The Human Guinea Pig

A friend recently told me of his experience with the South Beach Diet and pointed me in the direction of the website and book. He seems very happy with his results thus far. I did some reading and have to admit that I was not overly enthused by the ‘meal plan’. That was until I read some of the recipes. It seemed far more interesting after that. I have already stated (in a previous post) my intense distaste for diets that proclaim steamed chicken and vegetables as their mainstay. Bottom line: I like tasty, savoury, hearty food.

I maintain that every diet will work for the initial period and that it’s only when you stray – i.e. get sick of sticking to it – that it fails and you’re back to square one. We all know what to eat and what’s good for us. No one (with a clear conscience) could ever finish a full Irish breakfast, cooked the old fashioned way in 2 inches of fat, and proclaim that they felt healthier! Full, most certainly… but not healthier.

The Atkins Diet will tell you that such a breakfast is close to ideal as it is very high in protein. Amazing that anyone could consider a breakfast of fried eggs, rashers (bacon), sausages, puddings (black & white), tomatoes, mushrooms and beans part of a diet. I was amazed. So much so that I thought I’d give Atkins a bash. For two weeks (a couple of years ago) I followed the diet with the precision of an Italian barber. By the start of the third week I vowed to never eat another egg, piece of cheese, piece of meat, spoon of mayonnaise or can of tuna as long as I lived. The mere thought of one of these items passing my lips made my gag reflex kick in to action. Maybe the Atkins diet works because you just stop eating to prevent being sick!!! Having said that – I’ll let everyone draw their own conclusions. Please don’t let my description stop you from doing that particular diet. Thankfully, everyone is different and has different tastes. I must also add that although I wasn’t fond of it, I did loose a significant number of pounds in the first two weeks. That was not enough to entice me to continue, however.

Back to South Beach…. and in the interest of being fair to this particular diet and because I have an upcoming visit to the Motherland (10 weeks from now) I have decided to give the South Beach Diet a go. *Stop groaning, Sal. I can hear you from here.* I start tomorrow – after my weigh-in at Fatty Piggy Club. I’m kind of excited about this because, like I said earlier, there are some interesting recipes in it.

I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes………….

Oink oink,
Kath

PS – I read somewhere that when Dr. Atkins passed away he was clinically obese….!