h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Atkins Diet always sounds so attractive, and I've heard so many major success stories that it's majorly tempting, but I realize that there's no way it would work for me. Eggs and cheese are all well and good, but I don't really eat meat and that cuts out a big part of the diet.

When trying to lose weight, I tend to attempt the "eat less junk and exercise more" plan. Instead of cookies for snacks, I go for baby carrots or applesauce, and I've added in 2 days swimming to my usual 2 dance classes for exercise. I really hope this will work this time!

Citizen - not quite eating my words, just purely realised you were responding to somebody else's post, so backed down.

That's what I do see - if somebody provides me with factual information contrary to what I believed, I'm willing to change my view.

As you can see from the 'menus' people have posted, Atkins is healthy, and quite balance. When you bring carbs into it, they're natural carbs. Supposedly healthy 'low fat' usually equals more sugar. But I've already said this, as have others.. and you still claim it's eeeevil.

But that's okay, I'll keep on living my happy healthy life, and you keep on believing everything you read in the tabloids. It's quite extroardinary how some people manage to read (and believe) so much rubbish, when they're walking through life with blinkers on.

Exercise is more important in weight loss than dieting. Diet and you may get skinny - but exercise, and you'll look great too.

I know that my parents both advocate the Aitkins diet. However, my best friend, who is a nutritionist, shakes her head and does not approve.

On hearing the evidence of my parents, I do encourage my friend to read the book. I have not myself, but my parents seem conviced by it, and actually enjoy life on it. Having spent most of my childhood watching my mother starve herself on almost every diet you can think of (she keeps a lid on it, of course, it's not excessive!), this diet really seems to be good for her. She can eat almost anything!

She has always, however, stressed that you do have to be careful with it. Especially drinking water.

My advice would be to buy the book (currently sitting at the top of the book charts), read, and see if you can understand the scientific reasoning behind the diet. It still seems a bit of an alien concept ofter years of 'fat is bad, fat is bad' indoctrination.

Read, understand, choose.

'and you still claim it's eeeevil'

Strange words to use when talking about a diet - not from my lips.

'I'll keep on living my happy healthy life, and you keep on believing everything you read in the tabloids. It's quite extroardinary how some people manage to read (and believe) so much rubbish, when they're walking through life with blinkers on'

I don't read tabloids mate. It's quite extraordinary how some people manage to read (and believe) so much rubbish concerning food with all these strange and fad diets going around - when they have earplugs in when nutritionalists and doctors point out any dangers.

Montana - your diet that day sounds delicious and quite balanced I have to say. Nothing wrong with that at all. Sounds like you are limiting fat intake more than Atkins allows for. (Yes I have seen a copy of the book)

Oh, don't get me wrong. There are days when I go whole hog and eat steak...but really, I don't like the incredibly fatty meats, I'm not a fan of bacon, and sausage is too expensive. What I like about Atkins is that eggs and cheese aren't off the table...particularly cheese. Weight Watchers? low fat cheese, which I personally find tastes alot like chewing on a rubber band.

It's all about the cheese!

(Argh! I can't find the cheese smiley)

Sounds very balanced to me -- also making me wish that that's what I had yesterday!! LOL

Instead, I had 2 small turkey roll-ups (lettuce instead of tortilla or bread, with a slice of low-fat mozzarella and a slice of tomato) and a plum for breakfast. Plums, by the by, are a low glycemic food, at 23. A 15 is the lowest the G.I. goes. Lettuce is listed as <15, as is broccoli, mushrooms, celery, etc.

Lunch was a salad with 1 T. of ranch dressing (don't like runny salad) and a chicken breast. Dinner was a bowl of chicken vegetable soup and another roll-up. Had to eat early, as I was fasting for my blood test this morning. When I get the results, I'll post them, but already my fasting blood sugars are down!

SC

Hmmm. So Food Standard Agency joins MRC in condemning it now, http://politics.guardian.co.uk/publicservices/story/0,11032,1046746,00.html

Plus last week half of Scotland's NHS Trusts and other NHS in England refusing to give to patients as it is 'pseudo science and nutritionally incomplete.'

I do hope they are not being accused of being bigots.

I'm actually in training() for a marathon on October 12th and my diet is probably about 60% carbo. It would be interesting to hear from someone on the Atkins who does stamina based exercise. I doubt if I'll go for what is known as carbo-loading in the days before the race, but I do eat loads especially after a long run.

good luck with the marathon I don't particularly agree with any diet. Mind you I don't eat a lot anyway.

Thanks for that. If you don't eat much then I recommend the odd raw carrot, marvellous nutritionally and jolly tasty to boot

wonders whether she should throw carrot at the third man actually I'm not a big fan of veg and salad but thanks for the advice

Again, speaking from my parents experience and not my own, they felt a little weak in the early few days, but now have no problems with stamina or feeling tired now they are several months into it. Both are reasonably fit, and walk a fair amount (though nothing in comparison to a marathon!). They feel that they can convert enough energy from what they do eat.

Okay, sorry it's taken me so long to get back...

Blood tests are in: I was really nervous about eating so much protein, for the reasons I stated earlier. I have high cholesterol and higher than I'd like fasting blood sugars. I had bood tests done on July 15, then again on Sept. 19.

When I got the tests back (finally!) I was absolutely FLOORED!

My total cholesterol is down 97, from 307 to 210. LDL (bad stuff!) is down 77, from 208 to 131. HDL (good stuff) is up one point, from 52 to 53. Triglycerides are down a whopping 127, from 259 to 132. Best of all, my "report card" diabetes test, the HbA1c, went from 7.4% to 7.1%. Optimal for a diabetic is below 7%. My fasting blood sugar went from 151 to 86.

First, let me say, I did not change my medication, but I did change my pattern of eating. I used the South Beach diet, which is a leaner, less "wide open" low carb diet than Atkins. Had more salads, a lot less rice and pasta (but didn't go without completely, either). Can't say if this is what others will experience, but this is how *I'm* doing.

I only lost about 5 pounds, though. But the health changes are exactly what I need them to be, so for me, Low Carb ROCKS!!!



sc

Next blood screen will have to wait until the bus strike is over, can't get to my doctor until it is.

Glad to hear your healthy news!

Guess it just goes to show, different 'diets' work for different people.

When I was at the gym last night I saw on one of the silent TV screens something about the Atkins Diet although there were no subtitles (I hate it when that happens) Anyone see it and were there any conclusions ?

Probably someone slighting it becuase they didn't drink enough water again.

(I don't own a television so I can't say I saw the thing).

Catherine Zeta Jones has taken out some kind of injunction to stop people linking her name with the diet. Every program / 'news' item I've seen about the diet has shown pictures of her, so somebody thinks she was on it. I guess she doesn't like the bad press the diet has got. Either that or she really wasn't on it. She certainly doesn't look like she needs to lose weight.

Odd. There are enough people out there who have been on it, famous or otherwise, so why just specify her? Or maybe they don'tl maybe she just thinks they do.

They don't *just* specify her, but her face has been shown amongst all the others every time I've seen the Atkins diet mentioned. She doesn't think they're singling her out, she just wants the media to stop associating her name and/or image with the diet because she's never used it and thinks it's unhealthy.