Shots Across The Bow

Fumento on Atkins

I just finished reading Michael Fumento's latest piece against the Atkins diet in the newest issue of reason. According to him, the Atkins diet does not work, is probably dangerous, and is partially responsible for the obesity epidemic in America. This new article repeats inaccuracies and misstatements I critiqued in an earlier post.

First a personal disclosure: I followed the Atkins diet from March through Oct of 2002. During that time, I lost 80 pounds, most coming in the first 4 months. My total cholesterol has dropped 30 points, my HDL has gone up 10 points, my triglycerides have dropped significantly. My total cholesterol/HDL ratio is under 5 for the first time in years. My blood pressure has dropped from 135/95 to 115/72. In short, by every medical measure, I am significantly healthier than before I went on the Atkins diet. My results are more impressive than most because I also started a modest exercise plan.

More importantly, I was able to stay with the diet easily, while the traditional low fat diet simply did not satisfy me. I was able to eat the foods that I liked, avoid the carbs, and lose the weight. It was much easier for me to find carb substitutes than fat substitutes. Crushed pork rinds mixed with soy flour make an excellent breading for fried chicken or pork chops. Throw in some Hooter's Wing Sauce, and a big burger without the bun, and you can watch the Super Bowl with your buddies and not feel deprived. I could go out to resaurants and instead of eating bland, unsatisfying but "heart healthy" choices, I could eat a big Ceasar salad with dressing, skipping the croutons, enjoy a nice steak with a portabella mushroom sauteed in red wine, and asparagus with cream sauce, without busting my diet. Of course, I couldn't eat like that every day, nor does the plan suggest that you can.

Not only did I look better; I felt better. While on the diet, I never felt bloated, never had heartburn, (even before I lost the weight), and had much more energy. I noticed this more when I went off the diet than when I was on it. When I started eating a lot of carbs again, my body slowed down. I started sleeping more, and I didn’t have the energy I had gotten used to having.

It’s now February, and I’m going back on the plan. I went off over the holidays, and gained some of the weight back. My goal now is to get back to 225, then lose an additional 20 pounds. I’ve been in induction for 5 days, and I already feel better. I’m alert, clear-headed, sleeping better, and feeling better. One other benefit I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere else is that my teeth stay cleaner, with little to no plaque buildup.

As for Fumento’s new article, he repeats the same tired accusations yet again, even though if he’s read the book, he knows they are false. For example: (quotes are from the article, “Big Fat Fake” from issue 3.03 of reason magazine.)

• ”Dr. Atkins claims that by simply minimizing your carbohydrate intake, you can quickly lose massive amounts of weight, even while pigging out on fatback, pork rinds, and lard.”

  I challenge Mr. Fumento to point out one single reference in any of the doctor’s books where he advocates such a plan. It simply does not exist. Dr Atkins goes so far as to state that if you do ‘pig out’, as Mr. Fumento puts it, you will not lose weight. Repeatedly, Dr. Atkins recommends that you limit your carbs, then eat protein and fat until you are sated.

• “Hill’s co-researcher, Gary Foster of the University of Pennsylvania, says ‘the probable explanation for the greater weight loss in the groups on the Atkins regimen’ is that it ‘gives people a framework to eat fewer calories, since most of the choices in this culture are carbohydrate driven….You’re left eating a lot of fat, and you ge tired of that. Over time people eat fewer calories.’ That would make the Atkins plan nothing more than a low calorie diet in disguise.”

  First, they admit that Atkins dieters lost more weight than AHA and other diets tested. This is a bad thing? Next they “blame” the loss on a reduced calorie intake. Again, this is bad? Hey, any diet which allows me to consume fewer calories while enjoying them more, bring it on!

• Fumento quotes from a 1973 study of the Atkins plan published in JAMA. “The notion that sedentary persons, without malabsorption or hyperthyroidism, can lose weight on a diet containing 5,000 calories a day is incredible.”

  Yes it is. But I can’t find anywhere in The New Diet Revolution which states that premise. Another challenge to Fumento; show me where Atkins recommends consuming 5,000 calories per day.

There are legitimate criticisms of the plan, and it might not work for everyone. However, most of the poeple I know who have tried the plan have lost weight. But any diet is only as good as you are at staying on it, and we will all lapse, whether we are on a low carb or a low fat diet. The key to long term weight loss isn't diet, it's exercise, a fact that Fumento does mention but only in passing. Instead of promoting what actually works, exercise, he instead spends his time attacking a diet which by anecdotal and now scientific evidence is a safe, effective way to lose weight. What is worse is that he carries out this attack using misinformation.

Posted by Rich at February 5, 2003 11:35 AM