Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

[Ovahk]

http://www.leonardfitness.com/article/atkins_diet

I've lost a lot of weight on Atkins, and that article scared me, especially the supposed long term consequences..but I know there are people here who have been on it for a really long time, so what are your thoughts and should I stop worrying?

[Brook]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

Reading this type of stuff is usually really bad for my blood pressure.....but here I go.


1. Fad Diet. This "fad diet" outdates the low-fat diet. Which is the fad??

2. Rapid weight reduction? According to who?? It took me 2 years to call goal. Bite me.

3. Temporary weight loss, eh? Well...here are a couple of facts:
a. My "temporary weight loss" is coming up on 3 years..... been on plan for 5 years.
b. Weight loss is an endeavor with a 95% failure rate in a period of 5 years regardless of which plan you follow - so what exactly is his point?? That Atkins dieters are no more or less successful in the long term than everyone else? Oh, shock! Gasp! There's a surprise. Apparently following Atkins doesn't give you super-human status. Who knew?!
C. All weight loss plans have a rapid weight loss period in the first couple of weeks. This is primarily a diuretic effect. The diuretic effect *is* more powerful on a diet rich in protein. This isn't news or rocket science. This guy needs to get over himself.
D. 60% of our calories come from carbs?? On WHAT plan?? The standard is somewhere around 40% carb/30 % protein/30% fat - so where is he pulling 60% from? POOMA.COM (pulled out of my @ss.com , that is)


4. Let's address his list of symptoms:

Bad breath: Yeah. Alright. I'll give you this one. Keytone breath takes a little getting used to.

Gout: No more or less so than the rest of the population. If you're prone to gout, you're prone to gout. Duh.

High Cholesterol? Umm, mine went from the high 280s to 187. My triglycerides went from around 300 to 68. His blanket statement has been proven time and time again to be a straight up falsehood. Get a clue. Get a fact. Write it. Work with it. sheesh.

Kidney damage? Another out and out falsehood and I'm sick to death of this one. *ANY* diet high in protein is bad for someone with a PRE-EXISTING KIDNEY DISEASE. It does NOT CAUSE KIDNEY DISEASE. This is why it's essential for everyone to FOLLOW THE ADVICE TO GET A PHYSICAL BEFORE CHANGING THE WAY THEY EAT.

Weakness?? Umm, I work out 6 days a week between intense circuit training, dancing, and running. What weakness? Induction flu that's temporary? Maybe, that it's just that...TEMPORARY.

Dry skin? Umm...we eat a diet high in fat. When your dog gets dry skin, what do you do?? You feed him raw eggs and mix bacon grease or oil in his food. To do what? Increase the fat he eats because it helps his skin! Grrrr.

Thinning hair? Another falsehood. People who experience thinning hair, by and large, are doing so because of a drastically reduced calorie intake or missing nutrients that are easily replaced and supplemented if you take the supplements you're supposed to be taking anyway! If you're experiencing hair loss - the first place you should look is at your calorie intake.

I have *never* - in 5 years of being an Atkineer- heard of the eyeball issues he's talking about. Again... POOMA.com. Idiot.

Muslce loss? heh. At goal I'm between 17-19% body fat and tight and toned as heck. What a load of crap.

Frequent urination? Umm, that's what happens when you drink...*gasp* water!! LOL

Mineral and vitamin loss? Huh? That's from sweating - which is something a good Atkineer does because he/she is exercising. The horror!! Any other nutrient depletion should be being covered by eating whole, natural veggies and other foods and supplementation. You trying to tell me that an Atkineer eating whole, natural foods is more nutrient deficient than I was when I was living on peanut M&M's, diet coke, and McDonalds?? *rolls eyes*

Mood swing : Caused by asshats writing stupid articles, mostly.

Dizzy spells and "other health related problems": heh. Could be low blood pressure, could be a toot crossways. Don't blame it on years of bad nutrition and lack of exercise...blame it on eating meats and veggies and dairy. LOL


I'm going to stop there...because the rest of this is really silly.


Someone pointed this out awhile back and it's always stuck with me.

We're supposed to avoid red meat because it's so high in cholesterol, right? Doesn't it strike you as odd that cows are fed GRAINS??


If you go back to eating the way that got you fat in the first place...newsflash...you're gonna get fat again.


You're not going to find an unbiased opinion around here because the long-timers around here having been doing what this idiot is only talking about and guessing about- not something he's obviously actually read about or done. If he had read about it or done it, he'd know he's talking out of his behind and he'd have spared me this little tirade.

We have followed this way of eating to a T, educated and supported literally thousands of people to success, and kept at it and been successful at it. He can put that in his little hydroxycut advertisement laced pipe and smoke it. I'll pass, thank you.

Now, where's the beef?!!

[kylie]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

What she said!

[Ovahk]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

Thank you, I feel so much better after reading that.

[HeidiE]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

Nothing can be added to what Brook said...trust me

perfect ...perfect ...perfect

[Maerow]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

Way to go Brook!!

[karrie]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

 
If someone were to be consistent with the Atkins Diet, they 
may run into the following problems: acetone breath, gout (painful 
inflammation of the joints), high cholesterol (LDL = bad), kidney damage, 
weakness, bad (acne) or dry skin, thinning hair, increased risk of heart
attack, yellowish instead of white eye balls, set back or sunken eye balls,
catabolism (muscle loss), frequent urination, vitamin and mineral loss, 
mood swings, headaches, dizzy spells, and other health related problems 
due to improper nutrition balance

Haven't we heard this all before. and hasn't it all been proven nonsence. Yes gout can be a problem but a little apple cider vinegar takes care of that almost immediatley. Medical studies have shown no increase in kidney damage or any of the other "problems" he talks about.
This is just another so called expert spouting his garbage. Just toss it.

[julirama723]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

Brook, well said!

[staziaw]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

Brook -- you goddess you!

Thanks for your post -- I think you spoke for all of us when you called him an asshat!

Brilliant!

Stacy

[sallyseachange]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

Brook... you said it all! Thanks!
Sheesh these articles make me fume!

[Jellybean1984]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

well done, I read it and it didn't fizz me much, all I kept thinking was am I healthy like this....then reading ur comment which was well thought out and I loved it.
I hate people who trash the diet, is it better to be 200, 300, 400 or more lbs...oiii

[higgies]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

I keep trying to figure out how people can write articles like these with no facts, no research, and an entire premise based on anecdotal information. Well said Brook! Obviously when you see these types of articles they are agenda-driven in some way...

[Lulubell]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

I keep trying to figure out how people can write articles like these with no facts, no research, and an entire premise based on anecdotal information...

the internet is a wide world of free speech. and personally, i'd like to see it stay that way. the downside is, you can find articles like this. but, you can also find articles to support your premise, as well. just my $0.02.

[higgies]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

Oh, I didn't mean he didn't have the right to do it...I meant that I would be embarassed to write an article that throws out statements that have been proven incorrect.

[angelstar]

Re: Any thoughts on the Justin Leonard article?

GRRRR!!! Stuff like that really grates on me! Whenever someone slates Atkins, they never mention that we eat 2 servings of veg/salad a day, tons more than what we were eating before! They rant on about high fat/high protein but they never take on board the amount of 'greens' we eat and how we go on to incorporate more veg and fruit along the way.

Great post Brook *hugs*