Diet-food

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• Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

Customer Reviews

Dr Atkin’s Diet Revolution by J. Hall
I bought this Dr Atkin’s Diet Revolution book for a gift for someone. The person seemed to be happy to get the book.

Interesting as history by Victoria Shephard
After the publication of “Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution,” this older version seems to have been neglected. Mostly this is good because while it’s a great book and I enjoyed reading it, Dr. Atkins’ understanding of things has come a long way since he wrote it.

For example, the old version recommends almost zero carbohydrates and doesn’t take fiber into account. The new book recommends no less than 20g of net carbohydrates, and fiber can be subtracted from the total count for any food since it doesn’t raise blood sugar.

In the old version, the first phase was simply called “Phase 1″ and lasted only one week; now it is called “Induction” and lasts 2 weeks. Since it includes more carbs, it can be adhered to for up to six months.

Dr. Atkins puts a big emphasis on ketone strips. The new program includes using them, but downplays them. Many people - like me - have trouble getting even light pink on our best days. I think downplaying, while still leaving the option there, is the best thing to do.

Other differences just have to do with the passage of time. 30 years ago Splenda wasn’t on the market, so there is no mention of it. Same with cyclomates. Who today has heard of this sweetener? And the cure for constipation then was a mild laxative. Nowadays fiber supplements are on the market and are the recommended thing.

The only part of the book I skipped was the recipes, though if you are into cooking it would be a really awesome part to look through. It takes up significant space, so if you are looking for low carb recipes, the book might be worth the price just for that.

I loved the end of the book and wish that section had been included in the new one. It’s Dr. Atkins’ statement to the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition of Human Needs on April 12, 1973 (very early versions of the book do not include this). He does a wonderful job of defending his diet to the naysayers. I highly recommend reading this section of the book.

One last thing, the weight chart at the back of the book is not realistic in today’s world. It’s based on the old version of the Met Life charts. The new version allows people to weigh more, and I know my body just stalls out my weight loss at 145. On the old Met Life chart that was too much. On the new one it is a perfectly normal weight.

I recommend this book as a good history lesson in how the diet began, but to lose weight I recommend “Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution,” which has the advantage of 30 years’ worth of learning that the doctor didn’t have when he wrote the first book.

A nice approach… by Over 40
In the late 90’s my weight ballooned to 205 pounds while I drank 1/2 a gallon of Coke a day.

The revelation that I was fat came when my students began calling me “Drew Carey” and my uncle called me butterball.

I started Atkins Thanksgiving 2000. By April 2001 my weight had gone from 205 to 165.

This diet, in conjunction with proper exercise, will probably enhance weightloss for many people, unlike any other apporach they have tried.

About the book - not the diet by Timothy J. Joko-Veltman
I’m assuming you’re reading this because you want to know if this book is worth your money and time, and whether or not you should read it.

If this is not the case, you can skip the rest of this review, and read most of the others - which I have found to be largely testimonial, and will tell you what those reviewers think about the diet.

If you want to know something about the book: read on.

Firstly, I had a very difficult time reading this book - in fact, I skipped most of it, because a very large portion of the book is made up of extended testimonial-like cases. This made the book feel like marketing - and even if you’re not as suspicious of marketing as I am, it wears on your nerves quite quickly if you approach the book wanting to learn something about the diet. Additionally, Mr. Atkins’ tone made it sound like the diet was a religion or a cult. This made me want to try it even less.

Secondly, Mr. Atkins also seems to be encouraging a sedentary lifestyle. In the portion of the book that I read, he never once mentioned physical activity of any sort other than eating. This turned me off, as I believe that one of the major sources of obesity, especially in highly “industrialized” countries, is lack of physical activity. In short, he does not promote a balanced lifestyle any more than a balanced diet.

Thirdly, Mr. Atkins makes several factual and logical errors. He mentions our ancient hunter ancestors, but fails to mention that they were also gatherers: fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, honey … all with lots of carbs. And people 200 years ago may have consumed much less sugar than we do now, but he doesn’t think that perhaps they weren’t obese because of their diet, but because of the amount of physical activity demanded of the large majority of the population just to stay alive.

Fourthly and finally, the book gave me no information I could not have found on the internet.

To sum up, is the book worth your time and money? You be the judge, but for me, it wasn’t; I can recommend neither the book nor the diet.

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