December 29, 2003

Atkins and Human Nature

By now most Americans are familiar with the Dr. Atkins approach to weight loss. The theory is that by limiting your carbohydrate intake your body starts to burn its own fat for energy and boom, you are dropping weight like crazy.

About 6 years ago, when the Atkins approach was on an upswing in popularity, a friend of mine tried it and lost a bunch of weight-around 50 lbs if I remember correctly. I remember watching in awe as he downed an entire package of jimmy dean sausage as his "snack". Rather than making healthy choices that fit into the plan, he took advantage of bacon, eggs, and cheese as three of his four food groups! Yet, he continued to loose weight.

Recently the Atkins plan has had a lot more positive press, and is gaining in popularity. It is becoming, dare I say, mainstream. Here is some evidence to prove it:

  • My grocery store now has an entire section called "low carb" stocked full of Atkins approved bars, shakes, and other snacks.
  • TGIFridays now has Atkins Approved Menu items.
  • Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and Weight Watchers all carry "low carb" frozen entries.
  • eDiets now has the option of following the Atkins Meal Plan.
  • Russell Stover now has a line of "low carb" candies.

It seems that it is simply human nature to try to beat the system. I remember in the early nineties it was all about low fat. I had a fat gram counter where I turned a dial for every gram of fat I ate and when I got to 20 grams I was done for the day. The problem with this is that I started to discover ways around this system. I ate Snackwell Cookies hand over fist, for example. It turns out that I still had to watch my calorie intake and I was taking in far too many even though I was "following the plan".

I wonder if the same fate will befall the Atkins plan. Will the onslaught of low carb products jack up the calorie intake of the dieters and cause the incredible results to dry up?

Posted by jgrieves at December 29, 2003 01:51 PM
Comments

Low Carbs usually means high fat content....Dont fool yourself, these diets are not healthy, The best weight loss program is a 1200 calorie a day diet of balanced foods. And also take a 30 minute walk each day. You would be amazed at the results....

Posted by: Mitch Taylor at December 29, 2003 08:00 PM

I agree. I'm actually not doing a low-carb plan, but rather a low simple carb plan. That means I still eat bread but I choose whole wheat, I still have pasta but I have wheat pasta, etc. I have found that limiting my calories to 1200 a day actually caused a stall in my weight loss but at 1500-1600 a day with 4 workouts a week I pretty consistently lost 1-2 lbs a week. I did make healthy choices though with lots of fresh fruit and veggies and lean protein. Thanks for your feedback!

Posted by: Jessica at December 29, 2003 08:18 PM

Getting ready to head out for another fun day at AT&T...

You might want to cut out some of the fruits and veggies as they contain alot of sugars. I take alot of vitamins that replace alot of the sugars.

Losing weight is tough...Im 230 and 5 feet 8...but Im a guy so we are naturally fat...LOL

Dont beat yourself into the ground...or try to change your image to suit others...Be Happy with yourself and dont worry about what others think...

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER....

or as I like to say: FAT IS WHERE ITS AT!!!

Mitch

Posted by: Mitch Taylor at December 30, 2003 06:05 AM