Stop

Posted on June 13, 2004

A little over three hours ago I posted a "Sunday Rant" because I woke up in a not-so-great mood. Since then I have gotten out of bed, done a half our of yoga and meditation, got cleaned up, went for a ride in the rain (of course it's raining... I washed my motorcycle yesterday!), stopped at the hardware store for some brackets to install some shelving, and now I am at work for a while. I fire up my Macintosh (it's not just a computer, it's a Mac!) so I can get started, and this is waiting for me in my in-box:

"I AM SICK OF YOU BADMOUTHING THE ATKINS DIET IN YOUR JOURNAL!!!! LOW CARB DIETS ARE SAVING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE FROM OBEESITY AND IF YOU HAD A WEIGHT PROBLEM YOU'D BE ON YOUR KNEES THANKING GOD FOR DR. ATKINS BECAUSE HIS DIET WORKS!!!!!!! THE REASON RESTAURANTS SELL LOW CARB FOODS IS BECAUSE PEOPLE KNOW IT'S THE BEST WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT!!!! IT'S BEEN PROVEN BY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE SO SHUTUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Now, normally, I'd hit the "delete" button before I was six words into the e-mail because I just don't care enough to read this crap. But I'm still in a bit of a bad mood so, what the heck. I am going to do something I never do and waste valuable web storage space by actually replying in my blog...

ONE. Do you realize what a complete moron you look like when you don't have the sense to turn off the caps-lock key? Though I must admit I am a bit surprised that you only had one misspelling in your e-mail, so I guess that's something. Most people who write screeching e-mails like this don't bother to even attempt spelling the words properly.

TWO. For the last time... This is my blog and I will say whatever I want in it. If you don't like what you find here, then please stop reading it!

THREE. The reason restaurants sell low-carb foods is not because it's the best way to lose weight, it's because people are buying it. If a new diet of cougar urine became a hot fad for weight loss, McDonalds would put "Cougar Urine McFrosties" on their menu simply because people would buy it... that's how they make their money.

FOUR. Yes, millions of people are losing weight on the Atkins Diet. But at what cost? The diet is so new that there have been no studies done to see what the long-term affects might be. A diet that's loaded with fatty foods like cheese and chemical-altered, steroid-filled foods like meat just can't be good for you in the long run. I love cheese, but being told to eat it instead of an apple so you can lose weight is insane.

FIVE. While it's true I am lucky enough not to have a weight problem, there is no way I would ever be "THANKING GOD FOR DR. ATKINS" if I did. I'd have to give up being a vegetarian since fruits and vegetables are loaded with carbs, and I wouldn't do that (they are the healthiest foods you can eat!). Millions of people may be losing weight on the Atkins Diet, but billions have found out the hard way that diets don't work! Diets are a temporary solution to a long-term problem that requires a lifestyle change, not a bogus "miracle cure."

Now, for anybody who might write me yet another moronic diatribe about being a hypocrite for passing judgment on a solution to a problem I don't have... don't waste the effort because I just don't care to hear it. I am not at all against people trying to lose weight, I just don't want to be faced with a ridiculous "low-carb" lifestyle everywhere I go because it's a popular fad. If there has to be a fad for weight loss, why can't it be one that is healthy and makes sense? Why can't we bring back the one person who had it all figured out...

Where is Susan Powter?

Yes, she's the same hyperactive woman with blonde spikey hair that had those annoying "STOP THE INSANITY" infomercials years ago. Yes, she's the same man-hating freak who holds the entire male gender responsible for everything wrong in the world. Yes, yes, and yes... she's a loon, I know. But if it were her book that were all the rage right now, I wouldn't have to be bombarded with "net carbs" and "Atkins-friendly" crap wherever I go. Instead it would be all "low fat" and "vegetarian-friendly" crap! Now, that's something I wouldn't mind seeing.

Comments

Ha Ha freaking Ha! Your "Cougar Urine McFrosties" made me spit my carb-loaded beer through my nose!
I, too am a vegetarian (for 28 years) and am not overweight, but many people I know are and buying into the "low carb" hype." Buying" being the operative word here. Thanks for the best laugh I have had all week.

Posted by Geezitron on July 01, 2004 | Reply

   

Hi! Just stumbled onto your website, and wanted to respond (no ranting, I swear!). I don't think I'll ever be able to drive by a MacDonald's again without thinking of Cougar Urine McFrosties... thank you for that!!!! ;-)

I am a 37-year-old overweight female. I am not a vegetarian, but have been low-carbing since December and have lost 50 pounds. I have 40 pounds more to lose. I just wanted to say, since I think there's a lot of misinformation out there, that I have never eaten so many vegetables and fruits in my life as I do now. My diet is now whole foods... on a daily basis, I eat strawberries, avocado, almonds, spinach, lettuce, squash, mushrooms, grapefruit, and tomatoes. What I do NOT eat is flour, sugar, potatoes, rice, or corn. Everyone's body is different, but the demonstrable fact is that mine cannot tolerate these foods without gaining or storing fat.

I am not doing strictly Atkins or any formal low-carb plan, but I have actually read the Atkins book, and I share the frustration many Atkins-followers feel of having this WOE (Way Of Eating -- most of us do NOT regard low-carbing as a diet, but as a life-long change) misrepresented in the media as being some kind of bacon, eggs, steak, and butter binge. I haven't eaten a single egg or piece of bacon since I started this WOE, and have no intention of ever doing so. Atkins does not advocate, as often represented by the media, unlimited eating. I eat between 1200 and 1800 calories a day. Atkins does not advocate, as often represented by the media, no exercise. I walk between 3 and 5 miles every day and weight-train 3 days a week. Atkins does not advocate, as often represented by the media, no fruit or vegetables, except in the first 2 weeks.

Atkins is a 4-stage eating plan that helps overweight people who are carb-sensitive (insulin-resistant) to determine exactly how many carbs their bodies can tolerate on a daily basis.... to lose weight while eating healthy carbs (low-glycemic fruits [no bananas or pineapple] and vegetables)... and finally to maintain a healthy weight by getting their carbs only from healthy sources. This doesn't seem crazy to me -- what's healthy about corn syrup, sugar, flour, and processed foods? These are the things Atkins forces you to give up -- not vegetables.

Anyway, sorry to bother you... I hope I have not sounded as if I were ranting, because that genuinely was not my intent. I just hate seeing tv story after tv story represent Atkins as a constipating, gorge-yourself-on-bacon-and-eggs, try-to-get-skinny-without-doing-any-work-at-the-expense-of-your-health "diet." People may be attempting to implement it that way, but that is NOT what Atkins advocates, and it is not true low-carbing.

Yes, I eat meat on Atkins -- but I am eating less meat than I ever have, more fruit and veggies, and my cholesterol numbers are staggeringly good. This is typical for people who follow Atkins correctly.

I do share your frustration and annoyance with the "fad" effects of low-carbing... specifically, with the huge amoung of "frankenfoods" being produced and aggressively marketed. Low-carbing can be done without ever buying a shake, bar, low-carb chip, or other processed food. Just whole foods... meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts. Worse, people who indulge in a lot of these frankenfoods do not lose weight... then they decide it was because "low-carbing" didn't work, not because they were eating barrel-fuls of low-carb (but not low-calorie) potato chips and not getting off the couch to exercise.

Never fear... the fad part will pass, as all things do.

Thanks for letting me comment. Have a great summer!

-Paula

Posted by Paula on July 09, 2004 | Reply

   

Add a Comment