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Well the Atkins threads around that time made me give it (the diet) a second look. I normally shy away from any of these "diets" that fill our bookstores and supermarket tabloids.

Understandable, but I'm glad you gave it that second look.

Still, I have issues with the Atkins diet. I believe it is not balanced enough and too extreme with its anti-carb agenda.

Well, let's see - I eat meat (beef, lamb, chicken, fish, etc.). I eat fresh non-starchy vegetables. I eat nuts. I occasionally eat some berries (especially during strawberry season). I drink lots of water. How unbalanced is that?

The truth is - low carb varies from about 20 grams a day to 100. If you eat 100 grams of carbs a day, that's 400 calories' worth - which is plenty. There's nothing unbalanced about it.

Now I have just a banana for breakfast and a tin of sardines (or small bag of peanuts) for lunch on most days and I am not even hungry. In fact, I have to sometimes force myself to have that banana in the morning because I know I need to put something in my system after doing my 5AM walk.

A banana is too carby for me, but it's doable on a 100-gram plan. Also, if you're doing some intensive exercise, that's the time to eat your carbs, as your body will use them for energy instead of converting them to fat.

I don't bother counting calories but I estimate I do not go very much over 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day (including the beer and coffee I drink) since starting the "modified" Atkins plan (along with the walking program).

If you want to see how many calories you're eating - and how they're broken down into macronutrients, there's a great website for that: http://www.fitday.com. It's absolutely free.

Maven