I've been on a diet which burned up muscles and organs along with some fat--a very low calorie diet. I suppose if you dropped to 700 calories a day on atkins, you also could burn up lean body mass. So keep those calories up!

Next time someone tells you all this, take out a pad and paper and say, "interesting! Give me the scientific references where I can look this up." Since there are none that support his claims (if he really is well read, he'll come up with the Inuit bone loss data, which the Eades and others debunk well; otherwise, he'll look glazed for a second.)

In no way am I telling you what to do, but I've found that by saying, "I've eliminated sugar and white flour from my diet" I have had no one at all complain, lecture, or tell me I'm about to die from doing so. Instead, they usually say, "you know, I should too." And they probably should.