Atkins bankrupt

[Seatuck]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

The news report that I saw credited the failure of the company with the fact that Dr. Atkins died over weight. Any truth in that? I thought he slipped on some ice and hit his head.

[not2late]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

The news report that I saw credited the failure of the company with the fact that Dr. Atkins died over weight. Any truth in that? I thought he slipped on some ice and hit his head.

Dr. Atkins died in 2003, after slipping on an icy sidewalk and sustaining serious head trauma. He was hospitalized and operated upon to remove a blood clot in his brain. During the course of his hospitalization, he received intravenous fluids and developed what's called "ICU bloat" a slang term used by medical personnel that means the body is no longer able to regulate fluids (and is dying). When the body is no longer able to regulate fluids, fluids collect in the tissues and cause swelling. So, Dr. Atkins weighed considerably more at the time of his death than he did 2 weeks or so earlier at the time of his admission. The coroner's report was illegally obtained and released by a group sympathetic to PETA. By the way, there was no autopsy done on Dr. Atkins. The coroners report was a note based upon external examination of Dr. Atkin's remains.

Back to the company. Originally, Dr. Atkins founded the company to sell his brand of dietary supplements. In the mid 90s, the company expanded into the bars and shakes field. By the time of Dr. Atkins death, they expanded even more into the low carb "foods" area. In the years since Dr. Atkins death, the company focused more on the food area, than on the supplements. I have catalogues dating to late 2003. Comparing that catalogue to the more recent ones, it's obvious that they began concentrating more on the low carb junk foods (cakes, pastries, candy, ice cream, etc.) Again, anyone who has read the book will know that you don't need these "foods" in order to do this diet. In fact, staying away from those foods might enhance your weight loss progress---we've had plenty of members whose weight loss picked up after dropping those "foods" or who have fallen off the diet due to those "foods".

[FightingTheFight]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

I have feelings on both sides of the fence.

On one side, I am happy they are shutting down, Tell them to peddle their wares elsewhere. Take their stupid products and don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split ya.

On the other side, I am with Perry, and also the fact that people will probally be losing their jobs.

I want the craze to go down so we can seperate the fakers from the 'steakers' hehe.

[Iapetus999]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

This craze has come & gone.
I'm sure a year from now someone will come out with a "new" lo-carb plan that's "easier than Atkins" and "healthier" but it will be the same old song and dance. Some time in the near future we will be in our own little niche as people begin to forget.
Also in the next few years a bunch of studies will come out...some will vindicate Atkins and some will dismiss it. However the bad ones will get all the press. It's easy to rip on a dead guy.
Without any corporate entity anymore, we are the only ones who can carry on with the good word. The book will drop out of print and be replaced with the new-fangled diets.
The real truth is that diets don't work. People don't want to change their lifestyles, they want to be thin and eat whatever they want to. The junk food conglomerates dominate the airwaves with constant messages.
Just live your life as an example to others. If I've inspired just one person to reach their weight goal and stay there then all the time I've spent here has been worth it.

[ttdriver]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

Just live your life as an example to others. If I've inspired just one person to reach their weight goal and stay there then all the time I've spent here has been worth it.

ABSOLUTELY!

Betty

[apollo]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

i dont know why people here slam the shakes and such so much ..... ive used atkins products since i started this diet , never once had a problem/issue with them

if atkins nutritionals is gone , then i have no sweets in my regimine , its going to cause a problem , and i DO NOT cook or bake ...... so out goes any suggestions people might give me for dessert recipes

[pjade1]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

Personally, I tried some of the Atkins products and did not like them. Everyone knows too much of those candy bars is not good for you anyway. Fresh foods are better and making your own meals are the way to go. It sure does not appear that Atkins WOE has lost popularity, at least not on this BB. I guess the media did not do it's research very well. Most Atkins followers do not buy their products anyway.

[Iapetus999]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

i dont know why people here slam the shakes and such so much ..... ive used atkins products since i started this diet , never once had a problem/issue with them

if atkins nutritionals is gone , then i have no sweets in my regimine , its going to cause a problem , and i DO NOT cook or bake ...... so out goes any suggestions people might give me for dessert recipes

Many (not all) people have problems with them on Induction.
I still eat some bars now & then as a snack...maybe 1 a week if that.
The problem is that they are trying to create lo-carb substitutes for people's regular foods. That doesn't work...because it just makes people want to eat their regular food.
One secret to success is to change what your "regular" food is. Instead of pasta...don't eat lo-carb pasta. Eat some veggies.
Instead of pizza don't eat lo-carb pizza. Have a burger with cheese and sauce.
I never understood why they didn't partner with some established regimes like WW or adopt that kind of model. What people need isn't frankenfood...it's education and support. That's way more valuable then some bars and shakes.

[Finelly]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

Just to clarify:

The family signed over control of the Atkins products after the Dr. died to a separate corporation.

The company is still going to be making and peddling its products, just cutting back. The bankruptcy won't stop the company from functioning, just help it pay back its debts in a controlled way.

[Labarum]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

Published in the London Telegraph



Lean times for Atkins as low-carb bubble bursts
By Caroline Davies
(Filed: 02/08/2005)

So, is it farewell to Atkins, to breakfasts of butter-fried bacon and eggs, to dinners of steak or chicken and not much else?

Dieters, it seems, are turning away from the controversial high-protein low-carb Atkins Diet in such huge numbers that the company behind the worldwide food fad has been forced to file for bankruptcy protection, it emerged yesterday.

Converts: Renee Zellweger and Jennifer Aniston New York-based Atkins Nutritionals, set up by the late Dr Robert Atkins, who devised the revolutionary diet tried by millions and endorsed by a number of celebrities, owes $300 million (£170 million) and was in court yesterday fighting for time to reorganise and for protection from its creditors.

The move follows the collapse of its UK subsidiary last March when administrators were called into the Slough headquarters.

Atkins Nutritionals' problems are being blamed on a global fall in the low-carb market.

Invented by Atkins, and first launched in the 1970s, the diet was revived in the 1990s and advocates replacing carbohydrates - such as bread, pasta, rice and potato - with foods high in protein and fat.

With celebrities such as Geri Halliwell, the former Spice Girl, the actresses Jennifer Aniston and Renee Zellweger and Robbie Williams, the singer, all attesting to its success, the diet received enormous publicity to become the most popular worldwide.

As a result, Atkins Nutritionals launched a range of branded low-carb cereal bars, milk-shakes, chocolate bars and cake mixes, a move followed by many multinational companies who brought out rival products.

Even cats used the Atkins diet, this one lost 22lbs But, according to Mintel, the market analysts, the low-carb bubble has now burst.

"The latest figures are, actually, astounding," said Lynn Dornblaser, from Mintel's Global New Product Database in Chicago.

"In 2003, when low-carb began to take off in the States and Canada, we saw 442 new product introductions that made a low carb claim. In 2004 it was 2,602.

"The figures really tell the story because if you look at 2005 and the figures up until last Friday, the total was just 696 and I would expect them to drop month on month.

"Part of the reason seems to be that low-carb diets are hard and perhaps people found they did not work long-term. Certainly Americans found it hard to maintain eliminating whole categories of food."

In Britain, the latest Mintel research points to a high drop-out rate. Just 2.8 per cent of those questioned were on a low-carb regime, such as the Atkins Diet. While 10 per cent said they had followed one of the diets and given up, only one per cent was willing to try again.

Part of Atkins's problem in Britain has been the GI diet, the latest food trend. It ranks foods on the glycaemic index according to the effect they have on blood sugar levels. The diet promotes carbohydrates such a porridge and wholegrain bread, as well as lean meats.

Another problem for the Atkins Diet was the criticism it attracted from the medical world. Dr Atkins claimed that, if a diet was high in protein and fat, the body would start to consume its own fat in a process known as ketosis.

But detractors claimed that it could have long-term health implications, including heart disease and kidney problems, and could cause constipation and bad breath.

In June, the Advertising Standards Authority called for an advert for the Atkins Diet to be pulled because its claim that followers could "enjoy a healthier lifestyle" could not be proved.

[Bugaboo]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

LMBO! That was great Labarum!!!!

[FightingTheFight]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

The problem is that they are trying to create lo-carb substitutes for people's regular foods. That doesn't work...because it just makes people want to eat their regular food

I agree. I got into the argument with my mother not to long ago about something along those lines. She is about to fast, and told me she has to pick up some products that were basically the same, just not the real thing, ie. Boca burgers and soy milk. I said, whats the point of replacing them meal with something similar, because you really arn't giving anything up. I told her to put down the sugar for a while, of course she just can't do it...crazy old lady.

Labarum, that is just a bad article, it makes me want to puke..I don't even have the energy to tear it apart.

[not2late]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

The real truth is that diets don't work. People don't want to change their lifestyles, they want to be thin and eat whatever they want to. The junk food conglomerates dominate the airwaves with constant messages.

Very, very , very true.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/...ide/P75551.asp

The problem is that they are trying to create lo-carb substitutes for people's regular foods. That doesn't work...because it just makes people want to eat their regular food.
One secret to success is to change what your "regular" food is. Instead of pasta...don't eat lo-carb pasta. Eat some veggies.
Instead of pizza don't eat lo-carb pizza. Have a burger with cheese and sauce.

This is a supporting passage from Dr. Atkins' biography...

The patients who stayed, however, were extremely loyal to both atkins and his low-carb diet. But they had one major complaint: In a fast-paced world where everything was low in fat or high in carbohydrates or both, it was difficult to find something that they could eat on the run while still remaining on the low-carb program. They had no time to prepare their own snacks. Perhaps something like the low-fat energy bars sold in convenience stores would be great, only low-carb instead.

Atkins hesistated, and for a good reason. One of the things he constantly stressed with his patients was that they should eat foods that were as close to their natural state as possible, and for him, any kind of energy bar was as good as poison since it was clearly a processed food...

But his patients continued to beg him for something---"you sell the vitamins and other supplements, why not energy bars?" they reasoned--and so, with great reluctance, he gave in and developed not only an energy bar but also a low-carb shake that would make it easier for patients to keep to their Atkins programs.

"As long as you only use it for emergencies," he reminded them...

The energy bars and shakes were a necessary evil, there only because he thought his patients were too lazy to prepare the real kind of unprocessed foods that were the mainstay of his diet.

---Excerpted from:
Dr. Robert Atkins: The True Story of The Man Behind the War on Carbohydrates Lisa Rogak. Chamberlian Bros. 2005. Ch. 6

Ouch!

[2big4mysize]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

I saw Dr Atkins on Larry King and he was talking about how later in the plan you could have bread and desserts, but not as part of the weight loss program. He clearly explained there were 2 parts to his program losing weight and keeping it off. He explained they were for folk who didn't want to give up chocolate cake for life and still be able to do his plan so he knew and accepted that many folk were going to be using those low carb foods as a part of their maintenance WOE. He talked about the bread and ice cream his company made and he commented on some low carb choclate he had sampled that Larry King's show provided. Dr Atkins made a very clear distinction between weight loss eating and life time maintenance eating. He even talked about his dessert being macadamia nut butter and cream mixed together.

So while bars and shakes were only in emergencies Dr Atkins knew about and accepted that low carb foods for maintnenace were a part of Atkins WOE for Atkins WOL.

Lets not forget ANA is also the phone center Dr Atkins expanded in 2002 to handle the volume of calls from newbies about his plan and the books themselves. And the funding behind the research being done on low carb proving that yes it does work like the famous DUKE study.

[ttdriver]

Re: Atkins bankrupt

Invented by Atkins, and first launched in the 1970s, the diet was revived in the 1990s and advocates replacing carbohydrates - such as bread, pasta, rice and potato - with foods high in protein and fat.

Dr. Atkins did not invent the low carb diet .. Do some research .. the ketogenic diet goes back to William Banting in the 1800s.

http://www.lowcarb.ca/corpulence/

Betty