Atkins for teens?

[Suezoled]

So there is 1 girl I know who is going to do Atkins. She is 16. She's got a body like a supermodel (long waist, long legs, graceful fingers, bouncy...ahem). Her diet used to consist of "Let's go to Stewarts!" (the 24 hour convencience mart). Now she's decided to do Atkins to improve her diet.

She tried to justify it this way:
1.) her mommy is a chemist
2.) her mommy explained to her that with a regular diet, with some protein and lots of carbs and sugar, your diet will look like a triangle and you're lacking protein. With the Atkins diet, adding protein will raise the triangle so it looks like a square, and is a well-balanced, SQUARE plan. (get it?)

I ventured that it would be eating twice as much, her old crap with the new Atkins. And if she meant she would be filtering out the old crap to make room for the Atkins, there would be no "square" and there would still be deficiencies. If she did the Atkins alone, she would be missing out again because even her mommy had said Atkins is not sufficient in itself, but meant to be a complentary to an already healthy lifestyle.

No one pays attention to me.

[Upchurch]

Well, I think you're right.

Sugar is a carb. That's why it's listed under Total Carbohydrates on the nutritional labels.

Anyway, it sounds like she could use more protein and cutting out sugar is always a good idea. I don't think the diet will hurt her as long as she either continues to eat either fruits and vegitables or at least takes supplements.

Actually, she probably really ought to get the advise of a nutritionist or her doctor. I'm not familiar enough with human physiology and development to know what a teen age girl needs at that stage in her life.

[tracer]

Originally posted by Upchurch
Actually, she probably really ought to get the advise of a nutritionist or her doctor.
Forget a "nutritionist." She should go to a real, honest-to-goodness registered dietitian. Anyone can hang out a shingle proclaiming themselves to be a "nutritionist," and the quackery in that field (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/spotquack.html) is pretty rampant.

[BTox]

Originally posted by Suezoled
She tried to justify it this way:
1.) her mommy is a chemist
2.) her mommy explained to her that with a regular diet, with some protein and lots of carbs and sugar, your diet will look like a triangle and you're lacking protein. With the Atkins diet, adding protein will raise the triangle so it looks like a square, and is a well-balanced, SQUARE plan. (get it?)

Her mommy doesn't sound like much of a chemist. Very few people in this country are lacking protein. The opposite is true, most eat too much. Tell her to look into the Mediterranean diet for a truly healthy, life-long nutritional plan.

[Prester John]

I really do not understand how the diet / nutriton industry makes its money. The principles of a good diet are well known. The principles of weight loss are elementary. Yet this industry makes millions selling books, diets, clubs, and new fangled bits of gym equipment that get used once.
!

[Upchurch]

Originally posted by tracer

Anyone can hang out a shingle proclaiming themselves to be a "nutritionist," and the quackery in that field (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/spotquack.html) is pretty rampant. I did not know. Thanks for the info.

[Peterson]

Is she looking to "improve her diet" or lose weight. She could be on her way to an eating disorder.

[Suezoled]

I dunno about this girl. I typically don't see her loading on the fruits and veggies; as I said, she'd rather grab something at the 24 hours mart. I don't think she has an eating disorder or is on her way. Her reason to go on Atkins was because she knew she couldn't keep eating cookies and ice cream for lunch every day.

And I don't know about her mommy. I told her mommy at one point I was going to join a Dihydrogen Monoxide Club. She said, "Carbon Monoxide club?"

oh boy...

[corplinx]

Why would anyone that doesn't have a weight problem use the atkins diet?

I used atkins once, its a pretty methodical diet. You start eating eating next to no carbs and up the intake until you find the right balance of carbs for your metabolism. I always had problems controlloing my weight and after I had figured the exact amount of carbs I can process without gaining weight, I now have a steady mass with not much fluctuation.

The misinformation I have see both pro and against atkins is amazing. I have heard pro atkins people talk about eating nothing but meat for a month (which is not the diet at all) and anti-atkins people who think its an all-meat diet.

Point is though, if a 16 year old wants to do the diet, I see no problem if they do it _correctly_. I am not sure most 16 year olds have the discipline though.

[Psi Baba]

For most teens, merely cutting sugar intake by 50% or 75% would do a world of good. There is probably no need to reduce carbs to zero or near zero, particularly if they're physically active.