Atkins Is Best Diet Around, Says Stanford University Study

[nakedwally]

(Source http://www.medicalnewstoday.com )

According to a study of 311 women carried out by researchers at Stanford University, USA, the Atkins diet is the best one around. Those following the Atkins diet had best blood pressure levels, better cholesterol levels and lost the most weight, compared to people on other diets, say the researchers.
You can read about this new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The JAMA article stressed that the researchers looked at the short and medium term benefits of some diets, but not the long term outlook.
The scientists (in this 12-month study) say there was no evidence of health problems emerging after people have been on Atkins for a year. The Atkins diet, according to several critics, is the cause of health problems later on. The researchers did find that certain basic vitamins and minerals were not at ideal levels for some people on Atkins - but could not detect any health problems.
In this study, four diets were examined. The 311 women were randomly selected to be on one of the following diets:

-- The Atkins Diet
A very low carb diet

-- The Zone Diet
A diet consisting of 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat

-- The LEARN Diet
A high carb with low fat diet

-- The Ornish Diet
Super high carb with super low fat diet

After an initial eight-week induction, all the participants were monitored at the end of 12 months.

Here are some of the results (averages):

-- The Atkins women lost 4.7 kilos (10.4 pounds)

-- The LEARN women lost 2.6 kilos (5.7 pounds)

-- The Ornish Women lost 2.17 kilos (4.8 pounds)

-- The Zone women lost 1.59 kilos ((3.5 pounds)

The Atkins women also had the lowest levels of harmful cholesterol, the highest levels of good cholesterol and the most ideal blood pressure levels, when compared to the women in the other three groups.

Opinion of the Editor of Medical News Today

I would like to see two more studies:
1. A longer-term one on these diets
2. Four groups as above, compared to a fifth group which engaged in regular physical activity but followed no planned diet.

I still wonder whether the greatest long-term impact on weight might be physical activity, rather than diet. Obviously diet plays a part, but I would like to know whether exercise is a bigger factor. In the 1950s adults in the USA and Western Europe consumed more calories each day than they do today - but they were leaner. Adults in the 1950s were much more physically active than adults today.

Who would be healthier after ten years - a couch potato who has the ideal diet, or someone who runs two miles five times a week, but follows a bad diet?

If you want to lead a healthy life, most people agree that you probably need both - a good diet plus plenty of exercise.

Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN Diets for Change in Weight and Related Risk Factors Among Overweight Premenopausal Women
The A TO Z Weight Loss Study: A Randomized Trial
Christopher D. Gardner, PhD; Alexandre Kiazand, MD; Sofiya Alhassan, PhD; Soowon Kim, PhD; Randall S. Stafford, MD, PhD; Raymond R. Balise, PhD; Helena C. Kraemer, PhD; Abby C. King, PhD
JAMA. 2007;297:969-977.
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today

 

[D_Roderick Beresford Stiffington IV]

I was on the Atkins diet for about 6 months and lost 55 pounds. I used to be about 260. I have a friend who also was on the diet before me and lost even more than I did. When he went off the diet though he gained even more back...it was pretty sad and kinda scared me since I was on the diet at the time losing all the weight. Since coming off the diet though I've probably been more careful about what I eat than him. I've put a couple back on but no more than 5ish.

It can be a hard diet to follow though especially in America, you're constantly surrounded by carbs. Just me and my mom live together and we did the diet together, it made it very easy to follow. After a month or so you become very aware what you can and can't eat and it becomes pretty easy. Coming off the diet though you're very tempted to splurge and eat all the things you've denied yourself while on the diet.

 

[nakedwally]

i loved the atkins diet i lost 25 ponds on it, it was awesome it is also aproved by the american nursing association, bye the way OrbitzXT nice pics

 

[naughty]

Hi,

I did Atkins the first time I went on a diet before it became the way it is now. I lost over 30 lbs but I was also a mean sister to be around. My body was craving carbohydrates. THe second time I went on a low carb diet I also lost over 30 lbs but when my mother got sick and I found it was going to be long term care(After just burying her 93 year old sister with dementia who had lived with us for 10 years) I was internally furious. I knew I shouldnt but all of a sudden the flood gates opened I started grabbing anything with carbs I could find. and I stuffed and stuffed and stuffed and stuffed. I was reading a book by Dr Oz about why some of us crave certain types of foods .I found that carbohydrates create seratonin, something my body has in very low supply. SO I will tell you. IF you suffer from depression in any way a low carb diet may not be the thing for you. I looked great but I was like the tasmanian devil. Or at least a modified version like the South beach which will give your body a more balanced diet.

 

[madame_zora]

I've been on a weight roller-coaster all my life. I went on a very low calorie diet just brfore I joined here and I lost about 90 lbs. I had tried most of the named diets here at one point or another, but in the end I discovered that reducing caloric intake and exercising is the only real way to lose weight. The other thing I learned, having gained back about 30 lbs is that any diet that only focuses on weight loss, but not maintainence is sure to fail, long term.

What people need to learn is how to EAT, not how to diet. We need to learn what to eat, when to eat it, and what else we have to do, like MOVE to keep our bodies healthy and functioning well. I can lose any amount of weight I want by going on a 1000 calorie or less diet (I usually ate closer to 700 calories, which isn't much, and taking a good multi-vitamin supplement), but the problem is that when I get to the weight I want, I don't know how to maintain it without feeling like I'm torturing myself.

This year, my plan is to lose about 20 lbs, and find a comfortable balance between eating and exercising that I can live with. I have no desire to be model-thin, I just want to be healthy and comforable with my life, AND my body. I don't think any of the named diets will do that.

 

[DaveyR]

Such wise words MZ.

Never use the term diet as by definition it means temporary and as soon as you stop the regime you gain the weight back. The only way to lose weight and keep it off is eat less calories than you use up then equalise the two when you reach your target weight.

 

[MusclePrinceXXX]

I have dieted pretty much from my late teens and well into my early twenties and all I can say is that Atkins has helped me lose an incredible amount of unwanted weight.

Many people believe that the only foods you are allowed to eat on Atkins and other ketogenic diets is meat, eggs, and cheese. That's simply not true. You'd be surprised at the wide variety of foods that you can eat while on a low-carb diet.

In the past, I've tried Slim-Fast and many other low-fat diets but none of them worked. With a low-fat diet, I was constantly hungry. Then to make matters worse, I had no energy, my depression flared, and I even gained weight.

I have been on Atkins for almost two years now and I feel great. I'm rarely ever hungry, my blood pressure is normal, my depression is in remission, and I don't have trouble breathing anymore like I used to. But most of all, I have heaps of energy—even enough to burn really late at night.

Many people believe that the Atkins diet is dangerous. I don't believe it is. The Atkins diet promotes healthy eating with good quality fats and good quality carbs—and because I've been on the diet for so long, I've learned to make better choices when I eat.

Now don't get me wrong! I still love carbs. Chicken and broccoli will never take the place of pizza, curly fries, and chocolate cake. I still allow myself to indulge in carbs at least once a week. When I do that, I don't feel tortured nor do I feel that I'm "dieting". Besides, allowing myself to have a couple of fun meals a week does keep life enjoyable for me.

 

[naughty]

I have dieted pretty much from my late teens and well into my early twenties and all I can say is that Atkins has helped me lose an incredible amount of unwanted weight.

Many people believe that the only foods you are allowed to eat on Atkins and other ketogenic diets is meat, eggs, and cheese. That's simply not true. You'd be surprised at the wide variety of foods that you can eat while on a low-carb diet.

In the past, I've tried Slim-Fast and many other low-fat diets but none of them worked. With a low-fat diet, I was constantly hungry. Then to make matters worse, I had no energy, my depression flared, and I even gained weight.

I have been on Atkins for almost two years now and I feel great. I'm rarely ever hungry, my blood pressure is normal, my depression is in remission, and I don't have trouble breathing anymore like I used to. But most of all, I have heaps of energy—even enough to burn really late at night.

Many people believe that the Atkins diet is dangerous. I don't believe it is. The Atkins diet promotes healthy eating with good quality fats and good quality carbs—and because I've been on the diet for so long, I've learned to make better choices when I eat.

Now don't get me wrong! I still love carbs. Chicken and broccoli will never take the place of pizza, curly fries, and chocolate cake. I still allow myself to indulge in carbs at least once a week. When I do that, I don't feel tortured nor do I feel that I'm "dieting". Besides, allowing myself to have a couple of fun meals a week does keep life enjoyable for me.

YOu are using the new Atkins diet which has been expanded to include many more things that I was allowed when I tried it years ago.

 

[nakedwally]

i used the original atkins diet and am probably going to use it again in the near future

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

I've never dieted, people eat far too much now for their lifestyles then they're surprised when they put on weight. The simple fact is if you eat more than you need you're going to put on weight. A short term diet isn't going to solve anything, re-assess the way you eat and make that the way you eat for life - smaller portions, no snacking, more vegetables and salad and less meat, more grains, stop eating when you're satisfied (I often get the mickey taken out of me for leaving a forkful of food but when I'm satisfied I stop).
And the biggest favour you can do for kids is not to give them food/sweets as treats, don't let them come to associate food with comfort.