The Atkins theory of weight loss went bankrupt last week as the company that manufactures the Atkins brand filed for Chapter 11 protection. The Atkins diet, in its last days, embraced a “balanced diet” of fruits and vegetables but the early hallmark of the diet mainly consisted of a high protein and low carb eating plan consisting of meats, eggs and cheeses and no starches.

I know a lot of people — mainly women — who swore by Atkins and I would always bet them they would not be on the diet in five years because it was unsustainable in the long term. They always bet me and six months later they had dropped Atkins. I have become rich betting against Atkins!

Here’s why Atkins doesn’t work:

1. High protein diets are dangerous. The body does not need much protein and by overwhelming your body with high levels of protein you are putting a great deal of pressure on your body to process (get rid of) protein it does not need.

2. Stressing the body with too much protein is one way that kind of diet would push the body to force it to work to process protein. That process would lead to burning calories.

Continue reading → Why Atkins went Bankrupt