Columnist Claims No 'Intelligent Human Being' Would Begin 'Ghastly' Atkins Diet
One of the things I enjoy doing at my blog is helping educate misinformed newspaper columnists as it relates to livin' la vida low-carb. You know, I'm sure these people are well-meaning in their own sick, perverted way thrashing the Atkins diet, but I for one will not allow the ignorance to go unchallenged. It's the least I can do as a public service to society. :)
I've seen columnists who are jealous of how well the Atkins diet works, a low-fat diet apologist, what I would describe as a low-carbophobe, and even a Jewish man who claims he did the Atkins diet (no, he didn't!). My favorite ones are those know-it-all college journalists who rant and rave about low-carb diets when they're still learning how to pull their britches up!
Ah, these people never cease to amaze me with all the ways they try to bring down this healthy lifestyle change that millions of us have made our one and only way to eat for the rest of our lives. And yet they STILL do as I noticed in this East Hampton Star column from a woman named Laura Donnelly. She wrote about the subject of diet in her column this week and had to get in her digs on the Atkins low-carb diet.
Let's take a look at what she wrote, shall we? Lamenting about the "conflicting information" about diet and health that exists in our society, Donnelly said she prefers to implore "basic, common-sense guidelines" in her recommendations for a healthy way to eat and live. First on her list is "eat in moderation."
HA! What a freakin' joke, Ms. Donnelly! This whole "eat in moderation" mumbo jumbo is silly because it is so subjective that it means nothing to the average person. It kinda like telling people to eat a "healthy diet"--but even that isn't so clear to most people as you admitted at the beginning of your column.
My low-carb lifestyle gives me all the "balance" in my diet that I need to eat the most nutrient-dense meals I possibly can. That's why livin' la vida low-carb has become the permanent weight loss solution for so many people, myself included.
But then Ms. Donnelly turns her attention to our cherished and beloved Atkins diet and didn't hold back her angst and fury over this healthy alternative to the low-fat diets. Here's what she wrote:
"Look at the success of the ghastly Atkins diet: How any intelligent human being could think that a diet recommending crumbled fried pork rinds as a substitute for bread crumbs is logical is beyond me, but this diet did appeal to lots of menfolk. And everyone I know who tried this diet has gained the weight back. Again, let me preach: Everything in moderation."
I decided this was just a wee bit over the top for my blood, so I wrote a letter to the editor to the East Hampton Star responding to that one paragraph alone in Ms. Donnelly's article. This was my response exactly as I submitted it to them:
Dear Editor,
I was disappointed by your columnist Laura Donnelly in her recent column entitled "The East Hampton Diet" where she describes the Atkins low-carb diet as "ghastly" and shares her utter ignorance of what this way of eating is all about in her rant about "everything in moderation."
The most absurd statement she made was the following: "And everyone I know who tried this diet has gained the weight back." Well, guess what, Ms. Donnelly? Now you DO know someone who has lost weight on the Atkins diet and then KEPT it
off over the long-term. That would be me.
In 2004, I lost 180 pounds after reading "Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution" and today I am, as I like to describe it in my book, blog, and podcast show, Livin' La Vida Low-Carb!
This truly is the most remarkable nutritional approach I've ever seen in my entire life because it transformed me from an extremely unhealthy morbidly obese 410-pound man on a one-way ticket to an early grave into a physically fit 220-something man with more energy, vitality, and love of life than he ever thought possible!
People who have never read any of the books about low-carb (as is clearly the case with Ms. Donnelly and her obvious ignorance of what low-carb is all about) have not walked a mile in my shoes to know what it is like to live life as a fat person in America. If the Atkins low-carb diet is helping people like me get their life and health back, then why discourage others from trying it, too?
My philosophy is for people to find what works for them, follow that plan exactly as presribed by the author of the plan, and then keep doing it for the rest of your life. Whether that's low-fat, low-carb, or yes, even low-carb, let people decide what's best for them and stop your scaremongering already. That's a lesson that would serve you well, Ms. Donnelly.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Moore
I have no idea if they will publish my letter or not, but I encourage you to submit a letter about your low-carb success as well to inform Laura Donnelly that people really do lose weight and keep it off on a low-carb diet. Send your letters to letters@easthamptonstar.com.
She goes on to push exercise so you can "earn your strawberry shortcake" as a reward. UGH! Will these people EVER learn? I guess we'll have to keep setting them straight when they get it wrong. And they WILL keep getting it wrong as long as they continue to NOT educate themselves about the low-carb lifestyle. Don't worry, though, I'll keep an eye on them. :D
I've seen columnists who are jealous of how well the Atkins diet works, a low-fat diet apologist, what I would describe as a low-carbophobe, and even a Jewish man who claims he did the Atkins diet (no, he didn't!). My favorite ones are those know-it-all college journalists who rant and rave about low-carb diets when they're still learning how to pull their britches up!
Ah, these people never cease to amaze me with all the ways they try to bring down this healthy lifestyle change that millions of us have made our one and only way to eat for the rest of our lives. And yet they STILL do as I noticed in this East Hampton Star column from a woman named Laura Donnelly. She wrote about the subject of diet in her column this week and had to get in her digs on the Atkins low-carb diet.
Let's take a look at what she wrote, shall we? Lamenting about the "conflicting information" about diet and health that exists in our society, Donnelly said she prefers to implore "basic, common-sense guidelines" in her recommendations for a healthy way to eat and live. First on her list is "eat in moderation."
HA! What a freakin' joke, Ms. Donnelly! This whole "eat in moderation" mumbo jumbo is silly because it is so subjective that it means nothing to the average person. It kinda like telling people to eat a "healthy diet"--but even that isn't so clear to most people as you admitted at the beginning of your column.
My low-carb lifestyle gives me all the "balance" in my diet that I need to eat the most nutrient-dense meals I possibly can. That's why livin' la vida low-carb has become the permanent weight loss solution for so many people, myself included.
But then Ms. Donnelly turns her attention to our cherished and beloved Atkins diet and didn't hold back her angst and fury over this healthy alternative to the low-fat diets. Here's what she wrote:
"Look at the success of the ghastly Atkins diet: How any intelligent human being could think that a diet recommending crumbled fried pork rinds as a substitute for bread crumbs is logical is beyond me, but this diet did appeal to lots of menfolk. And everyone I know who tried this diet has gained the weight back. Again, let me preach: Everything in moderation."
I decided this was just a wee bit over the top for my blood, so I wrote a letter to the editor to the East Hampton Star responding to that one paragraph alone in Ms. Donnelly's article. This was my response exactly as I submitted it to them:
Dear Editor,
I was disappointed by your columnist Laura Donnelly in her recent column entitled "The East Hampton Diet" where she describes the Atkins low-carb diet as "ghastly" and shares her utter ignorance of what this way of eating is all about in her rant about "everything in moderation."
The most absurd statement she made was the following: "And everyone I know who tried this diet has gained the weight back." Well, guess what, Ms. Donnelly? Now you DO know someone who has lost weight on the Atkins diet and then KEPT it
off over the long-term. That would be me.
In 2004, I lost 180 pounds after reading "Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution" and today I am, as I like to describe it in my book, blog, and podcast show, Livin' La Vida Low-Carb!
This truly is the most remarkable nutritional approach I've ever seen in my entire life because it transformed me from an extremely unhealthy morbidly obese 410-pound man on a one-way ticket to an early grave into a physically fit 220-something man with more energy, vitality, and love of life than he ever thought possible!
People who have never read any of the books about low-carb (as is clearly the case with Ms. Donnelly and her obvious ignorance of what low-carb is all about) have not walked a mile in my shoes to know what it is like to live life as a fat person in America. If the Atkins low-carb diet is helping people like me get their life and health back, then why discourage others from trying it, too?
My philosophy is for people to find what works for them, follow that plan exactly as presribed by the author of the plan, and then keep doing it for the rest of your life. Whether that's low-fat, low-carb, or yes, even low-carb, let people decide what's best for them and stop your scaremongering already. That's a lesson that would serve you well, Ms. Donnelly.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Moore
I have no idea if they will publish my letter or not, but I encourage you to submit a letter about your low-carb success as well to inform Laura Donnelly that people really do lose weight and keep it off on a low-carb diet. Send your letters to letters@easthamptonstar.com.
She goes on to push exercise so you can "earn your strawberry shortcake" as a reward. UGH! Will these people EVER learn? I guess we'll have to keep setting them straight when they get it wrong. And they WILL keep getting it wrong as long as they continue to NOT educate themselves about the low-carb lifestyle. Don't worry, though, I'll keep an eye on them. :D
Labels: Atkins, balance, column, criticism, diet, journalist, low-carb, moderation, weight loss
posted by Jimmy Moore at
5/25/2007 05:51:00 PM
1 Comments:
Sigh. Here we go again, one of these journalists (preferably pretending to be a "investigative reporter") with the IQ of a overcooked potato. One would think that if one wants to spout one's unsolicited advice to the public that, at the very least, some basic research would be appropriate. But nooo.
I shall sacrifice some time this week to write this potato. Perhaps there is a little chance that she'll do some of that sorely needed research - but I'd better not hold my breath, I guess :)
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