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Why Low Carb Works

I grew up on bread. Mom was Italian, and Grandma Lattanzio lived with us. We had bread with every meal, like many other families in this country. And I like to eat, and had a good appetite, and eating was encouraged. Well, by the time Little League rolled around, I was beginning to assume a spherical shape. I was fat. So as a growing child, I cut back a little, played lots of sports and did track in high school. I had things under reasonable control -- still on the husky side, but no longer a sphere.

Then came college.

I was a biology/pre-med major, and the courses were tough. Long nights studying during the week, and long weekends working off the stress of school. I must admit that I consumed my share of the staple foods of college students: pizza, subs and beer. Carbs, carbs, and more carbs. I ballooned up to 225 pounds on my 5'11' frame. In fact, it was so bad that when I returned to work at the moving company where I had been employed the previous summer, the overall response was, "What in the world happened to you?"

Now, when you lug furniture and boxes around all day, you burn up a lot of calories. So by the end of the summer, I got back to my senior year high school weight. I was doing okay. Guess what happened during my sophomore year of college? Yes, the weight came back. The diet was about the same, so there was no reason to expect anything different. And it kept up that way for years.

So my weight went up and down the scale, like many of us have experienced in the past. And there were fairly large swings, 20 or 25 pounds. I was almost always on a diet, of one sort or another. If I didn't exercise a lot, I really couldn't eat much. The prevailing winds were blowing from the low-fat dieting camp at this time, and I followed that philosophy dutifully. I got extremely frustrated when I could just not get the weight off. By now, I had finished medical school and was in practice, and I firmly believed that if I was going to tell someone to watch their weight, I should practice what I preach.

I was rigidly following a low-fat diet, and watching the calories. I was not a happy camper. I felt hungry all the time, deprived, and at times, I got downright cranky. When one of my patients told me of their great results with one of the low carbohydrate programs that they followed, I took another look.

I was fascinated by what I found. The claim of low carb diets was that you could actually eat really tasty stuff, and in portions large enough to fill you up, and still lose weight. I reviewed all the biochemistry, and it made a lot of sense to me. So I gave it a try. And it worked!

I lost weight, felt better and had less digestive trouble. Sure, I would stray every once in a while, and the weight would come back. But when I got back on the path, I lost weight again. I wasn't hungry, and I ate things that I liked.

Dr. Robert Atkins was a pioneer in the field of weight reduction using low carbohydrate diets. For over 30 years, his groundbreaking work has helped hundreds of thousands of people reduce and maintain their weight. Since the publication of his first book, numerous studies have been published demonstrating the benefits of a low carbohydrate diet. The evidence supporting the low carb approach as a viable weight reduction method continues to mount. Recent studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine have shown that a low carbohydrate diet is superior to a low-fat diet for weight reduction. New research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Obesity Research indicates that people following a low carb diet lose more weight than people on a low-fat diet, even if they consume up to 300 extra calories per day. Low carb diets also have several beneficial effects on cholesterol, including reduction in LDL ("bad" cholesterol) and increase in HDL ("good" cholesterol). This diet may also be beneficial for those with diabetes, as it may improve the control of their blood sugar (glucose) levels.

The problem I've always had with Dr. Atkins' diet is that I believe he allows you to eat too much fat and salt. You see, many types of fat are not healthy over a long-term period. Studies have shown that diets high in saturated fat may lead to increase risks of heart disease and various forms of cancer, including breast and colon. The type of fat you ingest makes a difference. Plus, excess sodium may impede weight reduction and promote hypertension.

Over the years, I modified my approach based on available food supplements, nutritional products, and any additional reading that I did. There is now an incredible variety of low carb products available to help you to change your eating habits. It has never been easier to follow a low carb diet. And the Walker Diet provides all of the advantages of a low carb diet, while paying special attention to your health and convenience.

That's what separates this diet from the others. I encourage good, low-fat sources of protein, and ask that you make informed choices about the type of fat that you eat, and that you eat good fat (I'll explain this later). I make use of the convenience foods available that are healthy. In addition, I can assist you in keeping "on track" by keeping the diet simple. I also believe that by using the right kind of nutritional supplements, you can promote more rapid weight reduction, while improving your overall health.

I have been using this approach with patients in my practice, and the results have been impressive. People are losing weight, decreasing cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and improving the health of their liver. In many cases, their bowel function improves and they get more energy. In general, many of them just feel better. And that is really what medicine is all about.

There was another problem that I identified -- the quality of the food that was available. For example, some of the shakes did not have a good blend of protein, too little fiber, and too much fat. Other food products had too much salt. We are in the process of changing all that: the existing Walker Diet products and those that will be developed in the future will be the healthiest and best-tasting products available. We will only use the best ingredients, and will formulate our products to be the most superior products on the market.

A nice side effect of all this occurred at my 20 year college reunion this past June. My classmates were astounded at my weight reduction. While many of them were heavier than they were in college, I was about 30 pounds less. The compliments were great, and a wonderful source of positive reinforcement. I am sure that when you achieve your weight reduction goals, the positive comments of your friends will be a great source of pride and inspiration to you as well.