The 'No-Diet' Diet Is Dead From The Start

This Toronto-based Globe And Mail story takes a look at the latest thing in the realm of weight loss. It's called the "no-diet" diet and can be potentially devastating to the already poor obesity statistics we are seeing today.

The thinking behind the "no-diet" diet is that because there are so many fad diets on the market today recommending you do this or that to lose weight and none of them work, why don't you just eat a "sensible" meal plan and exercise so that everything will be okay?

Don't you just love how simple and easy they make that sound?

NEWSFLASH: If it was THAT easy, then we wouldn't have an obesity crisis and fad diets wouldn't exist because everybody would be doing it!

Okay, thanks for indulging me in a moment of angry outrage due to my sadness from being fat for most of my life. LOL! I'm glad I got that out of my system.

But seriously, think about it. Haven't we always been told that we just need to eat right and move our bodies more to make our weight fall into line with "normal" people? Of course, what they mean by "sensible" eating is a low-fat/low-calories/portion-controlled diet consisting of foods that you would rather not eat if you didn't have to. Is that really how YOU want to live the rest of your life? If so, then yippy skippy for you. But not for me and the millions of people who have found solace in the low-carb lifestyle full of a buffet of scrumptious delicacies that will tickle your tastebuds and putting a smile on your face while the pounds melt away.

Oh, but don't mention livin' la vida low-carb to these no-diet advocates because they'll rail you so fast you won't know what hit you!

Describing the Atkins diet and other low-carb programs as "fads" (gee, where have I heard THAT before?), this story claims that books like French Women Don't Get Fat have been the "death knell" to low-carb. You know, if something is dead or dying then why does it continue to stick around? Is it like the movie Night Of The Living Dead (call this one Night Of The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb! -- EEEEEEEEK! Run for your lives! Hee hee!)?

The "no-diet" diet says people should stop obsessing about what food they eat and just EAT whatever they want in "small portions" (just like this diet suggests) while using your two feet to get you from Point A to Point B. But how will you have the energy to walk around everywhere when you're so hungry from limiting your food intake to these small portions? Hmmmm?

Eating "healthy" does not mean you have to give up the wonderful foods you can and should enjoy when you are livin' la vida low-carb. And if you feel like eating more of these delicious low-carb foods than you ever have on any "diet" program you've ever been, then GO FOR IT!

That's exactly what I did when I was in the midst of losing 180 pounds in 2004 on the low-carb lifestyle. I ate as much as I wanted of the low-carb foods I decided to put in my mouth. As long as I stayed within my carb limit (which was around 25-30 carbs for me), the weight came off and I NEVER got hungry. Anybody who tells you that you MUST limit your food portions is lying to you.

Now, is it a good idea to gorge yourself on every single meal, regardless of the carb content of the food? Don't be ridiculous! Your food choices and the amount of food you consume will gradually go down on its own. But I can still put away a LOT of food when I want to. Just last Sunday I went to a local restaurant after lunch that has a home cookin' buffet and I ate (hold on to your hat when you read this!):

4 grilled chicken breasts
4 servings of green beans
4 servings of tomato pie (without the crust)
4 diet sodas

I know some low-fatties and low-carb traditionalists will at that meal I ate in utter amazement and wonder how I ever lost weight and maintained it eating like that. The answer to that question is simple: BECAUSE I CAN! My weight has remained unchanged even after eating a meal like that. When I want to, I can still eat a LOT of food.

Remember, I used to be a 410-pound behemouth monster! I didn't get that way without having an appetite. While I'm just a shadow of the man I used to be, the way I got there was by carefully selecting foods that I could eat without gaining weight. This isn't difficult to do as long as you know what you are putting in your mouth and can keep your carbohydrates limited. That's it!

And you DEFINITELY don't have to portion control what you eat if you don't want to. I'm tired of being fed that lie from so-called health experts who think they know what they are talking about. If I listened to their advice, then I probably would have given up on low-carb a long time ago from food deprivation. Thankfully, I have just ignored their recommendations and just started livin' la vida low-carb. That's what helped me lose 180 pounds and now keep it off for the past nine months.

I do agree with the notion that exercise is an integral part of the low-carb lifestyle, though. The key to exercise is getting started on a regular routine and sticking with it. I discuss how I did this, struggled early on, but then eventually made it such a part of my life that now I can't live without it. Amazing? Yes, but anybody can (and SHOULD) do it.

This story described the Atkins diet as "the biggest fad of all" because it "fosters a hankering for bacon and cheese, but you eat a roll and, well, the magic alchemy goes out the window."

Do they really think people are THAT stupid to believe a description of low-carb as silly as that? Apparently so, but real low-carbers know that there's more to low-carb than bacon and cheese (although I personally like both bacon and cheese as part of my healthy low-carb eating program). The obvious obsession the media has for ridiculing low-carb is simply dumbfounding.

Acknowledging people can struggle with the "no-diet" diet because it "can lack structure," the story said that people should learn and understand the importance of portion control and making good food choices that are healthy.

Who decides these things? Health experts? Nutritionists? Dietitians? I don't think so. And what is "healthy" eating anyway? The point is that there are a variety of methods for controlling your weight available to people today that nobody can claim a monopoly on what is best for everyone.

I have never claimed that low-carb is the only way to lose and maintain your weight. If someone is able to find permanent success losing weight for good on another program, then I am happy they were able to find something that works for them. But many people have tried their entire lives to lose weight and keep it off and NOTHING has worked for them. Perhaps livin' la vida low-carb is the lifestyle change they've been looking for.

It certainly beats a diet like the "no-diet" diet that is dead from the start!