Originally Posted by Nola Celeste (Post 3828868)

My best guess is that a dietary imbalance or a simple lack of mechanical friction--the article did mention that eating soft food could cause it--was responsible. BUT! The important thing to remember is that Atkins by itself is not a bad thing just because it made ME miserable. For other people, it's awesome.

And that's why I don't buy a video that says "____ NEVER works for weight loss" unless the ___ is something like "eating a bucket of fried chicken for every meal"--and even then, there might just be that one bizarro person who actually loses weight on fried chicken. :D

I agree with your definition of "painless" and would add in a few more important characteristics that I have to have in a plan: no (or few) insatiable cravings, no cutting out an entire food group, and no choking down stuff I absolutely hate.

People are hard-wired to enjoy food; some people are able to overcome that and see food solely as fuel, but for me, it's important to retain my ability to appreciate a good meal. Life's too short to eat a plain rice cake. Ever. (Unless of course you enjoy plain rice cakes, in which case, knock yourself out!)

Other people might have other deal-breaking definitions: a plan has to fill them up completely, for instance, or it's got to be vegetarian or vegan, or it can't involve too much cooking due to time constraints. With so many stipulations on what each of us finds a sustainable plan, it's not possible to define a single "best" plan for everyone.

And I'm sorry for sharing that black tongue stuff. It was really distressing, especially as I am a scrupulous tooth- and tongue-brusher and just felt freaked out entirely by that malady. It only lasted a few days, but ugh...LOL, I thought I was in dire peril, it looked so alarming!