Atkins

The Atkins diet is a veteran among popular book-based diets. Perhaps to some it is becoming anachronistic; to many, though, it still holds appeal. Saddle up to the bar at your local Outback Steakhouse and you will almost assuredly still catch a proud Atkiner with a mountainous plate of steak, crab legs, and bacon giving the side-eye to someone daring to enjoy a bowl of pasta.

Following, I offer an overview of the Atkins diet, a look at some of its pros and cons, and my subjective thoughts on it.

 

Overview of the Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet was named after its founder, Dr. Robert Atkins. During the beginning years of his career as a cardiologist, Atkins suffered from obesity. Not unaware of the impression his heavy stature could have on his patients, he decided to vehemently research an effective weight loss method. This effort introduced him to the work of Dr. Alfred Pennington, then head of the medical division at DuPont. Pennington was an advocate of a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. Atkins was intrigued by the this “low-carbohydrate” approach, so he structured his ongoing inquest accordingly. In 1963, Doctors Walter Lyons Bloom and Gordon Azar, published a research study in which they asserted that one could achieve the same level of ketosis (a state where the body uses its fat stores for energy) eating protein and fat, but not carbohydrates, as they could if they were to fast. Lyons’ and Azar’s research became the tipping point for Atkins; he finally decided to try the no-carbohydrate approach himself (Atkins talked about how he began his diet at the Symposium on the Great Nutrition Debate {see section 22 of the transcript}). He started eating bacon, eggs, lots of meat, etc. He also began testing his urine for ketones—the body’s byproduct of fat burning. So long as his urine contained ketones, he knew his body was burning its fat for fuel.

After experiencing rapid success with his low-carbohydrate diet, Atkins began prescribing it to his patients, and eventually to actors and prominent members of the media. His celebrity as a diet guru began to grow. In 1970, Vogue magazine published a version of his diet, which colloquially became known as the “Vogue Diet.” In 1972, he published his first book, Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution—the official start of the Atkins diet we know today.

The Atkins diet is fairly simple. It is predicated on the idea that eliminating glucose (the body’s preferred source of energy) by way of drastically reducing carbohydrate consumption forces one’s body to metabolize its stored fat for energy. An adjunct principle, as stated by Atkins in his book, Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, is “burning fat takes more calories, so you expend more calories.” There are four phases of the Atkins diet:

Induction: Induction is designed to make your body enter a state of ketosis. It is a two-week phase during which you are not supposed to consume more than twenty grams of carbohydrates per day—almost all of which should come by way of “Induction approved vegetables.” During Induction you can consume liberal amounts–there is no calorie counting–of meat, fish, poultry, eggs, fish, butter, olive oil, and modest amounts of cheese.

Ongoing Weight Loss, or ‘OWL’: During the OWL phase you slowly introduce carbohydrates back into your diet. Atkins recommends that you increase your daily carbohydrate intake each week by five grams per day during OWL. To guide you in this endeavor he created a “nine-rung carbohydrate ladder.” Each week you are allowed to ascend one rung; each rung offers a new food you can eat. The ladder includes, in ascending order: Induction acceptable vegetables in larger quantities, fresh cheese, nuts and seeds, berries, alcohol, legumes, fruits beyond berries, starchy vegetables, and whole grains. Atkins intends OWL to provide a timeframe for you to discover your “critical carbohydrate level for losing”—the maximum number of daily carbohydrates you can consume and still effectively lose weight. The OWL phase lasts until you are ten pounds from your target weight.

Pre-maintenance: During Pre-maintenance you increase your daily carbohydrate intake by ten grams each week until you find the “critical carbohydrate level for maintenance”—the maximum number of daily carbohydrates you can consume without gaining weight.

Lifetime Maintenance: Lifetime Maintenance essentially calls for you to heed the “critical carbohydrate level for maintenance” on an ongoing basis; and, it gives you the option to go back to earlier phases as needed.

 

Frequently Cited Pros and Cons of the Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet has fervid proponents and detractors. Following are a few of their commonly cited pros and cons.

The Pros:

• The Atkins diet is generally easy to follow. There is no calorie counting, food measuring, etc.

• Most adherents of Atkins do not have issues with satiety—higher fat, protein rich foods often stave the feeling of hunger.

• There is much anecdotal evidence, and even some study data, that suggests that the Atkins diet promotes weight loss. On the Journal of the American Medical Association website in an article entitled, “Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diet for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction,” the following is stated:

“Each popular diet modestly reduced body weight and several cardiac risk factors at 1 year. Overall dietary adherence rates were low, although increased adherence was associated with greater weight loss and cardiac risk factor reductions for each diet group.”

• There is evidence that shows ketogenic diets can benefit those suffering from type 2 diabetes. On the Nutrition and Metabolism website in an article entitled, “A Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet to Treat Type 2 Diabetes,” the following is stated:

“The LCKD improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes such that diabetes medications were discontinued or reduced in most participants. Because the LCKD can be very effective at lowering blood glucose, patients on diabetes medication who use this diet should be under close medical supervision or capable of adjusting their medication.”

The Cons:

• The Atkins diet can be expensive relative to other popular programs given its bias toward meat.

• While Atkins does not call for calorie counting, you are required to account for every gram of carbohydrate you consume on a daily basis. For many this can be tedious.

• Ketosis can cause one’s breath to smell horrendous—a scent often likened to that of nail polish remover.

• Research has shown that ketogenic diets have been associated with adverse metabolic effects. On the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition website in an article entitled, “Ketogenic Low-Carbohydrate Diets have No Metabolic Advantage Over Nonketogenic Low-Carbohydrate Diets,” the following is stated:

“KLC and NLC diets were equally effective in reducing body weight and insulin resistance, but the KLC diet was associated with several adverse metabolic and emotional effects. The use of ketogenic diets for weight loss is not warranted.”

 

My Thoughts on the Atkins Diet

While I do not dispute that following the Atkins diet can help one lose weight, it is not likely a diet I will ever try. It is simply too radical for me; and, there is not enough evidence to show that it bests other approaches. In the aforementioned study, “Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diet for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction,” the Atkins diet did not show greater efficacy than its peers for example.

Atkins was undoubtedly smart, but to some extent I think his celebrity status allowed him too many rhetorical flourishes. I know a number of Atkiners who firmly believe, based on Dr. Atkins assertions, that they can eat thousands of calories per day and still lose weight, so long as said calories are not from carbohydrates. Never mind that the first law of thermodynamics demands that the calories consumed by a body have to equal the calories burned by a body if said body is to remain the same. Science does not apply to them; Dr. Atkins gave them a pass.