Dateline NBC, Sunday, Jan4/04
 

Well go figger!

Dateline aired a program where they picked six people preparing for a class reunion, and put each of them on a different weight loss program: WW, exercise only, personal diet guru, SlimFast, hypnosis and yep...ATKINS. Well guess which one lost the most!?!

The Atkins man lost over a 100 pounds in just over nine months, and he looked and felt great.

He was the highest loser, but they awarded him second place. The winner was the exercise woman, even though she had severely injured her knee, and then re-injured it. She then ran the Hawaii marathon in 5:20. I mean, I admire her, but with knee supports and in pain????..geez...how is that going to be a lifetime change, other than possibly permanent knee problems?

I will be interested to see the followup show in a year. I want to know how her knees are, and how they all maintained, gained or continued to lose.

I saw this too.

You would have thought they would award the "Award" to the best loser but apparently not so.

I was wondering actually "muttering" if they wanted to keep the great success of Low Carbing "low key"?

Birdy...

Caught the same show
 

I saw the last 15 minutes of the show and was amazed when the fellow doing Atkins said he had worked with his doc to help him through a bout of gout. He then went on to lose an incredible amount of weight. I wonder if they will do follow up in a year ro see how all are maintaining the life style change.

I saw the show and I was disappointed that they did not talk more about the low-carbing. But in all fairness I could see why they made the awards the way they did. The low-carb guy who lost the most weight was a man and they often lose quicker and he had the most weight to lose so that would speed it up as well. but no matter how they depict it low-carbing WORKS!!!

I wanna know why he said he probably wouldn't follow it anymore. That scared me. What does he know that we don't?

Nothing. Do you know if he ever went past Induction/OWL and got to maintenance, so you know what he was eating by the time he finished? He may have been eating nothing but eggs, meat and tuna and the same veggies over and over because he didn't have a wife/gf who used some imagination to fix meals. He may have limited the types of foods he ate so much he is bored stiff with Atkins. I missed this program and if any of those who saw it know what his meal plans looked like, they would be better able to address this. He probably just misses all the high-carb stuff that made him so heavy in the first place.

Hi,

They posted a 1 week diet of his on msnbc dateline:

They also posted the diets of the others in this challenge
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3841501
if you want to see their meal plans.

Rick Burnes - Atkins Diet
Goal: 150 pounds
Lost: 108 pounds
Notes: When noting peanuts, there are usually a few ounces of pistachios or cashews. Also meal times are not typical because Rick works the night shift. He uses 'Ken's creamy Caesar' salad dressing, which has no carbs.
Day one
Breakfast: Atkins pancakes and coffee
Lunch: Salad with tuna, chicken and peanuts
Dinner: Three eggs with pepperoni, cheese and coffee

Day two
Breakfast: Atkins shake
Lunch: Three cheeseburgers with Atkins steak sauce
Dinner: Three 'Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers,' no ketchup, no buns

Day three
Breakfast: Four eggs with cheese and peanuts
Lunch: Steak
Dinner: Five cheeseburgers with lettuce and tomato

Day four
Breakfast: Coffee
Lunch: Approximately 20 chicken wings
Dinner: 'Wendy's Chicken BLT' with salad and a block of sharp cheese

Day five
Breakfast: Three eggs and cheese omelets with peanuts
Lunch: Approximately three pork chops with salad
Dinner: Two bacon cheeseburgers

Day six
Breakfast: Ham and cheese roll-ups with peanuts
Lunch: Atkins shake and five beers
Dinner: Two cheeseburgers, steak and salad

Day seven
Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch: Peanuts
Dinner: Chicken, sausage and broccoli (cookout)

If he ate like that the entire time, no wonder he was bored.

My personal favorite: Atkins shake and 5 beers.

I loved this program, I can't wait to see the follow up. Everyone experienced some level of success and it seemed pretty honest to me. The woman who did the heavy exercise was amazing, I can't even comprehend how difficult her training must have been with 7 kids to tend.

I am bummed out that I didn't get to see the show. Sounds like it was a pretty good take on the diets. Also shows you realy do lose weight on this WOE.

I wish I would have seen this. It would have given DH a little more faith in it. Although the fact that he has lost 5 lbs in 4 days is proof enough.

I agree, his menu is awful, pretty much all he ate was hamburger! That would get pretty boring after awhile. The sad thing is is that non-LC'rs are going to read that menu and say that there is no way that they could ever do Atkins or any other LC WOE. Not to mention, I doubt he even added any carbs into his diet, just stayed in Induction.

Wee

No Wee, I think after he copped to the fact that he hadn't disclosed a previous history of gout, someone from the Atkins center saw the footage and set him straight. At one point, Atkins Inc. was sending him frozen meals and snacks. I think he went a bit easier on the hamburger after that.

the dateline atkins dieter
 

I heard differently....i heard the ATKINS dieter say, "i'm going to take TWO DAYS OFF THE DIET and eat whatever i want..................he didnt say forever

AARGH..Why do they report like this!
 

I see two major problems with that program the more I think about it. FIrst of all, they did not show him eating many if any vegetables, and that slice of tomato and the leaf of lettuce on those cheeseburgers won't count. Secondly, my god, if anyone read that menu..what opinions would they form. Why can't TV do a show on people who are using an LC way of life, and trying to do with healthfully, with variety, tracking foods, not relying on fast foods! Perhaps we should all deluge Dateline NBC with this demand, as this portrayal was not a true indicator of a properly done LC way of life! I was a Wendy's addict...haven't been there in four weeks! :read2: RRRRRRRRR!

After seeing the show I tried the hamburger throw the bun away thing.

In my opinion, it might be okay for a rush lunch with no other option but I'd rather walk 10 blocks and get a BLT salad from Wendy's.

A good friend of mine stuck to Atkins and was quite successful with losing 25 lbs. She maintained through the holidays and is now finishing the last 10 lb push. I know she went out to eat a few times but simply chose well, turned down the breads and potatoes and ate just as well as the rest of us.