How risky is the Atkins diet? And how do you go about doing it safely?

It does work, and it's generally regarded as safe. However, the best diet in the world is the one you can stick to for life. Can you really see yourself never eating most fruits, having a glass of milk, or a piece of cake or a brownie ever again? Plus, in order to get your "sweet fix", you may rely on artificial sweeteners (I know I did!) like Splenda, sugar-free Jello, diet sodas, etc. and those are much worse for you than sugar. Do some research on various diet programs (South Beach, Weight Watchers) and beware of programs that make you buy their food (NutriSystem, Jenny Craig) because they are VERY expensive, and they don't teach you how to eat correctly. My favorite resource is Sparkpeople.com - it's FREE and you track every nutrient, not just carbs like Atkins, and not just calories/fat/fiber like Weight Watchers. Best of luck to you! I lost 50# 3 years ago and it's the best thing I ever did.

I wouldn't suggest it. Essentially, what the Atkins does is have you eat TOO much protein and severely deprives you of carbs. I had a friend who went on it for a couple of months, and while yes, she did slim down quite a bit - she had a couple of different fainting spells and dizzyness obviously caused by the diet. Why don't you just try restricting calories? Or adopting a vegetarian lifestyle?

I tried it once, but there wasn't anything I could eat that I wanted to eat, so I tend to starve for a week and then give up on Atkins. I joined Weight Watchers in October and I have lost 45 pounds on their program because it doesn't make you cut out any food, and it teaches to eat better and exercise more so its not a diet its a lifestyle change that you can continue after the weight is off so that you don't gain it back.