That's wonderful that your cholesterol results have been so positive! :) I think just about any diet plan can have positive results, and you are absolutely correct in saying that we can find just about anything on the internet, on any topic, that would warn of possible dangers. LOL
When my girlfriend and I were talking about their low-carb diet plan she did agree that once again, like with all diets, it all comes down to self-control. She's controlling their diet through the low-carb plan and has to be ever diligent in staying on the diet. I think just about any diet plan can work for anyone who seriously wants to lose weight. I'm sure some are healthier than others but I'm not an expert on nutrition. I just take a commonsense approach and it works for me, but that's just me.
As for my friend, she lost almost 20 pounds when she first started the diet, but I haven't noticed anymore weight loss since then. As a matter of fact, I think she's put a few back on. But that doesn't mean the diet wasn't working anymore, it could be that she's not being as diligent as she was in the beginning. Her hubby hasn't shown any signs of weightloss, but he's a cheater. teehee
Yes, and the WORST thing about the low carb is that if you are a regular cheater you might as well try something else. I lost quite a bit of weight once on a low cal diet (at the time I was chasing 3 small boys around and was much younger, so I'm sure my metabolism was a bit faster than now. I don't remember what I used as my bmr but at any rate, I kept good record of what I ate every day (everything that went into my mouth) and whenever I had a deficit of 3600 kcals I would find I had lost a pound. My problem came when I started having trouble with my blood sugar (low, not diabetes). I discovered that if I ate less sugar and more fat (didn't really pay much attention to protein at the time) I felt better and my blood sugar stayed at a good level (ie, I didn't wake up at night sick and pass out on the way to the kitchen to get something into my stomach!)
This is what led me, eventually, to the low carb diet. I had known about Adkins for years, as my parents had been on it when I was in high school, and I did all the cooking. But, since I was in the fitness industry (and then went on to get a degree in Exercise Physiology) I was afraid of a low carb diet, as it was anathema to what I had been taught.
Finally, after gaining alot of weight, losing 50 lbs on another low cal diet (but this time feeling awful the entire time) and gaining all of it back over the next several years, I just decided to try Adkins again. I found my parent's old book and did it. I lost the weight not overnight, but steadily. I have certainly fallen off the wagon and even gained some back, but I have always been able to get back on and lose it again, albiet never as quickly as the first time.
Anyway, the point I wanted to make is that I think different people probably do better with different diets (I don't mean diets as in losing weight but diets as in what they eat that keeps them feeling good and being healthy). I'm sure there is sort of typical human diet, but I suspect that Eskimos and African Bushmen developed to deal with very different diets.
Anyway, sorry so long winded!
susie