South Beach or Atkins

[Tasha405]

Which diet is better? I've had so many people tell me that the South Beach diet was better for your health than the Atkins diet. Is that true? Has anyone here tried these diets and really lost weight? I've been trying to get back into working out and I'd like to try a diet to help bring off some weight but I'm confused on what to try. lol

Everyone says you can only eat meats and vegetables on the Atkins diet. Is that true too? I don't think I could handle that. lol


I've got a book on the Atkins diet but its packed away in a box from our move and I'm not sure where it would be right now. :rolleyes: I read a little of it after I got it but I can't remeber what is said. lol

[Willow]

In my opinion any diet is better than the Atkins one but that's just my opinion. I'm not trying to start a war because I know that many people worship that diet. My mother's friend was on it until she told her doctor and he got upset with her. lol There was even an article in newsweek I think it was. It's one of those free subscription magazines that I get. I think people get caught up in it because they are loosing weight but over time it's not very good for your health. The American Heart Association also warns against that diet too.

[jonette5]

I am on the South Beach diet. It is low carb like Atkins, but it is also low fat whereas Atkins is high fat. My doc. said South Beach is MUCH more heart healthy. I have lost 14 pounds in 6 weeks. You lose weight a little faster on the Atkins, but they say you should only lose 1 to 2 pounds a week to be healthy and to keep it off. The first two weeks of South Beach is kinda rough...the induction, but it is not really that bad, just takes some getting used to. After that it is great! I say go buy the book and try it....they also have the diet online. Hope this helps! GOOD LUCK!

[kvmj]

I think that South Beach is better for you overall. There is more emphasis on fruit and veggies. Atkins really doesn't distinguish between the types of fat in the diet either.

[Lisa03]

I was wondering about this. A guy here just said he lost 14 lbs in 1 week from reading & going by that South Beach diet book.

[Tasha405]

Thanks yall!! :D

Me and my hubby are both interested in starting a diet but we are kinda scared of the Atkins diet because of the heart issues. We need to go to Wal-Mart tonight and see if I can find the book on the South Beach diet so we can get started. :)

jonette, congrats on your weight loss! :)

[Lisa03]

they have alot of the South Beach diet book on Ebay:D

[Willow]

Yeah in that article about Dr. Atkins it said that he was actually obese when he died and his wife claims that it was just fluid. :rolleyes: Yeah okay!

[Tasha405]

Originally posted by Lisa03
they have alot of the South Beach diet book on Ebay:D Ohhhh I'm scared of Ebay... scared I'll get hooked!! LOL

Patchouli, yeah I seen that too. lol

[Willow]

Originally posted by Tasha405
Ohhhh I'm scared of Ebay... scared I'll get hooked!! LOL

Patchouli, yeah I seen that too. lol



They said he was at least 60 pounds over weight. 60 pounds of fluid I don't think so. lol

[gemini26]

At the time of his injury at the age of 72, after years of following the Atkins Nutritional Approach, Dr. Atkins’ recorded height was 6 feet and his recorded weight was 195 pounds.

In today's Wall Street Journal a grossly distorted story on the health of Dr. Robert C. Atkins reported that he weighed 258 pounds at the time of his death, making him obese. In fact, the day after his fall, Dr. Atkins' weight was recorded as195 pounds, 63 pounds less than reported at his death! Based on the body mass index (BMI), a desirable range for people over the age of 65, is 24 to 29. At a height of 6 feet, Dr. Atkins’ BMI was 26.4, putting him squarely in the normal range for his age.

The Journal article was based on incomplete and inaccurate personal medical information that was released in violation of federal law. Furthermore, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which, despite its name is a group of animal rights activists, illegally delivered these documents to the newspaper.


Dr. Atkins' weight was consistently and frequently documented in the years and months prior to his fall; as he was suffering from cardiomyopathy, his health was monitored closely. Despite this, he regularly played tennis, his favorite sport. His weight at his death was a result of water retention. During his coma, as he deteriorated and his major organs failed, fluid retention and bloating dramatically distorted his body.

Any implication that Dr. Atkins was obese prior to his accident shows a blatant disregard, or even worse, a twisting of medical facts surrounding this case to suit an agenda. One would also expect knowledgeable physicians to have a better understanding of the physiology of severe heart failure and the degree of fluid retention that occurred during this hospitalization for severe brain trauma. None of us would expect the physicians at PCRM to reveal any of this in light of their past and current motivation—but surely as medical professionals they understood that this weight gain was not due to obesity

[ttistin]

I have a south beach diet on tape {I listen to audio books while I walk lol} If anyone wants it let me know, pm or email me.




I have tried both atkins and south beach, I cant do it lol I am a carbaholic. I am currently walking on the treadmill in the evenings and just started a thing from Beachbody.com I am also watching what I eat, eat a little less. Will see how it goes lol

[Momof2totsand1teen]

Originally posted by Patchouli
They said he was at least 60 pounds over weight. 60 pounds of fluid I don't think so. lol

As a Registered Nurse, who works in an ICU, I can tell you 100% it is possible. I have seen it. Just this past weekend in fact. A lady has gained 72.6 pounds since her admission 2 weeks ago. It happens when your organs start to shut down. She is dying, just as Dr. Atkins was dying.

[Xica]

bump... some can use the info Momof2totsand1teen provided. :) Please do your research for each diet before making a decision. Neither one is "better" than the other and each person will respond differently to each "diet".

If anyone who thinks that Atkins is bad has PROOF (not opinions or articles), please show it to me. I have yet to see any, but maybe I missed it. Thanks. ;)

[DBackFan]

I have been on Atkins for a little over a month and LOVE it. :) I have lost 24 lbs and I have had so much support from the lowcarbfriends site and here, great recipes etc. I have never been able to stick with anything until now. I feel I could do it forever! I feel great and so many of my other ailments have "left the building" so to speak...lol. Personal choice but Atkins does it for me. :)

[Willow]

Originally posted by Xica
bump... some can use the info Momof2totsand1teen provided. :) Please do your research for each diet before making a decision. Neither one is "better" than the other and each person will respond differently to each "diet".

If anyone who thinks that Atkins is bad has PROOF (not opinions or articles), please show it to me. I have yet to see any, but maybe I missed it. Thanks. ;)

The American Heart Association has warned against this diet. I don't know if that is what you're looking for or not.

[jonette5]

I don't know if this is the type of "proof" you want or not, but my best friend is an RN and is the head of the cardiac unit at her hospital. She has 2 patients right now in their 40's that have heart problems and the docs say it is caused from the Atkins diet. She threatened to beat me if I ever did that diet! LOL! Also Atkins can cause kidney and liver damage, found this out cause she had to help out in ER one night and had a 22 year old come in with kidney failure and it was traced to the Atkins diet!

I AM NOT bashing anyone on Atkins...it is a personal choice that we each have to make.

P.S. Thank Tasha for the congrats! I need all the support I can get. I did lose 9 and 1/2 of those pounds in the first 2 weeks, so you can see the rest is coming off very slowly. But with every 1/4 pound I say well at least I didn't gain it! LOL!

[Shancopp]

The heart association preached low fat for the last 40 yrs......if it works, why is our country FATTER than ever? When they take fat out of foods...they add sugar to put back in some flavor. And most of the time, it is higher in calories than it was before the fat was taken out! Ever see how many calories is in a Snackwells cookie??
20lbs down on Atkins, eating foods that are delicious- natural and unprocessed, getting full and having more energy. It works, but it isn't for everyone.

[gemini26]

The American Heart Assocation and any other group like that is going to say its bad because it does not follow what they have touted for years: the food pyramid. But as Shanncopp pointed out we are a fatter society than we have ever been and what did people eat back a ways?: natural unprocessed foods including meat. Most people find that their cholesterol and other things become better, they find that symptoms,aches, etc, go away. It is easy to stay on.Many people are misinformed on Atkins. The first two weeks there is no fruit or other itmes allowed. After that you start adding back fruits and other veggies. Near your end (goal weight) whole grain items and other carb items can be added in. The emphasis is really on staying away from processed, sugar-laden foods. Many people think Atkins is about eating tons of fat and meat but thats simply not true. I have gone from a 26 pants to a 20 and am on my way to less. I have never felt bad (except for the first few days of induction), have more energy, am healthier, etc. I did tons and tons of research on atkins before I started because I do have some medical background and it does go against everything taught. But them again who comes up with the material that is taught. I finally came to the conclusion (after a couple months of research) that it is not a bad diet and I will do more harm to myself being overweight than trying to lose weight because some find it wrong.

[aneisu]

If you really read Atkins you aren't supposed to eat processed meats, bacon, sausage, etc. You have to be aware of what you're eating no matter what diet you are following. Doctors have recommended Atkins to some of my friends. You have to do what is right for you. I looked at Atkin's and South Beach (I have both books) and Atkin's fits me better. South Beach would be more restrictive and I would be less likely to follow it. One thing I really like is the amount of energy I have on Atkin's. The increase in energy means I'm working out more - which is healthier. About the kidney failure - that's caused by not drinking enough water - which is very stressed on Atkin's.

[Willow]

I was not telling anyone how they should go about losing weight. I was just commenting on what I've read and also my mothers friends experience and what her cardiologist told her. I also said that I was just stating my opinions and I was not trying to start a war. I went to a nutritionist and as far as losing weight I prefer to count calories and eat sensibly. I know that junk food is bad and that I shouldn't eat it. It's common sense. I also think it's good for people to know both sides of things. If I was going to go on a fad diet I would want to know the negatives as well as the positives. Everyone has to do what is right for them.

[Tasha405]

Thanks everyone for all the info. I went out and bought the South Beach Diet book yesterday and I'm gonna go on a crazy box search later today to find my Atkins book and I'll compare the two and see which one I like the best.

I know everyone will have their own opinion on every diet but from what I've heard on the news lately I'm kinda scared of the Atkins diet. My Dad, My Grandmother (my moms mom) and I think my dad's parents all had heart trouble and I'm scared. My mom is also going through heart tests because she had chest pains after her surgery the other day. So I'm just a little freaked out over the heart situation. lol I know other things I do or don't do will affect my heart too but I hope you get what I'm trying to say.

Thanks again everyone. :)

[Tasha405]

Also...

Congrats to all who have lost weight on either of these diets! :)

[Xica]

Patchouli and Jonette, that's not what I had in mind, but thanks for answering. Actually, what I'm looking for doesn't exist. ;) Atkins is not a "fad" and it's not new, it's been around for 30+ years and there's still no evidence that it's harmful. How could not eating processed foods be bad for a person? The problem is that time and again too many people eat ONLY meat, cheese, and eggs thinking that's the basis of Atkins. It's not. Yet they're the first to scream "It doesn't work!" when they get sick. Are they drinking the water? Taking vitamins? Eating their vegetables? Probably not. I'm not saying the claims aren't true, just that many times people are "doing Atkins" incorrectly.


The first two weeks there is no fruit or other itmes allowed. After that you start adding back fruits and other veggies. Near your end (goal weight) whole grain items and other carb items can be added in. The emphasis is really on staying away from processed, sugar-laden foods.

Good luck, Tasha! :)


edit: I'm not trying to change anyone's mind. I just wanted to offer my point of view. If you firmly believe Atkins is bad for your body, then don't do it. Atkins, SB, SugarBusters, WW, etc., are NOT for everybody. Find a plan that works for you and one that you can incorporate into your lifestyle.