Atkins himself died overweight and of a heart attack. The diet is unsafe long term pass 6 months. Atkins himself even adjusted his extreme anti-carb belief in his writings before his death, hence changing his original Atkins plan.
Listen, your body needs good carbs, good fats and good protein eating in calories that is in relation to your exercise/activity. It's real simple - calories in equals calories out. If you don't burn the calories (regardless of where they come from), you will get fat.
I have been studying health and nutrition for over 20 years. I eat 5 meals a day which includes a whey protein shake with fruit. I am completely fit without an ounce of body fat. I work out at least 6 days a week and have a six pack. I stay away from all "processed carbs" which is usually stuff that comes in a box. Although if someone brings in a box of Dunkin Donuts at work, I am one of the first to dive in. I know I will burn it off after work because I hit the gym daily.
What to drink? skim or soy milk, green tea from a bag (I like Tazo), coffee (black only), filtered water.
What to eat? raw fruits and all veggies (fresh and organic when you can afford and eat all colors of the rainbow), brown rice or small amount of white is even fine if you can't stand the texture of brown, oatmeal cereals (Bob's Red Mill has a very nice selection), turkey, chicken breasts, wild caught salmon, albacore tuna, whole wheat or jewish rye bread, greek yogurt, almonds, cashews, olive oil, avocados, whole grains, flax seed, red or white potatoes, etc.
What NOT to drink or eat? Avoid juices, sodas (including diet), beer, red meat, white flour, vegetable oil, hydrogenated oils, cookies, cheese, canned soups, instant rices, fried foods, chips, crackers, etc.
For long term health, eating an anti-inflammatory diet as listed above is ideal. Almost all health issues are due to inflammation.
As I stated above - calories in must equal calories out or you lose. The reason Atkins works for most in the short term is because people are clueless on exactly how many calories they consume in a day. Jump on the Atkins and the weight comes off because Atkins restricts calories due to the elimination of carbs which tends to be the highest caloric food consumed by Americans. But as I said, an extreme anti-carb diet is very unhealthy and can cause all sorts of health problems. Besides, most people can't go anti-carb for a long period of time, hence failure.
It's okay to cheat every once in a while. Once a week I'll eat an entire Kashi pizza or Amy's Organic and non GMO pizza which is to die for. You have to know your body and what it can consume according to your activity. Americans are eating junk these days, eating too many calories and not moving their asses. And idiots on the left believe if we just tax fast food, ban salt, limit soda sizes, etc will reverse that trend? Please...
If anyone has a question, feel free to private message me.
I have helped people at work lose weight by following the above plan. Those that don't continue to look for that latest fat loss scheme and remain overweight. You honestly have to change your entire mindset to food to win. It takes time. It takes patience but once you get there, you won't look back.
.
