so I stopped doing the Atkins

[Fingolfin269]

I just can't figure out why people need a diet that has a brand name.

Why not just do the spreadsheet diet and figure out what works best for you? The typical person responds well to a 40%/40%/20% (protein/carb/fat) plan but that doesn't mean it will work best for you. I guess everyone wants instant results though so experimentation in dieting and exercise is usually left for others.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
I just can't figure out why people need a diet that has a brand name.

Why not just do the spreadsheet diet and figure out what works best for you? The typical person responds well to a 40%/40%/20% (protein/carb/fat) plan but that doesn't mean it will work best for you. I guess everyone wants instant results though so experimentation in dieting and exercise is usually left for others.

For THIRTY years it didn't have a brand name. All this branding an bandwagon jumping happened after he died.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
I just can't figure out why people need a diet that has a brand name.

Why not just do the spreadsheet diet and figure out what works best for you? The typical person responds well to a 40%/40%/20% (protein/carb/fat) plan but that doesn't mean it will work best for you. I guess everyone wants instant results though so experimentation in dieting and exercise is usually left for others.

For THIRTY years it didn't have a brand name. All this branding an bandwagon jumping happened after he died.

That's odd. I heard of the 'Atkins Diet' at least a couple of years before he died and knew of quite a few people who were on it. I tried to talk them out of it but then realized it was hopeless when I found out they had quit 'Weight Watchers' to jump on the new thing.

You know someone will never lose weight and keep it off when every diet they've ever been on has a brand name.

 

[IGBT]

Ketosis anyone??

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
I just can't figure out why people need a diet that has a brand name.

Why not just do the spreadsheet diet and figure out what works best for you? The typical person responds well to a 40%/40%/20% (protein/carb/fat) plan but that doesn't mean it will work best for you. I guess everyone wants instant results though so experimentation in dieting and exercise is usually left for others.

Ever tried doing your idea for a lengthy period of time?

 

[Fingolfin269]

Originally posted by: Wingznut

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
I just can't figure out why people need a diet that has a brand name.

Why not just do the spreadsheet diet and figure out what works best for you? The typical person responds well to a 40%/40%/20% (protein/carb/fat) plan but that doesn't mean it will work best for you. I guess everyone wants instant results though so experimentation in dieting and exercise is usually left for others.

Ever tried doing your idea for a lengthy period of time?

You just asked the wrong guy. I've been doing a 40/40/20 diet for over 3 years. I'm 5'10" and weigh 173 pounds at 7.6% body fat (last checked bf% and weight on Friday).

Is 3 years a long time?

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
That's odd. I heard of the 'Atkins Diet' at least a couple of years before he died and knew of quite a few people who were on it. I tried to talk them out of it but then realized it was hopeless when I found out they had quit 'Weight Watchers' to jump on the new thing.

It was called the Atkins diet because it was developed by a guy named Robert Atkins. What were people supposed to call it, the "That diet where you cut all carbs for a couple weeks and then slowly reintroduce them in limited quantities" diet?

Actually, at least that would discourage the idiots who currently believe Atkins is the "That diet where all you eat is bacon and steak and you lose weight like magic" diet.

By this token, do you also consider the Ornish diet to be a "brand" name?

It's only after his death that whoever is managing his estate flooded the world with this logo and started forming marketing alliances with every food retailer they can get to slap the logo on a menu.

 

[Mandos]

Atkins is for 20-30 year old girls who are too lazy to actually try a REAL diet and just want to eateateateat but lose weight at the same time.

Goodjorb quitting this silly, stupid diet.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
That's odd. I heard of the 'Atkins Diet' at least a couple of years before he died and knew of quite a few people who were on it. I tried to talk them out of it but then realized it was hopeless when I found out they had quit 'Weight Watchers' to jump on the new thing.

It was called the Atkins diet because it was developed by a guy named Robert Atkins. What were people supposed to call it, the "That diet where you cut all carbs for a couple weeks and then slowly reintroduce them in limited quantities" diet?

Actually, at least that would discourage the idiots who currently believe Atkins is the "That diet where all you eat is bacon and steak and you lose weight like magic" diet.

By this token, do you also consider the Ornish diet to be a "brand" name?

It's only after his death that whoever is managing his estate flooded the world with this logo and started forming marketing alliances with every food retailer they can get to slap the logo on a menu.

It doesn't matter where the hell the name came from. It is a freaking 'brand name' diet. Why are you so defensive about this? Are you on the diet or something but don't want to be 'branded' as a 'brand name dieter'?

The fact is that the majority of people that are on this diet are on it because it has appeal. Appeal that wouldn't be there if there wasn't a 'brand name', real or implied, attached to the process. Stop arguing over stupid petty crap. It was a brand name when I first heard about it 3 years ago and it's a brand name today and that's all that matters. You're arguing like someone who wants to claim that their old favorite band is now a sellout because everyone likes them and you are no longer the cool guy who liked them when they were obscure.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
It doesn't matter where the hell the name came from. It is a freaking 'brand name' diet. Why are you so defensive about this? Are you on the diet or something but don't want to be 'branded' as a 'brand name dieter'?

Actually, I've never needed to diet. The fundamental concept of calories out > calories in is good enough for me.

By your logic, however, 40/40/20 is a "brand name." Maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but "brand name" is a marketing term with a specific meaning, and between 1972 and early 2003 there was no Atkins diet "branding." It resurged as a fad diet after a new edition of the book came out in the early 1990s, but there still wasn't an obsessive Atkins brand-marketing campaign.

The fact is that the majority of people that are on this diet are on it because it has appeal. Appeal that wouldn't be there if there wasn't a 'brand name', real or implied, attached to the process. Stop arguing over stupid petty crap. It was a brand name when I first heard about it 3 years ago and it's a brand name today and that's all that matters. You're arguing like someone who wants to claim that their old favorite band is now a sellout because everyone likes them and you are no longer the cool guy who liked them when they were obscure.

Actually, I'm just tired of uninformed zealots who like to spout off about this or that fad diet. Believe it or not, many fad diets actually work, but here's the catch: You have to follow them completely and YOU HAVE TO MAKE A LIFESTYLE CHANGE.

The bottom line is you have to stick with what works for you. Atkins has worked for many people. So has Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers. They make the lifestyle change and they keep the weight off. If it gets them in shape, why bitch about it?

Edit: BTW, Atkins has "appeal" not because of branding, but because of morons who flipped through the first 10 pages of the book standing at B&N and then told all their friends that there is this diet where you just eat steak and bacon and the pounds just DISAPPEAR!

 

[Fingolfin269]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
It doesn't matter where the hell the name came from. It is a freaking 'brand name' diet. Why are you so defensive about this? Are you on the diet or something but don't want to be 'branded' as a 'brand name dieter'?

Actually, I've never needed to diet. The fundamental concept of calories out > calories in is good enough for me.

By your logic, however, 40/40/20 is a "brand name." Maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but "brand name" is a marketing term with a specific meaning, and between 1972 and early 2003 there was no Atkins diet "branding." It resurged as a fad diet after a new edition of the book came out in the early 1990s, but there still wasn't an obsessive Atkins brand-marketing campaign.

The fact is that the majority of people that are on this diet are on it because it has appeal. Appeal that wouldn't be there if there wasn't a 'brand name', real or implied, attached to the process. Stop arguing over stupid petty crap. It was a brand name when I first heard about it 3 years ago and it's a brand name today and that's all that matters. You're arguing like someone who wants to claim that their old favorite band is now a sellout because everyone likes them and you are no longer the cool guy who liked them when they were obscure.

Actually, I'm just tired of uninformed zealots who like to spout off about this or that fad diet. Believe it or not, many fad diets actually work, but here's the catch: You have to follow them completely and YOU HAVE TO MAKE A LIFESTYLE CHANGE.

The bottom line is you have to stick with what works for you. Atkins has worked for many people. So has Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers. They make the lifestyle change and they keep the weight off. If it gets them in shape, why bitch about it?

Edit: BTW, Atkins has "appeal" not because of branding, but because of morons who flipped through the first 10 pages of the book standing at B&N and then told all their friends that there is this diet where you just eat steak and bacon and the pounds just DISAPPEAR!

Okay, I can agree with all of that. But, I guess I'm going to change to a 41/39/20 diet because I really don't want to be on a branded one.

 

[Triumph]

Sigh. Yet another Atkins bashing thread. It would be so easy to refute practically every single idiotic anti-Atkins post in this thread, but it's been done before and it's getting tiresome.

-Atkins is not 0 carb
-Atkins is not "Eat steak and bacon 4 life!"
-Atkins is not anti-excercise. There's a reason his book has a chapter entitled "Excercise - It's non-negotiable."
-Atkins is not "easy", since many people are addicted to refined carbohydrates. How is it any easier to cut out cake, cookies, and pop, than it is to cut out steak, fried chicken, and potato chips? All diets involve sacrifice of something that you love.
-Atkins did not die from a heart attack. From the snopes link above:

Thanks to his death certificate (as displayed at The Smoking Gun), we know Atkins was 258 pounds at the time of his death. Yet according to a copy of his medical records, as turned over to USA Today by the diet guru's widow, Atkins weighed 195 pounds upon admission to the hospital 8 April 2003 following his fall. He died on 17 April 2003 after having been in a coma for more than a week.

But I'm sure that the idiots in this thread won't listen to my post.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
Okay, I can agree with all of that. But, I guess I'm going to change to a 41/39/20 diet because I really don't want to be on a branded one.

You just branded it, and I'm going to start using it because I heard about it from a reliable source who said it works.

If you act now, you can slap your name on it, and reap the financial rewards along with the physical ones

Unless, of course, somebody comes up with 6-Minute Abs. Then you're in trouble, huh?
Your new fad diet made me think of that line from There's Something About Mary.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
Okay, I can agree with all of that. But, I guess I'm going to change to a 41/39/20 diet because I really don't want to be on a branded one.

You just branded it, and I'm going to start using it because I heard about it from a reliable source who said it works.

If you act now, you can slap your name on it, and reap the financial rewards along with the physical ones

Unless, of course, somebody comes up with 6-Minute Abs. Then you're in trouble, huh?
Your new fad diet made me think of that line from There's Something About Mary.

Nah, if I were to come up with something like 6-Minute Abs I'd end up at a rest area using the bathroom and then... err yah.

 

[Kelemvor]

Any diet that specifically relies on eating all of one food group or completely not eating a certain food group (or certain thigns in foods) are not good. Look at Weight Watchers. It's been around for decades. It's all about limiting HOW MUCH of things you eat. Not about totally avoiding certain things. And of course working out and such helps too.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Lyfer

Originally posted by: Zim Hosein
Atkins died of some type of heart-issue, I for one am glad you gave up on that diet GoodDad :beer:

Indeed, what the heck is up with all these fastfood corporations jumping on the low carb bandwagon?

WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP SAYING THIS???????????????


HE DIED FROM A HEAD INJURY AFTER FALLING ON SOME ICE!!!

Geeze, how does this story keep going?

Proof

And before the other people come out of the woodwork saying he was overweight when he died, he was bloated from being in a coma for two weeks afterwards:

The other proof

Atkins is safe if done correctly. I've successfully used it and am now in the best shape of my life. Don't bash something you don't understand.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: Lyfer

Originally posted by: Zim Hosein
Atkins died of some type of heart-issue, I for one am glad you gave up on that diet GoodDad :beer:

Indeed, what the heck is up with all these fastfood corporations jumping on the low carb bandwagon?

WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP SAYING THIS???????????????


HE DIED FROM A HEAD INJURY AFTER FALLING ON SOME ICE!!!

Geeze, how does this story keep going?

Proof

And before the other people come out of the woodwork saying he was overweight when he died, he was bloated from being in a coma for two weeks afterwards:

The other proof

Atkins is safe if done correctly. I've successfully used it and am now in the best shape of my life. Don't bash something you don't understand.

Why does bashing a diet automatically mean that I don't understand it?

 

[Rudee]

"Weight" means nothing. Did you lose fluid, muscle or fat? Unfortunately, the scale doesn't tell you this, thus if you diet relying on the scale alone, you're not seeing the real picture.

 

[Rudee]

Originally posted by: Swag1138
My uncle did strict atkins for 3+ years, he died of a heart attack 3 weeks ago with 90% blockage in one of his arteries. He was otherwise completely healthy, and there was no reason to think that it something like this could happen.

I stopped atkins immediately after this.

My Boss's Secretary, whom had been slightly overweight and on Atkins for the past year, also died of a massive heart attack at the age of 37. Although, one will never know for sure if Atkins was responsible, it certainly makes you think.

Personally, I don't recommend Atkins type diets. I've been bodybuilding over 17 years, since the mid 80's, and I found the best way of eating for health is to reduce intake of processed foods. Normally, I hover at around 10% bodyfat, but when I want to get ripped for the summer, I go on a strict diet of eating only natural foods. Anything as long as it's in it's natural form. All fruits and vegetables are perfectly acceptable. Potatoes and all! In about 5 weeks I can get ripped, and into single-digit bodyfat levels. When I get a crisp line down the center of my abs, I know I'm getting very lean. So, just eat natural foods and don't get caught up in this Atkins stuff where it's about meat and fat.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: Rudee

Originally posted by: Swag1138
My uncle did strict atkins for 3+ years, he died of a heart attack 3 weeks ago with 90% blockage in one of his arteries. He was otherwise completely healthy, and there was no reason to think that it something like this could happen.

I stopped atkins immediately after this.

My Boss's Secretary, whom had been slightly overweight and on Atkins for the past year, also died of a massive heart attack at the age of 37. Although, one will never know for sure if Atkins was responsible, it certainly makes you think.

Personally, I don't recommend Atkins type diets. I've been bodybuilding over 17 years, since the mid 80's, and I found the best way of eating for health is to reduce intake of processed foods. Normally, I hover at around 10% bodyfat, but when I want to get ripped for the summer, I go on a strict diet of eating only natural foods. Anything as long as it's in it's natural form. All fruits and vegetables are perfectly acceptable. Potatoes and all! In about 5 weeks I can get ripped, and into single-digit bodyfat levels. When I get a crisp line down the center of my abs, I know I'm getting very lean. So, just eat natural foods and don't get caught up in this Atkins stuff where it's about meat and fat.

You sound like a smart guy, but you really don't know anything about the Atkins diet. Practically 50% of his book is spent railing against refined and processed foods such as white bread, cane sugar, cookies, cake, potato chips, etc, and instead substituting chicken, fish, beef, nuts, whole grains, vegetables AND EVEN FRUITS! you can eat all of the fruit you want on atkins, as long as you stay below your carbohydrate level for the day.

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: Zim Hosein
Atkins died of some type of heart-issue, I for one am glad you gave up on that diet GoodDad :beer:

you'd be a moron to actually think the "Atkins Diet" had anything to do with his heart attack

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: Swag1138
My uncle did strict atkins for 3+ years, he died of a heart attack 3 weeks ago with 90% blockage in one of his arteries. He was otherwise completely healthy, and there was no reason to think that it something like this could happen.

I stopped atkins immediately after this.

think about it...90% blockage in 3 years? Yeah right

this was going on long before

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Where are all the Atkins aficionados who were swearing everlasting allegiance to his diet just a month or so ago? Are they all dead or did they come to their senses?

Here's one. There is so much disinformation in here it's amazing. Atkins is trying to teach people to stay away from carbs because they actually carry more calories than fat does. Unused calories get stored as fat in the body.

Now...yes, you can eat a lot of fat on the diet. BUT NOT ALL FATS ARE THE SAME. Transfats are bad...stay away from them and you wont have any cholesterol problems while on the diet. A rule of thumb:

If it has grains, starch, or sugar, or has been processed, don't eat it.

The diet actually promotes eating natural foods- meats, non-sugar bearing vegetables, etc. People get on the diet and the first thing they think it "FREE BACON!!! WOOHOO!!!" Those people deserve what they get for their own stupidity. Also, I wouldn't recommend the diet for long term. It allows you to lose weight quickly, but lacks fiber, calcium, and vitamins. I would recommend doing the diet in 3 month spurts, then doing low fat/low cal to maintain weight. Vitamin and calcium supplements are highly recommended (and this fact is also posted on instructions for the diet at The Atkins Center Web Site).

In a nutshell, people jump into this diet because of the fad factor, don't follow it correctly because they don't actually learn the ins and outs, and then complain about poor/adverse results.

I've lost 30 pounds From Jan-March, switched to low fat, low cal, began weight training and gained 10 lbs in muscle mass. Cholesterol went from 186-143 and has stayed there. The diet does work, but like anything it has to be done correctly.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Maybe information is different now. Since when does a carb carry more calories than a fat? My 40/40/20 diet works for me just fine and my calculations have a fat gram carrying a ton more calories, relatively speaking, than a carb gram.

But, I'm open to being completely incorrect here, so please provide some proof other than a link to an Atkins website.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: Wingznut

Originally posted by: TekViper
low carb doesnt mean no carb. the only time your really restricting your carbs is the first two weeks were you stay under 20g a day, but then after that its about finding your ideal setting. fruits and vegatables ARE a big part of the low carb lifestyle. its all about cutting out proccessed carbs and other mass produced garbage.

Yep... So is eating in moderation, getting plenty of exercise, eating natural foods, etc...

Unfortunately, you are preaching to a bunch of people who know nothing of the subject, but somehow believe they are experts.

Welcome to ATOT.

LOL!!!!!