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When I first wrote about these two athletes as an example of what a genetically disadvantaged person can achieve, I received an e-mail from an angry reader (who was very overweight and convinced that his genetics were to be fault and there was nothing he could do about it). He wrote; “Tom, those are terrible fast weight loss examples. – Will a positive attitude restore Marla’s sight? Will positive thinking re-grow Carl’s leg?” I felt sorry for this poor guy because he entirely missed the point, and because of his own “vision problem” he has limited his own development. The answer to his questions of course, are no; the chances of positive mental manner growing back a leg or restoring one’s sight are mighty slim.

But that doesn’t matter; the dissimilarity between people like Marla and Carl and the man who wrote to me is that Marla and Carl didn’t use their genetic disabilities as justification for their own failure and mediocrity or as an excuse for not even trying. No diet issue has created more confusion and controversy than the low carbohydrate vs. high carbohydrate debate. Contrary to what certain diet “guru’s” tell you, carbohydrates are not fattening. It’s a flat out LIE to say, “Carbohydrates are fattening.” What’s fattening is consuming more calories than your body can use at one time. However, it’s true that some people lose weight more quickly on a low carbohydrate diet (that’s not the same thing as saying carbohydrates are fattening.) It’s also true that almost each bodybuilder or fitness competitor uses some variation of the low carb diet to prepare for competitions.

Despite these facts, very low carb diets are not the ultimate answer to permanent weight loss. At worst they are unhealthy. At best they’re a temporary tool that should be used only for short periods to achieve specific fat loss goals (preparing for bodybuilding contest, for example). Even for carb-sensitive, insulin-resistant, hypoglycemic people who respond well to less carbs and more protein/fat, there are still many fast weight loss drawbacks:

1) Very low carb diets are difficult to stick to. If you eliminate most of your carbohydrates from your diet for a long period of time, you’re setting yourself up for a relapse. The more you cut back the carbs, the bigger the return will be when you put carbs back in. That’s why 95% of people gain back all the weight they lose on a very low carb diet.

2) Very low carb diets are often unbalanced and missing many nutrients. It’s still up for question whether low carb programs like the Atkin’s diet are unhealthy, but few people would argue that the healthiest diet is one that has balance between protein, carbs and fats and includes a wide variety of foods, not an overemphasis on one food or food group.

3) Very low carb diets may be unhealthy. Many low carb diets allow large amount of saturated and processed fats. (No toast or pancakes are allowed, but bacon, sausage, butter and whole eggs for breakfast are just fine). In the absence of carbohydrates, you can have fat with protein and you’ll still lose weight (fat doesn’t necessarily make you fat). But it’s probably not wise to have large amounts of saturated fat and it’s never wise to eat processed fats or trans fats. Although the effects of low carb, high fat/protein diets on various health markers is still up for debate, most people would be very good to opt for a diet that is low in fat (below 30% of total calories) and moderate in carbs and protein.

Read about immune system boosters - this info is important for your health and weight loss.