South Beach, because the Clinton's are supposed to be on it, and if it can work for Bill, its gotta be good.
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WinningWays
Joined: Eons Ago
# Posts: 3433
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Posted: 2003-Sep-16 05:55
LOL, unreviewed!
Heard bad things about Atkins.
There is no magic pill. There is no secret formula. Every *body* is different. There are so many variables as far as diet, lifestyle, individualism, and metabolism, that you need to find your own solution and what works for you. Me -- I'm high protein, greens, moderate (but reasonable) fat, and low carb. No person is the same. You just can't replicate it or mass produce it.
Best bet -- let's all set a time when we can get up off these freakin' chairs, away from the monitors, and actually get some *walking* in... other than to the refrigerator and back...
I'm game for more exercise. Calories *in* don't matter unless you get some calories *out*... Anyone else up for a walk or two?
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jcokos
Staff
Joined: Eons Ago
# Posts: 171
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Posted: 2003-Sep-16 06:21
Ok, no posting allowed between 1pm and 2pm PST. That's now the official JimWorld "Get off your a*s and do some exercise time"
Spain has a siesta an hour a day, we'll do just the opposite ... here at JimWorld, we not only teach and share, we're also going to be the web's healthiest community
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thejenn
Joined: Aug 08, 2001
# Posts: 9196
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Posted: 2003-Sep-16 13:05
WW is right, you have to change your habits. The thing that showed me I was getting there was going to San Jose four weeks into it. I was really worried that I'd go nuts and screw it all up, but amazingly, I just didnt' really want to eat that much, and with all the walking we do there, I still lost two pounds that week.
Oh, and I do like the idea of a "forum weight loss challenge."
We can start a thread where folks can "clock" their exercise each day and report back when they lose some weight. I know a pretty good chunk of us on here are trying to lose at least a bit of weight. I've got about 25-30lbs to go... Maybe we can set a forum goal and lose a couple hundred pounds together or something...
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WinningWays
Joined: Eons Ago
# Posts: 3433
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Posted: 2003-Sep-16 14:55
I could stand losing 20-25. Not too bad for this old broad... I'm game. Count me in.
[ Message was edited by: WinningWays 09/16/2003 06:55 am ]
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patrickh
Joined: Oct 05, 2001
# Posts: 2187
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Posted: 2003-Sep-16 16:01
I could stand to lose a bunch also, but my eating habits are just plain bad -- fast food every day for lunch pretty much. A few years ago I went from drinking ~6 glasses of soda a day to not drinking it at all... problem is, I just substituted it with other sugary stuff like lemonade. I just need to bite the bullet and go on a diet, I have been putting it off wayyyyyyyyy to long.
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excell
Staff
Joined: Mar 19, 2001
# Posts: 14513
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Posted: 2003-Sep-16 17:54
I agree with the idea that a "diet" is not the way to go, but learning healthy living habits is...now if they would just install workstations at the gym treadmills we could be right.
Or how about healthy computer desks... where your entire body can work out as you type. Each desk could have a reminder for bodily functions as well..
drink water
get up - go outside
breathe
talk to your child it's home now
rotate the sprouts
eat
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crash
Staff
Joined: Dec 02, 2003
# Posts: 10626
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Posted: 2003-Sep-16 20:50
ok, twist my arm... I've been telling myself to get back to walking for week but never seem to do it.. something always comes up..
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oliviamck
Joined: Eons Ago
# Posts: 39
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Posted: 2003-Sep-18 19:46
Ditto on the "Way of life" comment. That's why my "diet" was so successful. I totally don't eat/drink as many carbs any more and when I feel myself getting bloated, I just cut back on the carb intake.
As for walking... I keep running into things while I'm walking because I"m always looking at my PDA! :D
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Curt
Joined: Eons Ago
# Posts: 3747
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Posted: 2003-Sep-24 08:40
People go about getting healthy the wrong way. They think that eating less, going on all these funky diets is the way to go. True, one must take in less fat especially saturated fats and trans-fats and keep the bad cholesterol down, but so many people miss the important factor: exercise.
When people starve themselves of certain necessary daily requirements, they hurt their bodies. Any diet that requires you to binge in one area while starving yourself in another area is gonna wreak havoc on the body and the body will try to compensate for it. But eventually it's going to hurt the body and damage something.
Exercise and weight training will do more for you than any crazy diet will. Diet sensibly and exercise will make you not only weigh less, you'll actually be more healthy and stronger. Some people skip meals in the morning which is a major mistake because then the body thinks it has to hoard fat and canabolize it's skeletal muscles. People that starve themselves of certain things lose weight, but what is the weight made up of? Lost muscle. That's no good. What they don't realize is that they've added on fat even though they lost weight.
If your ideal weight is 140, but you weigh 175 and you go on some funky diet this happens:
You lose 35 lbs with part of it being your muscle mass. Then when you gain back 20 lbs, you have to work harder on your diet than last time. So you end up shedding pounds again along with more of your muscle tone. The less muscle you have the less calories you burn overall. That's why people who unsuccessfully diet over and over have a harder time each new successive time because they keep canabolizing their muscles so their body fat ratio is actually higher at 155 than the first time at 175 at the time of the first diet.
Less muscle means higher body fat ratio and weaker body which also has it's health risks such as muscle injury. And for those that are just 10-15 lbs overweight, you would be better off going to the gym and toning up and keeping that weight. You'll be much stronger and look alot better than if you went on a diet. Strength training also seems to have a very positive effect on your skin and keeps is smooth and tight.
Besides dieting doesn't necessarily mean you eat less, just means you take in less bad fat and bad cholesterol. If you find yourself eating 3 twinkies, try eating 1 or 2 twinkies and an apple or better yet skip a day of twinkies and eat a banana and an apple. If you're one of those french-fry people that must have some everyday, perhaps replace a couple days with a baked potato with a little ranch dressing, salt, pepper, and chives--makes a tasty alternative without the deep-fry oil.
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yellowwing
Joined: May 21, 2002
# Posts: 2526
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Posted: 2003-Sep-24 10:37
I've tried the CHET Atkins diet. Large quantities of biscuits and gravy, budweiser, and barbeque. But I did limit the cobbler to only twice a week.
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Webmaster-Toolkit.com
Joined: Jul 18, 2002
# Posts: 1098
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Posted: 2003-Sep-24 16:29
Best diet for me was becoming a vegetarian - 6 years now and hardly ever move over 10 1/2 st (was 14 st before), I dont miss meat at all either
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