Healthy Diet Pyramid vs Atkins Diet

Should have posted this some time ago, but here it is :)

http://www.hpb.gov.sg/foodforhealth/article.aspx?id=2638

It's a link to advice on using the healthy diet pyramid on the HPB website. I really hope I can be aware of this, as following such a simple tool will ensure a balanced diet and a healthier you! :D

This goes against the suggestions to follow if you were on the Atkins diet (see earlier post) There, protein makes the bulk of your diet followed by then fruits and veggies with almost zero carbohydrates. This is why I somewhat doubt that the diet is good for you. (Although I don't really doubt that it would work)

According to our home econs teacher Mrs Abbas, carbohydrates are the second-best stores of energy after fat. They make our body feel sated. (i.e. less hungry). If we were to take carbs away from our diet completely, imagine how much meat we would have to eat to replace it in order to feel full! Eating that much meat cannot be good for you. (I heard that a woman on the Atkins diet ate 5 pan-fried chicken breasts per day) poor thing, I don't think they taste very good.

101cookingfortwo.com

Also, hatchery fish are known to contain high levels of mercury and the Atkins diet strongly advise people to eat good fats and meat so people eat a lot of tuna and salmon etc and the mercury builds up... People can get mercury poisoning from eating too much sashimi, like raw salmon and tuna. Also, ever heard that eating too much red meat is not good for you? Must be the cholesterol...

The Atkins Diet

wellness-junction.com

The idea behind the diet is that by eating virtually no carbohydrates, your body would then switch to burning fat stores instead. (changing metabolism) That is why this is considered mainly a weight-loss diet. I don't think anyone can survive without carbs. I love carbs XD

So that is why I think that the Atkins diet, although not as restrictive as some others, is not a diet to adopt for your whole life. On the flipside, it's much better than other crazy diets like eating 5 apples a day... And also, I'm loving all those veggies. Fibre makes you feel full, but not exactly sated, like carbs make you feel. Anyway, this is a diet I would actually try if I wanted to lose weight.

What do you think? Comment please! :)