Concerning the 'Atkins, fatkins' letter, I have to defend the Atkins diet. Two years ago I was 240 pounds, 50 pounds overweight. I decided I had to lose weight, so I started an exercise program. I swam for an hour five days a week and lifted weights three days a week. While doing this I ate what I considered to be a balanced diet.
After five months I had lost ten pounds, which was good, but not very encouraging after having worked so hard. So I decided to do try the Atkins diet while keeping my exercise program. Within five weeks I had lost the extra 40 pounds that I could not lose in the previous five months of trying.
I know the diet works and that I am much healthier now than I was before. Being overweight is far more harmful to a person's overall health than any of the potential dangers of the Atkins diet.
Carl Jones
Sacramento, Calif.