Gothamist: Fat's Not Fit

Bethune

Thu, 12 Feb 2004 14:38:58 -0500

Seen on Boing Boing - Business 2.0's blog reports that Atkins was healthy just before he died, no matter what the scandal-rags say: http://business2.blogs.com/business2blog/2004/02/was_atkins_real.html

Italian Stud

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 19:19:44 -0500

Stupid Americans.

Frankenstein

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 17:10:57 -0500

Yeah, BMI has some real problems. It totally doesn't take into account build and muscle mass. Even when I was somewhat less of a man than I am today, I still wore a 46 jacket. Did Atkins have a real slender frame that he bloated up to 260 pounds? Or was he a big-framed, offensive-lineman-type guy with a little too much padding? Admittedly, 260 lb is too much weight for for a 6-foot guy to be carrying around, but depending on build, 6-footers can be healthily anywhere from 150 to 220 pounds.

Katie

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 16:15:56 -0500

BMI is crap. It's body fat percentage that's the only true indicator. If you're a guy in single digits, you're good. If you're a woman with a BF% under 18, you're fine.

turkishjade

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 15:55:21 -0500

I know five people that have lost 25% of their total weight on Atkins. I know three who gained 5-10% on the same diet. I heard that he died from the direct results of his diet. I also heard that the medical group that posted the claim is related to PETA. I call bulls**t on both sides.

corie

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 15:39:08 -0500

You know, the key to all of those diets-- the Zone, Atkins, etc., is to help people to change their lifestyle for good. In any of the diets, the objective is moderation, then whatever prescriptive balance that the "unique" diet calls for. The goal is to, in time, not need to count calories, weigh your portions, or be continuously anal about what you're eating and when, because it has become part of the way you live your life. I emphasize LIVE your live, which should mean not being dictated by how many pounds of bacon you allowed to comsume in one sitting. Many people (and a lot of Americans) don't know what moderation is. My guess is that if we did, there'd be a lot less clinically obese people.

Sterling

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 15:18:07 -0500

As soon as Atkins' widow made a stink about Bloomberg's comments, I knew Bloomberg was on to something.

harDCore

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 15:06:25 -0500

Well of course if you stop eating a whole food group, you're gonna lose weight. It's like your eating 50-75% less food every day. God, and red meat is so bad for you. I'd rather carry around 5-10 extra pounds then have my arteries clogged to hell. Luckily I'm a skinny mf'er.

tom

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 14:57:54 -0500

The best part of the article is *who* sent the report... the "Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group that advocates a vegetarian diet and has long been critical of the Atkins approach" says the Wall St. Journal. How quaint.

emjaybee

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 14:35:50 -0500

1. Tell that to my husband who lost 50 pounds, and myself, who has lost 20. Kept them off for 2 years. Lowered our cholesterol. On this diet. After trying several low-fat diets and strenuous exercise with zippo success. 2. We know very little about how the body works. Not everyone's body may work the same way. 3. There's a lot of diet-pushers who been pushing the low-fat high carb thing for years, who have money to lose when people switch to low carb diets....which by the way, are easier to stay on without buying special , expensive foods ala Jennie Craig and Weight Watchers. Some people have an agenda is all I'm saying. 4. Bloomberg can kiss my newly-slenderized ass. It's just tacky to say something like that in public if you're mayor. 5. Being snotty about other people's diets is not cool. If it works for someone else, what do you care? If someone sneers when I eat a burger sans bun or pass up on bread, that's their problem, not mine.

Jen

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 14:02:30 -0500

True anecdote: A well-respected man was telling people how his wife has been on and strictly following the Atkins diet for FIVE years (many were shocked that she's still alive), that his wife has never been so thin or in shape...but then admitted she had not pooped in years either. Poop or no poop, you be the judge.

jake

Tue, 10 Feb 2004 13:41:33 -0500

as my dinner companion said to me last night, it seems kind of ridiculous to believe that you can eat three hamburgers a day and lose weight. and as i said, it's sort of odd that people who don't have the willpower to do any exercise think they'll have the willpower to stick to a diet. of course, i am not an expert, as my hyperactivity/attention deficit keeps me moving 23.5 hours per day. like a shark!