just out of curiosity - how many of you on the atkins diet are losing lean muscle as opposed to fat?

I don't know if I'm losing lean muscle, at least its not apparent to me. I do know that I am losing a lot of fat, particularly intra-abdominal fat, which is the type of fat most closely linked to cancer.

If the dieter is eating a sufficient amount of protein and working out with weights regularly muscle loss should be minimal. There's a better chance of retaining muscle on Atkins than on other "diets" for this reason.

If anyone kept accurate body fat % measurements while on Atkins that would be helpful.

179!
 

I'm down to 179 pounds! I was at 216 when I started at the end of September.

Atkins Advises Dieters to Eat Smaller Steaks
 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Promoters of the popular low-carbohydrate, high-fat Atkins diet are saying that people should limit their intake of saturated fat by cutting back on Atkins staples such as meat, cheese and butter, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Responding to criticism from scientists that Atkins could lead to heart disease and other health problems, the director of research and education for Atkins Nutritionals, Colette Heimowitz, is telling health professionals that only 20 percent of a dieter's calories should come from saturated fat, the paper said.

Beef, pork, lamb and butter were on the list of "foods you may eat liberally" in diet founder Dr. Robert C. Atkins' book "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution," first published in 1992. Atkins, who died last year, always maintained that people should eat other food besides red meat, but had trouble getting that message out, the paper said.