This NYT article (registration required) has some details on the new studies of Atkins vs. Low fat diets.
Their spin – Atkins dieters lose more weight, both groups gain it back.
The truth – The study participant gained back weight because the abandoned Atkins, and went back to eating a high carb diet. How is it surprising that they gain back the weight? What part of the Atkins book do people not understand? Go back to the carbs in pre diet levels and you get back the weight. Once you find the sensible level of carbs for you, you eat as diet that is not all mayonnaise and steaks…
Here’s the Times experts take on the “model” diet:
If you want to try a diet that many experts concerned about both weight and health now recommend, it should contain about 25 percent of calories from fats primarily from vegetable sources like olive, canola and nut oils, avocados, beans, nut butters, nuts and seeds, along with fish and lean red meats and poultry adding up to about 20 to 25 percent of calories from protein.
Rounding out this diet are whole grains and ample amounts of vegetables and fruits. On this less restrictive diet, the weight loss may be slower than with Atkins, but it is more likely to stick.
Sound surprisingly similar to the Atkins ongoing maintenance phase. It is amazing the hangups people get about the induction phase of Atkins. Having lost 40 pounds and kept it off for a year, I can tell you that it is the modified long term eating habits, and the choices you make about what you eat that keep the weight off. The “model” diet they talk about is right of the Atkins cookbooks and plan. He advocated vegetables and some fruits, and some whole grains. Jeez, keep bread, milk, and pasta out of your long term diet and you’ll be fine.
