First there was Subway, with there healthy "wrap" alternatives for Atkins dieters. Now, while watching MSNBC, I just saw a report that Burger King is set to announce their all new... are you ready for this? Lettuce Burger Wrap!!!! All the contents of a regular burger, wrapped around a big piece o' lettuce! Oh brother. I think the world has offically come to an end!
Everyone is jumping on the health craze...I think its good to have options, but if I'm going to eat healthy, I won't be eating at any fast food place...
I don't think it has gone too far. People are doing the Atkins diet like crazy so it's good to have options for those on diets and those who are not. I even enjoy some of the Atkins friendly items, the Subway wraps are pretty good.
The thing about Atkins, though, is that it's not necessarily a health craze, it's just a weight loss craze. Sure, it's been shown to have great weight loss results, but I, for one, would never go on it because I already have cholesterol issues. I think that diet would do me more harm than good. Not to say it wouldn't be good for people who don't have a problem with cholesterol.
Also, a lot of people I know who do Atkins do it because they can lose the weight with out having to exercise. Any healthy regimen would include some sort of exercise.
actually Atkins says that you should exercise everyday for optimum results. and contrary to popular belief...folowing Atkins will not raise your cholesterol. My wife had a cholesterol problem, and her recent results have shownthat her levels have gone down after being on Atkins. now, the question for drapg..why is this a bad thing? People that are on Atkins deserve to have low-carb alternatives to things they are used to eating...and considering that meat and cheese and veggies are all allowed under atkins...why not have something they can eat? btw...those Subway wraps are good...love them things! oh yea..I have lost over 30lbs on Atrkins...I have more energy..I feel consistently better at all times of the day...and my blood pressure is lowered....how is Atkins a bad thing?
I don't know. There's something about a greasy fast food chain cheeseburger wrapped around a leaf of lettuce that just yells "oxymoron" to me. But hey, maybe thats just me.
Fast food chains cashing in on diet trends is nothing new. During the 80's/early 90's, there was a big low fat/low cholesterol food craze. That's when the fast food joints started offering salads and lighter menu items like grilled chicken... You can bet that if everybody starts eating earthworms because they are found to lower cholesterol and help weight loss, McDonald's will have the all new McWorm Delux...
There weren't worms in those things already? I miss those early 90's days. (can you tell how old I am yet?) Actually, the Burger King baguettes are kind of like that. I miss the pitas at Wendy's - especially because, unlike a lot of fast-food salads, you could get them in a combo with fries. So the fries aren't good for you. However - 1) they taste good, 2) what else would take their place in a meal?, and 3) if you're going in there and everybody else is having fries, how are you going to feel? (By the way, not ordering fries and saying you'll just have a taste of someone else's is very poor form. You won't stop there. You'll eat more of their fries than they will. Get your own darn fries.) Anyway, maybe they're not healthy, but at least the sandwich is, and the overall meal is a decent compromise... by the way, how hard can you really exercise on the Atkins diet? I don't see too many serious athletes or competitors on it. I think you just wouldn't have enough fuel. I'd much rather just step up the exercise a notch than cut carbs severely for the rest of my life. But, to each his/her own...
but you see...thats the difference between most diets and Atkins. most diets are low-fat..low-calorie. Atkins doesnt work like that. the basis of atkins is that you lower your carbohydrates and allow your body to start burning fat for fuel. Therefore, eating things with fat in them is not necessaruily a bad thing. It helps make up for the lack of carbs that most people use for fuel. If anything...Atkins is a low-sugar diet. The basis for this is that the more sugar you get into your system..the more out of wack your blood sugar gets...which is what makes you hungry for more sugar/carbs...which in turn makes your blood sugar more out of wack. Im not saying that Im gonna go eat at BK every day...quite to the contrary...before Subway came out with the wraps...I hadnt eaten at a fast food place in ages..until I discovered low carb bread.. even then maybe once a week I will go to JITB and get a Ultimate Cheeseburger..strip off the bread and eat the meat and cheese on a slice or two of low carb bread. anyway...Im not saying this is for everyone....but so far I have experienced no ill effects from being on Atkins...and it has been effective...so I guess thats all that counts.
I do 50 minutes of cardio a day. and 30 minutes of strength training a day. plenty of water....plenty of protein and fats for fuel... no problems here...and Im losing weight and getting in better shape. next...
I think it's gone too far. Going on Atkins for awhile is fine, but why can't people just eat healthy? This fake healthy eating trend is annoying.
If they offer the Veggie burger in a lettuce wrap that would be too cool. Only 4g's of fat in that if you take off the Mayo. Add a Side salad and a Diet coke you got yourself... well kind of a meal. But if you're trying to diet this would be great.
What is fake about loosing weight and lowering cholesterol levels. Are you saying that a healthy diet needs to include sugar?
I agree. Just eat a healthy BALANCED diet and do some excercise. Not that complicated. In my experience, the faster you lose weight, the faster you gain it back and visa versa. Moe, the body needs carbs for energy.
Don't forget the KFC commercials promoting their weight loss system of fried chicken. Low carbs...healthy...yippee! It is all stupid, but that is the whole point. As long as it makes money.
If I'm not mistaken, and I'm sure that I'm not, the body uses stored fat as a source of energy as well. Carbs are fuels ready to be burned. If they are not burned, they are stored as fats. A common misconception about Atkins is that you cut out all carbs, where in actuality, you are just taking in carbs in moderation which is what the majority of anti-Atkiners are preaching anyway. For the first two weeks, you cut your carbs to under 20 grams per day in order to jump start your body into burning the fat cells for energy. Then you add 10 carbs per week until you stop losing weight and then try to hover around that carb intake. It's really not that hard once you get to your ideal weight, and all my blood readings became exceptional. The only thing hard about it is having a family that likes the "richer" foods.
Moe- THAT's what I mean by fake healthy eating. Carbs aren't going to be stored as fat if you actually exercise, and eat the right low GI and II carbs instead of processed and refined crap. Of course no one wants to get educated on this and just refer to their fad diets.
