Robert C. Atkins
1 To Good To Be True
The Adkins diet works because decreasing your carb intake decreases your calorie intake and it also works by your body loosing significant fluids secondary to increased urine excretions of ketones (from fat burning) and nitrogen (from use of protein for energy rather than the body's first choice of glucose from carbs).
Problems related to this diet include:
* increased protein diets heavily burden the kidneys to excrete exessive amounts of nitrogen which has been shown to lead to loss of renal (kidney) function with aging.
*Inadequate carb intake compromises glycogen storage in liver and muscles (the body's 1st choice for energy source) risking fatigue and poor performance
*Protein in excess of need is used for energy (but if you are fatigued from lack of carbs you wont use the energy), the other protein is converted to fat, and its a well known health risk to have an increased body fat %
* Also, high protein is associated with increased urinary excretion of calcium, and may therefore contribute to osteoporosis.
* High intake of animal proteins are linked to atherosclerosis (related to saturated fat and cholesterol content) and to colon and prostate cancers.
Honestly this diet is not healthy for you at all. Eating a well balanced diet and regularly getting excercise will help you stay healthy and can remove you from the burden and cost that all of these fad diets offer. No matter how Mr. Adkins died doesn't matter... what matters is that you have a choice to make good decisions about your health and realize that sometimes these fad diets are too good to be true and we could be putting ourselves at risk by believing they are the answer to our problems.
2 50 lbs Lost, Off Insulin, Feel Great!
1. To start with, I am a Cardiac Intensive Care Nurse and "binky"'s comments were absolutely right about Atkin's death.....and the explanation of the fluid gain
2. I have been diabetic over 20 yrs, much of that time on insulin. Some yrs ago, I noticed that if I had a meeting at work that required my attention, I would skip meals. I was sluggish, tired all the time, massive yeast infections, and so many other problems. I told my mother that I thought food was killing me....I felt so much better without food! But it was the sneaky lil carbs making me so sick!
How excited I was to discover Dr. Atkins! So now after 7 yrs on Atkins, I maintain my weight with 20 gms carbs or less a day and I no longer crave carbs. I quit buying big bags of potatoes and loaves of bread! His Revolution and this diet book helped the most. I have adapted some of the recipes in the book to suit my taste.
My doctor will tell me the usual AMA garbage about this diet and then compliments me on all the progress! Hmmmmm. In the hospital, an 1800 ADA diet includes 5 starches a day and small amt of protein! Yuck! Boy, you should have seen the hospital dietician when my doctor let me be on a modified Atkins while hospitalized!
Hope this helps ya'll out there!
3 The TRUTH about Dr. Atkins death
It is astonishing to read the slam pieces here about Dr. Atkins so-called obesity and overweight condition at the time of his death. Here are the facts:
* He previously had a heart condition called cardiomyopathy -- a serious disease of the heart muscle which is unrelated to diet.
* He died of a head injury because of an accident falling on slippery ice and not of being overweight.
* His actual weight was 200 pounds when he was admitted to the hospital at the time of his accident. The erroneous reports of him weight 258 lbs was based on his weight at the time of his death. The extra weight was not fat, but an accumulation of body fluids linked to organ failure during his coma.
* His previous reported heart attack was due to a viral infection and not diet related. He spoke openly of his condition on various national news programs.
* The report that was released about him being overweight was leaked to the press by a group named "Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine", which is an ardent opponent of the Atkins diet. In short, they distorted his weight by reporting the weight at the time of death - 258 lbs, and not at the time of his admittance - 200 lbs...an obvious attempt to discredit and distort the facts surrounding Dr. Atkins death.
* A formal complaint has been filed by the Medical Examiner of New York regarding the suspicious leak of this information to the public by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine."
* The disinformation surrounding Dr.Atkins untimely death is politically driven by the AMA and other detractors of the diet.
Dr. Atkins book, New Diet Revolution has turned the AMA and other nutritional views upside down and has created a furor over the standard edicts of the medical profession. What is not said among the detractors of the Diet is that it is safe and it works. The information contained in this book will not only help you lose weight, it could save your life. The food industry, especially the bread and pasta industry have lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of the low carb revolution. Is it any wonder that this diet is under so much fire? Keep an open mind and read the book.
As a side note, ignor the mumbo-jumbo rantings and ravings of the "Elixir Diet" system. The hatred and mis-information spread by the reviewer is evidence enough that the Elixir system is phony as a three cent penny. Nuff said. The guy hasn't even read the Atkins book! Sheesh.
4 Save your money and go to the Web site
I bought this cookbook before looking at the Atkins Web site. Big mistake. You can find these recipes, and in some cases updates of them, for free on the Web site. You can also find lots of low-carb recipes by searching with Google. This book also could have used the assistance of an experienced cookbook editor.
5 good info...not so great recipes
I have been on the atkins diet for four months and have lost 56 pounds (and still going), so I can attest to the fact that this diet does work. I have never felt better or more energetic in my life.
The first part of this book talks about the basics of the diet. That's where the three stars came from. The second part of the book is the recipe section. No stars for it. Most of the recipes call for ingredients that I cannot find in normal grocery stores. It's really quite frustrating. Unless you live in an area with several health food stores, which I do not, I would recommend trying to find a different cook book with more practical recipes or coming up with your own.
6 Best Ever!
This is outstanding information - makes a huge difference in my outlook on nutrition for myself and my family!
7 Dr. Atkins' New Diet Cookbook
Hands down the best low carb cookbook with the Candida diet in mind. I've purchased several in the past 3 months, but this book has some fantastic recipes for the Candida diet (a week's worth of menus and all of the recipes are fantastic!). If you are looking for a recipe book for low carb/Candida, look no further.
8 Atkins' is a life-style!
I rate this book with 5 stars because it takes patience and persistance to figure out how to remove the "gunk" from most recipes, which is what has been done here, and still have them taste good!
Unfortunately you have to "cook from scratch", which I personally love to do. Fortunately, someone has done most of the leg work for you. This is a good overview of how to prepare low carb foods, from soup to desserts.
Atkins's low carb philosophy is a life-style, so anyone who hopes to be successfull should read this book and get other low carb recipes as well, and then adapt them to their own taste.
Now I eat as much "cheese cake" without guilt as I want, continue to shrink in size and feel great.
What more of a testimonial can I make!
Thank you Dr. Atkins and Fran Gare!
9 Great diet! but hard to find ingredients.
I highly recommend the Atkin's Diet! I have been on it for six months now and I am losing wieght, looking and feeling better than I have for many years. You only feel tired if you don't get enough fat in the diet. It took me a while to figure this out. However, the ingredients in his recipes are very hard to find. I have access to only a small health food store. If you don't have access to a very large, well-stocked health food store, you may have to order the ingredients online. I still salute Dr. Atkins and thank him for giving me my health back!
10 Easy, but uninspired recipes
Yes - the recipes are easy.
I would reccomend this book only for a non-cook or beginner at cooking. If you thought of adding almonds to green beans or putting Splenda in gelatin recipes without this book - you don't need this book.
The 'spicy' recipes are pretty tame.
The book might give you some ideas, but I would suggest using the cookbooks you have and modifying some recipes to be low carb.
11 Great Compliment for Atkins Followers
Everyone is unique and therefore believes differently --especially about the human "diet." For those of you who believe in a "high-protein, low-carbohydrate philosophy," this little book can be an invaluable compliment to Dr. Atkins diet books. He explains from square one in his diet books why his philosophy can be healthy and helpful. I personally have had success following Dr. Atkins suggestions. From a physics sound wave perspective however, any "diet" will work for anyone, anytime as long as they think, feel, and believe that it will...and then all you have to do is be happy and thankful...a book has just been published explaining this very issue...
12 The only book you really need.
My wife and I have used the Atkins Plan. I have lost 40 pounds, and she has lost 60 pounds (both in about 10 months). We looked at the original 'New Diet Revolution' book, and at this recipie book. We noticed that THIS book includes a section that describes the diet, so we bought THIS book over the other. This gave us BOTH the diet, and the cookbook simultaneously. It has been worth 100 times what it cost. I suggest that you can buy this book alone, and ignore the original. This diet is a lifestyle change--make sure you are willing to commit for at least two weeks to see impressive results. You wont be sorry. Best of luck to you all.
13 Disappointed
For the cooking impaired, this is not the book for you. Although I am delighted with his Diet Revolution book, I am displeased with his cookbooks. They are anything but simple. I found some of the ingredients difficult to locate where I live. I had hoped for something simplier. Like many people today, I am incredibly busy with family and work. I don't have time to chase down ingredients and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The cookbook is collecting dust on top of my refridgerator now.
14 Duplicates recipes in Dr. A's new diet book
The receipes in this cookbook are good ... but they duplicate the recipe section in his book, Dr. Arkins' New Diet Revolution. I was surprised not to see new recipes, and disappointed to see that he had re-vamped some of the recipes (from the book) to require we buy HIS products, as ingredients. Not to be ignored, however.
15 It was great to eat the foods you love and still lose weight
I have been on the Adkins diet for 2 weeks, I have already lost 15 pounds. It is the easiest diet. I have tried all kinds of diets and never found one that is as great or simple than this one. If you have not tried the Adkins diet, you are missing out.
16 Full of great ideas for low-carbohydrate meals!
I borrowed a copy of this cookbook from a friend. My husband and I had already been on the Atkin's diet for a month and I was thrilled with the amount of weight and, more importantly, inches we had lost, but was getting a little tired of eating the same foods again and again. Over a weekend, I tried a lot of the recipes in the cookbook while we were at our cabin. My cooking utensils and ingredients were slightly limited there in the Northwoods, but I made some slight variations (i.e. substitute a little onion for scallions, skip the white wine, etc.) and we proceeded to eat like pigs while sticking to the diet. After reading through the recipes and learning substitutes for high-carbohydrate ingredients, I can adjust recipes in my regular cookbooks with the same satisfying results. We have actually been eating better tasting meals than before the diet because I enjoy the challenge of cooking rich meals while maintaining our weight loss. The best part of the cookbook for me was the desserts. I rarely cooked desserts before going on the Atkin's diet because they are so fattening. I made a few small adjustments to the cheesecake recipe and came up with the best darned cheesecake I have ever eaten. Even had it for breakfast to feel truly decadent. Another happy surprise was that unsweetened chocolate is not that high in carbohydrates. The only disappointing recipes I tried were those that contain soy flour. Soy flour, not surprisingly, tastes like soy beans and does not want to mix into liquids. The book also mentions tofu flour which is not readily available at grocery stores and probably tastes like beans. As the recipes call for so little flour of any kind and we are now in the maintenance sequence of the diet, I think a little "cheating" is in order. Try the recipes in the book, then get creative!
17 This diet REALLY works!
Several friends and family members had successfully lost weight on this diet - so I decided to read the book. I was not ready to commit to the diet until I had all the information. The book is complete and provides detailed answers to all your questions - and it will convince you to try the diet! I wasn't sure I was ready to give up Chocolate, but I since I gained 35 pounds in the last 8 months, I was ready to try anything! Once on the diet, it was reasuring to re-read sections of the book to make sure I was "on-track" The only negative section of the book to me personally was the fact that people taking certain medications may have a hard time losing weight. As a person who has manic-depression and who is taking lithium, I was upset that I may have a hard time losing weight - and the book cautioned that this might happen. (When I started taking Lithium is when I started gaining weight - and rapidly!) However, I have had no problem losing weight and my doctor is monitoring my lithium levels and they are fine. So you fellow manics out there - don't get depressed - just try the diet! Again, the book itsn't something I will read once and put down, it is something that I will refer to again and again. Everyone hears how low-fat diets are so healthy that it is comforting to read the scientific facts in the Atkins book about why the low-fat diet doesn't work and why the Atkins diet does work.
18 A must have for the carbohydrate conscious.
This book offers hundreds of great cooking ideas. You don't have to be a cooking expert, but you do have to be willing to invest some time in yourself. Cooking low-carb isn't easy with the conventional mindset of that of the average person. Doctor Atkins offers many delicious recipees and some tips on how to keep the taste in while leaving the carbs out. I highly recommend this book, as well as Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution (which is the only diet I've ever seen that works quickly, and offers easy maintenance). I encourage everyone (even those who are not overweight) to give this a whirl!
19 Wonderful principle but tricky recipes
As one who has maintained a 60-pound weight loss for over four years and achieved optimum health thanks to Atkins diet, normally I'd expect to give ten stars to anything from Dr Atkins. Nontheless, unless one is a gourmet with a spice rack to rival that of Julia Child, most of the recipes are beyond one's reach: time consuming, intricate, and requiring much preparation time.
20 This book may give you a few new ideas.
If you are looking for a few new ideas on how to adapt the diet to your life, this book may help. If you are somewhat of a gourmet and love to sauce and flambe, you will enjoy many of the recipes. There are a few easy recipes including an entire section on ice creams, but most of them are quite complicated and time consuming. The recipes for breads are totally ludicrous. The recipe claims you can make 12 slices of bread out of 4 Tablespoons of dry ingredients and 4 eggs. No chance. Other than that, a worthwhile investment for those who really want to stick with the diet
