The Atkins Diet Is So Much More Than Meat!
You know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words. Well, I came across a couple of pictures that speak volumes about what livin' la vida low-carb is all about. The common argument people, including educated ones, use against low-carb plans like the Atkins diet is that it relies too much on meat consumption.
In fact, you'll recall noted health expert Dr. Andrew Weil appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" last week to talk about the new Gary Taubes book Good Calories, Bad Calories and his primary criticism of the low-carb lifestyle was the description of it as a diet that is "mostly meat and no carbohydrate." Dr. Weil, you should know better than that! You know good and well that neither the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins or any of the other low-carb diet authors ever call for what you have described.
So, to dispel the myth that the Atkins low-carb diet is just meat, meat, and more meat, here are those pictures I promised.
This first one is a rather creative photograph that Dr. Atkins had made with his smiling face posing with all the wonderfully delicious foods you can eat on the Atkins diet. Hmmmm, what do you see more of in that picture than anything else? Is it meat? Nope! It's veggies, baby, and that's just the way Dr. Atkins liked it:
The second image I have to share with you is a food pyramid for people who are livin' la vida low-carb. No, this is not the USDA-indoctrinated Food Pyramid that tells you to eat carbs, carbs, and more carbs with very little fat. Instead, you'll notice the foods on the lower end of the pyramid are non-starchy, green leafy vegetables and delicious selections of fish, beef, and poultry. Above that is low-glycemic fruits and cheese followed in very small quantities by beans and whole grains as well as teeny tiny amounts of sugar at the very top. It's quite illustrative of this way of eating:
Finally, I'd like to show you a picture of the food my wife Christine and I chose to eat on a recent trip to one of our favorite restaurants--Denny's. You'll notice my plate on the left has delicious portions of meat with their outstanding mixed vegetables side dish. I also had a side salad not shown in the photo. But look what my lovely darling, who recently hit her goal weight of 122 on the Atkins diet, decided to have for her meal. A fried chicken sandwich with seasoned fries! Say it ain't so! Here's the proof:
Christine was right in the middle of saying "Oh no you didn't" as I was taking her picture stuffing her face with this high-carb food bonanza! LOL! Yes, she can get away with eat more carbohydrates than I can and she likes to rub it in my face sometimes. She probably lost another pound after eating that meal, too. Makes you sick, doesn't it?
So the next time somebody tells you that livin' la vida low-carb means you eat a no carb diet, remind them that the Atkins diet is so much more than meat. And now you have the visual proof to show them, too. :)
In fact, you'll recall noted health expert Dr. Andrew Weil appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" last week to talk about the new Gary Taubes book Good Calories, Bad Calories and his primary criticism of the low-carb lifestyle was the description of it as a diet that is "mostly meat and no carbohydrate." Dr. Weil, you should know better than that! You know good and well that neither the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins or any of the other low-carb diet authors ever call for what you have described.
So, to dispel the myth that the Atkins low-carb diet is just meat, meat, and more meat, here are those pictures I promised.
This first one is a rather creative photograph that Dr. Atkins had made with his smiling face posing with all the wonderfully delicious foods you can eat on the Atkins diet. Hmmmm, what do you see more of in that picture than anything else? Is it meat? Nope! It's veggies, baby, and that's just the way Dr. Atkins liked it:
The second image I have to share with you is a food pyramid for people who are livin' la vida low-carb. No, this is not the USDA-indoctrinated Food Pyramid that tells you to eat carbs, carbs, and more carbs with very little fat. Instead, you'll notice the foods on the lower end of the pyramid are non-starchy, green leafy vegetables and delicious selections of fish, beef, and poultry. Above that is low-glycemic fruits and cheese followed in very small quantities by beans and whole grains as well as teeny tiny amounts of sugar at the very top. It's quite illustrative of this way of eating:
Finally, I'd like to show you a picture of the food my wife Christine and I chose to eat on a recent trip to one of our favorite restaurants--Denny's. You'll notice my plate on the left has delicious portions of meat with their outstanding mixed vegetables side dish. I also had a side salad not shown in the photo. But look what my lovely darling, who recently hit her goal weight of 122 on the Atkins diet, decided to have for her meal. A fried chicken sandwich with seasoned fries! Say it ain't so! Here's the proof:
Christine was right in the middle of saying "Oh no you didn't" as I was taking her picture stuffing her face with this high-carb food bonanza! LOL! Yes, she can get away with eat more carbohydrates than I can and she likes to rub it in my face sometimes. She probably lost another pound after eating that meal, too. Makes you sick, doesn't it?
So the next time somebody tells you that livin' la vida low-carb means you eat a no carb diet, remind them that the Atkins diet is so much more than meat. And now you have the visual proof to show them, too. :)
Labels: Andrew Weil, Atkins, carbs, Christine, Denny's, diet, Jimmy Moore, low-carb, meat, Robert C. Atkins, veggies
posted by Jimmy Moore at
10/26/2007 05:13:00 PM
2 Comments:
Jimmy, as always, a public service. But I want to attack an underlying question here. If the know-nothings were right, that's it's all "bacon and brie" to borrow Ornish's idiocy, is there a problem with that? Given the lack of dietary carb, the palmitic acid (sat fat) isn't really a problem, right. Your Omega-6 would be very low indeed, so your 3:6 ratio would be good. No transfats if you do it right. And if you're diligent (and without student loans, car or house payments) you could get nearly everything you need vitamin wise out of your grass fed beef and pork.
I will concede that even I, picky eater Max, eats something green or fruity once in a while. But I think the logic of the indictment of an all meat and cheese diet is flawed and should be attacked, even though it's not really what most people LLVLC are doing.
Agreed, Max. But before you can convince people why eating a meaty diet is healthy, you first have to convince them that their preconceived notions of what a low-carb is are seriously flawed. Give them the big picture first, then explain the details at the appropriate time. Love your comments, as always!
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