this article irks me as well. diet's recommended by doctors have not been particularly effective for me in the long term. they have all been very low calorie and while the weight come off nicely, sometimes painlessly (when injections replace the nutrients you can't get on 500 calories a day - Dr.B) it just doesn't stay off. helpful family doctors have given me phen-phen and amphetamines to decrease my appetite (weight comes off with ease when you don't eat anything because your brain chemistry is altered). the sole diet advise from my family physicians over the years has been to eat more veggies. diet doctors have charged me buckets of $$$$ for medically supervised low calorie diets that left me thinner (and paler for the most part) for a while - but not for long after leaving. wholistic/alternative medicine has not been much better (big focus on the 'good' carbs - not much focus on my inability to stop eating carbs in massive quantities good or bad).

atkins is the first diet that i have not felt deprived or food obsessed on. my skin has improved. my energy levels have improved and i am not eating massive quantities of food (nor do i have the desire to). and as an added bonus i am losing weight.


i am not convinced that 80% of weight is genetic. all the women (and most of the men) on my moms side of the family are overweight and many have thryoid problems - HOWEVER - they eat a typical north american high fat, high carb, high protein, high calorie diet. i am not convinced it is genetic. not convinced at all.