Conscious Choice: A Passion for Pancakes

October 2004

A Passion for Pancakes

We talked to people waiting in line for pancakes to ask them just what they thought of low carb diets

by Gennifer Jackson

It only seems that the whole world is caught up in the low-carb diet craze. But there are still some places where people think Dr. Atkins is just the name of a regular M.D., South Beach is a hot trendy place to spend a vacation and the only ones who should be in the Zone are basketball players.

We’re talking, of course, about people in search of Sunday brunch who wait in those long lines outside of places like the International House of Pancakes (IHOP). It’s pretty much the same on any Sunday morning in the land of IHOP during the after-church rush when the wait for a table can be more than 20 minutes.

And so we decided to check in with these people with a passion for pancakes, and ask them just what they thought of low-carb diets. As we suspected, we found a little of everything on the diet spectrum: from those who would never think of giving up their beloved pancakes to a few low-carb renegades engaged in a day of carb decadence. And, of course, there were a few who have been there, done that and can’t stomach the thought of going back to low-carb land.

Outside the IHOP in Orland Park, a group of five men laughed and joked after eating a hearty breakfast. None was on a low-carb diet, and none intended to try one.

“What’s the point?” 51-year-old law enforcement agent Carlos Bernard asked. “There’s just going to be another fad next year. “I had the Spanish omelet and it was good! And at about six o’clock I’m going to have some ribs and wash it down with a nice glass of Chardonnay. This was earned over time,” he said and grabbed his belly, laughing. “I have a right to this!”

Inside, some employees weren’t familiar with what a low-carb diet was, let alone what to suggest as a diet-friendly menu item. Three of them huddled together, whispering, until one said: “Eggs?” Finally, one spoke up. “We don’t have any special menu items here,” said Aseaf Salem. “This isn’t a fast-food place. I only know three places that offer low-carb menu items and all of them are fast-food restaurants.”

Some of their customers were more than a little acquainted with low-carb regimens, but for at least this day they decided to succumb to their carb carvings. Brenda Johnson, 49, of Southville, Mich., was looking forward to her eggs, bacon, and biscuits, after being on the South Beach diet for a month.

“I’m not checking anything this weekend!” she said.

Johnson, who was having breakfast at the Matteson IHOP with her daughter and sister, doesn’t know how long she’ll remain on the South Beach diet: “It’s more a mind thing and I haven’t made up my mind yet if this is the best thing for me. If you don’t make it a way of life, you’re gonna gain the weight right back.”

Regardless, school social worker Sheryl Donald, 30, of Albany, N.Y., whose family stopped for breakfast at the Lansing IHOP on the way back home from a family reunion, was still trying to follow a low-carb plan. She said she had no problem finding breakfast or lunch menu items that fit the South Beach diet.

“It was between the garden omelet made with egg whites, or a grilled chicken salad,” Donald said.

Out of all the low-carb diets out there, for Donald the South Beach diet was the best.

“You do get to eat some carbs on this one,” Donald said. “And even if I don’t stick to it forever, I’ll know how to pick good carbs over bad carbs.”

Donald said it was hard during the first two weeks, when she was required to eliminate almost all carbohydrates from her diet but after that it became easy.

“You’ve just got to discipline yourself,” Donald said. “I feel better and healthier now.”

But others remained unconvinced about the value of low-carb eating, or any kind of diets, for that matter.

“I think the whole thing’s a lot of hooey,” said 54-year-old Michael Powers, who was with his buddies outside the Orland Park IHOP. “My dietician told me in the long run you’re just robbing your body of important nutrients by excluding carbs.”

Powers, who had one triple bypass surgery at age 39 and another in his early 50s, controls his weight by eating healthier foods in smaller quantities and going to the gym.

For breakfast, Powers enjoyed half an omelet made with Egg Beaters, to control his cholesterol, and three pancakes. Powers planned on finishing his leftovers at dinnertime.

For Powers, fad diets can be done away with by using a little restraint and a lot of common sense.

“See, that’s what’s wrong with America today. We go to IHOP and feel we’ve gotta eat everything under the sun — clean the plate, you know?” Powers said, explaining people need to eat less and exercise more.

Sales assistant Brandi Johnson, 27, who recently went on and off a low-carb diet, agreed with Powers. She said she lost 23 pounds in three weeks on the Atkins diet, but quickly became unhappy with it.

On this morning she was enjoying french toast, eggs and bacon.

“It gets to the point where you have no options as far as what you can eat,” Brandi Johnson said. “And when you can’t eat the carbs, you just crave them all day.”

So she started by adding fruit because she “can’t live without it” and said eating all of the heavy meals made her feel tired and sluggish. Eventually she decided the diet wasn’t for her.

“And yes, I got fat after I got off the Atkins diet!” she said. “I gained all the weight back in less time than it took to lose it! I’ll never try it again.”

Gennifer Jackson is a Chicago area writer who prefers French toast to pancakes.

October 2004

A Passion for Pancakes

We talked to people waiting in line for pancakes to ask them just what they thought of low carb diets

by Gennifer Jackson

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