Can Atkins really work?

[freddyboy]

I've tried Atkins before and I love the premise, but I can't seem to make it work for the long term.

Does anyone have any suggestions for making it work or for choosing a similar diet that does actually work, or should I just look elsewhere?

[jan]

I havne't had a lot of luck with atkins, either. It really does help you to lose weight, but it's impossible to stick to it for a long period of time so that you don't finally just go off it altogether.

I think if you want to use a low carb diet, you might find one with a different program because as far as I know, there's no real way to alter atkins and still call it the same diet.

[brightstar]

I'm sure it can work for you if you don't mind giving up a lot of carbs and if you like a diet that has lots of limitations. I know a lot of people who like a lot of structure, so as long as they don't lose their motivation, I suppose this would be a good diet for them. I can't see it being a lifestyle forever, though, so I guess you'd have to come up with a plan afterward to make sure you don't regain the weight.

[tara]

I don't think it can if you want to try to lose a lot of weight. It just isn't a realistic plan for the long term. For a month or two, sure. Anything more and I'd look to something else.

[sarah]

I think a lot of diets, atkins included, CAN work, but it's whether or not they actually WILL work for you that needs to be discovered. Everybody has their own program that will work best for them. If this worked amazingly for me, it doesn't mean that it will work for you because we're two different people and something easy for me might be hard for you. That said, you might think that South Beach Diet is incredible, whereas I couldn't make that one work.

[CuJo1992]

I think that the atkins diet can work if you want to lose weight for a period of time. If you need a lifestyle change, you'll need to look further.

[freddyboy]

Thanks. I think I'll just look elsewhere for my diet plan. The comments here were really helpful and they supported some of the stuff I read that it's not as great as it was made out to be.

[treehuggertodd]

From what I've seen, Atkins works but only for the short term.

[silvertoes]

I believe at some point, it works well in the beginning because this diet will eliminate carbs and sugar on your diet plan so the calories will only limited to 1,200 to 1,800 per day. So can you imagine yourself having that very low caloric intake, and that would definitely result in weight loss no matter what combination of foods (whether its a carb, protein or fat) was consumed.

[madscientist]

There are probably variants of Atkins that could work pretty well. Instead of the strict original diet, there are probably more realistic programs based on similar principles that would stop dieters from losing motivation.

[tammybear]

Sure atkins can work! It worked for me. I lost over 20 pounds. It didn't work forever though since you just can't live like that forever after you lose the weight, but it really does help you over the short term.

[silvertoes]

Atkins really works, but the problem with this diet is its reliance to protein. high protein diet puts the body in into a state of ketosis.

[treehuggertodd]

Atkins really works, but the problem with this diet is its reliance to protein. high protein diet puts the body in into a state of ketosis.

this may seem like a relatively dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway in case anyone else is in the same boat as me...what is ketosis?

[tracy1976]

Whether or not Atkins is right for you is really a personal decision. It depends on what eating style you think you'll be able to stick to over time. I personally didn't find that I could keep up with it for very long, but I know three people who lost all the weight they wanted to reach their goal by using Atkins.

[bigbobby]

Is constipation a problem with Atkins? I'd think that by eliminating carbs, you'd take out a lot of fiber, too. Am I wrong?