Re-Low-Carb’ing

A few weeks back I gave up the Atkins ways I’d adopted at the turn of the year. I had lost weight, to be sure, but I felt like crap for all the fat I was consuming; bacon gets gross fast, no question. I dropped the diet and tried just winging it, hoping I’d eat generally healthy, but without a regimen of some sort I quickly found myself consuming junk food and sugar when convenient. I hadn’t put back too much weight, but I felt even worse than when consuming lots of fat and hardly any carbs.

So, like many Atkins refugees, I jumped ship to South Beach. I’ve been doing that for a week and absolutely love it: all the low-carb effectiveness of Atkins with a sensible attitude towards fat consumption. Having to avoid sugar is still tough, but the reminder of how lousy I feel when I consume it is generally enough to dissuade me from breaking regimen.

I’ll have more to say after a few more weeks on South Beach. It seems to be a great diet for people who are either sick of Atkins, or those who don’t need to drop a hefty about of heft quickly (ie, you’re looking to lose the lovehandles, not the keg). I fall into both categories (sick of Atkins, just a little weight to loose and keep off), and my initial impressions are very positive

I will say one thing common to both diets, however: don’t get suckered into the various synthetic, artificial low-carb products out there. The essence of South Beach and Atkins is eating fresh, unprocessed food; low-carb protein bars or bastardized “low-carb scones” from a mix are neither fresh nor unprocessed. So whichever diet you choose, skip most of the Atkins-branded products and their imitators and just eat quality, naturally low-carb food. You’ll feel far better for it.

So if you’re a reader who hangs out with me in meatspace (no pun intended), make sure I don’t reach for anything sugary. Bread I can avoid, beer I can usually turn down, but sugar is my serious weakness. Having to keep to a diet still seems tacky to me, but it’s apparently a tacky necessity I need to get used to. Thanks a load, lousy genes.