I was looking through some old magazines last night looking for recipes to convert to low carb. ((I love to cook and I collect cookbook and cooking magazines like you wouldn't believe)) Anyways, I came across an article that just cracked me up.

March 2003 cooking light magazine article
(this is part of an article that was reviewing popular diets)

Low-Carb/High Protein Diets

High protein dieters often see the needle on the scale go down fairly quickly. Why? Water. "when you take carbs out of the diet, you lose water weight right away," Explains Katherine Tallmage, MA, RD, a weight-loss consultant and AmericanDietetic Assoc. spokesperson in Washington, DC and author of Diet simple. "I've heard reports of 5 to 10 pounds in a week. IF you lose 5 pounds in a week most of it has to be water, and losing that much water isn't safe." People on high protein diets lose more water initially because protein requires more water to be metabolized. (thats why sticking to a strict high protein diet for a long time can cause kidney problems.) The water weight comes right back when you start eating carboydrates again. No long term independant studies have been done to test the efficacy of high-protein diets (although 2 lg studies are now underway) "In the meantime, I can't recommend the Atkins diet because it's unhealthy for other reasons," says Bonnie Liebman, MS, director of nutrition at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "it's high in red meat and saturated fat and low in nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables." In fact, many of the plans including Atkins plan-declare such healthy foods such as potatoes, corn and many fruits totally off limits.

The verdict: Focusing on protein can help cut down on refined carbohydrates like pasta, bread, and ordinary sugar-all foods many people find hard to resist. But some high-protein plans don't distinguish adequately between refined bagel-type carbs and nutritious broccoli type carbs. If you limit fruits and vegetables, you're not getting the full complement of the nutrients and fiber your body needs.

Just struck me as funny, I mean the best arguements against atkins they could manage was that you are losing water weight and that we are giving up healthy foods like potatoes and corn??? LOL