Mmm. Carbs. Must... feeeed...

[uberreiniger]

I seem to be in a ranting mood tonight.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/7430619.htm

America's sadomasochistic relationship with food never ceases to amaze me. I have said it before, I will say it again: In the end, Mr. Atkins of Atkins diet fame had zero control over the way he died. All those years never touching a slice of bread couldn't save him from slipping on a patch of ice. Cease your pathetic struggling for immortallity and enjoy what you have.

Don't misunderstand, I'm all in favor of eating healthily. I really need to do it more myself. Nobody wants to to be five hundred pounds with a breathing tube and needing the fire department to come knock down the wall of their house whenever they want to leave. HOWEVER, this whole Atkins diet thing is just goofy. I read this article and have an overwhelming urge to cross-reference against my Bible. I'm pretty sure super models chowing down on bags of pork rinds is one of the signs of the Apocalypse.

At least if this article is true, then I guess I can stop feeling guilty about those packs of beef jerky I treat myself to on the Thursday and Friday overnight shifts. I may be adding to my risk of stroke, but I'm decreasing my risk of diabetes! Huzzah!

Comments

[nolens-volens.livejournal.com]

I could not live without pasta, bread, and potatoes. I think the Atkins diet is truly evil - I'm sure there are some biblical references to back me up. And do you think the Atkins followers say, "no, thanks - I don't need the bread" at communion?

Truth in Advertising!

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

You have given me a brainstorm! What an incredible slogan for the bread industy that would be...

"Bread. It's good enough for Christ's Body. What the hell's your excuse?"

Re: Truth in Advertising!

[nolens-volens.livejournal.com]

I LOVE it! I can see t-shirts, bumper stickers, a book deal . . .

[reverend-betty.livejournal.com]

the american sense of entitlement has really screwed us. Everything has to be super-sized & super greasy in order for you to feel satisfied... even if you don't like it.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it's a sense of entitlement. More like America is in love with its sense of guilt. People in other countries eat as they do and don't feel bad because their lifestyle overall is healthier. We eat as we do, do nothing to keep our overall quallity of life healthy - not just because we're "lazy" but for other things like our obsession with working 80 hours a week and whatnot -then feel the need to invent all these elaborate guilt-driven health plans to compensate for what we're not getting in our emotional and physical health. It's sadomasochistic and it's sick and we have enough problems without it.

[stitchedsutures.livejournal.com]

hmm. i can go both ways with it. ive known several people who were very overweight (including my dad) who went the low carb route and did lose the weight, although he also basically cut out all the stuff that he knew wasnt good for him too (like cream puffs from Sam's club, chips, ect) and started trying to get out to at least walk once a day.

I was reading in Newsweek a couple weeks ago that actually, if you are eating low carb but cheat regularly on it, you actually gain *more* weight and it does nothing. so... all the low carb egg eating every day is worth nothing if whatever obese person trying it still cheats a couple times a week on whatever high carb food.

And i think its the American mentality that makes this trend work, as the article said. people dont want to be fat, and hate being made fun of and not fitting into clothes and getting no sympathy from their fellow slimmer humans, yet they will try EVERYTHING up to stomach stapling gastric surgery before they actually get their lardy asses out and EXERCISE.... i think you could notice a trend not only in crazy dieting, but also in liposuction and cosmetic procedures to do the "quick fix" without actually having to do *anything*. No pain no gain is a saying that 21st century Americans pretend doesnt have to apply to them.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

It's two sides of the same bizarre coin, actually. Fast food for people who don't actually want the effort of cooking, then quick fix surgery and diets to get rid of the fast food without having to work it off.

Maybe I'm just lucky to have a metabolism which lets me eat basically what I want without gaining a lot of weight, (although I am a few pounds overweight and have been nearly all my life) and therefore can afford to be unsympathetic to dieters. *shrug*

[yaqui.livejournal.com]

Metabolism plays a much larger role than previously thought. Almost everything I ate was turned to fat, pretty much no matter what I did. Short term diets are pointless. As soon as the bad eating habits resume, so does the weight gain. Any real diet should contain a plan to lose the excess weight and a plan to maintain a healthy weight for life.
Weight Loss Surgeries should only be done as a last resort, in extreme cases ONLY. The US is so far behind on WLS that our doctors usually suggest Gastric bypass or banding - two of the least effective and most dangerous typed. WLS that use a mal-absorptive approach have better long term results. For example, the Bilio-Pancreatic Diversion was pioneered in Italy in the mid eighties but is still considered suspect here. Even with it there are risks. One of my closest friends had this surgery and was in and out of the hospital for a year. A few times we thought we were going to lose him. Most WLS aren't life threatening or rife with complications but when they are it can be devastating.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Is gastric bypass that one that Carnie Wilson and the guy from Blues Traveller had? The one where they rip out half your stomach? I can't imagine any sane person wanting that done to them. "Yay! My stomach's the size of a cherry and I can only eat one teaspoonful of food a day but I'm THIN! THIN! THIN!" Unless your life's in immediate danger then I just can't see why something that drastic would ever be a good thing. And it makes a profound comment on our society, that some people will only control their portion sizes once surgery has given them no other choice.

[yaqui.livejournal.com]

As usual, another report subtly downing low-carb diets. As you can see, there was only one quote from a pro-Atkins source and a small one at that.
Another problem with this low-carb fad is that almost everyone I know doing it is doing it wrong. I read the Atkins book to educate myself on what I was doing and why. Also I'm doing this under my doctor's supervision, something else almost nobody does. This is a VERY radical diet/life change and eating low-carb is not the only change that needs to be made in most cases. This diet can be harmful if you don't take the proper vitamin supplements and/or if you are insulin intolerant, have certain allergies, or if if flat out doesn't work for any reason.
AS far as I can tell, this statement is the real debate between Atkins-type dieticians and traditional dieticians. If you don't control your portion size, and if you don't burn off what you eat, you will get fat. It still boils down to calories in, calories out."

When Atkins is done properly, this statement is proven to be false.
Sorry for the rant but I've yet to see a balanced article on this subject.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

And see, somebody like you who has a valid medical reason and has done their homework besides, that I have no problem with. It's just the uninformed idiots like the dieters in this article who tick me off.