'Such a clean way of eating'

By Bridie Smith

January 11, 2004

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Last August, Verity Cottonaro decided she'd had enough. With her wedding a month away, she was tired of feeling bloated and thought it was time to lose some weight.

The 35-year-old mother decided to reduce the amount of carbohydrates in her diet and within a week she had lost half a kilogram. Six months later, she is still a follower of the Atkins diet and at 65 kilograms is 10 kilograms lighter.

"When I was eating normal foods, I always felt bloated and yucky. Now when I go to bed I feel nice and light and I don't have the tummy aches I used to have," she says.

Mrs Cottonaro, who says she had been a "carboholic", now limits herself to 40 grams of carbohydrates a day. As well as the weight loss, she has noticed improvements in her skin and energy levels. "It's the healthy way. I feel much happier now," she says. "It's such a clean way of eating."

After two bouts of open-heart surgery, her husband Frank is also following the diet. Their four children are on a modified version. "They are all in it, not that they know it. It's something that the whole family can do," Mrs Cottonaro says.

Warnings about the long-term effects of the diet have not bothered her, as she remains flexible in her eating. "I know there's been word that you shouldn't be on it for too long," she says, "but we're not so strict. Sometimes we have a free day when we eat what we like."

Mrs Cottonaro shops fortnightly at a General Nutritional Centre, which sells the Atkins diet products, and although she suspects it is slightly more expensive, she says it is worth it. "If you're going on any weight-loss system you're going to have an expense," she says.

"I believe I will be doing this forever."