All Meat Cowboy Diet

05-14-99 · THE ALL MEAT ALL FAT COWBOY DIET. That's what I call it. It has spawned two bestsellers: Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution© 1992 and Protein Power© 1996.

I became aware of this unusual diet through some cattlemen friends of mine. These were heavy men and each had lost 30 pounds or more using it, and their cholesterol had gone down. The interesting part was that one could eat all the meat, eggs, cheese and butter they wanted.

For the sake of science, I decided I would put myself on the diet and see what happened. First I went to the doctor and had my cholesterol checked, then I went and had breakfast for the first time since 1973. A big breakfast: three-egg cheese omelet, rare bacon, sausage, Miracle Whip, jalapeños, no toast, no jelly, no pancakes, no donut, no hash browns and no syrup. Filled up . . .

For supper, we had roast beef. I ate the salad, the guacamole, the green beans, the roast beef, the cottage cheese, the paper napkin and the plastic fork, BUT no baked potato, no gravy, no hot rolls, no honey, no chocolate four-layer cake (so moist you could wad it into a ball the size of #10 buckshot that weighed 40 lbs.), and no French vanilla ice cream.

After six weeks of eating like a pig, I weighed 154 lbs. I had lost 4 pounds! I was impressed. The diet really worked. Then I checked my cholesterol. Total was up 21 points. HDL (good cholesterol) 'bout the same, LDL (bad cholesterol) up 8 points.
I kept at it and stayed the course. I became a regular at the coffee shop for breakfast. I ate rashers of bacon, baskets of eggs, kilos of cheese and lockers of beef. But no candy, tortillas, ice cream, pinto beans, rice or chocolate chip cookies. I felt GREAT.

Twelve weeks into the diet, I checked my cholesterol again. It was now up 40 points to 171. The good HDL was down 5 (a 10% drop), the bad LDL was up 42 points and my heart attack risk ratios were also going the wrong way.

I called my cardiologist consultant and read him the results. He said, "What's that sound?" I asked, "What do ya mean?" He said, "It sounds like plaque troweling itself inside cardiac arteries."

So I quit the diet. Four months later, my cholesterol counts are back where they were. I'm eating tacos, hamburgers, chocolate candy, pecan pie, hot fudge and Wonder Bread. But I'm still eating the fat off the prime rib and pigs in the blanket. Oh, and I've gained the 4 pounds back, plus a couple.

So, in conclusion, this is a great diet for carnivores, a boon to those of is in the red meat business and is making M.D.'s rethink human nutrition. But, based on my meager experience, if you don't need to go on a diet, this might be a good diet for you not to go on.

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