If I read this article right, this guy went on Atkin's diet because he wanted to lose eight pounds, and for some reason, stayed on it for 2 and a half years and now wants recompense because his cholesterol's out of whack.
Never mind that his cholesterol went up within the first two months on the diet, but he continued the diet for years.
This case combines the worst of the legal world with the worst of the diet world.
"I have an adverse event in my life!!! Who do I sue?"
"I want to lose eight pounds!!! I need to go on the most extreme diet I can!"
No wonder the rest of the world hates us, neh?
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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posted
I like meat as much as the next person but all these carb fanatics are insane. What do you think is going to happen when you guzzle down nothing but beef and pork all day long? It's like the people who complain about Mcdonalds, "you mean it will make me fat if I eat here everyday?" Amazing! Red meat is bad for cholesterol people. If you need to lose weight balance is good. I only wish I could take my own advise. Oh well, at least I'm aware of my awful eating habbits and accept any and all consequenses.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Have you noticed that Atkins Diet says you'll lose WEIGHT. They never say that you'll lose FAT.
Posts: 312 | Registered: Mar 2004
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The problem with all these low carb, high protien diets is that as soon, and I mean AS SOON, as you go off them the weight shoots right back up. It is not a long term solution and as people are finding out, choleserol becomes a big issue.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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People gain the weight back instantly is because the body is storing the carbs because it need them.
Posts: 312 | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:No wonder the rest of the world hates us, neh?
This kind of thing probably doesn't rate on the "top ten" lists for people who hate us.
OTOH, these kind of things are top contenders on the lists titled "Top 10 Reasons I think Americans are Incredibly Silly".
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:Have you noticed that Atkins Diet says you'll lose WEIGHT. They never say that you'll lose FAT.
Actually, no. Have you read the book? It says that when people enter what it calls benign dietary ketosis, they will lose fat, as opposed to, say, fasting, where you will lose both fat and muscle mass. I actually read several of the studies both supporting and debunking the Atkins diet and there seems to be a fair amount of both good and bad science going on on both sides of the table.
Posts: 4534 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Yes, but in this case, how much fat does a 148 pound man need to lose?
Or for that matter, a 148 pound woman?
It kind of reminds me of Regina George, the character in "Mean Girls" - she kept telling people "I want to lose three pounds."
In cases of severe obesity, Atkin's diet may be the way to go. The fact that a supposedly intelligent (the guy owns his own business) adult would be so obsessed with his appearance that he would go on an obviously extreme diet for such a trivial amount of weight that he "needed" to lose and then sue over the outcome is severely depressing to me.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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posted
Hey guys, the Atkins diet actually calls for a LOT of vegetables. And your not supposed to "go off it." When you reach your target weight, you gradually increase your carbs until you reach your tolerance level.
posted
I went on a similar diet after I weaned Robert. I lost 40 lbs in 3 months and it didn't come back.
And you're right-- the diet I was on called for a lot of vegetables and low-fat meat with strict controls on both carbs and fats.
I also did weight training and drank only water or occasionally, lowfat milk.
What's bad is when people eat all the processed 'low carb' foods available instead of going for more veggies and whole foods.
Posts: 1664 | Registered: Apr 2004
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quote:The group, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, promotes a vegan diet banning meat, fish, dairy and egg products.
Yet another attack on Atkins who would prefer you follow their own unhealthy diet plan.
We like meat for a reason, guys. Run your tongue across your teeth. Feel those pointy-pointy ones? They're for ripping meat. Feel the blunty ones in the back? They're make for grinding vegetable matter. We're Omnivores.
Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
He'll probably be tossed out of court based on science.
quote: Two new studies confirm that a low-carbohydrate diet is more effective at dropping pounds and improving cholesterol and triglyceride levels, a finding that has one prominent nutrition expert calling on his reluctant colleagues to embrace low-carb diets as an acceptable alternative.
posted
Not from what I've read and witnessed. The food pyramid guide is wrong and needs to be changed.
Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I'm with Kayla. the obesity rate in america shot up with the introduction of the food pyramid. We're getting fatter than we ever were under "The Four Food Groups"
Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001
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"This kind of thing probably doesn't rate on the "top ten" lists for people who hate us."
Actually, Sndrake, I would agree with this as a big reason for us being hated. The fact that Americans CAN go on a meat-heavy diet says that we can afford lots of meat. Many people in the world eat meat as a small part of a meal. Many people in the world don't get to eat much at all. The fact that we are a country experiencing a major obesity problem, and that we get rid of our our fat by going on expensive diets, might generate a bit of animosity.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Vegetarian diets are probably the worst diets out there due to all the pasta and bread that is included in it, and all the excess sugars from certain fruits and vegetables, it can even cause chronic diarhea very easily.
That guy who gained weight probably read the reader's digest 2 sentence description of the Atkin's diet and went out eating lots of fatty meats thinking that the diet ok.ed that kind of thing.
The Atkins diet is not the elimination of all carbs, that is only the first two weeks. Over time you get to phase in carbs that have low gycemic indexes. The end result of the Atkins diet is the default human diet. We did not evolve to consume mass quantities of baked goods and refined sugars, nor did we evolve to become herbivores that eat too many plant sugars and will develop diabetes because of that.
For the real scoop on the long term atkins diet and not just propaganda that shouts "ketosis!" every 10 seconds, check out Atkins for Life
Most of the opponents of the Atkin's diet are either bread industry lobbysists who want to keep things like glycemic index off of food labels and/or obese people who don't want to stop going to the Olive garden every other night and eat twinkies a few times a week. The government should stop wasting time criminalizing marijuana and outlaw Hostess which is MUCH more harmful.
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Brian M., I have to disagree with you. Vegetarian diets do not consist of merely pasta, breads, and fruits/veggies. They also consist of legumes and tofu, among other things. Most of the time people who have probs. with vegetarian diets have probs. b/c they are not substituting for their proteins properly. Vegetarian diets can be wonderfully low-fat - one just needs to know how to eat a proper vegetarian diet. Even if you only eat a part-time veg. diet, you will most likely increase your intake of vitamins and minerals and lower your intake of fat.
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You can easily get your maximum allowance of vitamins from a good multivitaimin. Too many vegetarian diets allow too much unsaturated fat to come into the body. The human body can't easily deal with too much of one type of fat so when you cut saturated fat completely out of your diet and only eat unsaturated fats, your putting you liver in a precarious situation. Also, tofu and legumes and nuts are very expensive in many places in north america, they are not practical for most incomes for even 1/3rd of a person's meals. Vegetables like carrots are high on the glycemic index and because of this one can make the case that jelly beans are actually more healthy for you than carrots. These are just some of the problems with a vegetarian diet. Another major problem is the aspect of chronic diarhea which is 4 times more likely in a vegetarian and 8 times more likely in a vegan than in an omnivore.
Posts: 369 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
wow, lentils, that makes quite a fine main course.
Seriously, meat is much much much cheaper than tofu, and the exotic types of vegetables you would have to buy to decent variance in your diet.
Posts: 369 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
We have lentil soup all the time; it's quite good and filling. I guess when you eat vegetarian you're used to eating a bit lighter. We spend WAY less on groceries since I stopped serving meat at home. Maybe I'm just lucky and live where all the cheap veggies are. Have you ever eaten/shopped vegetarian for an length of time?
posted
Here in Alaska vegie prices only go down in the summer, and even then it's not much. However, there is a wide array of cheap, wonderful meats like Moose, which has virtually no fat (it's so rich and tasty), pink and white king salmon, halibut, caribou, etc.
I do know that in my general experience even down in the states, chicken, beef, etc., is always much cheaper than tofu and legumes. There are a few area which might be near specialty agriculture where this isn't true, but I'd hardly call that the norm.
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Alls I know is my husband was vegetarian for 9 years and he slowly gained 90 pounds and wound up with a hernia. In the end his accupuncturist recommended he re introduce meat for the protein to heal the hernia. He's still kind of icked out by meat on the bone, but his weight has stabilized somewhere above his ideal.
It's possible to do any food plan wrong.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote: You can easily get your maximum allowance of vitamins from a good multivitamin.
In general, absorption of vitamins and minerals is better from FOOD than a multivitamin. Although taking one as nutritional insurance is probably a good idea for most people.
quote: The human body can't easily deal with too much of one type of fat so when you cut saturated fat completely out of your diet and only eat unsaturated fats, your putting you liver in a precarious situation.
*blink* since when? Someone should tell all the people in Mediterranean areas, who use olive oil and have far better health, on average, than we Americans who consume saturated fat like it's going out of style.
quote: Vegetables like carrots are high on the glycemic index and because of this one can make the case that jelly beans are actually more healthy for you than carrots.
Right, because glycemic index is the ONLY indicator of whether a food is healthy.
The trouble with Atkins -- and with MOST commercial diets -- is that it is a one-trick pony. Time and time again, it comes back to this: moderation is the way to go, balance is the key, and try to eat as much food as possible that remembers what it was.
And when I start practicing what I preach, I'll let you know how it goes.
Although I do like legumes. Lentil soup is yummy. And so is tofu -- which around here costs about $1 for 14 ounces. Beans, peas, lentils, barley all cost a lot less. Meat costs a lot more.
But I'm not living in a frozen tundra. I imagine that vegetable ARE quite expensive up there.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
One again there is the propaganda that paints the Atkin's diet as unbalanced. If you knew anything about it you'd realize the main phase of the Atkin's diet is extremely balanced and healthy incroporating even carbs.
Posts: 369 | Registered: Nov 2003
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