Dr. Atkins nutritional approach suggests eating products with high ratios of protein and fat and very low amounts of carbohydrate.

The brain needs at least 130 grams of carbohydrate to function properly, yet Dr. Atkins propose only 20 grams daily.

The phases in the Atkins roadmap to sustained success are:

Phase 1: Induction

Restrict carbohydrate consumption to 20 grams each day, obtaining carbohydrate primarily from salad and other non-starchy vegetables.

Phase 2: Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL)

Add carbohydrate, in the form of nutrient-dense and fiber-rich foods, by increasing to 25 grams daily the first week, 30 grams daily the next week and so on until weight loss stops. Then subtract 5 grams of carbohydrate from your daily intake so that you continue sustained, moderate weight loss.

Phase 3: Pre-Maintenance

Make the transition from weight loss to weight maintenance by increasing the daily carbohydrate intake in 10-gram increments each week so long as very gradual weight loss is maintained.

Phase 4: Lifetime Maintenance

Select from a wide variety of foods while controlling carbohydrate intake to ensure weight maintenance and a sense of well-being. This lifestyle is the foundation for a lifetime of better health.

Our bodies naturally run on carbs. To take it away so quickly would cause our bodies to become completely confused because it will not run the way that it was meant to run. Americans do tend to eat too many carbs though, ESPECIALLY the sweet kind. If we just got rid of the bad carbs out of our diets we would be fine. Other than that, getting rid of carbs to lose weight is just not a healthy alternative.

Personally, I voted that it is sick. I perscribe to the " healthy boy/muscle builder " diet. Eat moderate amounts of everything, but be sure to get enough protein and carbs into the body because those are the things that build muscle and allow for healthy body functions.

Minerals and Vitamins come with the intake of fruits, vegetables, and probably vitamin suplaments if you need to take them. But personally I just eat what I know to be healthy.

^Exactly! it's all about the balance. Dietitians and nutritionists recommend balancing your diets in the ratios of: 60-75% carbs, 20-30% Proteins, and only 5-10% of fats. Most athletes follow that diet.

*Looks at the poll*

Sure it's better than pills but that diet can cause malnutrition, which could lead to a disease and put you on pills either way LOL

Carbohydrates are not the problem....
Niether are protiens....
Niether are fats ....

In fact, food isn't the problem. Everything is an energy source, and your body needs a certain amount of energy per day. Un-used energy is usually stored. So guess what the answer is? Use it! I eat about 3,000 calories a day but I'm 5'11" and 157lbs. Guess how I maintain that weight? I lift wieghts (I'm actually trying to gain muscle wieght now), and run 3-6 miles DAILY. I haven't missed a day of running in over 4 months.

However, for those that can't run, carbs shouldn't be feared...they should be embraced. Do you know what the difference between a carbohydrate and a sugar is?

(jeopordy theme music)

Nothing. There is nothing such as a "sweet" carbohydrate as stated above. Infact, most polysaccaraides are made up of 3 main monosaccaraides: fuctose, galactose, and glucose. Your body can only use glucose as an energy source. ALL other carbohydrates must either be broken down into the monosaccharide form, or converted from one monosaccharides type to glucose. There is no other option. If there was any type of carbhydrate that one needed to cut down on, it would be the simple- monosaccharides. For example, look on the back of a normal soda can - high fructose corn syrup - diabeteis in a bottle.
Now, since we have defined what a carbohydrate is (I hope I have...its late though), lets see how terrible they really are. Lets start with celory...about 97% cellulose. That is a polysaccharide consisting of 500 gluscose molecules in an alternating line pattern. So thats 500x34atp (very small energy amounts) = somewhere between 1500-1700atp (not very many calories when converted). BUT WAIT! The body can't digest cellulose like it's brother starch. The only difference is the alternating sequence in the chain, but that means a lot. Ever wonder why cellery gets soft when boiled? You're breaking down the cellulose...now your body can digest it.
Back to starch, a 500 glucose chain your body can deigest. They only way it can break it down is through an enzyme in your mouth called salivary amylase. Once this enzyme gets to your stomach, the ph levels make it ineffective. Thus, once a starch molecule makes it intact to your stomach, it acts just like cellulose.

The moral of the story...carbohydrates are both the enemy (simple) and best friend (complex). Also, Dr. Atkins is another fad diet creator idiot. If you want me to go into further detail on anything else, I gladly will at an earlier time of night. Thank you.

People don't realize that you need carbs to function...heh. I love those beer commercials on the radio with Mr. Over-The-Top-Carb-Counter...trying to hit that target number of zero...heh heh heh. Us Americans really need to wake up. I'm not as consistent with my running as you, ThoughtVoid, but I've had my share of looooong distance runs (my personal high is a very exceptional 14 miles).

C'mon people, Atkins is a hoax! Go cross country! Woo!

Carbohydrate is most easily oxidised to produce energy. When you are eating low carb, lipolysis will occur so that you lose fat, but when you start losing muscle protein, it's unhealthy. The new food pyramid says that fibres are at the base, and food with high glycaemic index like potatoes are at the apex.