Can a Vegetarian follow the Atkins diet?

The battle lines have been drawn - Atkins vs the Vegetarians. While the late Dr Atkins himself was quite gracious on the subject, if a little "would be too boring to be sustainable", both supporters of and detractors from his diet have been far less so. On both sides of the field, the parties have dug down and used whatever ammunition they could to fire at the other side.

In the middle are people like me - vegetarians who would like to lose a little weight, and are getting increasingly interested in trying the low carb approach. Medical science is finally deciding that it's surprisingly effective and (so far) doesn't have a lot of the negative side effects that were assumed to result from a high-fat, high-protein diet.

I'm still a little concerned about potential long-term factors, but I'm certainly willing to consider the diet.

What I'm NOT willing to consider though is eating anything's flesh. My vegetarianism is one of my most deeply held beliefs, part of who I am, and I'm not going to give it up. So, is it possible to follow a strict low-carb diet AND remain a vegetarian? I believe so.

Over the next few months, I'm going to give it a try. I've got a list of the Atkins "good" and "bad" ingredients, and I think I can adapt a fair whack of what I cook into low-carb versions. It will be an interesting journey. I encourage you to come with me... (April 2004)