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American Morning
Interview With Dr. Robert Atkins
Aired January 28, 2003 - 07:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: High fat, high protein, low carbs. They are staples of the Atkins Diet. It's been around for decades and may be more popular now than ever, and also as controversial as ever. The man who devised it, Dr. Robert Atkins, is out with a new book. He says it shows how to keep the weight off permanently. It is called "Atkins for Life." And Dr. Atkins joins us now.
Good to see you.
DR. ROBERT ATKINS, "ATKINS FOR LIFE": Thank you, thank you, Paula.
ZAHN: So, do you feel at all vindicated? For years, people were coming after you and saying it doesn't work...
ATKINS: I know they said that.
ZAHN: ... and there is no science to prove that it did work.
ATKINS: And meanwhile, I had read about it in the medical journals. That's why I went on a diet. So, there was plenty of science to prove it all along. They just didn't want to admit it, because they had been saying, go on a low-fat diet, go on a low-fat diet. And people were doing that, eating a lot of carbohydrates, and actually that's what caused the epidemics of obesity and diabetes as well.
ZAHN: But it is still not certain, is it, scientifically that this works?
ATKINS: Well, now that depends. We've done an awful lot of studies now. Now, there are about six or seven studies that have been done that show that our diet works. We have to carry them out longer, and people are doing that, people are doing a two-and-a-half year study. They've done about a year so far. But I already know, because I'm a practicing physician, so I've treated about 30,000 people on my diet over the years. And I see that each year, they do better and better. So, that's what people are going to find out.
ZAHN: For folks who aren't so familiar with the tenants of the diet, we're going to put up, according to your book, what does work, and that includes high fiber meals, vitamins and minerals, appropriate amounts of protein, good fats. Your plan also has no sugar, no white flour, no trans fats.
ATKINS: Right. What we believe in, and "Atkins for Life" is a different story. Now, we're talking about people who have already lost the weight or don't have very much weight to lose. And the important thing is to stay on an eating pattern forever and stay healthy forever. So, that means we're looking for the healthiest carbohydrates, the healthiest fats, the healthiest proteins, and we want to make it delicious so that people don't even want to eat anything different. And that's easy to do.
ZAHN: And then, there is a big difference between, on your diet, broccoli, as I noticed last night...
ATKINS: Yes.
ZAHN: ... and beets. One has a lot more sugar.
ATKINS: Right, beets have more sugar.
ZAHN: One vegetable is better than the other.
ATKINS: Oh, yes, green is better than red when it comes to vegetables.
ZAHN: Corn is no good. You say it has a lot of sugar in it.
ATKINS: Corn is a little bit too much.
ZAHN: Carrots.
ATKINS: Those are the ones that aren't quite as good as the green ones.
ZAHN: We're going to read now an e-mail that came in from Jim, and I don't have the benefit of having it on me, so I have to read it off the screen. "For a person with high cholesterol, should you avoid foods with high dietary cholesterol while on the diet? Should someone on this diet avoid saturated fats?"
ATKINS: Well, all right, it's very important that on the diet, you don't have to avoid saturated fats. All of the studies showing that fats were bad for you were done with a lot of carbohydrate as well. Now, that's not what I'm recommending. I'm recommending that if you restrict your carbohydrates or keep it down low, then fat will take a different metabolic pathway. It will be providing energy, whereas the other way, it's just in storage and provides heart disease problems like triglycerides.
ZAHN: So, what are the good fats?
ATKINS: Well, the good fats are to stay away from the trans fats and some of these vegetable fats turn out to be bad.
ZAHN: Got another e-mail question for you now. "My sister felt a little faint and nauseous the first week on the induction diet. Is this normal for some people? And if so, why?" That comes from Elizabeth in Salem, Connecticut.
ATKINS: Well, that really becomes in what previous diet was, and it's just perhaps she's not accustomed to eating some of these things. But the average person eats -- these are main courses -- fish and fowl and meat and eggs and cheese serve as nice main courses. Salads serve as the first carbohydrate, and then there are green vegetables as well. And it shouldn't be a problem, but if people aren't accustomed to eating that way, it may take a while before they learn it.
ZAHN: Yes, once you give up the donuts and all of that other stuff and try to clean out the system, sometimes it doesn't feel so good the first week.
"I started your diet" -- this comes from another viewer -- "about three weeks ago, and have lost about 15 pounds so far, but plateaued now and I am stuck. I've changed my workout cycle, added multivitamins, and further reduced what I'm eating. Can you give me any hints as to what I should do next?" That comes from Dale.
ATKINS: Well, when you lose 15 pounds in three weeks, you're ahead of schedule. So, what happens, though, is you will lose some water the first week or two, and the third week, fourth week, you restore that water. And so, you get a rapid weight loss, and then it levels off, but then you start losing again. We're only geared to lose about a pound-and-a-half or two a week, because we're not interested in rapid weight loss as much as we are interested in changing your lifestyle to a situation where this is what you want to eat for the rest of your life.
ZAHN: What do you say to some critics of the plan out there who feel that this is very hard on your kidneys?
ATKINS: I would say, is there a single study? Was there a single case that ever showed it? And the fact of the matter is, there has never been a case. These people want to invent things. They invent misinformation.
ZAHN: So, do you stay on this diet? And if not, what do you eat when you're very naughty?
ATKINS: Well, I'm never very naughty, but I will taste different things, and I've been on the diet for close to 40 years now.
ZAHN: Consistently?
ATKINS: I don't think I've ever gone over 100 grams of carbohydrate in any one day, but sometimes I've had -- I've gone that high, but I don't do that very often.
ZAHN: And finally, once again, calories are not as important in this diet as in others. It's really the combination of foods that you're eating.
ATKINS: Well, calories are important, but you don't have to restrict them. See, that I think is a big mistake is to tell people to restrict calories. Now, they lose the weight, they feel fine, but then they get to their goal weight and they've still got 60 more years to live. And are they going to go hungry for all 60 years? I would think very few people do that. But with our lifestyle, "Atkins for Life," you're never hungry, and that's the whole point, and that's... ZAHN: With your lifestyle, you're on a diet your whole life. Forty years on a diet.
ATKINS: And I bet you I enjoy eating more than anybody that goes to the same restaurants I do.
ZAHN: Well, Jack Cafferty can vouch for the fact that I'm a big protein girl, and I started my day off with a burger this morning and tomatoes.
ATKINS: Thank you very much, Paula.
ZAHN: And I did throw away the white bread that came on top of it. Thank you very much.
ATKINS: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 28, 2003 - 07:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: High fat, high protein, low carbs. They are staples of the Atkins Diet. It's been around for decades and may be more popular now than ever, and also as controversial as ever. The man who devised it, Dr. Robert Atkins, is out with a new book. He says it shows how to keep the weight off permanently. It is called "Atkins for Life." And Dr. Atkins joins us now.
Good to see you.
DR. ROBERT ATKINS, "ATKINS FOR LIFE": Thank you, thank you, Paula.
ZAHN: So, do you feel at all vindicated? For years, people were coming after you and saying it doesn't work...
ATKINS: I know they said that.
ZAHN: ... and there is no science to prove that it did work.
ATKINS: And meanwhile, I had read about it in the medical journals. That's why I went on a diet. So, there was plenty of science to prove it all along. They just didn't want to admit it, because they had been saying, go on a low-fat diet, go on a low-fat diet. And people were doing that, eating a lot of carbohydrates, and actually that's what caused the epidemics of obesity and diabetes as well.
ZAHN: But it is still not certain, is it, scientifically that this works?
ATKINS: Well, now that depends. We've done an awful lot of studies now. Now, there are about six or seven studies that have been done that show that our diet works. We have to carry them out longer, and people are doing that, people are doing a two-and-a-half year study. They've done about a year so far. But I already know, because I'm a practicing physician, so I've treated about 30,000 people on my diet over the years. And I see that each year, they do better and better. So, that's what people are going to find out.
ZAHN: For folks who aren't so familiar with the tenants of the diet, we're going to put up, according to your book, what does work, and that includes high fiber meals, vitamins and minerals, appropriate amounts of protein, good fats. Your plan also has no sugar, no white flour, no trans fats.
ATKINS: Right. What we believe in, and "Atkins for Life" is a different story. Now, we're talking about people who have already lost the weight or don't have very much weight to lose. And the important thing is to stay on an eating pattern forever and stay healthy forever. So, that means we're looking for the healthiest carbohydrates, the healthiest fats, the healthiest proteins, and we want to make it delicious so that people don't even want to eat anything different. And that's easy to do.
ZAHN: And then, there is a big difference between, on your diet, broccoli, as I noticed last night...
ATKINS: Yes.
ZAHN: ... and beets. One has a lot more sugar.
ATKINS: Right, beets have more sugar.
ZAHN: One vegetable is better than the other.
ATKINS: Oh, yes, green is better than red when it comes to vegetables.
ZAHN: Corn is no good. You say it has a lot of sugar in it.
ATKINS: Corn is a little bit too much.
ZAHN: Carrots.
ATKINS: Those are the ones that aren't quite as good as the green ones.
ZAHN: We're going to read now an e-mail that came in from Jim, and I don't have the benefit of having it on me, so I have to read it off the screen. "For a person with high cholesterol, should you avoid foods with high dietary cholesterol while on the diet? Should someone on this diet avoid saturated fats?"
ATKINS: Well, all right, it's very important that on the diet, you don't have to avoid saturated fats. All of the studies showing that fats were bad for you were done with a lot of carbohydrate as well. Now, that's not what I'm recommending. I'm recommending that if you restrict your carbohydrates or keep it down low, then fat will take a different metabolic pathway. It will be providing energy, whereas the other way, it's just in storage and provides heart disease problems like triglycerides.
ZAHN: So, what are the good fats?
ATKINS: Well, the good fats are to stay away from the trans fats and some of these vegetable fats turn out to be bad.
ZAHN: Got another e-mail question for you now. "My sister felt a little faint and nauseous the first week on the induction diet. Is this normal for some people? And if so, why?" That comes from Elizabeth in Salem, Connecticut.
ATKINS: Well, that really becomes in what previous diet was, and it's just perhaps she's not accustomed to eating some of these things. But the average person eats -- these are main courses -- fish and fowl and meat and eggs and cheese serve as nice main courses. Salads serve as the first carbohydrate, and then there are green vegetables as well. And it shouldn't be a problem, but if people aren't accustomed to eating that way, it may take a while before they learn it.
ZAHN: Yes, once you give up the donuts and all of that other stuff and try to clean out the system, sometimes it doesn't feel so good the first week.
"I started your diet" -- this comes from another viewer -- "about three weeks ago, and have lost about 15 pounds so far, but plateaued now and I am stuck. I've changed my workout cycle, added multivitamins, and further reduced what I'm eating. Can you give me any hints as to what I should do next?" That comes from Dale.
ATKINS: Well, when you lose 15 pounds in three weeks, you're ahead of schedule. So, what happens, though, is you will lose some water the first week or two, and the third week, fourth week, you restore that water. And so, you get a rapid weight loss, and then it levels off, but then you start losing again. We're only geared to lose about a pound-and-a-half or two a week, because we're not interested in rapid weight loss as much as we are interested in changing your lifestyle to a situation where this is what you want to eat for the rest of your life.
ZAHN: What do you say to some critics of the plan out there who feel that this is very hard on your kidneys?
ATKINS: I would say, is there a single study? Was there a single case that ever showed it? And the fact of the matter is, there has never been a case. These people want to invent things. They invent misinformation.
ZAHN: So, do you stay on this diet? And if not, what do you eat when you're very naughty?
ATKINS: Well, I'm never very naughty, but I will taste different things, and I've been on the diet for close to 40 years now.
ZAHN: Consistently?
ATKINS: I don't think I've ever gone over 100 grams of carbohydrate in any one day, but sometimes I've had -- I've gone that high, but I don't do that very often.
ZAHN: And finally, once again, calories are not as important in this diet as in others. It's really the combination of foods that you're eating.
ATKINS: Well, calories are important, but you don't have to restrict them. See, that I think is a big mistake is to tell people to restrict calories. Now, they lose the weight, they feel fine, but then they get to their goal weight and they've still got 60 more years to live. And are they going to go hungry for all 60 years? I would think very few people do that. But with our lifestyle, "Atkins for Life," you're never hungry, and that's the whole point, and that's... ZAHN: With your lifestyle, you're on a diet your whole life. Forty years on a diet.
ATKINS: And I bet you I enjoy eating more than anybody that goes to the same restaurants I do.
ZAHN: Well, Jack Cafferty can vouch for the fact that I'm a big protein girl, and I started my day off with a burger this morning and tomatoes.
ATKINS: Thank you very much, Paula.
ZAHN: And I did throw away the white bread that came on top of it. Thank you very much.
ATKINS: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
