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Enough With the Low-Carb Fetish

Jun 02, 2004 11:30 AM
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As if low-carb Krispy Kreme donuts weren't stupid enough, there is now low-carb Panera bread.

Their upcoming low-carb Asiago cheese bagel has 20 grams of total carbs, 11 of "net carbs". The regular version has 58 grams of carbohydrates. Guess what — the new one will taste like shit or have a ton of fat or both.

If you're on a low-carb diet, just don't dine at places whose very raison d'être is to serve the mega-carbs in bagels, bread and donuts, you weirdo.

Stop trying to find a shortcut to low-carb carbs, a way to get something ("Mmm ... donuts!") for nothing ("Low carbs!").

It's like hoping for a good cardio exercise that doesn't wear you out, or weight lifting without all the effort.

I suspect it's just a matter of time before we have low-carb rice so that Atkins and South Beach folks can have sushi instead of sashimi.

And yes, I know there is non-alcoholic beer (I don't drink it) and decaf coffee (do drink it), but a reason why those products are successful is that the absent ingredients aren't the basis of the taste.


Comments: Enough With the Low-Carb Fetish

I've actually had quite a few people suggest Atkins (since I keep my weight loss public, I get some random people making suggestions); but I can't use low carb because I'm on an acid reflux diet. The suggestion actually says quite the opposite: "low fat, more carbs"

After my mother pestered me for 6 months to go on Atkins I thought that was kind of entertaining.... ;)

... and not something that appears to be well publicized for what is not all that uncommon a problem.

Posted by: Lisa on June 2, 2004 2:25 PM | permalink

Oh, I'm not dissing Atkins ... I've seen some impressive results in those around me.

What I'm dissing is the notion that you can somehow do Atkins with the expectation that you can still enjoy the insulin-ravaging pleasures of good bread and gooey donuts.

Posted by: Joe Grossberg on June 2, 2004 2:33 PM | permalink

There is no magic to Atkins - some people do lose weight on it due to actually keeping calories down. And the diet helps them feel full (though I suspect overall willpower and some exercise helps). On the flip side, lots of people don't lose any. And all of those high-cholesterol food items aren't good for you in the long run.

Here's something to help you get some hits, Jessica Simpson against Atkins:

http://www.carbwire.com/

In the June issue of SELF magazine, Pop music and reality TV star Jessica Simpson reveals that she has waged a body-image battle for some time, but that the low-carb lifestyle was definitely not the right path for her.

"Atkins really messed me up mentally," Simpson told SELF. "I was so starved for carbs, I binged on them." She now eats her favorite foods--bread, cookie-dough ice cream and Italian meals--in moderation, along with lots of salad.

Posted by: O'dell on June 2, 2004 3:01 PM | permalink

I'd like to eat Jessica.

Posted by: Joe Grossberg on June 2, 2004 3:35 PM | permalink

As someone who has been following a low-carb regime myself for almost four years, I actually couldn't agree more. Low-carb has taken the same route amongst the masses and amongst large food companies that low-fat did 10 years ago.

The idea is not to PRETEND to be eating like we have been, but to go back to the way we were intended to eat, the way our ancestors and current hunter-gatherers eat. WHOLE foods, meats, fruits, veggies. You may lose a little weight trying to trick yourself with fake carb products, but all that does is prolong the cravings for the real thing and keep you on a diet of processed junk. Eventually the weight loss will slow, people get frustrated and they give up. When you eat truly natural stuff and not all the processed junk, you actually see more dramatic changes in appetite, taste, etc. These things are profound enough to keep a lot of people going for YEARS. But as with a lot of things, theirs this overriding mentality today of instant gratification, something for nothing, and not wanting to actually do any hard work. There is also this obsession with numbers on the scale when that is not what it's about. It's about much more than that, and concentrating on that one variable gets a lot of people in trouble because it's often not very controllable even when you are supposedly doing everything "right."

Posted by: Levi Wallach on June 2, 2004 4:07 PM | permalink

No more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.