Atkins vs South Beach, good carbs bad carbs?

[Momto6ix]

hi all,

I have been doing Atkins for just a year now. I've lost 65 lbs. The month of Nov saw my 50th (holy wow!) birthday which included, a birthday dinner, my actual birthday, and a surprise party given to me by my 6 daughters. I ate what ever I wanted, on THOSE 3 days. Then of course, the month of Dec had the Christmas holidays. during Nov and Dec, I had gained 4 pounds and then lost 6. In my eyes, I came thru those 2 tough months doing ok.

Now, here's my question. Don't shoot me, but I am wondering about long term effects of Atkins. I have been reading ..........too much knowledge a dangerous thing? A friend had the South Beach Diet book and was tossing it, and I said, hey let me read it just out of curiosity. As I read it, I thought, how did this guy do this? The author copied some one else's work ! But it did start me thinking about the good carb vs bad carb controversy. I went to Goggle, and read up on various things. The American Heart Assoc really rips the Atkins diet apart. I've read alot, quite frankly, too much, because I've become worried and confused. Are there good carbs? Are there bad carbs? Which is better for us? Can we eat whole wheat bread? whole wheat pasta? What is the opinion out there guys?

Theresa
aka momto6ix

[lisadallasr]

Hi Theresa, now im not an expert as this is my third attempt at atkins, but i can tell you from my experience, i have tried both diets, and i like atkins better for this reason alone, i think you need to do the ladders of atkins to see what your body can tolerate, on south beach after the two weeks pretty much you just jump into eating anything that are considered good carbs which includes whole wheat bread, pasta and even brown rice now remember this is just my experience when i added those back into my diet i stopped losing and i would only have that maybe 3-4 times a week, so i think with atkins when doing the rungs you can better determine what your body is able to tolerate, now if your lucky and you make it through all the rungs and are still losing or maintaining if your already at goal then pretty much you then are eating those things again in moderation, if your like me and maybe have a tolerance to wheat which im just assuming here since i was bloated and all on south beach when i get to that rung in atkins and its something i just introduced i can then pinpoint it better. I dont know if this is what you were looking for but i thought i would just share my experience, im sure someone can answer it better for you lol.

[HeidiE]

I believe good carbs are carbs your body can handle ..
they do not trigger you to eat more than you need to
they make you feel good and not cause hunger pangs in a short while after you eat them
they are full of natural vits, minerals and fiber

I think bad carbs are
anything white! white sugar, white flour, white rice, corn starch
they have no redeeming value unless someone sprays them with vitamins and calls them nutritious!!!
any foods that trigger cravings
any foods that cause your brain chemicals to alter in such a way that your heart begins to pound your mouth begins to water...you feel shaky one that makes you put sugar on Frosted Flakes after you eat five candy bars..those are bad carbs....

I think with Atkins the plan is easier to follow than South Beach (I have tried both in ernest) and it helps you distinguish what carbs are good carbs for you and what carbs are bad for you ..in a very simple struture ..I love simple

[dotsamantha]

I'm going to go with the previous statements also. There's a saying around here, "your mileage may vary". My body will undoubtedyl react differently to certain foods than yours, and finding what works is very much a part of accepting that. I know people who have done amazing thins with weight watchers, south beach, the zone, and atkins. If this woe is working for you and you have a clean bill of health, i say stick with it. If your body is saying otherwise, after giving it some time, which I know you've been doing this for a while, maybe there are some adjustments that need to be made.

[not2late]

Agatson and Atkins both agreed that 'bad' carbs are refined carbohydrates, such as white flour. Refining removes valuable nutrients like fiber, vitamins and minerals.

A common misconception of Atkins is that you never eat any kind of vegetable, fruit, legume, or grain for the rest of your natural life. The only people who do that on Atkins are the ones who mistakenly believe Induction phase is the entire Atkins diet.

As for the American Heart Association....

About 30 years ago, they told everyone to stop eating butter and eat margarine because margarine was 'healthier'. Unfortunately, margarine is chock-full of trans fats, which are very bad. Now they're telling everyone to limit eating trans fats....after they spent the last 3 decades urging everyone to eat that poison! (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...idelines_x.htm)

About 7 years ago, they told everyone to eat soy because soy would lower cholesterol and soy was a great miracle food. Now they say, it's okay to eat soy, but it doesn't really lower cholesterol (http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryC...ition/tb1/2534)

About 20 years ago, they told everyone that nuts were bad because they are high in fat. Now they are telling us that nuts, like almonds, might actually be good for our heart health. (http://www.americanheart.org/present...tifier=3004459)

When people keep changing and changing and changing, it only means they don't know what the heck they're doing!

Other links of interest:
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyour...t_sat_fat.html
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyour...ats_phony.html
http://www.westonaprice.org/motherli...ts_crisco.html

EDIT

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