I read the Taubes article on July 7 and starting low carbing in July 8. I was desperate after a visit to the doctor the previous week, where my weight was above the upper limits of the doctor's scale (350 pounds). All the doctor could suggest was weight lost surgery and that had mortality statistics I could not accept (although I was seriously considering the idea). I had tried low fat diets and Weight Watchers many times and was unable to stick to them. I was always hungry and my willpower was not strong enough to overcome that for more than about a week. I just ended up gaining more weight trying to follow them.

Reading Taube's article was a revelation. I realized I got fat not just because of two pregnancies and my lack of willpower, but because I had changed the way I ate to try to match the USDA food pyramid and all the lowfat recommendations that came out over the past 20 years. I'm 45 and when I was younger I used to eat fewer carbohydrates and more fat/protein because that is the way we ate then. I used to eat much more like I have been eating since July 8!

Since July 8, I have gone from over 350 to 310, a loss of over 40 pounds (probably around 50 is my best guess), and I feel great. My blood pressure was border-line high and it came down into the normal range (127/76 at the last reading). I can now easily walk 3 miles in 50 minutes, an increase in both the distance and speed with which I walk.

I too read the Washington Post rebuttal. It did not deal adequately with what is most amazing about the Atkins way of eating -- I eat a lot less but I am not hungry! That's why I am able to lose weight.

I hope Taubes reads this thread!