Let us cut this coversation out.

Netscape.com's little What's New popup just reported on
this story, saying:


300 calories is "gorging"? Whatever...

not surprised Dean! Most people are looking for that "magic" solution! Bet they get a ton of hits!

"Distort and exaggerate." This, apparently, is the motto of not-so-great journalists and ad execs everywhere. No wonder the myths perpetuate, and mainstream acceptance of LC has been slow.

Kristine wrote:I Agree, Kristine. I have always had a significant "water weight loss" during the first week on any diet I have tried, be it low-fat, low-carb, or any of the others I've tried.

Kristine,

That's why you ARE a moderator. You handled this well.

I too wonder how much of my 28 lost pounds was water and how much was fat.

In any event it isn't only about the weight loss. I feel better too.

Roy

>>"Kristine,
>>That's why you ARE a moderator."

Nah, I'm a moderator because I'm PERFECT and I know everything.

Okay, seriously... Thanks, Roy, you're too kind. (Did you get some aurora action from that solar coronal blast this week?)

I wish they would have followed the subjects for a little longer - because once you've lost that "baseline" 3-5 pounds of glycogen water, you can't lose it again. Everything beyond that is fat (or muscle, I guess...) A little more time and weight lost would have removed the doubt of water vs. fat.

Unless you suffered from severe edema before you went on Atkins, I'd guess it's no more than 3-6 pounds of water that you lost.

Thanks Kristine. I agree with everybody that you are sweet and very helpful.

Concerning your comment, even if I agree that people on low fat diets produce ketones and use them all, my opinion should stay the same. Since ketones are not wasted, low fat diets don't give the same advantage low carb diets give.

Sam

I find myself so incredibly perplexed about why people, moreover scientists, seem to think that a calorie is a calorie and exists in a vacuum.

Water will boil at a different temperature under different atmospheric pressure conditions. What that means in English is that you might expend more or less energy to boil water depending on the pressure/environment.

Without considering how dietary composition does affect:



1) metabolism
2) energy level and subsequent physical activity
3) the relationship with individual genetics
4) the absorption of nutrients that can affect the other three

then interpreting the results is extremely short-sighted and unscientific.

It's like saying that eating the following foods which are around 100 or so calories give the same physical results to our bodies:



1) 8 oz of soda
2) 1 apple
3) 2/3 oz of almonds
4) 1 oz of cheese

Or that eating all your calories for the day at one meal has the same physical effect as spreading it out among 4 meals. It's the same number of calories, right?

That's ludicrous, and particularly why the common belief is that so long as sugar-laden cereal or "fruit" candy is fortified with vitamins, it's still healthy.

Atkins DOES have a metabolic advantage.