If the food or beverage you ' ve identified as addictive contains carbohydrates, you have a carbohydrate addiction, and this book will provide you with more answers to your problems than you ever thought possible.
Three Facets of the Same Problem
Individuals whose " yes " answers fell primarily in Groups A and B( and most of you C responders, as well) have a condition that is the common denominator among nearly all overweight people. It is called hyperinsulinism. Before I explain the significance of hyperinsulinism and the very good news of how easily you can tame it on Atkins, I want you to reflect on the significance of eating. Stop and ask yourself, " What else do I do in the course of a day that constitutes such a dramatic and intense alteration of my body as swallowing the food I do?"
Between the time you rise and the time you go to bed, you put pounds of organic matter into your mouth. Your body runs on it. So don ' t be surprised that if you make bad choices, you ' ll pay a price.
Life Out of Control
Food-obsessive behavior is common. But some of the tougher cases fall beyond the scope of Groups A, B or C and can be a challenge to cure even by doing Atkins. Individuals who binge and fantasize and almost live for food are as much between a rock and a hard place as an alcoholic or a heroin addict. For these people, the best hope is still a metabolic approach to their problem.
Gordon Lingard, a real estate executive, was an extreme example. He was 53 years old when he came to see me, and his five-foot ten-inch frame carried 306 pounds. Gordon had progressed from a normal weight in college( when he was a lifeguard) to extreme obesity by his late twenties. His weight had gone as high as 450 pounds. He had no hormonal imbalances, and he had tried everything-stomach stapling, emetics, laxatives and every diet from B to Z.
Gordon was as inexplicable to himself as to the many doctors he had consulted. All he knew was that he had to eat. The cravings were indescribable. He told me he was constantly planning his next binge. Gallons of ice cream disappeared as swiftly as an ordinary carbohydrate addict downs a candy bar. Sugar was Gordon ' s master obsession. " There was never a moment I didn ' t desire it," he recalls. " Often I would shake until I could put some sugar in my mouth. The symptoms were totally physical, and they were really frightening. For me there was nothing else but food. I had an hour ' s drive from my office to my home, and I knew every restaurant, every diner, every candy machine and every soft drink dispenser along the whole route."
I ' d wager you ' d be willing to bet Gordon Lingard ' s obsession was almost entirely psychological-but you ' d be wrong. His situation was a special one and, for a while, treating him was no cinch. In his case, some of the vitanutrient aids I describe in Chapter 23 were a crucial part of the solution. But what I ' d like you to realize is that Gordon ' s problem was only a more extreme version of the problems so many overweight people have. His difficulties were basically metabolic difficulties, and they could be solved metabolically. By doing Atkins under my
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