Ever since I started on Atkins in December 2003, I have had to defend myself against what I call the 'Three Esses' - Snickers, Scepticism and Snide Remarks:

'It's not healthy'

'It can't work'

'I'm sure your loss is temporary'. (This one is so patronising and often said by someone who believes that sugar-laden lowfat yoghurt is better for them than my small bowl of cashews).

So, approximately six months ago, I decide to put my WOE of eating to the test. Five friends (all of whom eat a high-carb low-fat diet) and myself (the sole Atkins participant) entered into a pact whereby we would compare our overall fitness levels over a six month period.

Basic comparisons of body fat, insulin, cholestorol and a raft of other indicators requiring blood tests, overall kg loss, and how many dress sizes dropped were used to identify who did the best.

To make it interesting, we each put in $100 with the winner taking the whole $600 at the end of the six months.

The results after six months.

Greatest amount of kg loss: Me
Greatest amoung of dress size reduction: Me
Great loss of body fat: That would be...... Me!

More importantly, best results in terms of insulin, cholesterol levels and a raft of other tests: Yep, it was me. I had the best blood work of all.

The doctor who did our tests was astounded. He had discounted my WOE from the get-go and here he was scratching his head (literally) trying to figure out why everything he had ever been taught about eating regimes was turning out to be complete bunkum.

And now I'm $600 richer!

I proved the validity of my WOE of eating to sceptics, at least two of which are now considering the benefits of Atkins. It may be a small victory in terms of turning people's minds around, but small steps will lead to those great leaps where our WOE is accepted as normal and healthy.