Hi, Jeanie. You're right our stats are very similar. How fun!

As far as the differences between Atkins and Schwarzbein, I really don't know enough about Atkins to say more than what I have inferred. But I can tell you what I really like about Schwarzbein. And I really recommend you read the book.

1. I get to eat plenty of good carbs, including some starchy vegetables if I want. Dr. S. has a table the helps you figure out your recommended carbs, but she doesn't count the carbs in certain foods she calls non-starchy vegetables. My "allowance" is about 75 grams. I actually tend to eat a little less than that. But I have my occassional artichokes, avocados and olives.

2. The plan is fairly cut and dried, simple. I deal best without a lot of planning and details. The plans says not to eat bad fats (margarine being the biggest example), refined grains, sugars (all types, including honey and fructose), sweeteners, alcohol, drugs, caffeine, and a number of other things. I know this sounds kind of daunting, but for me it's comforting.

3. I eat lots of food and lots of variety. I eat all kinds of fresh meat, eggs, cream, sour cream, mayonnaise, non-starchy veges (zucchini, broccoli, lettuces, tomatoes, cucumber, spinach, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, celery and those are just my favorites).

4. There's no induction. I personally think that induction is too radical. But that's me.

5. Her book had a number of great recipes and I bought her regular cookbook too. I have modified a lot of them into single-serving, one-pot meals. That's the style of cooking I am most comfortable with.

I have made this plan my own. I stick pretty close to Dr. S's recommendations, but I am making this my way of life, so it has to work for the rest of my life.

I have also read one other book: "How I Gave Up My Low-Fat Diet and Lost 40 Pounds" by Dana Carpender. She has a lot of information about the different plans (except for SP because it came out after her book).

A sort of typical day's menu will be:

Breakfast: San Francisco Joe's Special (2 eggs, 1/4 pound hamburger, spinach, onions, & mushrooms, all cooked in butter)

Lunch: Usually chicken, baked or broiled, tomato & cucumber salad with oil and lemon juice dressing.

Snack: Varies, but my current favorite is ham rollups (ham slices spread liberally with cream cheese and rolled up).

Dinner: One of my one-pot recipes. I have lots of chicken recipes like Fricassie, curries, mexican style, italian style, Oriental. And I have a few great pork and beef recipes, including a stroganoff I love. A lot of my recipes are thickened with cream or sour cream. And I made creme fraiche from cream and it's a really good cream thickener.

The one thing I had to learn was to eat saucy dishes without rice or noodles. But now that I am accustomed to it, I think rice or noodles would just get in the way. And they would not make me feel good anyway.

Well, this, as usual, has gotten over long. I'm sorry. I hope it helps. I have one more recommendation: Clean out your kitchen if you can. I did that and now I don't have to worry about having things I don't want to eat anymore trying to tempt me.

;-Deb