I've done the full caboodle: Atkins + walking + swimming + weight lifting. (Don't you just love it when men past 40 start to try to reclaim their youth?
) With the help of genetics - I always had a fast metabolism and despite a very impressive pizza and massive sugar intake, gained weight only gradually - I have lost a lot of weight very quickly indeed.
My co-workers have generally been quite supportive. A few started on Atkins themselves after I had been on it for a few weeks! I have had one person at work whom I don't regularly see ask me whether I had had an illness! My girlfriend is jealous but won't admit it.
I have had quite a few negative comments about the restrictive nature of the diet, but stuff that. My carb intake now is about 80grs a day, and its all I can do to eat that without resorting to bread! Sure, I'm still eating a little more fat than I would like, but that will end soon, and then begins the hard part: proving wrong those who say I'll gain it all again.