"Atkins Worked for Me"

 

I just read one of your articles that was linked to MSNs home page. To me, it is amazing that some of the healthcare professionals involved in these anti-Atkins campaigns ever received degrees from accredited institutions of learning.

First of all, there is an entire collection of books written by Dr. Atkins detailing how the diet is to be implemented. It is suggested that one not attempt this diet before reading the main volume, entitled "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution." If the group of doctors working to discredit Atkins were not so gung-ho about it, they may have actually taken the time to do this.

For instance; your article says that the diet "makes carbohydrates taboo -- breads, cereals, rice, pasta, fruits, and vegetables." If you had read the diet, you would know that there is a very specific and detailed (if not quite extensive) list of vegetables that are permitted by the diet, as well as a strict timeline regarding when it is appropriate to begin gradually "reinstalling" certain carbohydrates in to the menu. By 12 weeks, one may eat almost any fruit or vegetable out there.

Second, your article states that on the Atkins diet, the body will get its energy "not from carbohydrates ... but from protein and fat." Most folks with a degree in medicine would consider this statement preposterous. How exactly does the body metabolize protein into energy? What is the chemical reaction responsible for this phenomenon? In truth, the only thing the body can use for energy is carbohydrate. But through the process of ketosis, this is obtained through a breakdown of the stored fat already present in the body, since this is easier for the body to do than for it to break down fat that is consumed. As most of us know, fat that is consumed (as a part of bacon, for example) is not chemically the same as fat that is stored in the body. As a result, the fat that is consumed is effectively "ignored" by the digestive system.

Third, the statement that the diet actually works through reduction of overall calorie intake is, though perhaps true in certain situations, not fundamentally accurate. I am a 6-foot-tall man who weighed 225 pounds on April 1, 2000. By Aug. 1, 2000, I was 165 pounds. I am 170 now, but that was Christmas dinner at my mom's house. My average diet during this weight loss period was 2-3 eggs and 5 slices of bacon for breakfast, a grilled chicken Caesar salad for lunch (no croutons, of course), and a 14-oz steak (which, by my calculations, has over 2000 calories by itself) for dinner.

Of course, I did not eat this exact diet every day, but, as I said, it is an average amount of food. I lost 60 pounds in 4 months. I did not add any fruits back in for 16 weeks, which is 4 weeks longer that Atkins recommends. I also exercised, but I always have been active.

Finally, I must comment on the quote from Dr. Blackburn that "Very few people can stay on this diet beyond a few days or weeks." There is a very simple reason for this. Like any other diet, people cheat. It generally takes the body three days of zero-carbohydrate diet for the body to enter a cycle of ketosis. It is during this period that most people fail. After the first 3 days, it's smooth sailing with no sugar cravings.

In short, no diet will successfully keep weight off if one doesn't permanently alter the eating habits that got them overweight in the first place. Atkins is no different. I don't expect that I would keep the weight off if I resumed eating 4-5 Butterfingers, Doritos, Mountain Dew, and a pint of Ben & Jerry's every day. The point is that being fit, like recovering from an addiction, is about making a lifestyle change. It isn't like roofing a house; do it once and don't worry about it for 25 years.

Because sugar is an addiction for a lot of people, they know it's making them obese, but they love it so much that, blindly, they try to transfer the blame to high-fat foods, ineffective exercise equipment, lack of exercise time, etc. Try telling my mother she can never eat chocolate again.

Nick M.