Yes, it works in the short term. Why do you want to lose weight fast? The problem with most alternative diets is that they are impossible to sustain. Once you get off the diet, you gain the weight back. The only way to lose weight and keep it off is to reduce your calorie intake, and to excercise.

Yes, it's an awesome way. I lost 85 pounds 5 years ago and it's still off. The thing most people don't realize is that you don't severely restrict carbs forever--only during the initial "induction" phase. In the 3rd phase of the program, you slowly add more carbs back into your diet until you quit losing weight. This is the level you must remain at in order to keep from gaining your weight back. The most important thing to remember is to stay away from "empty" carbs, like processed sugar and regular sodas which are made with corn syrup. There are many sugar-free alternatives out there if you have a sweet tooth. Russell Stover has awesome chocolate goodies.

Firstly, diets generally do not work - you need to alter you lifestyle long term. The Atkins diet can be effctive - but studies show that it is very difficult to stick to over a long term and it is also not good for your health long term. Many vitamins & minerals come from the carbohydrate group, as well as energy (your brain needs carbs to function). Your body will go into ketosis (a fasting state) and you will fart & burp a lot of smells from the protein. I would recommend a balanced diet and excercise. Too mush fat will raise your cholesterol. PS (I'm a nutritionist - so I did read the studies carefully)

Ignorance is bliss - read up on the diet and what Atkins recommends before making statements that just aren't true. The induction phase sucks - it is really hard to consume less than 20G carbs / day and if you have no willpower or cheat on diets - it isn't going to work. On the other hand, if you do it right (enter ketosis - get some ketostyx to check that your body is burning fat instead), you will lose weight. Over the long term, Atkins is pretty much like any low carb diet: eat lots of veggies, skinless lean protein sources (chicken, fish, etc) and you'll keep the weight off. If you go back to pounding 20 ounce sodas and eating candy all the time, and you don't exercise like a fiend well, you'll get fat again... simple as that.

You can lose weight fast on Atkins, certainly. But I'd consult with your doctor first. I asked my doctor about it, and because I had high blood pressure and cholesterol, he advised me against it. It's low carb, but high fat. And you can't do it long term, because it's not healthy in the long term. I know quite a few people who did it and lost weight, but once they started eating normal foods again, they gain most or all of it back. My doctor recommded Weight Watchers. It's much more sensible and healthy. And it's more of a healthy lifestyle change than a diet. You can do it long term...you can do it for the rest of your life. I lost 77 lbs, and now have normal bp/cholesterol and I'm now a Lifetime member.

Atkins and all other diet is a hoax. Their job is to make you lose 20 and gain 30... i myself have tried many diets but never lost weight.

Well the person who started the Atkins diet died from obsity so it must not work at all.

A diet is only as good as you let it be. Basically, without living a healthy lifestyle otherwise, the diet that you're on won't make any difference. So: eat well, not less.

It's good for fast weight loss but when you go off it you can quickly put the pounds on again. My brother is a big man and he quickly lost 100+ pounds but just as quickly put those and then some on again when he cut back on the diet.

I don't think it can be that effective, a short term success is not effective. Just try to cut down on fatty foods but don't cut out. Also try not to eat too late. I tried eating bad foods ie choc and cakes has a pud and no eating between meals and that worked for me til had second child. Think long term for diets

It really is the only sure thing diet out there if you do it properly. Allot of people think that because excersise is not nessecary to lose weight on this diet that you don't have to do anything physical at all. which of course is just plain stupid. these people are often not committed enough and due to the lack of cardio gain it all back. IT IS safe no matter what people tell you. Allot of people however take advantage of its "all you can eat" policy. Eating like a cow will obviously cause you problems it isent atkins fault. The overall basics of it is a balanced diet free of junk food and an active lifestlye any doctor would approve of. the vegitarean version is also a great alternative :)

I lost 30 pounds on it. Keep it off? No. When you deprive yourself of anything, you'll binge when you finally allow yourself to go near those foods. The only thing that has worked for me long-term is calorie counting, because I can have whatever I want until I reach my limit for the day.

I am finding it to be a good way to lose weight. If you want to build muscle while losing fat, high protein /low carbs is the way ahead.

No, we did a project on fad diets in nutrition class, and Atkins is one of the worst. All the fat from the meat is not good for your heart and your brain needs carbohydrates to function. Your will also start to smell funky (unless that's already the case). You willlose weight in the beginning but, it after a few months it will level off. Very few people stay on fad diets for very long especially once they start losing weight, which is why you don't hear about anyone dying from Atkins.

The best way to lose weight is to use an online calorie counter to track your food and make sure you're eating less calories than you're burning.

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It sure is. You need to make sure you eat enough calories though. Don't skimp on fat either. Just remember that if you go off the diet, you will gain some of the weight back, maybe all of it with interest. Or you can plan to go on a different diet. When you transition, you might gain back about 5 pounds of water, which is very typical. Many stay on Atkins for life.

Unless you've read the Atkins book, don't comment on the diet. I don't want to hear what your best friend's brother's girlfriends mother had to say about it from her second hand information from her neighbors cat. Seriously. Educate yourselves people. ANY diet change should be for life. ANY time someone "goes back to regular eating" which is what got them fat in the first place, WILL put the weight back on.

Short answer, no. Long answer, please read on and watch the video. The Atkins Diet is the biggest abuse to the health of the human body. The body uses glycogen as its only source of fuel to run on. The central nervous system, brain, kidneys, liver, and muscles, including the heart, cannot function without glycogen. Glycogen comes from glucose which in turn is found in carbohydrate foods only. There is no glucose at all in proteins or fats. As carbohydrate foods is cut out in the Atkins diet and replaced by high amounts of unhealthy animal proteins and fats, the body is starved of its natural fuel source. The Atkins Diet works on the flawed assumption that without glucose in the diet, the body will start to convert the stored fats into glycogen to fuel the body. The problem is that in reality, the body is not able to convert fat into glycogen to any useful amount to fuel the body. This consequently forces the body to switch to desperate mode by "eating" away its own cells, breaking and damaging protein tissues from muscles and inevitably the heart muscles will be damaged beyond repair in this cannibalistic way. Initially, the rapid weight loss came from water being removed at the cellular level. The cell dehydration occurs when carbohydrates are replaced by fat. Eventually, the weight loss came not just from the loss of fats but also from muscles wasting dangerously away. This is the american version of getting life threatening malnutrition in the first world style. Furthermore, other life threatening health consequences may include: ● Multiple Internal organs faillure caused by a body that literally eats itself inside out ● Cancer [eg, colon cancer] ● Coronary heart disease ● Stroke ● Osteoporosis [due to the removal of calicum from the body to correct pH imbalance caused by the Atkin diet.] ● Ketosis [This is when the body uses fat for energy, fat fragments combine to form ketone bodies. Some body cells can use ketone bodies for energy, but if fat is broken down too rapidly, ketone bodies starts to accumulate in the blood. This is a serious condition called ketosis] >>> produces ketones very toxic to internal organs; >>> put high stress on the kidneys 24 hours a day; >>> produces bad breath and >>> can lead to coma and death. ● High cholesterol ● Hallucination Perhaps the fact that the Akins family owned 1/5 of bovine livestock in the U.S has made him blind with greed to promote such a deadly diet to the naive American. Whatever the case may be, it was no surprise to anyone that Dr Atkins, had coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, a history of heart attacks, and weighed at around 200 lbs when he died in 2003. Link related to the video: http://www.aaasecret.com/DietingDangers/

Yes, I lost weight very quickly when I was once on it, and still got ot eat quite abit---especially meat which is high in protein.

You people who keep ranting about how bad this diet is do not know what you are talking about. NO DIET works forever to keep wieght off unless you work at it, forever. Including low fat, low calorie etc. If low fat/calorie worked so well, everyone would be thin. I lost 100 lbs doing atkins by the book 9 yrs ago, and while i do yoyo about 25 lbs..i'm human, i can easily lose it if i gain it. I'm prone to gaining easily, since i once wieghed 270, its no wonder. I'm also a nurse (and i had to lol at the nutritionist who blasted the diet, she didnt read the journals very carefully at all). The ketosis you do get into is BENIGN ketosis. It doesnt cause any internal damage! You should drink water because yes, it can cause bad breath, but all it is is a byproduct of protien metabolism. Why do you go into ketosis? Because your body uses readily available carbs for energy before it uses fat. The point behind atkins is to use fat for energy. Fat metabolism and protien metabolism causes the ketones. If you really need to lose wieght your mind and body will have plenty of energy from all that fat its using. Yes, you should take a multivitamin while on atkins, because you do cut down on veggies and fruit (esp fruit). I ate more veggies on atkins then i ever do normally. Even on induction at its harshest begginings of the diet, you eat 2-3 cups of veggies a day. Point is BENIGN KETOSIS DOESNT CAUSE HALLUCINATIONS, KIDNEY DAMAGE OR DEATH. IT DOESNT CAUSE AN INCREASE IN COLON CANCER ETC. YOU FREAKING EAT A LOT OF VEGETABLES ON ATKINS, READ THE BOOK PEOPLE! When you get to level 3, your eating upwards of 5 cups of veggies per day...and some low glycemic fruits like berries and melons. Like the previous poster above about lowering cholesterol. YUP IT HAPPENED TO ME! At 270 i had 300+ cholesterol and a 210 triglycerides. HDL and LDL were way bad. My dr demanded i come to him every 6 weeks for levels, and was amazed at how fast my cholesterol plummeted. With in 6 months my cholesterol was 190 and my triglycerides were under 120. My HDL and LDL were perfect. He now has his CHOLESTEROL PATIENTS DO LOW CARB DIETS LIKE ATKINS AND SOUTHBEACH. Dr Atkins was over 70. So what he wieghed 200lbs. I know a lot of 30 yr olds wished they wieghed 200lbs. He was elderly and had a heart condition. My brother was a foot ball coach, great weight, great physical fitness fanatic, never smoked, rarely drank, yet he died at 62 of a heart attack. I also had a brother die of cancer at 18, doesnt mean he smoked. The man fell down and had a head injury and died....good lord he was old. He also did NOT own a bunch of cows that is so stupid lol. Back to the diet. Atkins 72 the original book is the best because he was basic. He told you what to eat, and back then they didnt count off fiber, so you really did cut out a lot of carbs during induction, it isnt unheard of to lose 20 lbs in 2 weeks, or 5-10% of your body wieght even. Then wt falls easily...you can lose 3-6 lbs per week. Yes eating steak with butter, a salad with blue cheese dressing and all the veggies. If you go to an older book DO NOT BUY THE NEWEST ONES SINCE DR ATKINS DIED. Only buy those books HE WROTE. Since his death the powers that be have ruined the atkins diet. They introduced a bunch of crap to the public in the form of shakes(not the worst), the candy (the worst) and the bars (even worse) They halt wt loss. Plus the books just arent good and wt lose is slower. Really, if you dont believe me, go ask some people on the website lowcarbfriends dot com. Good luck, and i say go for it!

I have been on Atkins since 1998. I'm a 10 year lifestyle veteran and I love it. I initially lost 30lbs and have kept it off for the full 10 years! My weight fluxuates 5-8lbs, at which point I go from 45g of carbs a day (my "break even" point) back to induction for a week. I am healthy. I am strong. I am happy. At 32, I am less than the weight I was in high school and I look fabulous. In my opinion, all the other boo-ra-ha doesn't matter.

Atkins is a lifestyle and it has totally worked for me. I've gotten down to me target weight and have been there since 2004

I have been on Atkins since 1998. I'm a 10 year lifestyle veteran and I love it. I initially lost 30lbs and have kept it off for the full 10 years! My weight fluxuates 5-8lbs, at which point I go from 45g of carbs a day (my "break even" point) back to induction for a week. And let me say something to the people who continue to state that so-and-so lost weight quickly and put it back on plus some. This has nothing to do with Atkins and everything to do with them going back to eating crappy food. Yes, there are medical conditions to contribute to that, but for the most part it's people who just eat poorly. You don't get to 270lbs on salads and chicken breasts. If you do not change your eating habits and make a lifestyle change you will get fat again...and I'm sorry, but that's a self control issue that has nothing to do with ANY diet. I am healthy. I am strong. I am happy. At 32, I am less than the weight I was in high school and I look fabulous. In my opinion, all the other boo-ra-ha doesn't matter.

And let me say something to the people who continue to state that so-and-so lost weight quickly and put it back on plus some. This has nothing to do with Atkins and everything to do with them going back to eating crappy food. Yes, there are medical conditions to contribute to that, but for the most part it's people who just eat poorly. You don't get to 270lbs on salads and chicken breasts. If you do not change your eating habits and make a lifestyle change you will get fat again...and I'm sorry, but that's a self control issue that has nothing to do with ANY diet.