Philippe wrote:

> Dana Carpender wrote:
>
>>
>>> people eat diets based on grains and legumes and don't have the
>>> problems you describe.
>>>
>>> Never once have I sad that the Atkins diet is "wrong" or bad for you.
>>> For some people it works wonderfully. But that doesn't mean that
>>> everyone should blindly jump onto the bandwagon. The unfortunate fact
>>> is, many people who follow it are more attracted to the idea of an easy
>>> way to lose weight with minimal effort than anything else.
>>
>>
>>
>> Since when is completely changing the way you eat "minimal effort?"
>>
>> Dana
>
> Since this thread was brought onto a Martial Arts NG... For us,
> 'changing what you eat' is a basic necessity.. and it most definitely
> qualifies as 'minimal effort' compared to the rest of what we do..
>

For elite athletes, I'm sure you're right. But my observation is that
most Americans would quite literally rather die than change the way they
eat. They do it every day.

That's why the "go on a diet" mentality -- the idea that you can change
the way you eat just until the weight is lost, and then "go off the
diet" is so pervasive. Most people resist like hell the idea that they
really have to make a permanent change in how they eat. (And in the
amount of exercise they get, but then you knew that.)

Dana