I loooove carbs.

I will be happy when the low-carb craze runs its course.

potential low-carb issues:

-esp on atkins, 'low-carb' can often equal 'high-fat' . . . look at that advantEDGE bar next time . . . 15 g protein, but more than 25% of your RDI for fat

-lack of variety for some people in their diet - one of the most important things when sticking to a diet is to shake up your meals, which helps increase metabolism and keep nutrient levels solid across the board . . . many on low-carb diets follow specific plans well, but don't mix up the actual meals.

-finally, the worst of them all: lack of fiber in the diet, which some in the medical community have predicted will lead to an increase in colon cancer etc.


Low-carb diets are fantastic in theory, just make sure you keep these three elements in mind, and regularly exercise. Many would reach the same results by just cutting out simple carbs in the form of juice, soda, snacks, etc and walking up and down some stairs for 30 min 5 times a week.

Doing South Beach...down 20 lbs so far. It takes learning and after the Phase I, making sensible choices is so much easier.

Good points ksigrc. You know the fad has become a craze when everyone is trying to get in on the act. What's up with this low carb peanut butter and mayonaise and milk? Were any of those things really all that high card to begin with? Stop the madness!

I understand the Atkins, as written in the book is a decent plan. I'm just worried about all the people who don't research it and just start eliminating carbs. I also wonder how many people on Atkins think it's a substitute for getting enough exercise. Oh well.

So glad to know I am not alone!! hugs to all my carb lovers!

I'm sick of low carb everything.

My dad did it for a while, and his doctor, my doctor, and my mom's doctor all said that it's really not healthy... especially when it comes to heart disease. Eating all that fat and red meat increases your risk for that, no matter what you weigh.

I went out to dinner with my family last night, and the waitress handed us a "low carb menu." At a steakhouse. I told her to take it right back.

Lol. That is too funny about the steakhouse!

One of my atty's here at work says that these low carb diets are good if you need to lose a few pounds to squeeze into that suit/dress/whatever for the weekend. But as far as long-term results, it's really very easy to gain it right back, and you're depriving your body of something it needs, so you need to be careful.

Easy to gain it all back?

-Rudey

Oh this Atkins shit just makes me mad. People in history have ate bread for too long for it suddenly to be the reason Americans are so fat!

The trick is MODERATION. If people need to lose weight, I agree, cut down on carbs. But also learn which ones are good, and eat them in moderation. I lost 50 pounds a few years ago...while eating....bread, pasta, and rice! *gasp*

I've seen people lose a ton of weight and improve their overall health with the low-carb diets...and I've seen people who just couldn't stick to them.

If you have the time, exercise is really the best way to go - combine it with a sensible diet (not too much sugar, simple carbs, etc.) and you should be fine.

I am REALLY sick of low carb everything and all the "Atkins friendly" stuff I see everywhere. The whole fad diet thing just doesn't make sense to me at all -- the only thing that makes sense is eating the most natural, unprocessed foods possible and everything in moderation (not that I necessarily do that, but I try). I'm a vegetarian anyway, so you're never going to see me doing a "high protein" diet.

I think a lot of companies are marketing low carb things because people hear all this buzz about LC dieting, so they'll buy it even though they have no idea what they're doing. I was in Subway and I saw a woman get on of their Atkins wraps and then a bag of Baked Lays. They think it's eating healthy but they don't know how the diet works. It's like a weight loss buzzword, sort of.

Actually Americans weren't so fat because Americans didn't have money. With time Americans have become less hungry as the hunger situation has been tackled. So what are you talking about?

Nobody said other diets don't work. You did what you did, great. This diet has been used for a long long time - first by people who were sick and then later by bodybuilders and certain athletes. Those people understand how to use it. They understand that they can't just eat liquid lard. They understand how to supplement fiber without increasing their net carbs.

And most people do not know how to even get their body into ketosis. They don't even know how it works and don't understand a bit about it. It's like the morons who drink diet cokes with their big macs.

-Rudey

totally agree with Rudey.

I heard on the radio this morning that some people are taking this too far and are ending up with I believe they said Type 2 Diabetes...

oh my god. i tried the atkins diet for a few weeks. it was horrible!!! all the low carb stuff tastes like crap! my bf and i started it one night. threw out all of our high carb stuff and went grocery shopping and got meat and stuff. after a few days, we were going crazy. so i looked on the atkins website and found that they sold food, so we bougth a ton of it. hell, they had cake, cheesecake, cookies, candy, etc. we wanted the good stuff any way we could. as soon as we got it and tried it, we spit it out, and sent it all back! it tasted like saw dust. and the candy, they say there's something in it that's like a laxative. :eek:

I LOVE MY CARBS!!!

i'd rather work out 4-5 days a week, than go back on that damn diet!

oh yeah, when i was on the atkins, you lost weight at first, but that was just water weight. and after awhile, we were both tired and VERY cranky.