Customer Reviews

Dr Atkins Diet Cook Book

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've been on this diet (if you can call it that) for 4 weeks and I've lost 18 pounds. When I started this diet on March 15 I weighed 194 llbs (I'm 5'7"). Many people at my office have been on this since Jan. and I've seen the results first hand, so I thought I'd try it. I read the whole book, went to the grocery store, and started the very next day. Immediately, I felt better, had more energy, slept better and my hypo-thyroid problem has since disappeared. I still can't believe the food you can eat! I chose not to give up caffeine, rather, I drink only diet pop. I still lost all of this weight! The scale is now my best friend. Just a word of advice: there are many people out there that bad-mouth this diet. It seems that everyone has a horror story to tell! IGNORE IT. But after digging a bit deeper, it seems the person didn't follow the exact diet, or forgot to take vitamins, or drink plenty of water. THIS DIET WORKS! I can't wait to show off my new body to the biggest critic of this diet - my father in law!

I went on the Atkins diet 2 years ago, for about 5 months, and lost 25 pounds. I never felt better; my headaches went away, fatigue during the day was gone, I was able to wake up earlier in the morning. I need to lose 25 more pounds to be at my college weight. Even after I stopped the diet, and ate a lot more carbs, my weight loss remained. I noticed as I added back more carbohydrates, that many old symptoms returned. I am back on the more restricted part of the diet again because I want to lose the rest of the weight. I will say that you eat a moderate amount of protein, vegetables, fish, good oils, and I think it is a balanced, long-term diet that can work for many of us. Once you reach your weight loss goal, you add back in a lot more carbohydrates, all in the form of healthy vegetables, nuts, seeds, and moderate amounts of fruit, bread, etc.

I have two friends who lost 40 pounds (him) and 60 pounds (her) on this diet, their blood pressure normalized, and their cholesterol count actually went from high to normal in 6 months. I have another friend who told her doctor she was going on the diet, he warned her not to. In three months she came back, her blood pressure was almost normal, after being very high, and she felt better than she had in years. Her doctor told her to keep doing whatever she was doing, because it was working.

Another friend went on the high carb/ low fat diet. She did lose at first, but was hungry all the time and gained the weight back and more when she went off of it. There are people who do well on this kind of low-fat, high carb diet, and Atkins talks about this and why.

No diet is for everyone, each of our bodies are unique. I have found this diet to be excellent in balancing blood sugar and eliminating the resultant fatigue, emotional swings, and headaches. Furthermore, I am rarely hungry on this diet, and after you get used to the change, it is delicious and very healthy. The people I have talked to who feel this diet is unhealthy haven't really read and studied the diet, or actually followed the diet for a period of time.

I read tons of nutrition books, was a vegetarian for years, and got so sick, autoimmune disease, low thyroid, indigestion, heartburn, and so on, that I began searching for a diet that would restore my health. It was only after being on this diet that I got well, completely. So for some of us, it really works.

My wife and myself both started the Atkins program in Sept of 99. Now Dec 99 and we both have lost inches and at least 25 pounds each. We even cheat on weekends. If there is a special event going on, like Thanksgiving, we didn't miss a thing. We enjoyed any food we wanted and then went back to a maintences program the following week. This past week was my ten years olds birthday and I enjoyed cake and icecream like everyone else. But I know that on Monday I must go back to a maintences program and it works. I truely believe if I didn't cheat at all, I would have lost a lot more weight, but I didn't gain it over night, so I don't expect to lose it over night. It's a great program, don't give up before you've started!

I started this diet 4 weeks ago, and as of today I have lost approximately 22 pounds. I think it's the greatest. Every morning I have bacon and eggs then for lunch I have chicken fajitas without the tortillas of course! Then for dinner I have a steak, hot dogs, sausage, or almost any meat I want. I have tried weight watchers, pills, exercise equipment but, this seems to work best. My doctor thinks it is a safe diet. It is healthier than being overweight. I have noticed inches coming off faster than pounds. This book has the most information in it of the 2 books Dr. Adkins has written. Also the little carbohydrate counter is very helpful. I would advise anyone overweight to try this diet for 2 weeks, then see what you think. I was skeptical at first, but now I love it!!

I purchased this book in 1999. I have lived on this diet for the last two-three years. Within the first two months I dropped 30 pounds and as long as I follow the principles that this book taught, I keep it off. I have learned how to control my body from this in a way that I never could before. From age 12 on my sizes increased with my age until I was 21 (although technically at 21 I was a 22W). I was huge and miserable. This book changed my life. I wish the whole world could learn what I have learned about the way our bodies work. It would make for happier people. I am now a size 10 which is where I want to be. I recommend this to anyone who wants to change their life for the better. It is not a diet in the traditional sense, it is a way of life that can lead to healthful happiness. You have to try and you have to follow it and you have to let go of all the nonsense that the FDA has been trying to cram down our throats for years, but you will have results.

You will see from the comments following mine that most people succeed on this diet. You have probably heard bad things about this diet, from people who either never did the diet, people who tried it for a week and gave up, or from "doctors" and "nutritionists".

One person commented on this diet (you can read her review here): "We have only been on the diet for 4 days but we have never felt worse." Well, you didn't read the book, or do enough research. You will feel weak when you withdraw from carbohydrates, just as you will feel bad the morning after you eat a lot of candy, or drink a lot of alcohol. It is not because your body needs carbs. It is because of the withdrawel process. Once you eat lo-carb, you will find that anytime you eat carbs, you will feel weak, because it is the carbs that make you feel weak.

You only will have problems if you do not follow his advice; you must take the supplements, you must eat more fiber, and you must drink lots of water. The Atkins Starter kit contains most of the vitamins you need, plus it includes a booklet that explains the whole diet (you don't need to actually buy the book). Plus look for the lo-carb FAQ's on the internet, and read the lo-carb support group on USENET, and you will have great success!

I have been through everything.... low fat, Optifast, cabbage soup, the Dean Ornish plan, and I can say unequivocally, that Dr. Atkins' diet is the only one that has given me such dramatic results, with a minimum of pain and suffering.

I started Atkins about two months ago, weighing a huge amount (I'll never tell how much, but it was serious). I have stayed on induction for the past two months, pretty much without falling off. It's not that I have such great will power...I don't. But I really have absolutely no craving for carbohydrates or sweets, this from a convinced dessertophile. The net result is that in two months, I've shed about 34 lbs and gone down four pant sizes. My goal weight is still far off, but I feel better than I have in years.

For Atkins to work, you have to be pretty religious about it I think. I have not found induction at all restrictive, except that I do miss fruit, especially apples. I also have found that exercise is not an option with this diet...it's essential, as the Dr. claims. The combination is more effective than diet or exercise is alone. Between the two, the health benefits of this lifestyle have been enormous. I had a blood workup done about 6 weeks into the program and it was excellent. My cholesterol was down fewer than 200 for the first time in 12 years, my heart rate was a healthy 72, and my cardio health was excellent.

There are things to watch out for on this diet. The water-drinking requirement should not be taken lightly. It flushes out the kidneys, which is pretty important in a low carb diet. Also, forcing yourself not to cheat is also pretty important. The yoyo effect of a dessert on the weekend can be pretty tough...it's as if you are starting and stopping a diet over and over again and that's tough on your body. Supplements should be taken, especially vitamin D and C since the induction phase is particularly light in these vitamins. A fiber drink is essential for maintaining good bowel health. But if you can follow all of this, the plan is not too hard, nor is it too extreme...Dean Ornish...now THAT'S extreme! (I had good results on that as well, but it was too extreme for me to follow forever.)

One note about the food...the recipes in the book and on the Atkins website are excellent, truly gourmet. And there's a nice blend of fast meals and fancier meals. The desserts though are disappointing. I find that it's better for me just to avoid dessert altogether than to try a low carb substitute. There's still enough delicious food without the need for sweets, and if I get even a little hankering for something sweet, there's always sugar free jello. All in all, this has been, for me, an almost painless diet and one that I highly recommend people consider, with advice of course from a medical professional.

I purchased the book with excitment only to find out that Dr. Atkin's had published an updated version in 1992. The covers, titles and dates are confusing. As I understand from my research, the newest copyright date is around 92-97 and the title is "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution". While reading the old version I purchased from Amazon (which said it was reissued in 1989)I found it was the 1972 copyright book titled on the cover "Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution". Be aware if you are looking for the newer version to start your diet off with the latest book. Santa, please bring me the newest book.

Okay, I keep hearing all of these AWEFUL things about the Atkins diet -- About long term consumption of high levels of fat and protein and what devastating effects it has on your system. I, like most people that eat this way, am not a doctor. I can only speak for myself, but I get my information from legitimate scientific studies. Those studies, new and old, indicate that short-term and long term high protein / low carbohydrate intake is safe and may even be the most healthy way to eat. What out-proves even scientific experiments are personal experiments. I have had no more than 10 - 20 grams of carbohydrates per day in my system for over 20 years and drink a gallon of water per day. Yes, every day for 20 years I have eaten what that AMA has told me not to - huge amounts of fat and protein with nearly zero carbohydrates. Forget about the weight (though I did loose over 75 pounds and have kept it off all this time with NO rebound). The reason I changed my eating habits was to be the healthiest person I could be. And now I am. I make regular doctor visits and I am told that I am the healthiest man my doctor has seen in a very long time. My blood pressure is perfect, my cholesterol is perfect, I am physically fit and I feel well rested after 4 hours sleep per night (yes, this for 20 years also). I have gained increased metal clarity, eliminated my depression problems, etc., etc., etc. I could write on forever. What I am trying to say is... Don't let the dogmatic system of medicine and nutrition in our civilized nations dictate how our bodies work with food. Objective science is the only system that can do that. Just because the establishment or the "majority" believes something, certainly does not make it true. Read the evidence. Don't let the FDA or even Dr. Atkins persuade you to believe something. Find out for yourself. I found Dr. Atkins to be right on the money, and my body and mind are living proof... proof enough for me at least. Prove it to yourself.

I have had the Atkins diet book for over a year and I just started my new way of eating 11 days ago. I have lost 6 pounds so far and feel great.My best friend and her husband have both lost 10 pounds each over the past 11 days. At first I thouhght this program would be hard but it really isn't, who thought you could lose weight eating bacon cheese burgers. I was very skeptical at first and didn't believe I'd lose a pound let alone go into ketosis, but I did after 3 days. I recommend all skeptics to try the diet for the 14 days and I bet after you see the results you will continue. Finally after many diets and diet pills I feel confident that I will reach my weight lose goals. THANK YOU DR. ATKINS