Sunday, August 17, 2003

Joining Atkins' army

By RAY ROUTHIER, Portland Press Herald Writer

link to article

Eat bacon, eggs and steak and lose weight. What could be better than that?

When you boil it down, it's easy to understand why you can't walk into a crowd of Mainers these days without finding at least one who's tried the famous diet of Dr. Robert C. Atkins.

The Atkins diet calls for its followers to give up most carbohydrates - bread, rice, potatoes, pasta - and fill up on high-fat proteins like eggs, sausage and steak.

It sounds like a diet for people who hate to diet. Give up bland side dishes and eat all the ribs, hot dogs and hamburgers you want.

"For breakfast I usually have bacon and eggs, or something and eggs," said Bob Barber, 52, of Saco, who lost 40 pounds on the Atkins diet in three months. But Barber is quick to point out he can't eat everything he wants. "I eat pork rinds as a substitute for potato chips. By themselves they taste like Styrofoam, but with some grated cheese, they're not bad. They're like nachos."

OK, so the Atkins diet is not quite as easy as it sounds. Cutting out carbs can be tough - no spaghetti, no lasagna, no chocolate cake. And there are health concerns too, what with all the high-fat foods and what they can do to increase cholesterol and the risk of heart disease.

Dietitians tell you cutting out carbohydrates is risky, because carbs help keep you hydrated.

For most of its 31-year existence, the Atkins diet has been viewed with skepticism, to say the least. Doctors and the mainstream media have called it a fad diet, a risky proposition at best.

But this year there have been several studies that seem to vindicate Atkins, including two that were reported on in the New England Journal of Medicine in May. Both studies found evidence that Atkins was more effective in helping people lose weight than low-fat diets, and that people who followed it for one year didn't see any increase in their bad cholesterol or other heart-disease factors.

But the study also found, as most good studies do, that the issue could use some further study.

The studies were published after Atkins passed away. He died in April, at age 72, from a head injury suffered in a fall.

What seems to be happening now is that people are studying the Atkins diet on their own. Lots of people are reading Dr. Atkins' books and taking some or all of his ideas to heart.

People who have tried many diets before with little success are intrigued, thinking this is the one they maybe can stick with. Even people who work with doctors, heck, even doctors, are trying the diet and finding that it can work. The results seem to happen fairly quickly, with followers reporting weight loss after one week.

Roxanne Rogers, who works in the audio-visual department at Maine Medical Center in Portland, lost 35 pounds on Atkins between January and May 1. She's kept the weight off this summer and hopes to lose a little more in the fall. It's been tough passing up macaroni salad at summer picnics.

Having worked with doctors for more than 20 years, Rogers was a little skeptical about Atkins at first. But she had battled weight for most of her life, tried Weight Watchers and all the rest, and finally decided to try Atkins.

"I had always heard about following the food pyramid, but I just felt like I needed a change," said Rogers, 43. "I read the book, and the science of it made sense to me."

Rogers had a checkup three months into the diet and her cholesterol was within what's considered to be the normal range, about 182. Like a lot of people, Rogers doesn't eat as much high-fat foods and red meat as the diet allows. She also ate more vegetables than the diet recommended.

"I got input from doctors as I was doing it, and the majority were for it," she said. "I can see doing this for some time - I don't miss the bread at all."

Barber, of Saco, also works at Maine Medical Center, in the materials management department. He also started Atkins in January, as prep for his trip to Aruba, and has lost 40 pounds so far. (Neither Barber nor Rogers would say what their starting or current weights were.)

Barber said when he went for a physical after losing weight, his doctor's reaction was mixed.

"He was pleased I lost weight but he frowned when I said Atkins," said Barber. But his physical went fine. His blood pressure, already high, didn't get any higher.

Barber, who is on the diet with his wife, thinks he'd like to stay on a low-carbohydrate diet for the foreseeable future.

"I don't think of it as a diet, this is just the way I'm going to eat from now on," said Barber. "The toughest thing was giving up pasta, so my wife and I will go out once in a while and have a little pasta."

Dr. Thomas Hayward, a family practitioner in Corinth and former president of the Maine Medical Association, lost about 20 pounds on the Atkins diet. He has no problem telling his patients it's a good, short-term way to lose weight, and makes medical sense. But he would not recommend anyone building their lifestyle around it.

"I certainly don't recommend eating as much fat as you want, as the diet does," said Hayward. "But I absolutely agree that Americans in general take in way too many carbs. We should all cut back on those."

Kathi Whitehouse of Hollis is a newcomer to Atkins. She's lost 12 pounds in her first two weeks. Her mother died of complications from adult-onset diabetes, so she is particularly interested in lowering her carbohydrates and blood sugar.

She weighs around 170 pounds now and hopes to get to 140 with the help of Atkins. Though there are plenty of Atkins-related food products for people to buy, Whitehouse and others say you can follow the diet using your own foods. Whitehouse has only spent money on the book and on some dietary supplements.

Whitehouse was a little worried when she started, since pasta is one of her biggest cravings, usually. But she says once she got the carbs and sugar out of her system, she lost the craving in a few days.

"Following it has worked for me so far. It's easier than other diets," said Whitehouse. "I know people who've seen my progress and then bought the book themselves."

Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:

rrouthier~pressherald.com

SIDEBAR: HOW THE DIET WORKS

The Atkins Nutritional Approach, developed by the late Dr. Robertichard C. Atkins, stresses an extremely low-carbohydrate and high-protein diet as a way to lose weight and increase energy.
The premise is that without carbohydrates - sugars, starches and celluloses - the body is deprived of its primary energy source. The body is then forced to go to its back-up system, burning fat stores.

Eating more protein, such as meat and eggs, does not leave most people feeling as hungry as if they were on a low-fat diet.

The diet is supposed to be followed in four stages, with the time varying depending on the person. In the first stage, carbohydrates are limited to 20 grams a day, mostly from salad and non-starchy vegetables.

Carbohydrates are added back to the diet at each stage, with an emphasis on fiber-rich and nutrient-dense foods.

Atkins, in his books and on his Web site, recommended vitamin and mineral supplements, as well as regular exercise, to help ensure the dieter's health.

For more information on the Atkins diet, go online at www.atkins.com.

REVIEW

The Atkins Nutritional Approach, developed by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins, stresses an extremely low-carbohydrate and high-protein diet as a way to lose weight and increase energy.

The premise is that without carbohydrates - sugars, starches and celluloses - the body is deprived of its primary energy source. The body is then forced to go to its back-up system, burning fat stores.

Eating more protein, such as meat and eggs, does not leave most people feeling as hungry as if they were on a low-fat diet.

The diet is supposed to be followed in four stages, with the time varying depending on the person. In the first stage, carbohydrates are limited to 20 grams a day, mostly from salad and non-starchy vegetables.

Carbohydrates are added back to the diet at each stage, with an emphasis on fiber-rich and nutrient-dense foods.

Atkins, in his books and on his Web site, recommended vitamin and mineral supplements, as well as regular exercise, to help ensure the dieter's health.

For more information on the Atkins diet, go online at www.atkins.com.