Description: Probably the most well known low-carb / high-protein diet. It first appeared back in the early 70’s. The Atkins Diet claims you can eat all the protein and fat that you care to and still lose weight. You just need to cut out the carbohydrates to become thin. It's all explained in: Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution, by Dr Robert C. Atkins. The Atkins diet claims that you will lose weight fast and you will be able to eat large amounts of protein while eating very little sugar and white flour. The drawbacks are that your initial weight loss may be quite fast, but is not always sustainable. A ketosis-inducing diet may strain the kidneys. As many foods high in animal protein may also be high in saturated fat, your saturated fat intake may be too high for comfort. Giving up or severely restricting potatoes, corn, bread, fruits and vegetables and much more for as long as it takes to lose the weight, is not a user-friendly diet plan. Reviews (23):

Good Diet Reviewer: Anonymous       04-28-2007 Easy way to lose weight. Since most foods i eat are high in protien it worked out fine.

Works well Reviewer: Anonymous       03-07-2005 This diet worked wonders. After two weeks, fat started to dissapear from my arms, belly, legs and even my face. My lovehandels were gone and I felt sexier than ever. I also stopped craving sweets. Since I started it before christmas, it wasn\\\'t hard at all to say no to dessert. Although it worked wonders for me, I don\\\'t recommend that you starve yourself of carbs for more than 2 weeks. I lost so much weight in a period of two weeks that I had to re introduce good carbs. Also, I hardly went to the bathroom as often as I did. After two weeks, don\\\'t start binging on carbs, but eat a lot of vegetables and whole high fibre foods.

Think Before Starting This Diet Reviewer: Terri       03-25-2004 Please, think very carefully about this diet before doing it. First of all, as clearly stated in the book, the goal is to send the body into ketosis. In fact, they even recommend getting the ketosis strips that diabetics use to test for ketosis. Diabetics want to avoid ketosis - AND SO SHOULD YOU!!! Ketosis is simply your body eating on itself. You lose weight because your body eats on itself. It does NOT burn fat. It eats away at your lean muscle tissue. In the meantime, your body is literally starving for the nutrition it needs. It goes into starvation mode. It thinks it's suffering from famine. It starts conserving everything it can. You're losing weight, but your body is suffering from malnutrition. When you go off the Atkins diet (eventually everyone does), and start eating normally, you will start gaining weight at a phenomenal rate. Your body is in starvation mode. It's conserving everything it can, and what is conserves is FAT. So what's the result of the Atkins diet? You lose weight. You even feel pretty good on the diet. But what you lose is muscle tissue. When you go off the diet, you gain back fat. The average weight gain after quitting the Atkins diet is roughly double what was lost. Your body will be suffering from a real lack of certain vitamins and minerals totally lacking in the Atkins diet. I'm sure that I've offended some people who think the Atkins diet is great. I'm sure that some will go on the Atkins diet despite what I've written. I just think people should think about both sides of the issue before subjecting their bodies to this diet. Be very careful how you nourish your body.

SORRY I QUIT Reviewer: Jenny   New York    03-25-2004 Doing this diet last year was a very gratifying experience. I lost weight at a very rapid rate, somewhere between 32-36 lbs. in less than 2 1/2 months. My goal was to loose 100 lbs. I stopped doing the diet because of all the bad hype and decided to join Weight Watchers. As soon as I did that, I noticed my desire for carbs and junk was back in full force.

I Seen Results Reviewer: hidjo@webtv.net   New York    03-25-2004 This is the only diet program where i have seen results. I have lost 25 lbs in 4 months and now the scale won't bulge for the past 3 wks. I do cardio, weight training, and take supplements. What else is there for me to do?

Plan is EASY Reviewer: rrbret@hotmail.com   Knoxville, TN    03-25-2004 For those who want to know the "why" of it all the science is clearly explained and further references provided. No "special" foods are required and the plan is easy to follow even when eating out. You can worry about anecdotes from people who may or may not have read and understood the book or you can read the book, understand the science, and see if this way of eating may give you a lighter, healthier body where the traditional low fat diets have failed.

I lost 43 lbs. Reviewer: Paul       03-25-2004 I've lost 43 Lbs as of this AM, I've been at or below my goal for 3 weeks now, and I'm in the process of adding a few healty carbs back into my diet. My Cholesterol has gone down. My Blood pressure has gone down. My Energy is great. I thought it was easy.

Great Diet. Reviewer: Meatatarian       03-25-2004 I'm here to tell you, this is a great way to eat if you are built to ingest flesh. For me the low carb way appears to be the only way to lose weight and fill good physically at the same time. I eat meat as I wish.

i'm suspicious about this diet Reviewer: Chris Ngo       03-25-2004 I've done Atkins for a few months at a time. It works for me, but I'm still suspicious of its long term effects.

I would modify Atkins... Reviewer: Grape       03-25-2004 I would modify Atkins and wean off the fats once in ketosis, excercising more to use up most of my carbohydrate intake, use olive oil and healthier fats when they were present, eat leaner proteins, and COMPLEX high roughage carbohydrates, drinking more water.

Honest Critique Reviewer: Alan       03-25-2004 Personally, I have been low-carbing for about 8 months now with good success. I did not destroy my kidneys, my brain function, get nauseated, die from ketosis, and the breath thing was quickly cured from simply drinking adequate amounts of water. I lost 40 pounds, with another 20 to go as a goal. My blood lipids and BP are what would be considered optimal for someone half my age. I know several other people with similar experience, and there are a lot of fans over in adslc which I also read.

Read My Review Reviewer: Martin       03-25-2004 I was concerned about the high protein especially since I have only one kidney, so I investigated the literature thoroughly. Basically, the idea that protein is bad for the kidneys comes from the fact that it has to be restricted during end stage kidney disease, due to the reduced residual functionality remaining. There is so little convincing evidence of any damage to the kidney by protein that there is controversy within the medical community about whether protein needs to be restricted during kidney disease before end stage. On the PH issue, my kidney reading convinced me that the body has a tremendous capacity to deal with acid base issues, furthermore, in my particular case, I live at 7070 ft elevation so am in natural respiratory alkalosis.

eating fat Reviewer: Lewitt       03-25-2004 Most people who go low carb and successfully lose weight are not eating ANY more fat or protein than before, they have just reduced their carbs and Calories even though they are eating ad libatum. Isn't this really the whole story behind any successful body fat loss method of dieting? I.e. is the success or non-success of any diet strategy basically dependent on whether the body fat loss dieter reduces his/her calorie intake while getting adequate intake of other nutrients?

eating fat Reviewer: Lewitt       03-25-2004 Most people who go low carb and successfully lose weight are not eating ANY more fat or protein than before, they have just reduced their carbs and Calories even though they are eating ad libatum. Isn't this really the whole story behind any successful body fat loss method of dieting? I.e. is the success or non-success of any diet strategy basically dependent on whether the body fat loss dieter reduces his/her calorie intake while getting adequate intake of other nutrients?

Problems with Ketosis. Reviewer: Jolin       03-25-2004 I have finally started to lose a little weight after months on a low carb diet. I seem to be unable to get into ketosis no matter how restricted the carb content.

Maintaining Muscle through Atkins Diet Reviewer: Roger       03-25-2004 I had maintained muscle size throughout the diet, but had stalled for 3 mos. in the 173 - 175 region. I cut back on eating, which is fairly easy to do on Atkins, dropped to 168.5 in a couple of weeks, but lost 1/2 in. off my biceps and was not able to lift as heavily.

On the Atkins Diet during football season Reviewer: Mike       03-25-2004 I play football for my local jr college and i decided to join the Atkins craze. Well, i was able to lose weight however my on field performace declined and my stats were no where near what i put up last season. Now the season is almost over and i don't think losing 40 pounds was worth giving up stats and a starting roll. If you are an athlete I don't recommend the Atkins Diet.

I am on the diet Reviewer: Jason       03-25-2004 I started Atkins Jan 6th of this year, and as of this Saturday's weigh-in, I lost 28lbs. Got 20 more to go, but I don't see a problem nailing those as well. Working out and staying active has helped me too.

Tried It. Reviewer: Mangrove       03-23-2004 Tried it and it worked for me. However, did not like the physical sensation of being in constant ketosis. Found that I did better physically and mentally on a balanced (protein/carbs/fat) diet, just reducing the caloric intake by an appropriate amount (fewer calories, lose faster ... more calories, lose slower).

eat less calories than you burn = weight loss Reviewer: B. Clark       03-21-2004 I have been on the Atkins Diet for some time and I am eating more calories than before I was on this diet and am losing weight quite remarkably. If you eat less calories than you burn then you will lose weight, but if you eat more calories than you burn-- Even much more-- you will not necessarily gain weight.

Health Risk Reviewer: Jerry       03-20-2004 After reading the book, I felt so motivated and ready to start this diet. I couldn't believe how happy i was and willing to start a diet that would help me lose weight fast and also help me feel good. Well, it all started off great. I was able to eat meat, eggs, cheese, some veggies, etc.. as long as i drank 64 ounces of water per day. Well about a week later my worst nitemare began. I started trembling and getting heart palpitations. It was very irratating. I went to see the doctor as soon as i could. My doctor told me it was due to low blood sugar and recommended i start eating sugar again thus ending this so called 'great' diet. I recommend asking your doctor before starting this diet. It may be devastating and not the right diet for you.

YAY for Atkins Reviewer: Anonymous       03-20-2004 We can eat like this for life! Hurrah for Dr. Atkins! After years of diets that didn't work or with which I could only comply for a short time: I have found a way of eating that will work for life!

My Atkins Review Reviewer: troger@aol.com       03-19-2004 The Atkins Diet did work for me. Its main purpose is to make you lose weight. I lost about 30 pounds in as little as 3 months time. However, the eating pattern was difficult for me to maintain. I think most people would find what you are able to eat and not eat on this diet difficult to maintain. If eating certain food items are top of your list then i don't recommend this diet. Overall my review is neutral since it does help you lose weight.

Average Reviewer Rating: Add my review on this item