Can someone please tell me where Dr A has advised people to go on a 'reversal' to kick start weight loss?
I have read DANDR several times and have found nothing that advises people to break themselves out of ketosis to kick start weight loss. I found the opposite where he said doing this will damage your ability to successfully lose.
With all the advice to folks floating around, this is a serious one to put out there. Compulsive eaters do not need to be advised to go on a binge. I would love to see something in print from Dr A that says this is a good idea. All I have seen is his cautions not to do so.

he doesn't recommend a "binge". He says to try a LOW FAT diet for a few days. He stresses the low fat. I believe it was his book, but I remember reading statistics that an extremely low fat diet is good for heart problems and stuff, but that most people cannot stick with it for long. I don't have the old book anymore, I had lent it to my mom. (Therefore, I ended up buying the new one, since she loaned it to her sister, who loaned it to her friend....etc).

It was in the old Atkins book? How long did he say to go low fat for? How does this mesh with the concept of the fat fast?
Isnt the point of this plan to eat fat no carbs and your heart gets healthier?
Did he really contradict himself that way?

as he has always said you eat the fat with LOW carbohydrates. So, to me, he IS being consistant by saying if you're going to do a REVERSAL diet, ie high carbohydrate, it should be LOW FAT.

my impression was, however long you wanted. As long as you were consistent with which one you were on.

Either
high carbohydrate/Low fat or
low carbohydrate/high fat

but NOT
High carbohydrate/High fat

It's on page 288 of the 1992 paperback edition.

Here's the caveat:

"On the other hand, those of you who cleared up a variety of symptoms on the Atkins Diet may have to think twice before embarking on the reversal diet, because it's highly probable that all (or most of) your symptoms will return on the introduction of high carbohydrate items."

And in the section right before it, When Bending Becomes Breaking, he says:

"This important question has several answers. In one answer, I ask you to consider the plight of the recovering alcoholic.. Most of us realize that when an addiction such as alcoholism is the problem, it is far, far better that never really be never. So, if your proposed carbohydrate deviation involves something you're addicted to, I sadly must give you that never never advice. But most of us feel deep down that when we enjoy a lifetime of food, we're doing it for the sake of pleasure and not out of addiction. So I guess I must allow you to try it and find out."

The bottom line is: know thyself.

As in everything Atkins puts forth, it's how the reader chooses to hear and interpret it. I call it the lettuce effect. Many people on Atkins eat lettuce twice a day, when there's a whole list of interesting vegetables to choose from.

Karen

for posting Karen. I shouldn't have said anything since I didn't have the book anymore.

Just to note ... Dr Atkins' discussion about the reversal diet is specifically about dealing with cravings and temptations in our lifetime of low-carb eating in the Real World. Nowhere does he suggest using this as a way to kick-start weightloss during OWL.

On page 281 (DANDR, 1992/99 edition) he states:Strategy 1. is self-explanatory. He suggests indulging the craving with something rich and fatty, such as macadamias or an avocado. He also suggests finding low-carb substitutes for the food passion.

Strategy 2. he suggests having a one- or two-day a week PLANNED increase in carbs, which can incorporate the craved food. But otherwise keep the rest of the week "clean".

Strategy 3. is where the reversal diet comes in ... Breaking With Intent. He suggests that if you are absolutely determined to have a forbidden food, then do so in a controlled, planned manner, not a wild out-of-control binge. But as others have noted previously in this thread, reversal means exactly that. You do a complete reversal from low-carb and high-fat. You will do it as high-carb and LOW-fat. Have a few all-pasta days, but low-fat marinara sauces only, no olive oil or cheese. Or some all fruit days. He even suggests you could try a stretch of {gasp } Ornish's diet!!

Karen highlighted the potential hazards of attempting this route.

~~~~~~

FWIW, Rachel (r.mines) did a carefully planned Reversal Diet in an attempt to jumpstart weight loss .. She planned her menus in advance, and was vey meticulous about fat, fiber etc. She experienced uncomfortable cravings, and the end result was very disappointing. You can check her journal for details, starting here.


hth,

Doreen

I only have the NEW Edition of DANDR-not the 92/99 edition-that is why I have no clue about this - it is interesting that he edited it [the concept of any low fat high carb break or reversal] out dont you think?
Wonder if we could find out why it was removed from his most recent edition.

Thanks for clearing it up and like any warnings it is good to make it clear. For those of us who are craving a carb binge, we often read over the warnings and see what we want to see, which is that there would be a sudden decrease in weight if we just ate some carbs for a few days, but watched our fat intake so we think we are still dieting. Recipe for disasters.

Fairchild - thanks for starting such a good thread. You make an excellent and very important point about seeing what we want to see and the potential dangers it entails. If you're going to do something, just be honest with yourself about what you're doing, don't kid yourself about the harm you may be causing. It's so very tempting to relax your vigilance just a little, but it can lead to a big slide.

on my personal experience, i wished that i did not embark on the 'reversal diet'...coz i went haywire on that and had a huge hiatus and fell off the wagon......it took more than a year to straighten out my thoughts on returning to the wagon...

i'll rather up my carbs slightly more.......

before atkins i was on low fat,
then i went to atkins.....i lost about 10 lbs in induction but then my parents made me stop.
I went back on low fat for a week and then went immediatly back to atkins......i lost more than ever and i was so happy!
maybe our bodies just need a little break if you want it to be effective.
good luck!

Hi,

As Karen stated, on page 288 of the 1992 edition of Dr. A's book he discusses going on a reversal diet. If you continue on to page 289 he has the following to say.

The following is is taken from the bottom of page 288 and continues on to page 289.

"Suppose you develop a longing for a specific food category such as fruit or pasta? You may want to go on an all-fruit diet for three or four days, or an all-pasta diet. This radical departure from what you've been doing so successfully for quite a stretch may seen counterproductive, but is serves a few purposes. it allows you not to have to say to yourself, "I can never eat my favorite food again," and it acts as a metabolic reversal technique, which can sometimes jump-start the low carbohydrate diet, if it has show any signs of slowing down. Let me explain.

After many months on a diet which works by virtue of forcing the body to take inefficient metabolic pathways, and thus dissipating hundres of calories as heat (which presumabily is what happens on a strict low-carbohydrate diet), the body may begin to adapt by becoming more efficient, thereby slowing the rate of weight loss. Don't panic as you read this--this adaptation to the lipolytic pathway has never been scientifically demonstrated. Most of you will be able to reach your goal weight and stay there without ever noticing the adaption phenomenon. But some of you will get the sense that the rate of weight loss has slowed inordinately. You should consider a period of time on a reversal diet. "

Than he goes on to warn that symptoms cleared up by the low-carb. diet may return.

I can't even venture to guess as to why this was taken out of new editions of his books.

I was in SE Asia for a few weeks and went on a low fat/high carbohydrate diet and it worked fine for me. When I returned to the US I went back on Atkins (Induction) for 2 weeks without problems. As far as jump-starting weight loss, I can't honestly answer that. I have not stepped on a scale in quite a long time, but my jeans are fitting more baggy in the waist and hips. Guess this could be a YMMV thing.

Hope I was able to answer your question a little.

in his updated version of his book he suggests a FAT FAST to break platues but if your metabolic resistance is low not to do it because its dangerous for them.
its on page 272 of his updated book.

Atkins prescribes the fat fast when metabolic resistance is high."...I realized that a small but intensely suffereing segment of my readers would need to know how to overcome metabolic resistance."

The preceeding part of the chapter goes into detail about other causes of what metabolic resistance and what can be done to overcome them. He does not suggest it for breaking plateaus, which is not to say that people don't use it for such.

Karen