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I dunno. I mix it into the protein shakes. 1 tbsp of it in a 16oz shake and you don't even know its in there.

I dunno, I'm no pillar of perfect health myself, but sometimes I think I'm the only person in the world who is a little bit skeptical of the Atkins diet. Yes, ketosis is a very effective way to lose weight, and the Atkins plan is apparently very successful in doing so. And for some people that benefit must outweigh any potential downsides.

But I personally am more interested in knowing whether my diet is healthful overall or not, and working on improving my diet in a sustainable way. I have learned a lot from reading Dr. Walter Willet's book "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy" which is about "what science says you should eat.". It covers the health of many people studied over several decades in an ongoing study.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846

While a lot of the recent diets seem to be at odds at one another, though, one thing is certain - Atkins, Willett, and South Beach all focus on limiting carbohydrates and sugar, and eating only good carbs. So there is something to that, certainly!!

I am not pro-Atkins or anti-Atkkins. I just worry when people make uninformed choices, especially about their bodies. Karl, I would encourage you, or anyone else, to understand what you're putting in your mouths as much as possible. Surprisingly, there seems to be a lot of good information about nutrition on the internet. This review of Atkins seems to be well balanced and is an interesting read:

http://my.webmd.com/content/pages/7/3220_136.htm

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Just to chime in here. I'm one of many who have tried this diet in the past year. I was skeptical the first I heard of the diet back in '00, knew a guy who lost 45lbs on it. I heard about it occaisionally until '03 when Duke Unniversity released its 5 year study, thats when it seemed to explode. Their results were pretty positive and I'm sure that helped, that was why I reconsidered it.

I turned thirty last year and decided to have a physical since I hadn't had one in years. I was 210 lbs, smoking 1.5 packs/day and not in very good shape, hadn't really excersised in years. Yet, my blood work came back ok, decent cholesterol, and triglycerides, my only negative was my good cholesterol was too low, this was in July '03. I went on Atkin's in August, and by the way I didn't read the book, just went by the basic guidelines on the website. By October, I was down to 178 without any excersise. I then quit smoking, I sort of maintained the diet with some added indulgences to console the lack of cigarettes. By February, I had climbed back up to 192, but was still smoke free. I started a moderate running and weight program then and went back on full induction. I rapidly got back down to 178. Since then I have essentially maintained, I seemed to hit a plateau, where I couldn't lose anymore. Seemed with the low carb approach, I just couldn't lose that last 5lbs. So, now I'm just continuing the moderate excersise and a not so strict low-carb diet. I might try inducing again later to see if I can manage to drop the last few pounds.

Anyways, I went back to the doctor in July '04 and had another physical. I told the doctor I had been on the Atkin's diet that year and she made it pretty obvious she was not a fan. Yet she didn't have anything negative to say once she compared my blood work. I managed to lower my already fairly low bad cholesterol, and much to her surprise nearly doubled my really low good cholesterol number. Her exact quote was, "That is unheard of, that never happens."

I realize that one person does not make for a good scientific study. And my scenario has a couple additional variables, smoking and excersise. So take it for what its worth.

It was a bitter pill for Duke to swallow when they had to admit that Atkins was better than their touted rice diet. The feds are even changing their healthy diet guidelines reducing the need for carbs.
Rice, I'm a bit sceptical about your friend's "modifications" of the diet, is he a trained dietician?. It may work for a competitive body builder, but eating dextrose is simply eating sugar, and many of the body building shakes and suppliments contain a lot of sugar as well. Even a small amount of sugar defeats the mechanics of Atkins. the best way to know if you are doing Atkins right is to use Ketone test strips. As several others have said, BUY THE BOOK, and follow it.
For crunch: macadamia nuts or peanuts in moderation. Donna makes a carb free pizza that I like better than the pizzaria ones. I prefer Amstel light beer, it tastes like BEER! Distilled Liquers are carb free when mixed with sugar free mixers. For bottled drinks I prefer Snapple diet peach ice tea. As far as the prepared low carb stuff, I go on the philosophy that if it doesn't taste good enough that I'd eat it if I wasn't dieting, why bother to eat it when I am??? That is especially true of the low carb breads.
Heinz has released a low carb ketsup that's as good as their regular stuff.
Bryers low carb ice cream is good.
Coffee with splenda and heavy cream (watch out for whipping cream which contains sugar in some brands) is my hot drink, I can't survive mornings without it.

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

Just wanted to add, if you are taking a low-carb approach, it is assumed you are eating alot more meat/diary. I'm not a body builder, but I would think that using any kind of protein supplement would be completely unnecescary and potentially detrimental. One of the advantages of the Atkin's approach for someone doing weight training is that you consume mass amounts of protein in its natural form. I can't see a need for protein supplements. Just my .02 cents...

I think the idea behind the shakes is to easily do the "six small meals a day" thing on our busy programmer geek schedules.

It's working. I've dropped 5lbs as of this morning since Monday. Not to mention that I feel really good. I'm liking this.

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Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

For six months I've been on this meat-based Atkins diet, and although I'm losing weight, it's beginning to get difficult to stick to the diet. Before too long, I'll have to move on to another town to find more Atkinses.

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George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.

Go here for recipes and moral support...

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com