Atkins-bashers

[cjsmith]

WTF is up with Atkins-bashing? I'm not even on that diet and I've heard more snideness, put-downs, and just general meanness about it to last me the rest of my life. Some haven't even read what the diet is supposed to be, but the myths about it arouse their ire anyhow. Some raise the subject just so they can spew their bile about it. The internal pressure must be immense. One gal I met at a quilting group got so hot under the collar that I'm semi-seriously glad she wasn't armed. What the hell is the threat here, lady? Go ahead, eat your bread. Nobody's taking it away from you.

Obviously there's something I'm missing, because the way I look at it seems simplistic by comparison: if I don't like a diet I don't go on it.

Is it really more about fat-hatred? That might explain some of it, but not all of it. Is it that anything strongly contradicting previous wisdom must be suppressed? That probably doesn't explain all of it either.

If I leave comments enabled, I'm a fool, right? Yeah, I'm a fool. So I'll just delete any comments bashing any diet at all (see above remark about my lifetime quota being full).

Comments

[deyo.livejournal.com]

I've met a few Atkins-dieters who were practically proseletyzers. That kind of enthusiastic suggestion can stir up some serious anger.

Personally, I am averse to the Atkins diet because it's inherently unhealthy, and omits glucose, the only fuel the brain can use. Your body can wear itself senseless converting fats and proteins to glucose.

Re:

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

Personally, I am averse to the Atkins diet because it's inherently unhealthy, and omits glucose, the only fuel the brain can use. Your body can wear itself senseless converting fats and proteins to glucose.


The MDs, nutritionists and biologists I've spoken to claim that it's only harmfull if you stick with the strictest version of the diet for a lot more than is reccomended. There's a lot of conflicting literature on the subject.

Re:

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

Ditto.

It is the rampant proseletyzation (sp?) that drives me mad with any diet/weight-loss scheme. I have heard more about Atkins than any other diet in the past few years and I am so sick of it.

Additionally, the demonization of certain foods/food groups also drives me batty. What makes me even more insane is the way corporate america gloms onto the current craze and makes more and more products pandering to such demonization. And furthermore, the demonization/elimination of entire food groups drives me bonkers because of its similarity to many disordered eating patterns. Anorexics and bulimics often restrict food in a similar way (no bread/no cheese/nothing brown, etc.) and it leads to enormous mental unhealth--and I say this a someone in recovery from both disorders AND as someone who has spent years reading the scientific literature about eating disorders, dieting, etc.

Not to mention that at its root, the Atkins diet "works" because it pushes the body into a very unhealthy state.

And to be fair, I will rant angrily about most any diet, but those that rely on severe food/food group restriction/elimination really raise my ire. I'm so sick and tired of the "thin at any cost" mentality I could puke.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I guess I've been lucky -- no one has proselytized Atkins in front of me. I'm surrounded only by the anti- side.

Not to mention that at its root, the Atkins diet "works" because it pushes the body into a very unhealthy state.

If you mean ketosis, I disagree that that state is inherently unhealthy. It's simply the flip side of fat storage -- using stored energy. Not that I want to get into the scientific validity of Atkins as a whole. It's the way people react that really puzzles me.

I can certainly understand why you'd rail against most any diet. There are people out there who seem to have a fair amount of that "thin at any cost" mentality but who will get downright mean and nasty if someone says "low carb"... them I'm not sure I understand.

Re:

[hermit-crab.livejournal.com]

I couldn't have said it any better. Whether you're pro-Atkins, anti-Atkins, or just neutral, you're bombarded with Low-Carb products, Low-Carb marketing, and worse yet, Low-Carb Evangelists. Since I live in one of the most superficial cities around, Atkins has been declared God, over Jesus, Buddha, and L. Ron Hubbard even.

Also, you have to remember that some of us are just complaining jokingly, and we're not going to bomb the Atkins center or dig up Dr. Atkins' corpse or anything like that. But if it really pisses you off, you probably shouldn't read anything I write (no hard feelings,) because I'm going to continue ridiculing it.

Until that fateful day when people realize that carrots and oranges are not the enemy; refusing to walk two blocks IS.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

We're still bombarded with all the other food- and diet-related products and marketing and evangelists, but those don't seem to inspire spite.

Nah, I didn't think you were about to dig up any corpses, and I'm not pissed off -- just kind of wondering where all the anger comes from. Maybe I've just been very lucky; I am quite isolated from most Media Frenzies, whether it's boobies or diets.

Until that fateful day when people realize that carrots and oranges are not the enemy; refusing to walk two blocks IS.

I seriously doubt the Atkins diet plan argues against exercise. If you can point to a counterexample, I'll ridicule that part right along with you!

[hermit-crab.livejournal.com]

Oh, actually the Atkins plan itself doesn't discourage exercise. The people I know on it DO. Their reason (at least two of the guys I know,) for being on it in the first place is, "because I hate exercise and I refuse to do any."

Another guy I know couldn't go on Atkins because his doctor told him it wasn't safe.

I think you have to live in LA to see the level of low-carb bombardment. You can't go anywhere without being subjected to a nonstop low-carb hailstorm, and people avoid bread even more than they avoid, say, walking instead of driving.

So they think I'm an idiot for running 22 miles or riding my bike for 50, and I think they're idiots for avoiding a carrot like it's poison.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh, actually the Atkins plan itself doesn't discourage exercise. The people I know on it DO. Their reason (at least two of the guys I know,) for being on it in the first place is, "because I hate exercise and I refuse to do any."

I guess all I can say is I hope it works for him. Personally, I find it difficult to imagine that lack of exercise can ever be as healthy as exercise, no matter what a person's dietary intake is. I'm not omniscient, so it's not like I think I have the last word in everything... but me, I'll exercise.

I think you have to live in LA to see the level of low-carb bombardment. You can't go anywhere without being subjected to a nonstop low-carb hailstorm, and people avoid bread even more than they avoid, say, walking instead of driving.

If low-carb helps some people, then it should help everyone, and it should cure all ills, and NO carb should be even BETTER, right? Sigh. I guess every "religion" has its overzealous "culties".

Re:

[hermit-crab.livejournal.com]

Oh, undoubtedly. But really, I use up most of my web space ridiculing things: Bush, Atkins, Ashton Kutcher, Keanu Reeves, yuppies (especially yuppies,) because it's what I like to do, so if it upsets people, they should probably remove me, drama free, no biggie. I realize that some people take that really personally, but I really, really don't. I realized a while ago that people don't share my sense of humor:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/hermit_crab/274367.html?nc=17

Um, a few other instances I'm too lazy to look for...

and I was like, "well geez, should I censor everything I say in order to not upset anyone, or should I just advise them to stop looking at it?" So anyway, be forewarned that I'm going to continue ridiculing the Atkins diet until the next fad comes along and replaces it, then I'll make fun of that too. If that's a source of irritation to people, then they probably shouldn't look instead of getting upset.

And I decided the answer was "no, I shouldn't." They can just choose to stop looking, which is fine.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's nobody whose sense of humor is universally shared and appreciated. C'est la vie, vive la difference, and all that.

[tytso.livejournal.com]

Heh. Actually, all of the Atkins books I've read strongly recommend exercise. on top of changing the way you eat. Personally, I try to do at least 30 minutes of Cardio at least three times a week (if not more), and at least 2-3 strength building sessions per week as well....

Re:

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

The worst I've seen is the low-carb beer. It's beer--all it is is carbs!

Bwa ha haaa

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Would that be colored flavored water er, Bud Light umm...? (duck and run)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ah; I hadn't heard the evangelists. That does help explain.