Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution

Preface to the New Edition

I've never heard of an author redoing his book when it is still a number one bestseller, but this book has been a success for seven years, and some updating is in order. So much has happened since this book was written that I feel I must keep you abreast of how important these changes will prove to be, not only for your weight control project, but also for expanding your health and lifespan.

No, my diet recommendations are not different, although I'll be telling you about some very delicious special foods and some plateau-breaking vita-nutrients created exclusively for Atkins dieters. What has changed dramatically is the world in which the New Diet Revolution plays such a significant role.

When I first wrote this book, I had to convince an entire nation of people who, for a generation, have been systematically brainwashed into believing fallacious ideas about overweight. The unchallenged dogma was that carbohydrates are necessary for everyone, that white flour is good for you, that fats and protein undermine your health, that weight loss requires strenuous exercise or going hungry, and that appetite suppressants may be necessary.

But because the New Diet Revolution works so well, producing essentially automatic weight loss with little regard to quantities, millions of people learned, almost exclusively by word of mouth, that a diet directly opposed to what they have been taught would easily bring their weight problem under control. And they also learned that those who defied the prevailing dogma would improve their energy levels and lab values and would often overcome many medication-requiring illnesses.That is why this book has sold more copies each succeeding year of the six-year span it has been in print. In that time, more than 2 out of every 100 adults in America has obtained a copy of this book, and more have read it. All of these readers have been forced to consider the possibility that one person may be right and the rest of the world wrong. This serious accusation is not made from arrogance, but rather of deep concern that the errors of the "rest of the world" are so widespread as to threaten your health in many ways unless I can help you understand how and why you are being used to further certain economic interests.

You have been repeatedly told that meat, eggs, butter and cream are bad for you and that pasta, cereals, bread, low-fat milk, flavored yogurt, high carbohydrate energy drinks and the like are good for you. Scientific research points in the other direction, but economics explain the discrepancy. The maligned foods, curiously enough, are all those that bring minimal profits to the food industry, and the approved foods, all of which are built upon the least expensive raw materials, are the ones the industry finds most profitable. Although scores of scientific papers have been published showing that what we are taught cannot be true, the utterances from medical associations, the government, and the media never change. Once that sinks in, you may be more receptive to sharing my suspicions that you have been victimized.

In the updated version of New Diet Revolution, I have written three new chapters. One deals with recent scientific developments that may clarify the controversy over which diet is really best for you. Another deals with questions I am asked most frequently by my readers, and the third deals with the rather preposterous misconceptions that I have seen in print about the program.

In addition, since my colleagues and I at the Atkins Center have expanded our services to our readers, I have updated many chapters to integrate information about how you may interact with us to facilitate your weight loss, health restoration and dietary enjoyment.

Also, throughout the book, I have updated information when appropriate. And finally, I am aware that this very book has profoundly changed people's attitudes toward dieting and this edition recognizes the different mindset that people now have -- namely, the expectation of success. This optimism, based on the success of people like you have seen, should, I am confident, serve to be a wonderfully selffulfilling prophesy.

ROBERT C. ATKINS, M.D.
JANUARY 1999