I am on Atkins because of the 85 pound weight gain I had on two different anti-depressants. Yes, 85 pounds!!! I was being treated for severe irritable bowel syndrome. It worked, but the consequence was the weight gain. I stopped the medicine about two years ago and immediately dropped 20 pounds, but that was it. It killed my metabolism. My irritable bowel got bad after going off the medicine, but since starting Atkins, it is totally under control, not one flair-up. Atkins is truly a way of life for me, since it is the one true thing that has controlled my gastro problems with no side effects.