Some things Atkins says are right and some are wrong. First of all atkins dosen't acknowledge the role of calories in weight reduction. That's why so many stop losing weight after they have tried atkins. They think it's a free for all. I agree you maybe losing weight on his diet but that's because youre eating less calories and burning more. If calories didin't matter and the law of thermodynamics didn't hold true than everyone would be at 5 percent body fat when following the atkins plan. Just don't count calories and you'll lose weight, but only up to a certain poin where you stop losing weight. I encourage all of you to follow gregory elli's version of the low carbohydrate diet. He says you can follow any diet you want and lose weight as long as you eat less calories. Why have so much faith in a fat guy like atkins. When atkins takes off his shirt and says look like me then i'll do what he does. Also I eat no carbs none at all. I recently got down from 155 to 140 from 14 percent to 5 percent body fat on a no carb diet. I'm 18 and wrestle in high school. Energy went up everything. This only happened because I ate less calories than i consumed.If I ate extra calories then some of it turned to muscle and some into fat but I was still near the laws and didin't break them. When I started on atkins gained 3lbs of fat because I burned less than what I ate. I'm sure everyone would want to have abs sticking out like a bodybuilder but that's not posssible following atkins plan. You may lose weight but you'll never get down to an extremely low body fat like 5 percent. What am I trying to prove? Calories matter in any diet you follow if they didn't you'd be at 5 percent and so woould Atkins and everyone following his plan.

Absolutely, everyone on Atkins should watch thier calorie intake, it just makes sense... after you have been on the diet for a while though, it is a misconception "non Atkins'ers" have that all we do is eat a pound of butter with a block of cheese for dinner... trust me, after a couple of weeks on this diet you begin to really appreciate your veggies or the "forbidden fruit"... it really is not about pigging out.

P.S. Robert Atkins died a few years back...

If you have actually READ the DANDR, he does indeed mention calories. He talks about how you have a metabolic advantage on low-carb, but says flat out that it does NOT give you license to gorge.

You should probably at least be familiar with the material you are trying to shoot holes in before shooting yourself in the foot.

Can you give a quote where Dr. Atkins actually said that calories do not matter or are you just repeating what you have heard? I suspect it is the latter since I don't think Dr. Atkins ever said that. What he said was that people can eat more calories and still lose weight on Atkins than on a low fat diet. This is caused both by the wasting of calories through the ejection from the body of incompletely burned ketones and also by the extra protein calories, which take more energy to prepare for use than does carbohydrate. In short, the laws of thermodynamics absolutely do apply but most dieticians don't understand them in terms of human nutrition.

Dr Atkins also said that protein and fat are more filling than carbohydrates so most people on his plan actually eat less calories.

Also, I have never seen a picture of Dr. Atkins in which I would describe him as a "fat guy." If you have any, feel free to post them along with the elusive "calories don't matter" quotes.

While I'm a newbie at this low carb eating thing, I'd have to say that I agree with what you've said.

The thing is though, I'm the type of person who is likely to overindulge when it comes to eating refined carbohydrates and sugar. For some reason, I seem to eat too much of this stuff when I do eat it.

So the trick for me is to eliminate that stuff from my diet first. This is an entirely new concept for me, but one thing I've noticed already is that by allowing myself to eat some higher fat items and not worrying too much about calories in these first few days - I've managed to stay at 20 grams of carbs.

I know that I'm going to be taking a good look at my calorie intake very soon, but in order to "stop the madness" so to speak, I'm just focusing on carb intake for the first week or so.

Furthermore, I've always felt extremely hungry and deprived on a more traditional low-calorie/low fat type of diet, resulting in screwing up the whole thing and going off the diet soon after starting it.

For me, the amazing thing about low-carb is that I can actually forsee myself being able to stick with the plan, because the types of foods I'm eating are more satisfying and I'm not experiencing that sugar rush/crash thing that happens when I eat too much sugar or refined carbohydrates.

Sharply curtailing my carb intake, for me, seems to be a way out of this mess, and I'm feeling pretty good about the fact that I've stuck to the 20 grams and that I'll most likely be able to stay on plan for quite some time.

Don't worry - I'll be reviewing calorie intake soon, AND I'll be eating very healthy carbs along the way.

Really? Please point me to the specific page in Dr. Atkins book where he states that calories don't matter?
What he does say, in fact, are things like, "Eat until satisfied, but not stuffed" and "The metabolic advantage of low carb is not to be used as a license to gorge yourself."
Yes, Dr. Atkins said that most people wouldn't need to count calories (he never said that nobody should count calories) and the reason for that is that ketosis has a natural appetite suppressing effect. In fact, a lot of people have posted here that they find it difficult to eat enough because they simply aren't hungry.



I realize that you're a male, but please consider that a number (probably the majority) of those who are going to be reading this post are female and neither desire nor should attempt to reach a bodyfat percent of 5%. I think you might also benefit from reading some of the studies that compared diets and showed clearly that those on low carb can eat a higher (between 300-600 calories higher) level of calories and still lose more weight than the low calorie group. The laws of thermodynamics apply to closed systems which the body is not. They body is way more complicated than that. Energy cannot be destroyed, but it can be wasted.



When you're 70+ years old and still playing tennis several days a week and walking to work/still working full time hours, I might consider your plan.
BTW...prior to his unfortunate fall after slipping on ice and subsequent brain injury, Atkins was not considered overweight for a man of his height and age (I'd really rather not see him at this point, no shirt or otherwise )



Wow...none at all, huh? No healthy fruits or vegetables, no fiber, very monotonous. This is healthier than the Atkins plan which requires vegetables/fruits how? Personally, I'd rather eat my vitamins and get the benefits of the fiber and various antioxidants than take a fistful of pills and fiber supplements every day.

Good luck to you, but I think I'll stick with the version of low carb that I'm currently following.

In his 1972 book here are the quotes go buy the book and read it or if you have it read it again.
Page 10: "You can eat as much as you want, as often as you want
Page 15: "You're never hungry, you can eat without limit solid 'fattening' food. On this diet, you're allowed to eat truly luxurious foods without limit."
Page 91: "So stop believing this calorie gospel. Start asking questions about that sacred cow--the calorie."
Page 93: " Yes, you can lose -- and lose a lot -- while overeating." Okay I'll give him that because overeating dosen't casue weight gain excess calories do.
Page 132: Chapter 12's title, "The Revolutionary Never-Hungry No-Limit Steak-And-Salad Diet" "It is true that gaining weight results from taking in more calories than you expend. But excess calories certainly cause you to pile on the pounds -- and this is a gigantic "but" -- only when you are eating a lot of carbohydrate along with fat. Read this carefully he says you can only gain weight eating like this"but" -- only when you are eating a lot of carbohydrate along with fat. I'm trying to stop this misinformation that people think they're losing weight following atkins. You can't lose weight following atkins' diet. Once again if you follow atkins diet well you look like atkins. You and everyone else who claim they're losing weight following atkins are simply following a low carb diet which has been around since humans evolved and you are eating less and burning more calories.


Also you the only people who need fiber are people who eat grains becasue grains clog the colon and the fiber acts like a sponge to sweep the grains through the colon. I dont belive we need fruits and veggies as I noticed no difference in health. We don't have the enzymes to digest fruits. Also I HAVE
been off carbs for 1 year my blodd pressure is beloow 115/75 my blood and cholestrol are perfect. I've never felt better

Interesting selections. Thanks for the laughs.

There are too many new plans going up all over the net everyday, like this Ellis e-book. If they tell you honestly what's in it, why would you buy it? So the plan is try to make up a trivial difference, each has their own "low carb secrets", essentially for marketing purposes, just to get you to pay for something you already know.

Wa'il

Is there a chapter on "How to troll legitimate sites for new recruits" ?

Ellis has no diet or plan he says losing weight has to do with burning more calories and eating less. It's very simple I know. Still so many people who follow atkins are overweight. Yes they're losing weight but are they lean? Oh and Dr ellis is at 5 percent body fat not 20. So I'll take a shot and if you email ellis he takes the time to respond.

Well if I know what's in it then I can see if it's worht buying. If i don't know what's in it then why would i buy it. It could be misinformation. I did many tests on myself so I know how to lose weight. My mom went on atkins and lost 20 lbs but it's because she was losing weight. Then the weight loss stopped. It's simple she needed to exercise more or reduce her calories to meet her body's needs. If you eat 2,500 calories at 165 lbs and lose weight and go down to 145 lbs all of a sudden you stopped losing weight. Why because eating 2,500 calories is too much for your new body weight. You have 2 choice either starve yourself eat less or continue eating 2,500 calories a day but just burn more calories. I ate all I wanted but gained weight on Atkins. Atkins speaks to the overweight and not to the general athlete. So if your happy with pot belly and 20 percent body fat then fine eat all you want and keep your weight there. That is the choice people wish to make. I just don't know how you can have faith in an overweight person promoting a book. I agree losing weight is easier on no carbs because carbs send hunger signals to the brain. I just want people to realize that calories matter if they didn't everyone on atkins would be lean.

No need to email him, he've spammed us here before Check his "under the influence" posts somewhere in the war zone.

He's a bit confused about the theory of thermodynamics. But eating (under-eating) low-calorie will cause more lean muscle mass than any other form of diet, just check the slimfast folks.

Wa'il

That's why authors who have nothing to hide will publish their books. So you can browse it in the book store, and pay for it if you like what's there. Shelling out 40-60 bucks for a download is not as safe, even with the steroid enhanced pictures next to it.

Wa'il

You know what, you now sound just like him

If you lost your 5 lbs doing Ellis, good for you and enjoy it. Some of us have a lot more weight to lose, and take us longer than your 5 lbs loss. And under eating will cause a slower metabolism for those who need more than a couple of weeks.

Wa'il