"There is no magic combination of fat vs. carbs vs. protein. It doesn't matter in the long run. The bottom line is calories, calories, calories."

This quote from what is described in the news article as a "nutrition expert" from Tufts University exemplifies the fraudulent myths that continue to be fueled by the medical and academic communities on biochemical reactions to food in the human body. It's just not so, as many of you surely have discovered along with me. Not all food calories are created equal.

I began a diet-and-exercise regimen in July 2001 after trying unsuccessfully to enter the induction phase of the Atkins plan. I wrongly returned to the low-fat strategy, which worked for the first 25-odd pounds, but when I hit the first plateau, I decided that just maybe, I should skip the induction phase and simply try Atkins principles to see which would work for me.

I have dropped 103 pounds, with 27 to go, thanks to several Atkins principles. The first was to get rid of NutraSweet. Doing so got the fat-burning going again, but then a new plateau after dropping 10 pounds had surfaced. Back to low fat? Nope. I simply altered the diet to suit my body. To sum up my journey thus far, I got rid of pasta, peanut-butter products, baked goods, most rice dishes and most potato dishes from my diet at several plateau points and substituted them with Diet Rite (afte ditching NutraSweetened sodas), meat and seafood, nonstarchy veggies and for dessert, dark, semisweet chocolate (Hershey's Special Dark or Majestic, a cheaper, better Austrian variety available at Walgreens). For me, anyway, simple sugars are OK in high-fat/nonstarch desserts.

Bottom line, for me anyway, is don't despair if you plateau on Atkins. Tailor his principles to your own body. It worked for me. Most importantly, don't buy this jive about all calories being the same.

--Frank

I totally agree with you!
What I don't understand is how they say it's all calories/calories/calories.

Don't they understand a calorie isn't a calorie isn't a calorie? I'm sure if you posed them this question, they'd have to agree.

Which is better? 1500 calories of all chocolate
or 1500 calories of broiled chicken; buttered broccoli and salad with dressing?

They can't POSSIBLY say they are equal and that they do the same things to your body and that neither better supports your body's weightloss!