The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Pashta]

Has anyone here ever tried Atkins? I am just curious because Medifast is low-carb too. Medifast seems to work better cause it's low calorie though so I'm just wondering how they compare.

[Serendipity]

Medifast isn't really a low carb diet. It's a balanced diet. Carbs : protein : fat.

I've not tried Atkins, but I've heard it works for some and not others. I have a friend who swears by it, but she loses and gains and loses and gains loses and gains........ She eats literally no carbs and then when she can't stand it anymore, she pigs out on carbs, so no wonder. I would suppose if you didn't go to the extreme, it would work much better, lol.

[hulagirlfromhawaii]

I did Atkins 8 years ago and lost a whopping 5 pounds in 3 months:|. I also got a cholestrol reading of 324!!! Holy Camoly, that's a heartattack waiting to happen! My friend became so constipated on Atkins that she had to be hospitalized! Yikes! I know they recommend more veggies now, but still.... no thanks!

MF rocks!

[bikipatra]

The actual Atkins diet has an induction period of two weeks of no carbs that is then followed by a slow addition of grains and fruits and vegetables. I actually read the book. Most of the uninformed masses think it just means eat all the cheese, bacon and beef you can and that is not supposed to be long term!

[nickieluv]

I read the book, too, and it bothers me when people dismiss Atkins out of hand without all the information (not the same as trying it and not having it work for you - I get that - I couldn't stick with it either although I didn't have any real side effects other than missing chocolate!). Anyway, my husband does really well on it and it really helps his IBS - probably because of the constipation effect, but for him it just makes him normal finally! We can actually go to dinner AND a movie afterwards when he's eating this way. Not that we're doing that a lot, but we could.

[pinkbugs471]

I did Atkins three years ago. Lost 40# and gained it all back within 6 months. I did not do the maintence part of the plan correctly. I have learned from that mistake. I plan on folowing this through as it is written.!

[Mike]

With all things... diets don't work. Atkins as a diet doesn't work. Atkins as a program, followed strictly can work. I tried it, lost 30 lbs using it as a diet. Gained it all plus more back.
As those above state, if followed correctly it can work, just gotta be careful with the intake. Its comes down to calories in versus calories out. Most people don't follow that program properly and end up with lots of problems.
I vote for Medifast myself.

[Pashta]

Well I LOVE Medifast, it works and so many choices now... But once I can't afford it anymore I was wondering about Atkins. My weight is not from overeating, it's from having babies. I stayed steady at 185# (which is where I liked it) for years eating however I wanted to eat. Pregnancy does some messed up stuff to your body and makes you gain weight.

[Tawanda]

I agree with Mike, Atkins as a diet doesn't work (if a person went right back to eating anything they wanted in large quantities) but Atkins as a program where a person was careful in transitioning off of it should work. I did Atkins, lost 43# in 6 months but I stopped it cold turkey (went on an extended vacation out of the country) and ate lots of sweets, chips, etc.........so, of course, over the next 2 years I gained almost all of the 43# back. If I had been smart and not gone back to my old eating habits (junk food in large quantities) I believe I would have kept most, if not all, of the weight off.

Someone said "Atkins is more than eating bacon, etc......follow the book's guidelines if you ever chose to do it" is good advice.