Here's why I choose not to go on Atkins

[jpgray]

Obesity percentage in Italy:

Male: 6.5%
Female: 6.3%

In the United States:

Male: 19%
Female: 25%

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/yourweight/whatis_stats.shtml

Need I say more? The land of pizza, pasta, bread, and all things carbohydrate seems to have much less of a problem staying lean and mean than we do across the water. Say it with me: "sensible portions, avoid junk food, exercise."

That there should be such an abomination as "low-carb bread or pasta" , let alone "low-carb beer" just goes to show how messed up our priorities are here. Here's the Mediterranean pyramid:



People on this diet, from Morocco and Tunisia to Crete and Southern Italy, had among the lowest rate of chronic disease and the highest life-expectancy, despite in many cases having limited access to advanced medical treatment.

There is *nothing* magic about removing most carbs from your diet. You lose weight by eating fewer calories than you burn. You avoid the blood sugar roller coaster by avoiding junk food and/or exercising. The obesity epidemic is coincident with a rise in consumption (of *all* foods) and a rise in indolence. Nothing wrong with doing Atkins if you want to, but it is in my opinion the wrong reaction to a cultural predisposition towards poor eating and general laziness. Put down the Thickburger and lift up the pesto. Leave the house, the TV, the computer and other sedentary activities behind. Get thee to a local park for some serious walking, biking or running.

No indictment of Atkins, but in my view its casting of carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread and pasta as the villain is patently ridiculous.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. From what I've seen of gourmet Italian restaurants

the portions of pasta, bread, etc. are smaller than what we see at the typical "family restaurant," and pasta is just one course in a meal that includes servings of fish, soup, meat, and vegetables. I doubt if they have "all the spaghetti you can eat" specials in Italy.

Similarly, if you go to Japan or China, yes, they eat rice and noodles, but the starches are a small part of a diet that is heavy on protein sources and vegetables, mostly vegetables. In the typical Japanese restaurant set meal, each person gets a fist-sized portion of rice. One can ask for seconds on rice, but only young guys ever do. The noodle dishes are mostly broth with, again, about a fistful of starch in them.

The exercise is a big part of it. Both Europeans and Asians drive less and walk more than we do. However, when I was eating low-fat high-carb, I was taking five exercise classes a week (3 circuit training, 2 deep-water aerobics), as well as not driving at all, and I still gained weight. I lost 15 pounds on Atkins and have kept it off.

[jpgray]

5. Carbohydrates have long been the base of the Italian diet

Detailed analyses of food surveys carried out in Italy at that time <1960s> permitted a definition of an Italian-style Mediterranean diet, characterized by low total fat (< 30% of energy), low saturated fat (< 10% of energy), high complex carbohydrates, and high dietary fiber.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7754985&dopt=Abstract

Gourmet Italian restaurants probably do not give an accurate representation of what Sergio the coffee-bar waiter eats. :)

[VelmaD]

9. But is losing weight really the issue

When you were exercising you were building muscle - which weights more but it a good thing. It's not about the number on the scale. It's about overall fitness.

[MsUnderstood]

2. The fallacy in the argument

The fallacy in the argument is that you compare European foods to American foods as if they are equal. America is a fast food nation--we thrive on food being ready to eat, not ready to cook.

Americans eat so much supermarket/fast food items filled with sugar for taste and nitrates for preservatives that the Cabs begin to equal sugar. We eat applesauce (flavored with sugar) instead of apples and lunch meat (instead of unprocessed meat) filled with Nitrates. Rather than drinking water, we grab a sugary, caffeine filled substitute that does nothing but add fat to the a$$.

The missing argument is portion control. How many times do Americans upgrade soda/fries at fast food restaurant (pure profit for the company), or eat the entire OVERSIZED portion from a restaurant. Americans overeat--and the extra food stays with them.

The Europeans on the other hand aren't as addicted to carbs, sugar, preservatives, and caffeine and dont live with the mindset "bigger is better"

[RandomKoolzip]

3. I'm on Atkins right now...have been for almost six weeks.

I've lost 16 pounds and I'm perfectly happy. I feel good, too, and have been doing a lot of weight training and I alk everywhere I go.

I like it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. Hey, who's that over there alking?

Must be RKZ! He's the only alker I know!

:evilgrin: just teasing

I lost a good twenty pounds with Atkins (sort of, I guess), and felt freaking wonderful and wasn't tired as much, either. Mostly, I stopped eating carbos during the day and eating salads for lunch, and surprisingly, even I was eating less, my need for midday snacks disappeared entirely.

I still only very, very rarely feel a need for "a little snack". it's amazing.

[afraid_of_the_dark]

4. I know a lot of people who have lost weight on Atkins...

But from what I can tell, it was more the change in diet that helped than anything else.

I just can't accept that bread and pasta are evil - it's just like anything else, ok in moderation.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Huh?

You're saying it wasn't Atkins, but it was the change in diet?

bread and pasta are not evil - but for many people, especially type-O, it's not helpful, and can be very detrimental in terms of how the body processes the sugars.

And especially, as someone else pointed out, Americans tend to eat a pre-made foods from factories taht are awlays loaded up with extra sugars and crap. I never buy factory bread - I only buy fresh baked bakery bread. I don't buy boxed pasta - I buy only fresh pasta made by the store I shop at, that doesn't have preservatives and other crap in it. Obviously, not everyone can do that, but even reducing one's diet to actually fresh foods, and not junk from cans and boxes, will go a long way to losing weight and bettering one's health, too.

[NicoleM]

7. All carbs are not created equal.

The multi-grain bread I make in my bread machine is not the same as a loaf of Wonderbread. An apple isn't the same as a Snickers. I think carbs shouldn't be the enemy, but refined carbs should be. I think that is the difference between the Mediterranean diet and the Standard American Diet--they eat more fresh foods and fewer highly refined foods than we do. I don't know for sure but I'd bet that they cook from scratch more, too.

[Robroy]

10. Blew up my TV

5 years ago. Weight loss or maintenance is a simple matter of expending more calories than you consume, period. There's no magic bullet. Learn to love to sweat. Try to do at least 45 mins. per day of moderate to intense cardiovascular exercise (it helps if you're a type-a personality). I'm 53 years young, slightly less that 5'8" and weigh 142 pounds. I love beer, pasta, pizza, breads, bananas, ice cream and all kinds of nuts. Carbohydrates, whether the simple type like processed sugars found in candies and colas, or the complex types found in whole grains, pastas and rice and breads, are all FUEL for the body.

Getting and staying lean is difficult but doable for most of us. Others have to battle genetics. Whatever your case, get off the couch, get outside for a brisk walk, join a gym, buy a bicycle, find a jogging buddy, and get that heart rate up and hold it there for 30 to 45 mins. Push yourself, set manageable goals and implement a program to reach them (AND STICK WITH THE PROGRAM).

What works for me? Well, I was Born To Run, thank you Boss. I've run 5 marathons, including Boston in April 2000. Here's wishing to all a year of healthy life-altering choices.

[jpgray]

11. Welcome to DU, my fellow runner.

:toast: