Are you Atkins people still sticking with it and what have been the results after this amount of time? I will need to do something after Labor Day. I should do it now but I'm not going to.

Have you looked into the GI (Glycemic Index) Diet? You would eat foods that are low on the glycemeic index. The theories on this diet, Atkins, and South Beach are similar. To keep the insulin dog sleeping. High carb foods tend to wake up the insulin dog, which starts to store fat. If the insulin dog is not woken up, then you lose weight.
I am trying the GI DIet (recommended by my naturopath) because I am hypo-glycemic (I do not need to lose weight), I am oversensitive to carbohydrates.
Starkeeper

Tom,

I tried Atkins last year, had some problems and had to get off of it. Went to the South Beach Diet shortly after returning from my whirlwind trip south, a venture that caused me to tip the scales at 222 pounds. After 12 weeks I'm down to 187 and now losing about a pound a week.

The big difference between the two diets is Atkins does not seem to care about the consumption of fats. South Beach, which was designed by a cardiologist, is not only low carb, but additionally is low fat. The only problem I, and some other folks I know encountered with South Beach, and Atkins as well, is constipation. I figure the way I'm going I should reach my goal weight of 175 in about two more months.

Yes, I do miss the potatoes, chips, white bread and pasta, but getting them out of my diet was not as difficult as I was led to believe. It's just a matter of disipline.

The one thing that South Beach also tells you, and that the Atkins book did not, was portion control and calorie count is important. Obviously, if you take in more calories than you burn you will continue to gain weight. If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight--it's that simple. All those carbs translate to lots of calories. Eliminate the carbs and you've eliminated a major portion of your caloric intake.

I'll post some new photos when I reach the goal weight and let the synthzoners be the judge. Damned, I'm looking good!

Gary

I have also followed the SouthBeach way of eating for a year now, and have been down 40 pounds and maintaining. I feel great. My weight is down my cholestrol,is down, my BP is down, and I feel great.

Hey Gary, I can't believe how we are on the same wavelength. Keyboards, backups, musical tastes, and now diets.

Jerry

I've lost 6 lbs since May just working and playing real hard. Oh, and I've been eating sensible as well.

I was on the Atkins and I didn't feel right so I quit. My Cholestrol level shot through the roof for some reason. I'ts finally back under control.

I don't do well with ANY diets.

Al

I tried Atkins for a while last year .. lost about 15 lbs in about 3 weeks and then wnt off it and put the weight back on ... I then tried South Beach this year ... lost about 20 lbs and went on the 'maintenence' phase ... after the summer we've had , the wife and I are setting September as "South Beach September" ... back to phase one ... ...
t.

South Beach lifestyle pretty much for me. Makes more sense than Atkins and seems healthier. I'm down about 25 pounds from earlier this year, but I've been working out in a gym regularly and that has put some muscle mass on me in my upper body so there's a little weight-offset there. Also my blood pressure was getting high so my doctor put me on a diuretic "water pill" to reduce salt, and that kicked my diet into high gear after my weight loss stalled. I lost most of the weight after a few weeks on the pill and it's stayed off so far. So as they say it does pay to consult with your doctor on your diet and see what they can do to help.

I have confered with Doctor Gary Diamond who has coached me on the SB Diet....and I just bought the South Beach Diet Book. After witnessing Gary & Carols fantastic weight loss progress, I thought I'd give it a good try along with my wife and daughter also, I will also start walking more too.....
Lord knows I need it big time! . It wont be easy, especialy being a KB entertainer playing functions every night with buffets & dinners, luncheons, etc. all around you all the time, but I did kick the cigarette habit 20 yrs ago "cold turkey" & never smoked since . So wish me luck, We'll start right after Labor Day.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 08-24-2004).]

I've got confidence in ya' Donny. In no time at all, you'll be lookin' great, and the babes will be chasing you around the stage. OH YEAH!

Gary

I lost about 50 pounds on the Atkins diet last year. Since my parents moved in with us in February I have been very lax and gained about 20 back.
Time to rededicate.
DNJ--if Gary can do it you can too!
DonM

Gary that all "DEPENDS"

Oh No Don!!! Say it ain't so, you were looking so lean & svelth..don't let all that dedication go down the tubes. I thought Atkins maintenance makes you avoid a relapse if followed?

Hi All

You may be interested in a "Panorama" TV programme which was screened here in UK a couple of weeks ago.
Panorama is a programme which dedicates itself to upfront open analysis of many aspects of today's happenings and is well-respected in UK.
They took on a mammoth task starting a few years ago of monitoring the Atkins Diet because of its apparent contradiction of scientific principles i.e. the human body takes on calories and expends them in the form of energy;if the body takes in x calories and only expends x- energy, then the result is a deposit of 'reserve energy' in the form of fat, hence extra weight achieved.
The programme lasted one hour and went through the findings in order of occurrence, which I will not list here for the sake of time.
The final conclusion was so simple!
It is impossible for the body to take in more calories it needs without depositing the extra unused calories as fat therefore this hard and fast scientific principle cannot be ignored BUT the indulgence in mostly protein in your diet has another effect! I.E. it fills you up!
They retested the people in the survey and found out ABSOLUTELY that the ones who lost weight on the Atkins Diet did so BECAUSE THEY WERE SO SATISFIED WITH THE EXTRA PROTEIN THAT THEY ACTUALLY TOOK IN LESS FOOD!
And therefore lost weight.

How simple can that be?


I would certainly be interested to hear from our friends here who tried the Atkins to see if this was the case with them!
cheers
EddieJ

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Eddie from Rotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info

DNJ,
It is very true that if you follow the maintenance guidelines you will not regain weight.
The problem has been that my mother and step-father are living with us and they don't eat that way. They eat at 8:00, noon and 6:00 p.m. and LOVE high-carb stuff. They always have desert. She is 83 and he is 91, so they aren't going to change. We gradually slipped into bad eating habits by accomodating them.
It's time to be strong again! It won't be a big problem, and I'm really looking forward to doing it again. I actually have regained less than 20 pounds of the 47 pounds I lost, but as Barney Fife says "It's time to nip it!"
DonM

Prompted by 7 funerals in the month of July, I fell into "comfort foods" big time, and to tell the truth - I feel like crap. Now that things have settled down a bit, I am having no trouble going back to my low carb lifestyle. I added about 15 lbs in 2 months. That should only take about 3-4 weeks to drop if I don't go crazy. If I CHOOSE to go crazy - 2 weeks, tops.
It's amazing the ammount of energy I have when I behave and avoid the pastas and breads. No constipation here - I eat lots of salads, and drink gallons of water each day. The water is KEY to the ATkins diet, and probably most other healthy eating plans as well. We need to keep those kidneys flushing ........ Protein is tough to break down if you miss out on all the other stuff. Eat your fiber or take the supplements.
No more Krispy Kreme guys ......

I lost 20lbs on the South Beach diet and am still losing about a pound a week. The great thing about the SB is the education you get on how to eat healthy and how to eat when you go out to dinner.

Since I don't eat meat the Atkins was a no-no and according to my nurse wife will fill your arteries with plaque, so the SB is definitely the answer.

For those who haven't tried already, do yourself a favor and buy the book!

------------------
Graham

Some useful diet info.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet/

Jerry

Graham.........thats great ! have you been following the recip[es in the SBD book also they look really good.or?

Donny ... there are some REALLY good tasting recipes in that book ... one in particular is the "Pistachio Chicken" (I think that's the name) with a guacamole dressing on a mixed green salad ... The thing I like about the SBD is that in Phase 2, (and YOU decide when that starts ) you can have whole wheat pasta ... now being raised on Italian pasta, I NEVER thought I could go the whole wheat route ... but when you haven't had ANY pasta for a couple of weeks, the whole wheat suffices ... Of course it helps that Lydia's sauce (gravy ?) would make cardboard taste good ... in fact mine might also ... the whole grain breads allowed in Phase 2 are also really good ... Use a good EVOO instead of butter YUMMMMY ... The desserts made with ricotta cheese (part skim) are also good ... and I was really surprised at how good sugarless Jell-o and puddings are with Cool Whip!!! ... What I DON"T like about the SBD is NO fruit in Phase 1 ... really tough for me especially in the summer ...
t.

The no fruit part didn't bother me at all. Even went 8 weeks without a beer--not that's a difficult task to say the least. As for the sugar free Jello with Cool Whip--I love it. They also have sugar free puddings which are equally as good.

A few weeks ago I discovered flavored, carbonated water in BJ's Wholesale Club made by Berkley Jensen. WOW! This stuff tastes like soda pop, is more filling than soda pop, not very expensive, and there are no carbs, no calories, no fat, no sugars--outstanding!

Gary

Gary .. with all those "no's" it's a wonder how they get flavor in it ....
t.

With this healthy way of eating, I've been eating so many fruits and vegetables that I am starting to lean towards the sun.


Jerry