I have dieted all my life. Seriously, since I was a child my mom had me on some sort of diet. For years, I had no natural understanding of hunger. I never fealt it, because I ate by a book, not by what my body said. It destroyed my metabolism. I have been listening to my body for a year, and I am finally getting back to normal. I truly believe that diets make you fat. Your body tells you what it needs, just listen. And get over society's view of beauty. Accept whats natural for you. If your curvy, embrace it, its sexy. Not everybody is a size 6. Confidence is the sexiest thing of all. My view on the atkins diet: its horrible for your body long term, and short term dieting only rebounds into more weightgain. I am not an expert, but form my research I have discovered a few things. First of all, the atkins diet is really hard on your liver and kidneys. Why. Well, it is actually harder for your liver to process excess protein than alcohol. However, people don't binge on protein like they do alcohol, unless their on a diet like the atkins diet. And for the kidneys. The atkins diet causes a medical condition called ketosis. Basically, the brain needs carbs to run. Without any carbs, the body has to turn proteins into carbs. The by-product of this process is keytones. Keytones build up in your kidneys and the damage is caused when your kidneys try to get rid of them. Many doctor supervised versions of the atkins diet call for litmus testing your urine. This test is to determine the level of ketosis you body is in. Is it really worth it Final note.... Sure it works, but so does bulemia PS. Eat your veggies. Every diet agrees that they're good for you. And delicious in the right hands!