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 personal care, Gordon reached his goal weight for the first time in thirty years, and he no longer feels driven to consume sugar.
    Gordon had failed repeatedly on low-fat/low-calorie diets. And that's not surprising. His problem lay in his metabolic response to carbohydrates. To solve an out-of-control situation like this by restricting calories without restricting carbohydrates is like marching into the surf planning to turn back the ocean.
    You may have picked up this book with the secret inner conviction that you're a "compulsive eater." In all probability, you're a carbohydrate addict. How many compulsive eaters of steaks have you come across? Not too many, huh? Let me tell you, it's a rare breed.
    Many people ate a so-called "balanced" diet as children, but by the time they reached adulthood their diets had become progressively less balanced. Eating didn't seem all that important to them once, but now it does. So they look at their waistlines, they look at their eating and they realize they have a problem. Usually they notice that their taste in food has gone off in a specific direction. Carbohydrates now form the bulk of what they eat: breads and baked goods, cakes and candies, pasta and popcorn. Surprising and illogical food cravings are typical. Do you ever have dinner with a big dessert and almost immediately afterward find that you want some candy? That's a sign, as is fatigue, that your carbohydrate metabolism is out of whack.
    It's not that you eat when you're not hungry, but you seem to be always hungry. And yet when you eat the high-carbohydrate food you crave, you feel better only briefly. Your situation is the exact opposite of the one you'll experience when you do Atkins. When doing Atkins, you'll find that your appetite has diminished, but your satisfaction from the food you eat has increased.