If the science is valid, it's not a short-term solution. :) I can go anywhere in the world, into any restaurant, and still stay low-carb from the regular menu.
What things do you lose that carbs give you ? Atkins includes carbs, just not a lot of them. What do more carbs give you ? A short burst of energy (insulin spike) followed by hunger, empty stomach feelings, and the temptation to eat more than you would have otherwise because of the excess insulin.
I agree - many people think Atkins is not "work", but anything done that's contrary to your eating habits of years is work until you change your mindset. It's like recovering from tobacco addiction. Yes, we now have to work to get the exercise that our ancestors got just by living every day, but then, our ancestors were not especially thin either. Think the Victorians.
I think Atkins Anti-Aging diet book is my favorite. It's more a long-term, complete plan than the regular diet book.
Through all the lambasting, I love how so many people continue to tell me that my weight loss efforts are ineffectual despite results. I need to eat more fish? More meat? Less grains? ...If you say so!
Savage had a good point on his radio show yesterday: Look at all of the societies in this world that live the longest. Look at their diets and exercise habits. The Japanese eat a lot of rice and fish. The Italians eat a lot of whole grain pasta and seafood. The French eat a lot of fatty cheeses and the like, but none of the food in these societies is "enriched" or "fortified."
American foods are packed with sodium, enriched flour, fortified this, concentrate that, high fructose corn syrup, saccharine, polyphenols, and the list goes on.
When I shop, I shop by labels. I look at nutrition information, sodium content, sugars, TYPES of sugars (sucrose, fructose, etc), calories, and the like. Eating is not supposed to make you feel tired and sluggish. It's supposed to give you energy and feel like you're running on a full tank. I eat almonds, grapes, spinach, broccoli, melon, bananas and various meats throughout my days and weeks, and I consistently have energy and feel great.
Stop with the feel-good, Atkins makes you stronger and the like. If you want to do Atkins, that's cool. If you lose weight from it, that's great. But I'm telling you, as a former Weight Watcher, Jenny Craig-er, Atkins and South Beach dieter... the best thing I've found is not limiting myself to what I can eat ("That's on the no-no list"), but instead giving myself free reign of the menu and making sure that the ingredients are unadulterated, healthy and full of the energy my body needs to make it through the day.
Like I said, if you want to do Atkins, South Beach, the Michael Jackson Children's Vitamin diet, whatever... do it up! You won't hear a gripe from me. I know what works for me, I've seen my method work for the guys I played football and weight lifted with in college, and I think that common sense, healthy, natural eating is supposed to be not only easy and fun, but simple, not burdensome.
And additionally... I continue to stand by my stance that you have to actually get up off the couch. 30 minutes of exercise a day is all it takes to help your metabolism keep up. Sugars and carbohydrates produce glucose. Glucose is the PRIMARY medium for brain functionality. If you deprive yourself of complex carbohydrates, you effectively starve your body of what it needs to perform basic cognitive skills. When I was on Atkins, I was sluggish, despondent and unhappy. Exercise was either boring or laborious. Again, you do what works for you, but my experience has been that diversity lends itself to health. Take it FWIW.
/donFlameProofSuit