It's funny, but I got a completely different impression of Dr. McDougall from his videos. I watched several of them and he seemed rather irritable and angry, especially when he started talking about lowcarb or Dr. Atkins. I also noticed his breathing seems labored, in all of his videos that I saw on youtube. Maybe it's just the type of microphone he uses or something, but it's very noticeable and distracting. He is one who does not seem healthy to me.

I showed the video to my husband and he had the same reaction. Actually, what he said was "Omigod, what are those guys dying from? I wouldn't want to look like that!"

I must admit, upon viewing it a second time - they really do look too thin. They're very bony, and have hollow faces, especially Dr. Fuhrman. I'm not sure why that didn't bother me the first time I saw it.

A very interesting discussion.. However, I noticed that some of those low-carbers photos were only face shots. They don't look emaciated and hollow-cheeked like the vegans, and their skin without exception looked glowing, soft and smooth.

I took a look for full body shots..

Barry Sears looks very slim in all the full body shots I can see:

Here's a video of him:

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch...ayer_embedded#!

Loren Cordain looks OK too, in this photo posted in May 1012

http://www.p3crossfit.com/wp-conten...ain-386x500.jpg

Dr. Atkins never looked fat to me, but here's a shot of him walking on the beach:

http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/atkins-1.jpg

Here's one of Dr. Davis:

http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/...qtr-225x300.jpg

Sally Fallon looks a little heavy, but then I am not sure how low-carb her diet is.

Notably slim low-carbers include:

Dr. Berstein:

http://www.diabetesdaily.com/voices.../drb1211212.jpg

Gary Taubes:

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia...20_1079475a.jpg

Jackie Eberstein:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3048..._2e069da205.jpg

And here is a an obese vegan who lost a load of weight when he started to eat meat again:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...elt-better.html

And another:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...-surprise-.html

The fattest person I ever knew in real life was a vegetarian.

Good rebuttal, Kirsteen!

One thing to consider, as far as Dr. Davis is concerned... I seem to remember reading somewhere that he's half-Japanese. Japanese, like other Orientals, tend to have full faces, even when their bodies are thin; hence his headshot might make him look obese.

That vegan video obviously considers only gaunt people to be "not-fat," and that if you aren't gauntly skinny, you are FAT. It completely ignores the fact that one can be 10-15 lbs over "ideal" weight and still be completely healthy in every way--and probably healthier in the long run.

We evolved to eat meat, not soybeans.

This was my impression too. ETA: But I guess I should be fair and say it could just be his little-old-man voice. It makes him sound automatically cranky.

However, he sure as hell isn't polite to his customers when they e-mail him! Overall, just not a happy and vital impression, to me. That's only one person's impression, I could be 100% wrong.

Oh, that is really good news! You may want to let Dr. McDougall in on this.

I got weak & wheezy on the McDougall diet and didn't lose weight. Luckily someone on McDougall's website forum in ~1999 said if it is not working maybe you should try something else like Protein Power - that little comment from a stranger whose name I don't remember set me on the right track!

That's true. But it's also true that most do better on low-carb than on low-fat, just as those studies show.

This is a pic from the last link in Kirsteen's post:



They look slim, but I don't think they look all that healthy. Pale and weak more like.

Sadly, the starving waif look is fashionable these days.

All three doctor authors of the new Atkins are lean, and in excellent shape, Dr Phinney a particularly strong athlete for his age.

I picked up a George Stella cookbook yesterday and remembered this thread so checked up on him. He just published a new cookbook early this year, and he and his son look great. The book may have been self-published and didn't get much press, though he and his family were on Dr. Oz. The three part video of that show is on his website StellaStyle. Somehow all this flew under the low carb radar, but I was thrilled to learn about the long term success for this whole family.

The new cookbook sounds good, including old favorites mixed with new ones, Updates with more almond rather than soy flour (check out the raspberry scones)

The more I think about this video, the sadder it makes me. You take a group of people who were drawn to low carb because they had metabolic problems, then laugh at them because they're fat? Some of us will be fat no matter what we do. Personally I know that a vegan diet will make me very, very fat very, very, quickly - and then kill me. Yes, I'm still fat on low carb, but I'd be so much worse without it.

Plus, the head shot in the video is an old picture of Dr. Davis. It's been on his website for years--from the time that I was reading the site for his cholesterol info. He went wheat-free and low carb after that photo was taken and therefore probably lost weight. He looks thin and healthy in more recent photos.

The heaviest person that I know is a vegetarian. She's only in her mid-30s, has numerous health issues, and is about to have her second major back surgery. She eats mainly pasta and baked goods (especially sweets) with a few vegetables. She's morally opposed to eating animals, even if it kills her.

Brilliant, Kirsteen! Thanks so much for your detective work. I looked for additional pics but was not as successful.

A very interesting discussion.. However, I noticed that some of those low-carbers photos were only face shots. They don't look emaciated and hollow-cheeked like the vegans, and their skin without exception looked glowing, soft and smooth.

I took a look for full body shots..(posted by Kirsteen)

Great post,really enjoyed it.Thank you!This is such an interesting thread and I start feeling much better about it all after the original video made me feel a bit down.I can now see it for what it is,when it initially blew me a bit away.Thanks everyone for contributing and giving different views.

Glad you enjoyed it. I noticed that the link to the video of Barry Sears didn't work, but you can find plenty of videos of him on Youtube.. Here's the URL for the one I posted earlier:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6KDaLsLuaU