The frenzy about it is obnoxious, though. The extremists - who worship butter and saturated fat in many forms and claim "it works for them" scare me.

Give me my fruit, lean meat, and my whole grains, and I'll show you long-term "works." On the same token, don't take away my almonds and good oils, either.

The one study, and I stress ONE STUDY, does not prove that in the long term this is the best way to go. It may prove it a viable option if weight loss is your only goal, though.

I still have to smile when the most vigorous defenders of Atkins and its ilk are those who lost the weight ("it worked for me!") and then put it on again and are deciding to go back "on the diet."

hln

There's been more than one study, hln. There have been several published in the past year alone. They all show the same thing: the diet is very effective.

The Atkins people get pilloried constantly and told that what they're doing is dangerous, unhealthy, and doesn't work. Sorry, but I've known people who lost, and kept off, over 100 pounds on it. It freaking works.

I also can't tell you how many people I've met who try to follow YOUR plan and wind up not able to keep the weight off either.

I find the hysteria against the Atkins approach much more prevalent than the other way around, and I think it makes Atkins dieters much more defensive than they need to be.

But hey. I ran a mailing list for people who used low-carb diets for a long while. We had physicians, biologists, physical trainers, dieticians, and other pretty damned smart people on that list. We knew damn well the diet worked because we watched it happen. We saw cholesterol going down, diabetes getting under control, blood pressure getting better, weight being lost.

We also saw people who found the diet too difficult to stick to, and others who found that it disagreed with them physically.

Fact of the matter is that this is an area that's under-studied, and anyone who thinks he "knows" what the ideal diet is is talking through his hat. The research on human diet is at least 100 years behind other fields in terms of advancement. We just don't know as much as we think we do.

By the way, I wrote an article on this you might like (or not): The World's Biggest Fad Diet. I got a lot of compliments on it, many from physicians and dieticians.

It is incredible to watch, Dean, you're right. The Diet Wars - everyone has so much invested in being correct! All I know is is that I've been eating low-carb for a couple months now - it is easy to maintain - I lose weight - I'm not feeling deprived or insane or lightheaded - It's awesome.

I'll take a look at your article this evening and probably respond to you via e-mail.

I don't follow anyone's plan, actually. Mine's medium fat, medium carb, and a BOATLOAD of exercise. Provides a lot of balance, and most carbs are complex (fruits, non-nutrition stripped cereals (Kashi)), completely whole what pasta, etc. I have to watch for pure nutrition more than weight because of prior health problems.

But, I'm trying to imagine cycling weekends of 95 miles or more on a low-carb diet. Y'know...that whole glycogen thing.

The one study I mentioned was actually the one that discounts the idea that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. I should've spent a bit more time on my response, but it was kinda off the cuff while taking a break from work (like...now).

Also, you see a lot of Atkins advertising for the "healthy Atkins," which, while being carb restrictive, does promote fruits and vegetables and frowns on the idea of unlimited saturated fat and the like. That, to me, sounds all right. It's very close to a bodybuilding diet if done properly. It's the two-week starting period, the induction phase, that I take the most umbrage with, if you have to nail me down to a single point.

Thanks for responding.

hln

I think the induction phase is as much psychological as anything.

1) Carb withdrawal can be painful for an addict. It helps to know that the agony will last only a couple weeks. ;) Actually, it lasts much less time than that. In any case you know you'll really only need your strongest willpower for a couple weeks, which most people can handle.

2) It provides a very definite break from your previous eating habits. Trying to change your bad habits one at a time is rarely as effective as making a big change all at once, if you can find a way to do it, and Atkins does.

I cringe at the word "addict." Going to read the article now.

hln

I spent a couple of years studying human diet, and there's only one universal constant I've found:

Everyone who thinks they have the one true approach to healthy diet (and/or "lifestyle") is probably wrong.

I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that while a wide range of diets work moderately well for anyone, the optimal diet for any given person is reasonably specific, and can vary substantially from person to person. I've got no specific expertise on the issue, but this seems logical and intuitive to me.

I am really amazed that we can eat great food like cereal,cakes,muffins,chips and still stayon low carb. All these food come low carb now.
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