I'm a runner, and I love forums (job not too taxing ), so I occasionally browse the Runner's World forum for training tips and nutritional info. As you can imagine, the folks there are very anti-low-carb, and Atkins is a touchy topic brought up only by the occasional trouble maker. So I decided to share my Atkins experience w/them, and here is a copy of my post:

Because low-carb diets are a hotly-debated topic on this forum, and because there are so many posts by people wondering why they're gaining when they should be losing, I wanted to share my experience…

I am a 24 yr. old female, 5'6", fit and healthy. Since my late teens my weight has remained stable at 123-125, which I have been satisfied with-not stick skinny, but toned and appropriate for my build. I have never had an eating disorder or "dieted" in my life, and I've always been active and involved in a variety of sports.

Last summer, I decided to join a running club and train for a marathon--LA 2003. The idea was that I would meet new people (I'd just recently moved to SoCal) and in doing so, get into the best shape of my life and accomplish something I've always wanted to do. So I started in September, gradually increasing my mileage each week. Along the way, I increased my carb intake in order to fuel up for long runs, though I didn't necessarily give this any deep thought--I just ate what I was told would give me the most energy, namely bread, rice, spaghetti, and so forth.

By December I started noticing that I was getting a little pudgy--I had some fat around the middle that definitely wasn't there before. I was so perplexed. Here I was running about 40 miles a week, and instead of losing weight, I was gaining FAT (along with muscle). And here's the thing-it's not that I think the carbs themselves made me fat, but for the first time in my life, I was experiencing intense food cravings and was starting to binge eat. I felt out of control. Instead of being happy with one brownie or one serving of ice cream as I would have been in the past, I had to have 3 or 4, and couldn't stop until I was sick to my stomach. Along with the bingeing came the psychological repercussions--a vicious cycle of craving, bingeing, self-hate and depression. This was all new to me, and I started feeling like I was losing my mind and losing control of my very person. By the time of the marathon in March, I was at 141 pounds, a never-before-seen number on the scale for me. Needless to say, the weight gain and bingeing detracted from my first marathon experience somewhat, and I was relieved when the marathon was over and I could get started losing the weight. I figured that my just cutting calories and continuing to work out hard, I would naturally shed the pounds. Not so. I tried this for a month or so, counting calories obsessively, to very little avail. After a week or two of deprivation, I would have a bingeing episode, and the cycle continued.

Though I have never considered myself a candidate for Atkins, seeing as I am not nor have I ever been obese, I browsed through a bunch of the articles on the website and then bought the book. It made sense to me--I had become addicted to carbohydrates (thus the bingeing) and apparently could no longer enjoy them in moderation. I was nervous about eating a high-fat diet initially, but decided to give it a try to see how my body would react. Well, for the first 3-5 days, I was so lethargic--I would come home from work and fall asleep on the couch immediately. After the 5th day or so though, my energy level returned to normal, and the first benefit of the low-carb lifestyle that I noticed was a decreased obsession with food and/or any desire to binge eat whatsoever. If I was hungry, fine--I would eat of the "allowed foods", but the constant preoccupation with food and eating was gone. I felt so even-keeled and sane. In the first two weeks, I lost about 8 pounds, and have been hovering around 130 since then. Obviously since I'm so close to my ideal weight, it will take a bit longer to lose those last few pounds, and I'm not in a big rush. The benefits of this way of eating outweigh my desire to "lose weight fast". Meanwhile I continue to run and lift weights regularly, and though I would increase my carb intake moderately if I was training for a competitive event, my diet is fine for my current level of exertion. I eat lots of chicken, fish, and eggs, some cheese and beef, and lots of veggies--and that's about it. I don't find that it impairs my ability to run and run fast, nor do I feel deprived at all. Best of all, I feel like I've taken my life back. Corny, but true.

I just wanted to share my experience on the off-chance that it might help someone else who is going through the same thing. There are so many old-fashioned nutrition dogmas regurgitated on this forum, and very little credence lent to less conventional methods--so I just wanted to speak up for the lowcarbers! Buying into the low-carb lifestyle doesn't mean I'm lazy or want a "quick fix", as has been implied by some here, and it certainly doesn't make me any less of a runner. I'm still one speedy chick!

SORRY SO LONG!!!!

I surf the RW forums myself as a new (one year) runner and have also noticed that you will get BLASTED for applauding the lo-carb lifestyle while running. Thanks for posting such a well written item - it sure struck home for me!!!

Thank you so much for posting your thoughtful essay here and on the runners' forum. That was my experience exactly. I was running five miles a day -- and gaining weight on a high-carb vegetarian diet! The binges were appalling. Worse still, I was developing knee pain from the extra weight ... I wish I had discovered the low-carb way of eating years ago. It would have saved me years of problems.

I believe the Kenyan's and Ethiopian runner's eat a low-carb diet. Guess who win's most marathon races these days?