The Atkins Diet

I'm on it. This is being written on May 6, 2003.

I went on the diet two months ago. I weighed somewhere between a wishful 192 and a more realistic 196, but maybe 198. I had diabetes.

I weigh 178 to 180 at the moment and according to the tests done recently, it appears that I do not have diabetes. My fasting sugar was 114 and my A1C was 5.1 (7.0 is the borderline).

So how does it work?

You burn off the fat instead of storing. Simple. But how? It's like this. Low-fat diets make you fat. The body needs fats (and proteins). It can take or leave carbohydrates, though if they are there it has to use them first. If all you have is carbs (and maybe protein) the body is in a fat-panic mode. "No fats? Egad!! I guess I'll have to make them myself." It's easy, making fats from carbs -- cows do that all the time. (Surely you didn't think those lard-ass critters were getting their fats from eating bacon!!)

Got that? If you're not taking in fats, your body will make them. And since it's in an emergency mode as far as fats are concerned, it will store them. So in order to get rid of the stored fats, you have to do two things: Maybe that sounds crazy, but it starts to make sense, especially if you do the diet and start losing lots of weight on a full stomach. Actually you won't often eat until you feel full -- you'll feel satisfied (and fats do that) and just quit eating when you're no longer hungry.

Carbohydrate addiction is responsible for an amazingly high proportion of the health problems of the USA.
And white sugar is a drug, and in my opinion the worst one. Tobaco (nicotine etc.) addiction is horrible, and possibly harder to kick than opiates, but not responsible for as many health problems as sugar.
some other links:
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com
http://www.dietaatkins.com (Spanish)
Feedback to ebear@zianet.com
My home page is http://www.zianet.com/ebear.