Comments on: How to Follow Dr. Atkins' Four-Part Program

on 8/8/2006 I lost a tremendous amount of weight with the Atkins diet and have kept it off for more than 2 years. I eat lean protein and low carb vegetables and I also like the Breyers low carb (carb smart brand) ice cream as an end of day treat. There are so many good low carb products out there that staying on this plan is easy!

on 1/26/2006 I suffer from moderate insulin resistance and there is no treatment available for it. I have tried many diets, but as long my body is in carbohydrate burning mode I gain weight and am constantly hungry, even when I feel full I am still starving. Insulin resistance means my cells ignore insulin and so do not take up carbohydrates and burn them properly. Having unused insulin in your blood is then used for its secondary function, to convert unused carbohydrates to fat which is then immediately taken to be stored on your body; in other words straight to your hips. If I eat normally and walk at least an hour per day I do not gain weight but if I fall below that I gain weight fast. I have tried increasing walking to two hours per day and I still do not lose weight and I feel even more hungry since my cells are being starved of carbohydrate energy because the insulin is being ignored. Over the last three years the only style of eating that has helped me is the Dr Atkins diet. While I agree it can be a crazy diet, the important thing is that it works, and very well at that. I eat three meals a day and rarely snack. My hunger is satisfied and I have no cravings for breads and sweets. The first few days on the diet I felt a little tired, but after that it went back to normal. I do find I am more puffed out when I walk up hills. This is because you need a lot more oxygen to burn fat than when you burn carbohydrates, since carbohydrates carry oxygen with them and really the only critical need of oxygen is the toxic by product of burning carbohydrates, lactic acid which the oxygen neutralizes. I do not recommend lifting weights or doing any other heavy physical activity as these activities require carbohydrates. Since fat burns too slow to keep up, you easily end up with an injury if you do these sort of exercises on the Dr Atkins diet. If you do suffer a muscle injury you will have to eat carbohydrates and proteins again to help it heal, otherwise it takes too long on the Dr Atkins diet and you will suffer pain for a long time. Swimming is harder since you breath less often, so I would not recommend that either on Atkins. The first 5 days on the induction phase I lost about 4-5 pounds and in the last 3 weeks I have lost 13 pounds to no ill effect, except when I forget to eat vegetables with my pork chop.
When I cook my bacon and eggs the amount of butter I use is really funny, and people cannot believe I lose weight using so much. As well as losing a lot of weight, I noticed a big benefit psychologically, my mood is cool as a cucumber and I just feel happy most of the time and I don't panic nearly as easily as I did before (I have a mild anxiety disorder). I'm not sure if I want to stay on this diet forever though. The research does not suggest it's dangerous as long you eat lots of non-starchy vegetables, drink lots of water and perhaps take a multivitamin tablet everyday. There is a problem with constipation and I fixed that by taking a dose of fiber like Benefiber (since it has no carbohydrates) with every meal. Some days I have so little appetite I eat just two meals.
Overall I would recommend this diet if you want to lose weight, but when you reach your level ease back to normal eating and exercise to keep the weight the same and if that fails, eat less or exercise more. One hour per day should do it. This diet does limit your range to available foods, even though you can eat anything you want except for carbohydrates.

on 11/22/2005 Dr. Atkins' Four-Part Program is a great way to lose weight, but you cannot cheat during the first phase at all. Failure to stick to the less than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day may cause an increase in weight.

After my first 8 or 9 days on the diet, I woke up one day and was 4 pounds lighter. Then, for the rest of the time I was in the induction phase, I lost another 5 pounds. The results can be amazing if you are disciplined enough to follow the diet.