[redhead]

"There is nothing miraculous about the Atkins diet, but if you put people on a low-calorie diet, they lose weight, says Keith Ayoob, a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association. "It's the number of calories, not where they come from."

Atkins dieters (or anybody on a low-carb diet) eat MORE calories, not less. This signals to the body that it's ok to release stored fats, whereas the body can't tell the difference between a low-calorie diet and a famine, and tries to store as much energy as possible. If you are interested, may I suggest the book, LIFE WITHOUT BREAD by Christian B. Allan, Ph.D. and Wolfgang Lutz, MD? This interesting book focuses on the medical facts involved in low-carbohydrate eating and features no menus or recipes, merely graphs and research results. Most interesting.

[an amused spectator]

Great point. Why is it that the opposing side of the War on Fat absolutely insists on misrepresenting the Atkins people?

This is going to get nasty. When you start questioning people's religious beliefs (and lo-fat IS a religious belief), you got a smackdown on your hands.

[Desdemona]

Another trick is to try not to eat after 6pm. At first it's not easy, but...

About three weeks ago, now, after all the articles, I cut a lot of starch out of my diet, am eating more steak and bone-in chicken and, of course, religiously taking calcium (lactose intolerant), but no more than twice a day, and have dropped back down to a 10. I didn't have that far to go, though. That's all it took. And I'm not hungry between meals, either. I also switched to cage-free eggs. There's less cholesterol and more vitamin E.

That doesn't mean that occationally, I don't drug myself up and have a piece of cheesecake or St. Andre...some things you just can't totally give up.