BACK PORCH: Being a sucker for starch makes a wonderful life

By: Melissa Morgan , Social Editor 04/24/2003

BACK PORCH by Melissa Morgan: Pump me full on bread! My carbs are back and better than ever.
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Imagine dining on a breakfast that includes a five-egg omelet with gobs of cheese and a side of extra-fatty bacon. For lunch, all the bunless burgers you can eat, and to top it all off, a nice juicy rib eye for dinner. And being able to gorge yourself on the greasiest eats out there isn't even the best part. You can chow down on all this food and the pounds still melt away — up to 20 in two weeks! Sounds like a dream, right? Absolutely wrong.

For exactly five days this week, I was living in a carbohydrate-free hell. I probably wouldn't complain if I never saw another piece of meat in a very, very long time — and this fierce hatred of beef, chicken and especially pork comes after only five days of being tortured by a meat-lovers diet.

I don't really need to lose any weight, but, like most women, I'm constantly conscious of what I put into my body, and I figured shedding an extra 10 pounds can never hurt — especially with bathing suit season lurking. I'd heard about the famed Atkins diet before but never really paid much attention. I figured it was yet another fad and preferred to stick with the motto I'd always thought was best — fatty food is enemy number one.

Last Thursday, however, my nutritional prowess did a complete 180. Like Dr. Jekyll turning into Mr. Hyde or Dr. David Banner morphing into the Incredible Hulk, I went from fat-free fanatic to a raging grease guru in a matter of seconds.

After Dr. Robert Atkins died last week as a result of head injuries sustained from a fall, the controversial diet was once again brought into the limelight. Like a lot of people, I assumed his protein and fat intense daily food intake contributed to his death.

After pondering the nutritional value of cutting out carbs for a while, I decided to surf onto atkinscenter.com and see what I could find, and I was shocked by what I uncovered — his concept made sense! All of a sudden, it was like I saw a bright light drawing me way from my beloved carbohydrates and into the protein rich "other side." Fireworks starting going off in my head. Woo-hoo! Finally, all of my problems were answered. I had discovered the single secret to maintaining a lean body for life — meat!

It seemed so simple. Your body burns two things for energy, carbohydrates and fat. If you cut out the carbs, it's forced to burn the fat. Plus, more fat burned equals lower cholesterol. Makes sense right? It sounded like an epiphany to me, too. I thought this must be the reason Americans are so overweight. I figured the carbohydrates, not the fats, are killing us. I immediately decided to devote myself to a carbohydrate-free lifestyle for as long as I could. My friends and family made fun of me for my sudden passion for pepperoni, but I could care less.

On Atkins diet day one, I was soaring on a protein-packed high. I felt great. I had some eggs for breakfast, a little ham and salami for lunch, chicken and veggies for dinner, and the low-carb candy bars I bought at the supermarket actually tasted pretty good.

But, of course, nothing lasts forever. Things started to get a little worse by days two and three, but by day five (Monday), I was completely ready to hold up a bakery and demand they keep the cash but give me their entire supply of bread products. Eating absolutely no fat at all made this diet look easy. I realized absolutely everything — from broccoli to bananas — has carbohydrates. I couldn't eat anything! I felt like a cocaine addict that lost her quick fix. Sure, my appetite did decrease, but simply because I felt like I might puke if I ate another peanut or pork product.

So after five very long days, I quit. Yes, I'm a quitter and proud of it. For those of you who continuously live the Atkins lifestyle, I admire you.

The Atkins diet is supposed to teach us we are addicted to carbohydrates. For me, I learned this is definitely the case, and I also learned I like it that way. Carbohydrates make me happy. Who says you shouldn't use food as a comfort? There's nothing better than pigging out on a pint of Ben and Jerry's after a hard day at work. So, I'm an addict. Who cares? Feed me!

Being starch and sugar deprived also helped me fully appreciate a true love for my top five favorite carbohydrates. I will forever hold the following five foods in the highest esteem: ice cream, mashed potatoes, pasta, bagels and, of course, chocolate.
Dr. Atkins would probably be happy knowing I at least gave his well thought out diet plan a try, but when I die, I plan to do it happily — with a stomach full of pasta, popcorn and tons of buns!

Melissa Morgan is social editor for the South Brunswick Post. She can be reached via e-mail at mmorgan~pacpub.com.


©Packet Online 2003

"For exactly five days this week, I was living in a carbohydrate-free hell."

Five whole days? Wow. What an effort.

"After Dr. Robert Atkins died last week as a result of head injuries sustained from a fall, the controversial diet was once again brought into the limelight. Like a lot of people, I assumed his protein and fat intense daily food intake contributed to his death.
"

Oh, naturally. Like if he had been caught in the crossfire of a gang war, it would have been because he was headed to a steakhouse.

"I decided to surf onto atkinscenter.com and see what I could find"

Getting the book and actually reading it would have taken too long....got to meet those writing assignment deadlines when you are the social column writer.

"But, of course, nothing lasts forever......So after five very long days, I quit.....Carbohydrates make me happy. Who says you shouldn't use food as a comfort?...... So, I'm an addict. Who cares? Feed me!"

What can I say? She says it all.....she knows she's an addict, doesn't care, and thinks it's funny to write about it. Haha. Oh, my, let me get a tissue to daub the tears from my eyes from the uproarious laughter.

(yawn)

Sharon (<----who can be inspired to sarcasm very easily)

The author irked me enough to compose the following letter to her.

I read your horrifying/humorous column of 4-24 about trying the Atkins Diet. I regret that you had such a bad experience.

Perhaps,if you had read *any* of Dr. Atkins books (or any of the other well-research books on the topic), instead of just material at his web site, you would have realized that low-carb food plans are not a license to go hog-wild on protein and fats. For example there are suggested daily amounts of protein to eat based on sex, height, and weight. Moreover, a low-carb diet does not mean a *no*-carb diet. In his books, Atkins specifically states that the very-low-carb portion of his plan (20 g. of carbs/day) is meant to last only a short time. Another pair of low-carb avocates, Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades (whose book, the Protein Power Life Plan, I currently follow), suggest that even at the early stages of the most restrictive version of their plan (meant only for the obese and morbidly obese), 40 g. of carbohydrates is appropriate (though no more than 10 g. per meal). All responsible low-carb plans encourage people to eat vegetables at some point. Many low-carb eaters report that they’re eating more and a greater variety of vegetables than they have in their lives.

As far as fats go, every low-carb plan that I know of encourages people to eat healthy fats: omega-3s (high-quality cod liver oil in particular), omega-6 (various seeds and nuts), omega-9 (olive oil, almonds), and even good-quality saturated fats (organic butter, ghee, and or coconut oil), which the body must have in order to process the omega-3 fats into the needed end products. Atkins encourages people not to worry so much about these fats, but *not* to ignore the total amount consumed completely. In addition, Atkins warns people away from damaged fats: commercially processed oils, and trans-fats.

Most importantly, as even casual observation shows, different people reactly differently to the exact same foods. Low-carb diets are obviously not appropriate for everyone who needs to lose weight. It’s a shame that we as a society, continue to have a fad mentality on an issue so central to our health and enjoyment.

I decided to send her a letter as well. Reporting such as this shoudn't go unchallenged. Here is a copy of the letter I sent:

quote:
"For those of you who continuously live the Atkins lifestyle, I admire you."

I have to say I'm sorry that you had such a negative experience with low carbing. Then again, with they way that you reported going about it, I'm not terribly surprised that you had the experience that you did and was a good example of how NOT to do low carb.
Those of us who live a low carb lifestyle continuously eat nothing like you did for those 5 days and most of us have read far more about the subject than a page or two from a website. To those who are thinking about giving low carb a try I give this advice: learn something about it first. Pick a plan and actually buy (or borrow from the library) the book for your chosen plan first and READ IT! Read it twice or three times if you have to so you understand what is going to be required and what you can and cannot eat and in what amounts.
Just for the record, here are some of the things that you did incorrectly:
1) Your veggetable intake/carb intake was way to low even for induction levels. Unless you are consuming carbs in the form of other foods allowed besides veggies such as cream, cheese and lemon juice (or low carb junk food), you can have far more vegetables than a salad or a small serving of another vegetable from the allowed list than the recommended 3 cups a day. Forget the low carb candy bars. Eat more veggies instead. They'll satisfy you far more and for far longer. Yes, everything has carbs, but there isn't a single low carb plan out there that is NO carb. Veggies are a requirement for all of them even in the initial phases.
2) You were eating nuts. Nuts are not allowed during the induction period on the Atkins diet and can actually make carb cravings worse in many people.
3) You made no mention at all of drinking water. Eight 8 oz. glasses a day is the minimum requirement.
4) You made no mention of taking a multivitamin or any other vitamin supplements.

Here is an average daily menu for me and I've been doing this for over 2 years:

Breakfast: 1 serving Keto hot cereal (various flavors) with 2 tbsp. added ground flax for the Omega 3 fatty acids and fiber. I eat eggs for breakfast maybe twice a week. I'll also sometimes have 1 cup of full-fat unflavored yogurt with 1/2 cup of strawberries or raspberries sweetened with Splenda.
Lunch: Chicken Caesar salad with mushrooms, onions, parmesan cheese. Hold the croutons.
Dinner: Sirloin pork chops with mushroom sauce, 1 1/2 cups broccoli, mixed greens salad with Bleu cheese dressing.
Snacks: Sugar free jello with whipped cream, celery with cream cheese, raw veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers) with dip or 1/2 cup sugar-free ice cream. Occasionally, I'll have a handful of macadamia nuts as a snack.

If you're going to give low carb a try and then write about it, at least do all your readers a favor and research it properly first and then follow it properly before reporting on it. Researching it poorly, giving it a half-hearted attempt and then reporting how horrible it was does a great disservice to a lifestyle that many are following in good health and with great success.

geez what an article....

5 days of his versus 5 years of mine (i started since 1998)....

think he's got a low tolerance....or rather being inflexible.

the gist is no one can fully grasp the techniques of LCing within 5 days. probably his boss gave him just a week to review the diet.

LCing isnt a crash diet. a diet which promises a high amt of weight loss isnt healthy.

Here's what Melissa Morgan had to say in response to my message to her:

Thank you for reading my column and for your dieting suggestions. The column was meant to be lighthearted. I never claimed to be an expert on the Atkins diet, but did in fact do plenty of research on the diet before I began. I might not have read the book, but I can assure you I know plenty about nutrition. I understand how the diet is intended to work, all it's different phases, the amount and types of foods you can eat during each phase and sample diets. I only tried the diet during its "induction" phase so I did not have the opportunity to have much variety with the diet, but I am absolutely certan that no matter how many vegetables, meat products, eggs, nuts or jello snacks I could eat, this diet still would not work for me. I love loads of pasta, cookies, ice cream and bread and me poking fun at the fact that i am a "carb addict" was the point of the column.

I never said anything negative about the diet or the people who do it. I was in fact sincere in saying I admire the people who manage to stay on it and choose it as a lifestyle, but I am NOT one of those people. I don't deny that it works, but it's not right for me.

Also, I appreciate your dieting tips, but I don't really need them. I am 5'5, 125 pounds and go to the gym five days a week. I think I'm doing just fine and was just trying out this diet for "fun" to see if I could last.

Lastly, thank you for informing me that I should do proper research for before reporting on an article, but I already learned that in journalism school years ago. I do make sure I have all my facts straight when writing an article, but this was an OPINION column, which entitles me to write whatever I want! There was not one factual error in that colulmn.

Again, thanks for your comments, but they do not change how I feel about the diet.

I'm laughing my butt off as I type this. She must have gotten a LOT of negative responses to that article because she sent me the exact same response (can we say cut-and-paste along with mass mailing?).



She calls "plenty" of research reading a few pages on a website and not even reading the book for the plan that she's trying? I certainly hope the rest of her articles are researched better than that. She may know plenty about nutrition, but very little about low carbing.

Gads! What passes for good journalism these days!

I'm not sure I understand why her article bothered so many people. Sure, she didn't follow induction properly, so those who read it might be confused, etc., etc. but she was never bashing Atkins in the first place. I don't understand why this would make anyone angry... this is a subjective editorial, not investigative journalism.

I am guessing it bugged people because it seems to reinforce the idea that giving up carbs is near impossible. How many people, upon hearing of the Atkins plan, say ..." Oh no, I could never give up bread/potatoes/rice forever". This kind of article discourages people from even trying.

It makes me feel like a heavy smoker giving a half-hearted attempt at stopping and then saying, oh well, I am addicted to nicotine, so what ?.

I see your point, but I still think the overall response may be a bit disproportionate. She is talking about her experience, and no one else's. Obviously, there are enough Atkins proponents out there who are providing information (and his book being such a bestseller is testament to that). I had a similar experience the first time I tried induction a few years ago (though I knew to eat low-glyco index veggies). I also couldn't manage it past three days. Personally, an article like this would not have discouraged me from trying again. My perception of my first experience was just as ghastly as the author's. I've obviously made it past that, and know better, but still, nothing in this article bothered me or made me feel 'up in arms.' An editorial is an editorial. This was her personal experience. Again, it is subjective, and she has every right to write it and publish it. Obviously, the readers have a right to respond to it as well, but the feeling I get is that people would rather it had never been written.

The article bothered me a bit just because I consider nutrition - and particularly refined carb addiction - to be a serious health issue, and "diet-hopping" to be potentially dangerous behaviour. I don't think there's anything "light-hearted" about that, and I agree that Angeline's smoking analogy certainly wouldn't have been considered "light-hearted."

...but there was nothing didactic in this article. And an article written by someone who was unable to quit smoking wouldn't be didactic either, only experiencial. There was no guise of advice-giving in this, and she never presented her behavior as that which should, in any way, be imitated.

Everyone's entitled to his/her own opinion, but if you want to express it, you'd better be prepared to have it challenged. This is more the case when your opinion should be based on facts, and yet more true when you're dealing with opinions related to health matters.

What struck me about the article was my suspicion, that despite all the millions of people who've bought DANDR, many times that number just can't be bothered with reading, and will try to lose weight-regain health based on a friend's/relative's/journalist's experience, with only the barest understanding of a diet. My friends and relatives have no special obligation to educate me on the particulars of a diet, but journalists do. They occupy a special position, in that they are in the business of relaying information, as well as the publishing business. They should be held to a higher standard of accuracy than other public figures when they express an opinion.

By not reading the source material (and web sites are obviously secondary sources) on the topic of her editorial, this author has neglected one of the basic duties of profession, despite her claims to the contrary.

This is the basic part of the article that I object to. It's the typical stereotype of low carb (all meat, no veggies, gorge-yourself-on-every-fatty-food-you-can-find as long as it's low carb). It reinforces what the detractors of low carb say about low carb, "See...she researched it and did it this way!". How many people who have never read a book about low carb will believe that this is really all there is to it further perpetuating the fallicies out there? After all, she's a journalist and she did her research, right?

As I pointed out to her in my e-mail, she gave a very good example of how NOT to do low carb.