Angeline
Fri, Oct-03-03, 13:17
I’ll have what she’s having.
Montreal Gazette, October 2nd 2003
While watching TV with her husband, Brad the other night, Siobhan Mitchell had a craving for popcorn, so she tossed a bag of Orville Redenbacher’s Original Butter flavor in the microwave. This was not unusual. What made this evening different was that not a single kernel passed Brad’s lips, and Siobhan ended up polishing off the while bag herself.
For the past four weeks, Brad has been following the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, which dictates that popcorn, with it’s high carb count, is a huge no-no. “And he has great willpower and I have none, so I couldn’t put it down”. Siobhan says regretfully. Last weekend, the couple wanted to order takeout, but because of his high-protein needs and her preferences for low-fat vegetarian, they couldn’t agree on one place and ended up ordering from different restaurants. Brad got chicken wings, Siobhan got pizza. “And I ate the whole small pizza myself. Before, we would have shared the pizza and now I eat the whole pizza”, she says incredulously.
These days, when they go out for dinner they almost always settle on Japanese because Brad is happy with just the fish and Siobhan with the sushi.
“We could go for Chinese food, but he won’t eat the noodle dishes and I just won’t let myself go there and eat a whole noodle dish –that’s just not good for anyone”, she says.
And ever since Brad went on the Atkins diet, snacks such as nuts have begun showing up around the house. “And nuts are high in fat, and I’ll have the nuts too even though I’m still eating all my regular carbs, especially at work, where I’ll have a bagel or snack on crackers”, she says. “The other day I bought a bag of those two-bite brownies – I don’t even know why – and he’s not eating them, so I end up eating the whole bag. He’s not cheating, and I’m not sharing”.
“I try not to weight myself, as I feel like I’ve gained weight. It’s really, really bad”.
It can be tough being married to someone on the Atkins diet. And on top of the dueling appetites is the ketone breath – nasty halitosis that results from changes in the body’s metabolism. “It’s really bad, it’s stinky,» says Siobhan of her husband’s breath. “He just says, ‘Yeah, I know’, and uses a lot of mouthwash.”
And while juggling any different dietary requirements in one household can be a pain, the Atkins diet has the potential to put the health of the non-dieter at risk. If the dieter’s spouse embraces the increase in Atkins-friendly foods such as meat, cheese, eggs and butter simply because that’s what’s in the fridge, as well as continuing to eat their bagel in the morning, pasta at lunch and potatoes on the side at dinner, they might find themselves with snugger-fitting pants and sky-rocketing cholesterol.
High fat and high carb is a deadly combo”, says Colette Heimowitz, director of education and research at Atkins Health and Medical Information Services. “It’s important for people to understand that if fat is not going to be your primary source of fuel, if you’re going to take it along with a high-carb program as well, it comes with certain risks.”
Those risk include higher cholesterol, weight gain and a higher likelihood of hear disease. The high-fat, high–carb diet, Heimowitz says with a hint of sarcasm, is the American diet in a nutshell. “And that’s why we’re all getting obese and why diabetes is at an epidemic scale right now.”
Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based registered nutritionist, has seen cholesterol levels rise in patients on the Atkins diet who added carbs back into their diets. She advises caution for the dieter’s family, too. “Because Atkins cuts out three entire food groups - grains, fruit and dairy – it can absolutely have a negative effect on the rest of the family,” she says. And Beck has heard the complaint from non-dieters that even though one person has cut out the rice and the potatoes, the cook still tends to make enough for all, and the non-dieters eat the excess.
Marc Simpson has been on the Atkins diet for three months and credits it, along with a rigorous exercise plan, with helping him lose 90 pounds. And while he is married with two young children, he says his new way of eating hasn’t affected his family.
“We essentially cook two meals. If I feel like having fish, I’ll cook Sharleen and the kids pasta. Otherwise, we’ll have chicken and include rice on the side for them. I don’t consider myself to be on the high-fat, high protein diet. The only thing different is I’ve cut out carbs,” Marc says.
And while his wife agrees that not much has changed in her diet since he started Atkins, she did experience some pangs of guilt. “In the beginning I felt bad about eating chips in front of him, but it was him giving me the OK. And I tried not to buy things like cookies, but now I do because he has a lot of willpower.”
Sam knows about good guilt as well, but his is different ecaus4e he is the one on Atkins. “Yesterday was your daughter’s birthday, and my wife said ‘what are you doing? It’s your daughter’s birthday. You’re not going to have some ice cream cake? And I didn’t because you cannot do that or you’ll screw yourself up for two weeks”.
While Sam is on Atkins, his wife is on Weight Watchers. “I keep thinking of the old nursery rhyme, ‘Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean’. Except we’re the reverse: I eat the high-fat stuff, she is in the low-fat/non-fat mode.”
But Sam says he isn’t bothered by the carbs in the house, and his wife doesn’t get upset when he eats 20-ounces steaks and five-eggs omelettes. “The closest thing we’ve had to a problem is salad dressing. Last night I refused to eat the spinach because she put her low-fat dressing on it, which has more carbs than the good, regular dressing.”
More evidence that Atkins spouses suffer is found n the many Atkins diet online message boards, where disciples bond and support each other in their new WOL (Way of Life). Shell from Minnesota writes on the Everything Atkins message board that her husband also gained weight when she went on the diet. “Seemed the more I lost, the more he was gaining. Then he went on Atkins and so fart lost 26 pounds.”
Amy Ed writes that her husband isn’t a fan of the diet because he feels he isn’t getting as much to eat now that she doesn’t make side dishes or put out bread.
And Becky B writes that she cooks two meals every night because her husband and two sons won’t give up carbs. “My husband eats what I eat and whatever else he wants, complaining most of the time because I rarely buy chips or regular pop for them anymore. My kids hate the pork rinds I use on my chicken, pork chops, meatloaf, etc, but too bad, they’ll adjust.
And just as Siobhan misses sharing a bowl of Chinese noodles with her husband, Ronny Kay – who jokingly refers to himself as Mr. Pizza Hut – says the worst part about the two years his wife, Barbara was on the Atkins diet was that the lost his dining partner. “Perhaps I’m not a very good mate because I really didn’t care if she gained weight. But I wasn’t deprived by having to hide chocolate or not being allowed to bring certain things into the house. I was deprived because a certain kind of loneliness creeps in with no one sitting across from me at dinner.”
National Post
sgrice~nationalpost.com
Montreal Gazette, October 2nd 2003
While watching TV with her husband, Brad the other night, Siobhan Mitchell had a craving for popcorn, so she tossed a bag of Orville Redenbacher’s Original Butter flavor in the microwave. This was not unusual. What made this evening different was that not a single kernel passed Brad’s lips, and Siobhan ended up polishing off the while bag herself.
For the past four weeks, Brad has been following the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, which dictates that popcorn, with it’s high carb count, is a huge no-no. “And he has great willpower and I have none, so I couldn’t put it down”. Siobhan says regretfully. Last weekend, the couple wanted to order takeout, but because of his high-protein needs and her preferences for low-fat vegetarian, they couldn’t agree on one place and ended up ordering from different restaurants. Brad got chicken wings, Siobhan got pizza. “And I ate the whole small pizza myself. Before, we would have shared the pizza and now I eat the whole pizza”, she says incredulously.
These days, when they go out for dinner they almost always settle on Japanese because Brad is happy with just the fish and Siobhan with the sushi.
“We could go for Chinese food, but he won’t eat the noodle dishes and I just won’t let myself go there and eat a whole noodle dish –that’s just not good for anyone”, she says.
And ever since Brad went on the Atkins diet, snacks such as nuts have begun showing up around the house. “And nuts are high in fat, and I’ll have the nuts too even though I’m still eating all my regular carbs, especially at work, where I’ll have a bagel or snack on crackers”, she says. “The other day I bought a bag of those two-bite brownies – I don’t even know why – and he’s not eating them, so I end up eating the whole bag. He’s not cheating, and I’m not sharing”.
“I try not to weight myself, as I feel like I’ve gained weight. It’s really, really bad”.
It can be tough being married to someone on the Atkins diet. And on top of the dueling appetites is the ketone breath – nasty halitosis that results from changes in the body’s metabolism. “It’s really bad, it’s stinky,» says Siobhan of her husband’s breath. “He just says, ‘Yeah, I know’, and uses a lot of mouthwash.”
And while juggling any different dietary requirements in one household can be a pain, the Atkins diet has the potential to put the health of the non-dieter at risk. If the dieter’s spouse embraces the increase in Atkins-friendly foods such as meat, cheese, eggs and butter simply because that’s what’s in the fridge, as well as continuing to eat their bagel in the morning, pasta at lunch and potatoes on the side at dinner, they might find themselves with snugger-fitting pants and sky-rocketing cholesterol.
High fat and high carb is a deadly combo”, says Colette Heimowitz, director of education and research at Atkins Health and Medical Information Services. “It’s important for people to understand that if fat is not going to be your primary source of fuel, if you’re going to take it along with a high-carb program as well, it comes with certain risks.”
Those risk include higher cholesterol, weight gain and a higher likelihood of hear disease. The high-fat, high–carb diet, Heimowitz says with a hint of sarcasm, is the American diet in a nutshell. “And that’s why we’re all getting obese and why diabetes is at an epidemic scale right now.”
Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based registered nutritionist, has seen cholesterol levels rise in patients on the Atkins diet who added carbs back into their diets. She advises caution for the dieter’s family, too. “Because Atkins cuts out three entire food groups - grains, fruit and dairy – it can absolutely have a negative effect on the rest of the family,” she says. And Beck has heard the complaint from non-dieters that even though one person has cut out the rice and the potatoes, the cook still tends to make enough for all, and the non-dieters eat the excess.
Marc Simpson has been on the Atkins diet for three months and credits it, along with a rigorous exercise plan, with helping him lose 90 pounds. And while he is married with two young children, he says his new way of eating hasn’t affected his family.
“We essentially cook two meals. If I feel like having fish, I’ll cook Sharleen and the kids pasta. Otherwise, we’ll have chicken and include rice on the side for them. I don’t consider myself to be on the high-fat, high protein diet. The only thing different is I’ve cut out carbs,” Marc says.
And while his wife agrees that not much has changed in her diet since he started Atkins, she did experience some pangs of guilt. “In the beginning I felt bad about eating chips in front of him, but it was him giving me the OK. And I tried not to buy things like cookies, but now I do because he has a lot of willpower.”
Sam knows about good guilt as well, but his is different ecaus4e he is the one on Atkins. “Yesterday was your daughter’s birthday, and my wife said ‘what are you doing? It’s your daughter’s birthday. You’re not going to have some ice cream cake? And I didn’t because you cannot do that or you’ll screw yourself up for two weeks”.
While Sam is on Atkins, his wife is on Weight Watchers. “I keep thinking of the old nursery rhyme, ‘Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean’. Except we’re the reverse: I eat the high-fat stuff, she is in the low-fat/non-fat mode.”
But Sam says he isn’t bothered by the carbs in the house, and his wife doesn’t get upset when he eats 20-ounces steaks and five-eggs omelettes. “The closest thing we’ve had to a problem is salad dressing. Last night I refused to eat the spinach because she put her low-fat dressing on it, which has more carbs than the good, regular dressing.”
More evidence that Atkins spouses suffer is found n the many Atkins diet online message boards, where disciples bond and support each other in their new WOL (Way of Life). Shell from Minnesota writes on the Everything Atkins message board that her husband also gained weight when she went on the diet. “Seemed the more I lost, the more he was gaining. Then he went on Atkins and so fart lost 26 pounds.”
Amy Ed writes that her husband isn’t a fan of the diet because he feels he isn’t getting as much to eat now that she doesn’t make side dishes or put out bread.
And Becky B writes that she cooks two meals every night because her husband and two sons won’t give up carbs. “My husband eats what I eat and whatever else he wants, complaining most of the time because I rarely buy chips or regular pop for them anymore. My kids hate the pork rinds I use on my chicken, pork chops, meatloaf, etc, but too bad, they’ll adjust.
And just as Siobhan misses sharing a bowl of Chinese noodles with her husband, Ronny Kay – who jokingly refers to himself as Mr. Pizza Hut – says the worst part about the two years his wife, Barbara was on the Atkins diet was that the lost his dining partner. “Perhaps I’m not a very good mate because I really didn’t care if she gained weight. But I wasn’t deprived by having to hide chocolate or not being allowed to bring certain things into the house. I was deprived because a certain kind of loneliness creeps in with no one sitting across from me at dinner.”
National Post
sgrice~nationalpost.com