| | Fact file |  Atkins dieters must first follow a 14 day Induction phase with a limit of 20g of carbohydrate each day (a banana contains 22g), and basically consists of meat, chicken, fish, eggs or cheese with some green and salad vegetables, butter and oil.
All carbohydrate-containing foods such as fruit, many vegetables, bread, cereals, rice, potatoes, pasta, biscuits, sugar and so on must be avoided, as must milk and yogurt. The next phase allows slightly more carbohydrate - about 40g a day on average – to enable ongoing weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week.
Once dieters reach their goal weight they are advised to slightly increase their carbohydrate intake until their weight stabilises – but it should not go over 90g a day. |
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|  | It's always been controversial, but the Atkins diet has been in the headlines almost constantly this summer. First the diet favoured by celebs including Jennifer Aniston and Minnie Driver was condemned by UK dieticians who said it gave "bad dietary advice". 
A small dollop of mayonnaise or blue cheese dressing makes a salad much more palatable - and the 'treat' element of being allowed luxuries like that has certainly reduced the temptation to binge that I have had on other diets. | | Atkins diet fan Denise Walters |
Then US researchers who studied 63 obese men and women who weighed, on average, 216 pounds. claimed the low carbohydrate Atkins diet may be as safe and effective as low-calorie weight-loss plans. Now there's been yet another warning about the dangers. Dr Susan Jebb, from the Medical Research Council's Human Nutrition Research Centre said it would be "negligent" to recommend the diet to anyone overweight and said many of its claims were based on "pseudo science". Confused? Who wouldn't be! Atkins works for us But despite the controversy, the message from the Gloucestershire dieters BBC Gloucestershire spoke to is still unanimous - Atkins works for us! Here Atkins fan and mum of two Denise Walters, from Stroud, tells her story - and dispels some common myths about the Atkins diet. She says: 'I was 5ft 2 and just under 11 stone before starting the Atkins diet in June. I looked like a roly-poly pudding and was determined to lose weight before my summer holiday. 'I am now down to nine stone and would ideally like to lose another half a stone to get back to what I weighed on my wedding day 12 years ago.
There ARE Atkins alternatives to steak, chops and joints. Smoked mackerel pate made with low-fat cream cheese has been my favourite diet food. | | Atkins diet fan Denise Walters |
'The problem is that in the last few weeks everybody I know seems to be telling me the diet is dangerous - it really annoys me when they haven't even read the book. 'The last straw was when my husband - who has been really encouraging me all the way along and is delighted at my new look - came in brandishing the Daily Mail with its scaremongering front page headline 'Atkins Diet Dangerous' and said, 'right, you've got to stop right now.' Here, for everybody who hasn't read the Atkins Diet book, are some facts. Vegetables and fruit are NOT banned In fact the Atkins diet actively encourages eating salads (but not sugar-rich tomatoes) and leafy green vegetables. Fruit is banned during the two-week induction phase but low carb fruits like berries can be included in the diet after that. You DON'T have to eat lots of fat It's nice to have a diet where fat isn't banned but you don't HAVE to consume huge amounts of butter, cream and oil. A small dollop of mayonnaise or blue cheese dressing makes a salad much more palatable - and the 'treat' element of being allowed luxuries like that has certainly reduced the temptation to binge that I have had on other diets. You DON'T have to eat lots of meat There ARE Atkins alternatives to steak, chops and joints. Fish, especially the oily fish that health experts are always telling us we should have more of, is allowed on the Atkins diet. And so is cheese - not just the high fat just but Feta and low-fat cream cheese (just check the carb count). Smoked mackerel pate made with low-fat cream cheese has been my favourite diet food. Constipation? What constipation? The doom-mongers issue dire warnings about the diet causing severe constipation as a result of the lack of fibre in the Atkins diet. But if you read the book thoroughly you'll see that the diet recommends taking psyllium husks to combat constipation - these are available in tablet form from health food stores, just take them with water twice a day. They do the job for me! Sugar is the REAL health baddie Sugar consumption has increased hugely in the Western diet over the past 100 years - and is just as much a contributary factor to obesity as eating fat. Part of the reason the Atkins Diet works for me is that I know sugar is an absolute no-no - and a lot of high-carbohydrate foods are high in sugar. No cakes and biscuits means NOT ONE BITE - the 'just one won't matter as long as it's in my calorie allowance' rule has been my downfall in the past and now my sweet tooth has been well and truly tamed. What could be wrong with that? |
The Atkins Diet - your comments: Diane Simpson
I am 60 and 5ft 2ins tall and weighed almost 14 stone.... I have yo-yo dieted most of my life but since going on Atkins that has all changed. I have lost 3 stone [another stone and a half to go] and now have blood pressure of 120/70 and have never felt better! When I complete the Atkins programme I will be at a comfortable weight and have a balanced eating regime recommended by everyone i.e. lots of veg and no sugar, and very little [if any!] cakes, potatoes, biscuits etc. The fallacies that Atkins requires living on a diet comprising mainly of fried or fatty food is simply untrue. The Atkins web site is an excellent [and constantly updated] resource. Atkins works - OK! Mark Anthony Smith
I lost 55 pounds on the Atkins diet and while doing so have felt half my age. I'm 67 years old and Atkins was a blessing for me. I feel 40 and have a sex drive of a 20 year old. Liz Beer
I am a type 2 diabetic with high blood pressure. Low-fat dieting has not worked for me leaving me tired and hungry with no weight loss at all. Since doing Atkins my blood sugar readings have become normal, blood pressure is now normal, I am off all medication, feel fitter and healthier than I have for the last few years and now have the energy to exercise regularly. In 13 weeks I have lost 15lb and dropped two dress sizes. Even my doctor was impressed with my results. Her only concern was a potential rise in cholesterol (which is ok at the moment) and we have agreed to check this 6 monthly. Would I have developed diabetes if I had not been trying to lose weight following the low-fat high-carbohydrate approach. I will eventually be able to work out exactly how many carbohydrates I need for maintain weight loss and to keep blood sugar under control. I see nothing dangerous whatsoever about following Atkins - being an out of control diabetic is lethal. Frances Wheatley
I've just started the Akins Died. My apetite decreased straight away, I like the way it fits in well with my skinny husbands meals, he eats the same except he has chips or bread etc. Of course you don't need to eat loads of fat or too much meat, also we are allowed veg and salad, so what's the problem? Mind you I'm being careful this time as when I went on the beach diet a while ago, I had a kidney infection, it may be a coincidence of course, or I may of overdone it on the 'salt' as well as too much protein, as I ate rather a lot of bacon. Plus drank at a party! dehydrated? Best wishes. |
After renewed warnings about possible health risks Atkins diet fan Denise Walters defies the doom-mongers to tell BBC Gloucestershire why she won't give it up - and dispels some myths about low-carb dieting.
