Customer Reviews

New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great.

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I have hesitated to write a review because I am one of the success stories in this book. However, in light of T. Colin Campbell's unprofessional attack on this book, I believe I must speak up to share my story and the good health that has resulted in my following the Atkins plan. I am nearly 65 years old and have struggled with weight all my life. I've been on many diets including a vegetarian one with little results in either weight loss or improved health. In fact, my health markers were getting worse, and I suffered from arthritis, dry skin and elevated tryglyceride levels. My blood pressure was borderline. Since following the plan outlined in this book, I have lost weight, my arthritis has improved substantially (particularly in my neck and shoulders) and my dry skin (which 2 dermatologists had diagnosed as rosacea) has disappeared. My tryglyceride level dropped remarkably, but more importantly my HDL (the good cholesterol) has gone up and my latest BP was 117/76. I used to wear a size 18 -- now I wear a 6 or 8. All of these results came from following the plan outlined in this book.

What disturbs me further about T. Colin Campbell is that he has clearly put out a call to his vegan followers to come to the Amazon site and give bad reviews of this book, as he posted this nonsense on his webpage. I don't have a problem with their chosen lifestyle, but I do have a problem with the many deragatory posts that make it clear that they could not have read this book as they have no comprehension of its contents. Shame on them. Using the Amazon review system to grind their vegan axes should not be allowed.

Contrary to their ravings, the Atkins diet recommends lots of vegetables, a conservative amount of dietary protein and good fats. All recommendations that are supported by recent science. Read Gary Taubes "Good Calories, Bad Calories" or the distinquished works of Dr. Mary Enig. T. Colin Campbell has used this review process to further his own agenda and has encouraged his minions to post here. They disparage the book as well as mouth urban legend lies about Dr. Robert Atkins (a cardiologist, BTW). Anyway, read the book and make your own conclusions. Don't be led astray by these agenda-led and untrue attacks. This 65 year old feels 20-30 years younger!!

Over the decade that I have been a vegetarian, my weight has ballooned. About two weeks ago a friend who has been an avid Atkins follower told me that I could join her on Atkins. Now that I have read this book I realize why I couldn't lose weight before. I was eating so many "empty" carbs as bread, cereal, pasta, rice, potatoes, chips, and other snack foods plus lots and lots of fruit that I was never giving my body the chance to burn its own fat. In the two weeks that I have been following the vegetarian version of Atkins, I have already lost 5 pounds. Just as important, my constant hunger has disappeared. It sounds strange but I am actually eating more vegetables than I was before. It's good to know that I can feel good about what I eat and have my body feel good too.

A very well explained, scientifically based and flexible nutrition plan which includes vegan, vegetarian and ethnic options. Even if you choose to not follow the plan, you will be left understanding the dangers of a high sugar diet. If you have any questions about the science, I would suggest that you "google" the prestigious authors of this book. I am mortified by the number of reviews by those that have not read the book and have no idea about its contents. I highly suggest that you read this book and judge for yourself.

I went on Atkins 6 years ago on the advice of my endocrinologist who is also a weight loss and metabolic disorder specialist. He said "I've always believed in it ... my patients thrive on it."

I lost 100 lbs. My blood pressure went from 160/92 to 117/58. My triglycerides went down to double digits. Cholesterol: no problemo. Homocysteine levels: perfect. Had a heart scan just to be sure my arteries were fine. Know what was in them? Nothing but blood. Not a HINT of blockage after two years on the plan: the report came back: 0% blockage. Had a pre-surgery cardiac workup: stress test, the whole deal. Passed with flying colors. At 59 years of age. "Wow, you're in great shape" was the doc's response.

Then I had a few stressful years: divorce, two moves, job upheaval. Fell in love, strayed from the path and started putting the weight back on. Shame on me. I tried going 'nutritarian' and was hungry and sleepy and cranky all the time. And I didn't lose any weight. I'm back on the Atkins plan with the help of this book and am losing again and will stay on plan. I had forgotten how good I felt (and looked) when I eat this way. It's what my body needs and apparently thrives on. I'm my own best clinical trial. My doctor and my lab work agree.

My brother went low refined carb when he learned his cholesterol and triglycerides had skyrocketed on a diet of pasta and risotto. After going on Atkins his cholesterol was 120 and his triglycerides were 63. He's his own best clinical trial. His doctor said: "I don't know what you're doing, but just keep doing it."

I'm a nurse, by the way, and I see so many patients who develop gestational diabetes. When they eat low refined carb on a nutritionally approved version for pregnant women, with plenty of protein, they have healthy weights going into delivery, their babies are born with more stable blood sugars, at truly healthy weights, not overblown IDM weights, and moms report feeling better than ever. Each one is her own best clinical trial. And doesn't it make sense as a new mom to have stable blood sugar levels? You're tired enough being a new mom: you need whole foods.

To address this book specifically: I appreciate the more flexible approach to Induction, which used to keep a lot of people from continuing with the plan. This makes it possible for more of us to continue this as a way of life. The rationale is solid: this is how bodies who have been abused by carbs respond to stopping the abuse. If you understand what the consequence is of each food choice, you make better choices.

And to those of you who think this is a meat vs. broccoli way of life, you're wrong. It's a meat, chicken, eggs AND broccoli, kale, tomato, celery, green beans, zucchini, romaine, spinach, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, chard, cabbage way of life.

OK, here's the deal for me. In September I realized I needed to lose around 50 pounds. I went for the low-fat, whole grain, portion control approach; and stuck to it pretty well. In more than seven months I lost 17 pounds and was miserable and frustrated the entire time. In less than two weeks on Atkins, I have lost 8 pounds, and have never felt deprived!

I am in a situation where I end up eating out a lot. With my other diet, this just made me feel more frustrated. But on this plan, I feel like I can stick with it anywhere. If I'm in a high end place, it's all about the meat/fish and veggies anyway. And if it's a burger joint, I just skip the bun and the fries! The sodium doesn't seem to be an issue, surprisingly.

For breakfast I have been making 2 egg omlettes with frozen veggies and cheese. Lunch is usually tuna or chicken salad on a bunch of greens/veggies. Dinner is some kind of grilled or broiled meet with asparagus etc. (I throw on some rice pilaf etc. for the rest of the family). I went to Whole Foods today and saw the "prepared foods" section with a whole new eye! I didn't even want to stare at the pizza!

One of the things that appealed to me most was that exercise is not a core part of this plan. I have a permanent disabling injury that prevents me from just about anything (beyond WII!). It was refreshing to not feel stigmatized for that.

And I'm even cheating! Shoot me but I really enjoy a glass of wine when I'm done with my day, (or at least my driving). Generally an hour or so before I eat. I've kept that for my sanity the safety of my family. (It's only 4 to 5 carbs!) So I still have around 20 pounds to go. Which no longer sounds so daunting.

Just losing 8 pounds feels great!

I respect other people's right to choose, and right to write more mainstream diet books. And I hope that they will respect that I feel like I finally caught a break here!

A few years ago I lost a little over 100lbs on Atkins. I continue to follow eating low-carb and have kept the weight off and keep it off this whole time. My health is excellent and I enjoy eating. My doctor has about 50 patients who have followed the diet and have kept the weight off. Several of them HAD diabetes or other health problems that cleared up.

I use to eat the way the USDA stated everyone should eat, and I just got fatter. Maybe eating the way some government nutritionist who has never been fat states is fine when you are already healthy and you eat whole, unprocessed foods. But when you are 100lbs overweight eating 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice or pasta is not good for you.

I bought this book yesterday at Borders and read it in about two hours. It is a good book and I like the fact that it takes the best of the books Dr. Atkins wrote and combines it with new research. There is less emphasis on low-carb products than on other books written by Atkins Nutritional after Dr. Atkins died.

I don't understand why people get so upset with the principles of an Atkins. I have a blood sugar of 65, my blood pressure is 110/65 and my HDL is 80 and my LDL is 20. I will still have someone who follows the USDA diet and is 50lbs overweight telling me I am killing myself with eating a lot of fat. In reality, I am probably eating less `bad' fat, and eating more veggies and fruit than someone following a `healthy' diet.

I have met people who eat low-carb and are not healthy and those that are. I have met vegans that are healthy and those that look sickly and 20 years older looking than they really are. Find what works for you and don't knock what everyone else does.

Having eaten a low carb diet for nearly fifteen years now, (spending much of my time coming up with low carb recipes 1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes from Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back) with nothing but great health to show for it, I'm a huge fan of Dr. Atkins. Having met Dr. Eric Westman, and followed his research for the past several years, I'm a huge fan of his, too. New Atkins For a New You is a more than worthy successor to Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution.

How does New Atkins For A New You differ from DANDR?

* They've lost the focus on ketosis. Oh, you'll still go into ketosis if you eat the way they tell you, and that's a good thing -- it means you're running a fat-burning rather than a glucose-burning metabolism. It also feels great -- high energy, suppressed appetite, and a clear head. Great mood, too; ketosis makes me ebullient. But there's no peeing on ketostix. Ketostix told people less than they thought: They can tell you that you're burning fat, but they can't tell you if you're burning fat you just ate, or fat from your storage depots. And ketostix are expensive. Some people do find "turning purple" motivating, but this is a useful simplification.

* They've incorporated the net carbs concept, as pioneered by Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades, instructing people to subtract fiber grams from total grams of carbohydrate. This makes for more vegetables from the get-go,since quite a lot of the carbohydrate in vegetables is in the form of fiber. Also makes for a little more fruit and possibly a little whole grain in the later stages of the diet. Most low carbers were already doing this, but since DANDR was published before the Eades wrote Protein Power, it wasn't "in the book." It is now. They've also expanded the list of vegetables allowed on "Induction," the super-low-carb introductory phase.

* They've added sodium, in the form of broth, soy sauce, or a few other options. Because dropping insulin levels drastically, as a low carb diet does, enables the body to properly excrete sodium, they found some people were feeling washed out, or even light-headed. Adding sodium fixes the problem. (Also keep in mind that by knocking out the vast majority of processed foods, the diet eliminates a big whack of the sodium in the Standard American Diet.

* They allow caffeine. Woo-hoo! (I'm betting this was the most-violated Atkins no-no.) Say that the research says caffeine aids fat burning and is perfectly healthy stuff, and anyway tea and coffee are loaded with antioxidants. She said with a cup of tea in front of her.

* Also alcohol in moderation after the Induction phase.

* They include vegetarian options. This is the only part of the new version about which I have mixed feelings. The vegetarian options are heavy on the soy products, and I'm completely un-sold on the benefits of soy. OTOH, I know for certain that being fat and running high insulin levels is deadly. I would personally urge vegetarians to rely more heavily on eggs and cheese, and have been forthright in stating that I don't consider veganism to be nutritionally adequate. But if this is what it takes to get vegetarians lower their carb intake, that's a good thing. I've known too many long-time vegetarians who have found themselves in pre-diabetes or even full-blown diabetes.

* Perhaps most important, Drs. Westman, Volek, and Phinney cover the multitudinous research demonstrating the many health benefits of carbohydrate restriction that has happened since DANDR was written. If you haven't been keeping up, you'll be impressed as heck.

This is the best-of-breed of the low carbohydrate diet books to come out in the past decade. Buy it. Read it.

I had heard about this diet many years ago, but was skeptical because as a physician I had always been taught to include carbohydrates in the diet. My parents had tried the original diet many years ago, and lost lots of weight, but I wasn't fond of all the meat and cheese they were eating. My parents tried this diet again recently and were losing lots of weight again quickly, so I decided to purchase this book to read more about it. I read the entire book in one day and was very inspired. I tried the diet immediately and lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks. I did initially have some headaches, but they went away after I introduced more carbohydrates (nuts/berries). I like how 15 base carbohydrates are required daily, and I'm eating more vegetables now than I have in my entire life. I feel great now and even inspired some other physicians in my group to also try the diet. I highly recommend this book!

I have been a devout follower of a low-carb lifestyle for 10 years. I credit my diet with preventing a slow spiral into the abyss of my familial metabolic syndrom. I have read all of the Atkins books in the past, and basically created my own version of a low-carb plan. However, over the past winter, I was not feeling as good as I had for most of the past few years and was adding a bit of a "muffin-top" and "love-handles." I took those symptoms as signs that I was eating something I shouldn't. When I saw the new Atkins book, I decided to buy it, even thought I figured I already knew the concept in and out. What I discovered, was that this new version finally made sense to me that the Atkins phases are in effect, an elimination diet, and that going through all of the phases would allow me to learn, much as people on elimination diets to determine allergies, how many grams of carbohydrates I can personally tolerate and in what form. The idea that glucose intolerance should be treated like gluten or lactose intolerance makes perfect sense. Two weeks ago I began at the induction level of Atkins for the first time. In 5 days, most of my little roll of fat had vanished. I intend to spend the next few months adding in carbs in small increments and determining which sources of carbohydrate I can consume and continue to feel as amazingly fabulous as I do right now.
I am a big fan of Steve Phinney because he has done studies on athletes, cyclists in particular, to see how they fare on a low-carb diet. I was told 4 years ago when I decided to take up cycling that there was "no way" I could manage a long-distance, multi-day ride without eating all the junk food they serve at the SAG stops. I quickly proved the scoffers wrong, and have indeed completed two 4-day, 250+ mile trips. I am currently training for my third. Two days ago, in the midst of my Atkins induction experiment, I rode 55 miles at a pretty fast pace. I felt so fabulous that I actually sprinted the last 5 miles. This was on less than 20 grams of carbs/day.
In closing, I must also disclose that I am 57, female, and my father and grandfather died of complications of "type II diabetes" and the quality of life they experienced in their later years was miserable. Grandpa died after an amputation and my father was nearly blind from retinopathy his last year. I do not intend to suffer the same fate. The Atkins plan is my saviour.

In my first-look at the brand new "Atkins diet" book from Atkins Nutritionals, I'm happy to say that advocates of a high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carb nutritional approach will have a lot to cheer about. Unlike the December 2008 release of The All-New Atkins Advantage: The 12-Week Low-Carb Program to Lose Weight, Achieve Peak Fitness and Health, and Maximize Your Willpower to Reach Life Goals by Dr. Stuart Trager and Colette Heimowitz which advocated "lean protein" and lots of vegetables as the basis of the world's most popular low-carb diet, this new book gets back to the roots of what the good Atkins name is really all about.

Three of the most well-known and highly-respected researchers of carbohydrate restriction were charged with penning an updated Atkins diet book that would be simpler to follow and completely backed by the latest science. The result of those efforts are culminated in the book release "New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight Fast and Feeling Great Forever." Written by the perfect trio of today's brightest low-carb scholars -- Dr. Stephen Phinney from the University of California-Davis, Dr. Jeff Volek from the University of Connecticut, and Dr. Eric Westman from Duke University -- it aims to set the record straight about why low-carb works, what you need to do to make it work, adapting it to your busy lifestyle, and then providing the evidence that proves what they say about the Atkins lifestyle is valid.

This is a book that has been sorely needed on the market ever since the untimely death of the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins in 2003. And the authors acknowledge the forward-thinking that Dr. Atkins possessed so many years ago when he started using his low-carbohydrate plan on patients and they hope to carry on his legacy for many years to come by sharing the amazing research that is now confirming much of what he taught people struggling with weight and health problems. They share a wealth of science in this book through the 50+ references to real scientific data that has been conducted on carbohydrate-restriction in just the past few years. Much of this information may be new to the public since it has not received a lot of attention in the press. But the good thing is they present the information in such a way that the general public will easily understand and implement these dietary changes into their own weight and health regimen.

Anyone you know who thinks the Atkins low-carb diet is just some passing "fad" that is not backed by any substantive studies needs to know about this book. Even for people who have read the 2002 edition of Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, Revised Edition this new version contains a whole new way to look at low-carb living like you've never seen it before because the authors made it easy-to-understand and instituted subtle improvements to make the plan more effective than any of the other Atkins imitator books that have come along in recent years.

This new Atkins will shock the naysayers (that is, if they actually READ this one!) when they learn you consume lots of healthy non-starchy veggies on it, can implement some basic strategies for greatly reducing or preventing the common negative symptoms associated with starting low-carb, have a great guide for knowing when to transition from phase to phase of the diet, will find a detailed explanation of making this a permanent weight maintenance plan, have the ability to customize the plan to your specific dietary wants and needs, and that eating low-carb on the go isn't as impossible as some people think. This really is a new way of looking at healthy low-carb living from a new perspective.

The contents are broken down into four main parts:

PART I outlines all the nutritional mechanics of Atkins low-carb eating. The authors help you determine if the Atkins approach is right for you, clearly explain that this program is not meant to completely eliminate carbs, just limit them, identify the various health improvements that one could expect by following the plan, share what the four phases are and why they are important, define the "Atkins Edge" that comes when you put your body into fat-burning mode, give the mechanism behind why food becomes energy and is stored as body fat, reveal the damning role that most carbohydrates play in healthy living and discover the right ones you should be consuming, uncover the unique role of protein in the Atkins diet and give reasons why this plan is not high-protein as is often erroneously claimed, and share the evidence behind why consuming dietary cholesterol and fat, especially saturated fat, should become your diet's best friend.

PART II gets into the nitty gritty of the diet by showing you what you are supposed to eat and tailoring it to your specific health goals. The authors help you focus intently on looking at the net carbs of the foods you consume, insure you are getting an adequate amount of protein in your diet daily, understand the amazing benefits of fat when you greatly reduce your carb consumption, learn the benefits of consuming fiber-rich foods like the "Foundation Vegetables" that are essential on the Atkins plan as they always have been, how to keep the added sugar and refined carbohydrate out of your menus, supplement your diet with the appropriate vitamins to obtain optimal health, and find the appropriate level of exercise that will fit within your specific physical fitness capabilities.

Tools for making yourself successful are also included in this section, including setting goals, finding support, planning meals, making appropriate lifestyle changes, keeping a food log, and participate in online web sites and blogs. They even show how you can make your Atkins diet vegetarian or even vegan if you so choose and even a "Latin Beat" version for the growing Hispanic population dealing with obesity and diabetes. Specifics for following Phase 1 Induction, Phase 2 Ongoing Weight Loss, Phase 3 Pre-Maintenance, and Phase 4 Lifetime Maintenance are also included with more information than you've ever seen before about doing it right along with some common pitfalls that may sabotage your efforts along the way. As long as I've been studying low-carb over these past six years, never have I seen a book so clearly demonstrate the details of the Atkins way of eating in such a concise manner.

PART III is dedicated to helping you live the Atkins life in the real world by arming you with ways to make virtually any restaurant into your own personal low-carb restaurant with appropriate substitutions and changes. The authors recognize the necessity that many people have to eat out as part of their job, so they provide an alphabetical listing of restaurants with both the approved "Thumbs Up" choices as well as the "Thumbs Down" selections to avoid. Additionally, various styles of restaurants like Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and more are Atkins-ized just for you! A section of recipes and an extensive set of low-carb meal plans is also included for making various low-carb sauces, flavored oils, salad dressings, marinades and rubs, and broths to complement your Atkins meals.

PART IV is all about the science that support low-carb living for health. While the media and the so-called health "experts" out there enjoy mocking the low-carb diet as an unhealthy and unbalanced nutritional plan, the authors explain that nothing could be further from the truth. They provide compelling evidence that demonstrates heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, metabolic syndrome, and cancer is improved by low-carb and actually made worse by low-fat diets. The process of how the "fat-storing" hormone insulin works is noted as well as why saturated fat isn't the great danger that it has been made out to be. The long history of low-carb diets is also revealed to show that this isn't just some here today, gone tomorrow eating plan -- it's been with us for many generations! Finally, the authors identify diabetes as "the bully disease" and that Atkins is the answer for the millions suffering from it.

I have only but scratched the surface of what "New Atkins for a New You" contains, but hopefully my review has whet your appetite to pick up a copy for yourself. It would be well worth adding to your low-carb library for people who are concerned about not just weight loss, but radically improving their health for the better long-term. That's what livin' la vida low-carb did for me back in 2004 when I not only lost triple-digit weight following these principles, but I've seen an extraordinary turnaround in my health that reversed the negative trend that the rest of my family is suffering from, including losing a brother at the age of 41 to morbid obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. You can read more about some of the things I've learned about healthy low-carb living in my book 21 Life Lessons From Livin' La Vida Low-Carb: How The Healthy Low-Carb Lifestyle Changed Everything I Thought I Knew.

Also, be sure to listen to my March 1, 2010 "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show" podcast interview with co-author Dr. Eric Westman about this new version of Atkins at TheLivinLowCarbShow dot com slash shownotes for more information about this incredible new Atkins book that you're gonna be hearing a lot about in 2010 and beyond. This could be just the beginning of restarting the revolution that the Dr. Atkins himself began nearly four decades ago! Anyone who thinks the Atkins diet is going away anytime soon is delusional. Atkins low-carb living is here to stay and change people's lives...forever!