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Coast gets weight loss conscious

Tried on your bathing suit lately? Chances are, like many others this month, you are pondering the number one New Year's resolution: losing weight.

Tried on your bathing suit lately? Chances are, like many others this month, you are pondering the number one New Year's resolution: losing weight. Coast dieters have jumped on the latest trend by embracing a low carbohydrate weight loss program, perhaps motivated by stories of other successful dieters who chow down on bacon and eggs every morning, slather whipped cream into their coffee and savour their Belgian chocolate. Though it goes by a number of names, the South Beach diet, the Zone or, more popularly, the Atkins diet, the low carb trend started in the 1970s when a New York based cardiologist, Dr. Robert Atkins, proposed that dieters restrict carbohydrate intake - avoiding starches such as bread, potatoes, pasta and all sugars, including those naturally occurring in fruit. Once the body was robbed of this source of food energy, it would burn fat instead. Atkins was attacked for his views in his lifetime by the American Medical Association, but his patients experienced excellent results. New, positive findings in 2003 sparked a renewed interest and the reprinting of his book, Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution. "I wanted to get back to the weight I had in my 20s," says 51-year-old Doug Proby, manager of the Raven's Cry Theatre in Sechelt. He felt sluggish while climbing up and down stairs at the theatre 15 times a night or walking the golf course. Finally, he read the Atkins' book. "At first, it seemed so outlandish, but the logic behind it made sense to me - to keep your blood sugar on an even basis would take away cravings," Proby said. Proby lost 18 pounds in the first two weeks by combining diet and exercise at the gym. "Fortunately, I could eat all the things I love," he says, "cheese omelettes, salmon in creamy dill sauce."

Proby has shed 50 pounds since mid-August and his success gave him the idea of stocking the Raven's Cry Theatre snack bar with low carb treats: a power bar made by the Atkins company, drinks made with sucralose, an artificial sweetener, and a big seller, Perlege Belgian chocolate bars. One of the first Coast supermarkets to jump on the trend was Marketplace IGA in Gibsons.

Owner Bob Hoy likes to offer customers leading edge products because it makes his job more interesting, he says. After researching the web, he introduced a section of low carb snacks, cereals, baking mixes, tortillas, sauces and drinks to the Gibsons store in late September. "This low carb section appeals to three groups," Hoy says. "The low carb people, weight watchers who count calories and diabetics."

The latter are a small market, but Hoy was surprised to find how limited their diet had been. "I showed one diabetic around the section the other day, and he was thrilled to have that choice," Hoy says. Critics have exclaimed over the high price of low-carb products, fueled by reports of bread sold in Vancouver for $10 a loaf.Hoy believes the prices will drop soon. IGA makes their own low-carb bread so can keep the cost at under $3. "Already one of the most popular items, the hazelnut cream cereal, has dropped from $10.99 to $7.99," he says. "Right now, most of the products are from the U.S. and demand is so high they can't supply fast enough." Good Stuff Health Foods in Sechelt will special order items such as low carb macaroni and cheese dinners and brownie mixes. But some products are difficult to supply because they are made by American companies not wanting to comply with Canadian regulations by changing their labels to include French. "As soon as the big brand names get on board, prices will drop," Hoy says.

For example, he predicts we will soon see a Heinz brand low-carb ketchup. "It's going mainstream very quickly," he said. He points to the fast food chains such as Subway with outlets in Gibsons and Sechelt that have recently introduced a low-carb chicken and turkey wrap priced at $5.99. Other tried and tested weight loss programs such as Weight Watchers are not against the low carb trend, says Lynn Ujvary, who runs the Gibsons program at the Heritage School. Weight Watchers is a support program, she says, that involves giving dieters the tools and information to lose for life. "Of course, ideally we should eat right, exercise and lose weight, but if it was that easy, we'd all be slim," Ujvary says. The Weight Watchers system works. Personally, she lost 65 pounds through a program of watching calories, walking and group support, and she has maintained that weight loss for two and a half years. "We have a book out now called The Truth About Carbs," Ujvary says. "You have to decide for yourself whether to try that diet. If you're never going to have another potato for the rest of your life, then go for it." Personally, she finds the low carb diet extreme. "It works for some people; it doesn't work for everybody."