It's actually quite simple. Four to 6 ounces of lean meat, a 1/2 cup or so of starch (whole grain pasta, brown rice, potato, etc.) and pretty much all the vegetables you want. Throw in a couple of servings of dairy and 3 or 4 of fruit. You're under 2000 calories a day with good nutrition. Exercise AT LEAST 30 minutes a day 6 days a week.

I tried Atkins. I lost weight. I lost 14 lbs the first month. The second month I lost 2. I thought I must be doing something wrong so I worked REALLY hard the 3rd month at doing everything right. I gained 2 pounds. I also had to give up almost everything I loved to eat. No potatoes, pasta, rice, etc.

I tried the ZONE. I lost 50 pounds. I also had to give up a lot of the foods I loved. I gained it all back.

I have now been doing what I first posted. It's not a "diet" or a "system." It's just the way I eat. ALL of my blood work is now fantastic. I have 10 times the energy I had before. I've lost 80 pounds and counting. I still eat "bad" foods from time to time and it doesn't destroy the last 2 weeks of whatever "system" I was on.

The problem with most people is they just don't want to eat right. They are looking for someone to tell them how to make this problem go away with very little effort to themselves. That's the draw of Atkins. Who wouldn't think that eating a big steak with butter every day would be great? AND lose weight? Fantastic! But after you've done that for a month and realize that you'll never get that baked potato to go with the steak it begins to lose it's attractivness. Saturday night I had turkey tenderoins with vegetable fried rice. Last night I had veggie spaghetti and tonight I'm having a big baked potato loaded up with vegetables and some low fat cheese. It's not a diet, it's my life. That's the real key.

Sorry for the book.

Joe