Opinion: I eat my (low carb) words - thin people are more intelligent than fatties

Times Online (UK) ^ | January 2, 2004 | Stephen Pollard

[SamAdams76]

Nuts are dangerous. I have stalled on account of too many nuts. I find that one ounce per day of nuts is all that I can tolerate (weightlosing wise). I alternate my nut intake from almonds to pistachios to walnuts to macadamias. (Peanuts are actually legumes and I have about 2-3 ounces per week of those.)

[wireplay]

Keep in mind that Atkins did not pioneer this diet (it dates to the early 1800s) but a low carb routine works.

I will not give up my alcohol, my caffeine, my cigars, etc. but I can give up baked potatoes and bread w/o a problem. It is the low carb that is so important.

If you are seriously overweight, you may want to follow things strictly. I wasn't and haven't. It works like a charm just to be low-carb.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Is Splenda better for this diet physiologically, than aspartame? Splenda weirds me out - chlorinated sugar.

[cyborg]

I think part of the reason why caffeine is verboten is because it's a diuretic, not something you want on a protein diet. I drink a lot of water myself.

[Revolting cat!]

Skinny and dumb here!

[nycgal]

Coffee is banned?

Caffeine affects your insulin production and interferes with weight loss according to the Atkins book. I drink Trader Joe's Decaf French Roast and can't tell the difference. Try a good brand of decaf.

[SamAdams76]

Don't know. I personally find aspartame undesireable (aftertaste) and prefer Splenda becuase it tastes more like real sugar. I suspect that not having sugar or sugar substitutes at all is healthier but sugar substitutes are probably better then having sugar.

[wireplay]

I think they will be. We are a carb-rich, information age society. We mainly sit around computers, etc. doing little exercise and being tempted by carb-laden foods. The Brits are no different. I think that a protein-centric diet will be the wave for modern societies. The fast-food guys need to adapt and adapt quickly. NO ONE I have ever spoken to about an Atkins-like diet has regretted it.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>Sara Lee, is attempting to revive its fortunes with a low-carbohydrate brand — Delightful Bakery Breads

This is available in my area right now. It is by far the best low-carb bread I have tasted. 9 carbs a slice, 45 calories, and no transfats.

[cyborg]

I ate the best hamburgers when I was there, from Pret A Manger so they have a lot to work with. Plus the best cheese I ever had was in France (giggles).

[Mulder]

Some people just can't accept the fact that meat, eggs, cheese and nuts are actually good for your

So can you eat as much of that as you want, so long as you avoid other stuff?

[wireplay]

British food can be downright humbling with how good it can be...provided you find the right places.

They have a bad habit of deep-frying everything and putting whole fishes in aspic but there are also great food places.

Curry, fish and chips, bangers and mash (sorry, carb-laden), kidney pie, etc. - Great food! England will never abandon carbs...the pubs are too enticing. But I think they will cut down.

[SamAdams76]

"As much as you want" is subjective. I simply eat as much as it requires to not be hungry. I could certainly eat much more than I eat currently but once I am no longer hungry, I stop. I find that exercise suppresses my hunger pangs as well. It is easier to exercise under this kind of low-carb diet.

[cubreporter]

Some people rather be sloppy and ugly than slim and healthy.

Not all people who are not slim are sloppy and ugly and unhealthy. Be kinder than that would you?

[cyborg]

I go next door and get curry goat, chicken,fish,etc. and eat that with salad. I can run on that for a good five hours. When on Atkins it's easy to forget to eat lunch or dinner.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Some people just can't accept the fact that meat, eggs, cheese and nuts are actually good for your (as well as vegetables, berries, cheese

and did you mention, cheese?

[wireplay]

After you start, hard-core, you won't want to eat too much. You feel 'satisfied' most of the time. There are limits but, in my experience, you don't hit them much since you are basically 'full' a lot. When you start going into ketosis, the weight drops very rapidly.

I have seen people lose dramatic amounts of weight in a month. Within a couple of months, people are astonished.

[cyborg]

I wasn't referring to the whole world. I was referring to those people revel in their fat, their ugliness and their digsuting habits like Michael Moore for instance. I know that not everyone who is fat is sloppy, and not all thin people are nice.

But I'll try to be nicer :-)

[cubreporter]

You got it. Exercise...walking, jogging, aerobics, weights...without it you just cannot eat anything you want. With it you can eat what you like in moderation but...exercise is the key.

[wireplay]

I have actually gotten to the point where I cook well enough to be very choosy in where I eat out. I cook my own curry (green and yellow) and do pretty good. Since I did my kitchen remodel, not very keen on eating other's cooking unless it is pretty upscale.

I just enjoy slinging my own food...and I can make it as carb laden, or not, as I want to.