thebeat

I'd like to loose about 30lbs, and thinkin about using ediets.com, they offer several approaches (you may use it) I do not have a lot of time to do physical workouts (ie: weights, etc) I work alot and I dont really have the opportunity to make my own meals, when I do eat out which is alot, I choose for Subway generally. I guess I'd like to make a lifestyle change, cutting out the cola..etc

Now the Questions


Have any of you used ediets.com?

Have any of you taken the atkins approach?

otherwise what other approach would you suggest?

Thanks in advance

TB

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the_marq

I hesitate to answer this question because I don't want to be perceived as an Atkins evangelist.

Nevertheless, here I go.

I picked up the Atkins book when I weighed in at 246lbs. By cutting out most of my carbs and not changing anything else in my lifestyle I easily lost 25 pounds over about 6 months. And I continue....

So that's my story, now here are my dos and don'ts.

*Read the book. Too many people have the wrong idea that you can live on bacon and steak.
*Don't go crazy, you are going to have to eat some carbs, your body needs the energy source to live.
*Don't stay on the induction phase too long.
*Get some fibre into your diet .... pooping becomes a challenge otherwise.

I may add more to this comment later, but I think that about covers it. Good luck.

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#3 in a series

alkaloid

You are already on the Subway diet. Good for you. Didn't a fat guy on TV lose lots of weight eating only Subway sandwiches?
Today I saw an ad for the new Angus diet. What do you guys think of it?
http://www.angusdiet.com

Cowman

The angus diet is a joke, so is the "subway diet".

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to make time to work out and cook your own meals. There's no "easy way" around that..

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Willravel

My piano teachers wife is really sick right now. She has beeen on the Atkins diet for a very long time (possibly since the 80's). She now has abnormalities of the heart, kidney, and liver. She also has bone cancer. Her family has no history of any health problems going back eight generations. What no one told her is that the American Heart Assiciation has stated: "Individuals who follow these diets are therefore at risk for compromised vitamin and mineral intake, as well as potential cardiac, renal [kidney], bone, and liver abnormalities overall."
In Europe, hospitals have already started banning the Atkins Diet after the British government's Medical Research Council, backed up by the British Nutrition Foundation and the British Dietetic Association, condemned the Atkins Diet as "negligent" "nonsense and pseudo-science" posing a "massive health risk."
BTW, I apologize ahead of time for preaching, but if you want to know about Atkins or any other diet, this will intrest you.
In Taubes' article in the New York Times Magazine, he reiterated a myth common among Atkins and other greasy diet proponents. "At the very moment that the government started telling Americans to eat less fat, we got fatter," wrote Taubes. He argues that since the percentage of calories from fat in the American diet has been decreasing, and the percentage from carbohydrates increasing, carbs are to blame for the obesity epidemic.

Of course a quick trot across the globe shows that some of the thinnest populations in the world, like those in rural Asia, center their entire diets on carbs. They eat 50% more carbs than we do, yet have a fraction of our obesity rates. Taubes also left out that the amount of added fat and total fat Americans eat has also been increasing--we're eating more of everything now, fat and carbohydrates. Grease and protein peddlers blame our obesity epidemic on a low-fat diet that our nation never ate.

Thirty years ago, the average woman ate about 1500 calories per day, now it's closer to 2000. Men also significantly bumped up their calorie consumption. With that many extra calories, we'd have to walk about two extra hours a day to keep from gaining weight. As analyzed in the May 2004 USDA report on obesity, with more calories, yet the same sedentary lifestyle, of course we gained weight.

The reason we're fat is not because of bread and fruit. Much of the obesity crisis has been blamed on eating out more (Americans spend almost twice as much time per week eating out as exercising), soft drinks, snacking, bigger portion sizes and "the enormous amount of very clever and very effective advertising of junk food/fast food." Our children, for example, are subjected to 10,000 ads for processed food every year. There's no way parents can compete. As one medical journal pointed out, our children "will never see a slick high-budget (or even low-budget) ad for apples or broccoli."

Twenty years ago, a typical US bagel was 3 inches; now it's twice that and contains a whopping 350 calories. Outback Steakhouse now has an appetizer of cheese fries, which breaks the scale at over 3000 calories, an appetizer containing more calories than most people eat all day. One would have to walk about 35 miles to burn that kind of thing off.

The standard coke bottle used to be around 6 ounces. Then came the 12 ounce can. Now we have the 20 ounce bottles, or, of course, the 64-ounce "Double Gulp," containing about 50 spoonfuls of sugar. In fact, the Double Gulp is selling so well that 7-Eleven considered an even larger size, which a company spokesperson described only as a "wading-pool-sized drink."

The National Soft Drink Association boasts on their website that "Soft drinks have emerged as America's favorite refreshment. Indeed, one of every four beverages consumed in America today is a carbonated soft drink, averaging out to about 53 gallons of soft drinks per year for every man, woman and child." Interestingly, the introduction of high fructose corn syrup around 1970 seems to exactly parallel the sudden rapid rise in obesity in this country. Thanks in part to the American food corporations, becoming overweight, as one prominent obesity researcher pointed out, "is now the normal response to the American environment."

There is no mystery why we are the fattest country on Earth. "We're overfed, over-advertised, and under-exercised," says Stanford obesity expert John Farquhar. "It's the enormous portion sizes and sitting in front of the TV and computer all day" that are to blame. "It's so gol'darn obvious--how can anyone ignore it?"


I personally lost over 65 Lbs. in total. It took me almost 2 years, but expecting that kind of change over a short period of time is what is wrong with everyone looking through the pages of Dr. Atkins books.
What I did: I recognized that I needed a lifestyle change. The way I was not exercising and eating foods high in sugar, fat, and calories was slowing me down and shortening my life. I was a hearty guy with a misson.
I set aside a time every day to exercise. I have not missed one day since then, by the way. Every other day I do a weight set. Alternate days I do a sport (i.e. swimming, b ball, tennis, etc.) for at least an hour. It becomes easier over time and if you have a partner.
As for food, I made a list of foods that I decided that I'd never eat again. My vice foods included: pringles, diet coke, McDonalds, and doughnuts. I will never eat these foods again, no matter what. I limited my intake of sugar, fat, and calories to 10% under the daily reccomended amount listed on the side of the box. I also made sure that I always ate 5 fruits and vegitables a day. I stretched out my food intake to 6 small meals a day. I avoided red meats, but didn't cut them out completly. I ate mostly fish and poultry with vegies/fruit/salad.
REMEMBER a diet is a way of life, not something that's temporary. It's a lifestyle change. You can do it!

Willravel

BTW, please ask me any questions you want. I'm here to help. Also, I have nothing against people on the Atkins diet. The only reason I know what I know is that it might have been responsible for hurting a friend.
Good luck!

greyeyes

I myself am a pretty healthy person (for my age at least) and I was wondering why you included DIET soda in your vice foods list. I do not drink sodas often unless I really need a boost caffeene and/or sugar wise. However I wouldn't have guessed that diet sodas are horribly awful for you (besides the fact that they are just processed chemicals). Please expound on this

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Seaver

I lost 10lbs in two weeks without working out any extra, with VERY little lifestyle change. Instead of having a candy bar I switched to fruit (nectarines and bananas mostly mmmmm...). And I cut out cokes in place of water. Honestly I feel better, women have been complimenting me on my "brighter" (not sure what it means) and clearer face. The fruit also have an added side effect of natural fiber to help out and keep more regular. I hate the Atkins diet but I wont even get into that. The best way to lose weight if you're in the average weight zone is small changes like this that you will stick to easily.

Willravel

Thanks for the response/question. One thing that I found out after doing some reaserch is that soda's are bad news. Let's take Mountian Dew for example. 12 oz. of Dew has about 11 tsp. of sugar. It also has an acidity of about 3.22 (low = bad). Teeth were never meant to take this kind of punishment. As far as diets and fat loss, even diet colas are bad. Most diet soda use an artificial sweetner, such as aspartame or nutrasweet, in the stead of sugar. Here's what I found out about these wonderful drugs. Aspartame and nutrasweet are no very sweet in themselves, that may be why equal puts dextrose (sugar) and maltodextrin as the first ingredients, so that it tastes sweet. These drugs are 'brain drugs' that stimulate your brain so that you think that the food you are eating tastes sweet. If you pay attention, you'll notice that when using these everything you eat tastes sweet. That's why Aspartame/Nutrasweet causes you to seriously crave carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, as you may know, get broken down into sugars to be burned in your body. If you want to learn about the real health dangers of Aspartame, you can read it online. It scared the crap out of me. I only made the diet argument on thsi threat in response to your question. What I meant by what I said before was that I gave up on sodas alltogether, but the soda I mainly drank was diet coke. In my opinnion, diet soda is like diet lard; it's either basically the same fattening thing as the original, or it's made up of chemicals that really aren't safe.
I also realized, while I was trying to quit, that I was addicted to sodas! I don't know if I was mentally or physically addicted, but I went through withdraw the same way a smoker does. I found myself looking at sodas, I mean like lingering forlorned looks. I would stop myself going into a 7/11 or other convienience mart, realizing that I was about to get a soda. I also realized just how many soda commercials there are on tv. Wow. Durring one commercial brake 3 out of 7 commercials were for soda. After a few months everything started going better, but it really surprised me. Aparently soda is the second most popular drink in the US, next to water. More than juice, more than milk, more than coffee and tea.
Stuff to think about.

Seaver

Haha yeah, I'm experiencing similar stuff. Not the lingering stuff... just how much I drank.

I drink like a camel naturally (Texas heat), but now that I replaced cokes with just water alone... I'm pissing Evian. I'm goign to need to start taking suplimental vitamins if this keeps up lol. Trust me, I feel tons more healthy and lost lots of weight off of something so simple.

Willravel

Look for flavored waters. They have vitamins and minerals, without the 11 tsp. of sugar. Juice is also really refreshing in the heat. I like cranberry (100% JUICE ONLY). Dairy products can help you to stay healthy in consistantly bad heat. No need to just go with $3.00 a bottle tap water. Too much water can actually hurt your liver, also (though I doubt you are drinking a fraction of what it would take to cause harm).

munkeynuts

wait, you're not serious are you? you don't think the angus diet is real, do you? please say no, pleeease

Willravel

He lost weight eating subwaqy sandwiches because he walked to subway to eat them. The subway was over a mile from his house.

crewsor

My Aunt is sick right now. She was never on the Atkins diet. Following your logic, the reason she is sick may be because of her high carb diet. I don't believe that, any more than I believe your friends sickness is related to a low carb diet.
People get sick. Just because she was on a low carb diet and also got sick proves nothing. I have seen no evidence of any ill effects from a PROPERLY maintained low carb diet. No kidney disease, liver disorders and especially bone cancers.
Many doctors, including my own, now endorse a low carb diet as a healthy way to lose weight and keep it off while improving heart health indicators such as cholesteral ratios and blood pressure.
I have lost some weight over the past two years following a low carb diet, but my goal was not so much to lose weight as to improve my overall health. And by all measureable accounts it has succeeded.
I lost 25 lbs, bloodpressure is now normal from being borderline high, and my cholesteral and triglycerides also have gone from being high to a healthy range. I still eat plenty of fruit and vegetables while avoiding sugars, starches and white flours.

P.S. No health problems for eight generations? So I guess they are all still living? Thats pretty unbelievable. I know of no families with no current health problems, much less eight generations.

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nein991

I used the Atkins diet to lose 15 pounds. My work schedule changed that I could no longer
run 5 miles every day. I am now on a medium carb diet and run about 15-20 miles a week. I stop eating refined sugars and limit my starches. I also eat fruit with a medium to
low glycemic index-this keeps my blood sugar level steady. By using Splenda with baked
goods I cut down on refined sugar. But the 40-30-30 diet keeps me in the medium carb zone

raeanna74

I suggest talking to your Dr about what diet he or she would recommend. If you prefer one over another still talk to them about it. They can advise you the best way to follow the diet without harming yourself.

My mother's Dr worked with her on the Atkins diet. She did very well to begin with. After a while though she stopped loosing. Partly because she would cheat. She didn't inform her Dr of this either. She put herself back on the induction part of the diet and stayed there. She'd cheat so she'd go back to practically NO carbs whatsoever. Eventually she was having lots of trouble. She got Gout and because gaining the weight back. She's now heavier than she was before.

No matter what diet you choose you need to be armed with information. Follow the diet the right way. Involve your Dr too.

Growing up we lived next to a family who's mother was as wide as two folding chairs. She went on Weight Watchers and was so very faithful. It was the best impression I had of any diet. She probably weighed well over 300 lbs and she dropped to around 200 lbs. It took her a long time but she looked so much more healthy at that point. She had fewer health problems overall.

Personally I wouldn't go for a fad diet. They don't have a track record. Things like Weight Watchers have been around long enough to have proof of their effectiveness and proof that they aren't harmful in any way.

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SparklingDot

Talk to your doctor. Or go to a health club and speak with a nutritionist. Have you heard of the Southbeach diet? Like a toned down version of Atkins, supposedly healthier for you. Lots of veggies and whole grains, stuff that is good for you. Worth a shot. It cuts out certain carbs and sugars to start, but then reintroduces some of them. Good food too.

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limey

I did the Atkins diet a couple of times and lost some weight every time I did it. However, the last time I did it I had to get some blood work done and the results scared the crap out of me. My cholesterol level shot up until it was way above the dangerous level. The second I began eating normally again my level came back down to where it should have been. It does make sense that eating those kinds of high fat foods will impact your cardiovascular system and I read that the main probl;em occurs when you bring in only a slight amount of carbs. The dramatic impact that it will have only your liver is also obvious because of the high amounts of protein you take in. All in all, the absence of any long term studies should be enough to deter anyone from this diet.

inharmony

I think you should see a dr first for sure. I've been successful losing over 40lbs, however, it's taken me over a year and changing my eating habits plus working out. I've known few ppl on the atkins diet, scares me how their cholesterol levels skyrocket. With that said, I think no matter what diet you chose you will need to exercise. Bonus...makes you feel good.

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crewsor

I'm not surprised that people think a low carb diet causes your cholesterol to go up, but the opposite is normally true. In studies comparing Atkins to A.H.A. diets, the people on the low carb diets cholesterol and triglycerides levels improved consideraby better than those on the low fat diet.

LINK


Study: Atkins diet good for cholesterol
CHICAGO (APOnline) — Multitudes swear by the high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, and now a carefully controlled study backs them up: Low-carb may actually take off more weight than low-fat and may be surprisingly better for cholesterol, too.
For years, the Atkins formula of sparing carbohydrates and loading up on taboo fatty foods has been blasphemy to many in the health establishment, who view it as a formula for cardiovascular ruin.

But now, some of the same researchers who long scoffed at the diet are putting it to the test, and they say the results astonish them. Rather than making cholesterol soar, as they feared, the diet actually appears to improve it, and volunteers take off more weight.

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Willravel

Crew, limey said that his cholesterol DID go up, not that he thought it might. He had the actual proof in his hands. Normally it may not be true, but in some cases the Atkis diet can raise cholesterol. Poeple have to know that there is a risk. It may not be a great risk, but a risk none the less.

Both of these are quotes from your article:
"More study is necessary before such a diet can be recommended," Westman said.
"There is no magic combination of fat versus carbs versus protein," she said. "It doesn't matter in the long run. The bottom line is calories, calories, calories."

This is the MAGIC way to lose weight! No low carbs. No low fat. All you have to do is burn more calories than you ingest. I'll say that again. All you have to do is burn more calories than you ingest. You can eat a normal diet (don't go crazy on carbs, fat, sugars, or cholestorol, but eat normal). You don't have to avoid milk products and bread, and you don't have to avoid mayo and butter. Just get out of your chair and do something active. I can lose 2 pounds a week if I burn 1000 more calories a day then I ingest. I know everyone is different, but I figuer I'm probably in the middle.
You don't have to join a gym. Just go to a basketball court three times a week or go swim at the local pool. If you don't have enough time to exercise, you don't have enough time to be healthy. If you don't have enough time to be healthy, you'll have less time in the end (meaning you'll probably die younger).
Enjoy life.

crewsor

Will, you are absolutely right. Reduced calories plus exercise definitely equals weight loss and better health. You don't have to preach exercise to me. I'm on my way out the door for a nice long mountain bike trek right now.
As for the low carb diet, I believe it works, safely. If you don't, then I certainly wouldn't encourage you or anyone else who have doubts to implement it. What works for me won't necessarily work for you and vice-versas.
My concern is that for some reason, people tend to spread rumors and outright falsehoods about low carb diets, to frighten people who may otherwise benefit from it. If you have any links to information that PROVES risk, I would like to see it for my own benefit.

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Willravel

Awesome. Didn't mean to preach, despite the fact after reading my post, it sure seems that way. AMEN!
I'll let you know if i come across some actual facts, as opposed to the limmitless rumors and 'intependant studies' (actually done by the Atkins researchers, or those against Atkins) surrounding the Atkins diet.

phyzix525

I think one thing that I did not see anyone say was to stop eating at night. I quit all snacking after 7. I try not to snack at all really, but especially not at night.

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unimoger

I've been on the Atkins diet for almost two years and have lost 50 pounds - going from 226 to 175. As many have pointed out the diet is designed to not only help you loose weight, but to also improve your overall health. I recently had a physical and I have to say that the proof for me came from the numbers:

Triglycerides dropped from 268 to 63
Total Cholesterol dropped from 188 to 143

I have to say that many people who I see who are doing Atkins do not follow the program as is described in the book. Personally, I follow the plan religiously and I think that is one of the reasons everything has worked as well as it has for me.

JohnnyRock

I think any diet can work in the short-term. But in the end, eating a sensible diet with a mix of protein, carbs [watch sugars and processed foods] and healthy fats mixed with exercise is the way to long-term wight loss [I lost about 100 pounds a long, long time ago].

The key to losing weight is to put less in than you put out...

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