Only in America....

Would pork rinds be considered a DIET food.

"Sure, they have enough cholesterol to give a fucking Bengal Tiger a coronary, but at least they have no carbs."

leaves more rice and beans and melons and orange juice for me!

Pork Rinds = good

Apples = bad

Actually, Atkins recommends pork rinds WITH GUACAMOLE DIP as a good snack, as it contains no carbs.
I'm on Atkins. I've lost 35 pounds since Jan. 1
My total cholesterol has also dropped over 100 points from my baseline, whereas my GOOD cholesterol went up 3 points. My triglycerides went way down.
Atkins is misunderstood by those not on it, or who haven't read the book, or who buy into the low-fat lie. That low-fat is the ONLY way to lose weight.
I was on Ornish (the low-fat diet) for six months. In that time, I lost all of TWO FRIGGIN' POUNDS and 14 points on cholesterol. And I felt hungry and deprived all the time.
The problem with a lot of Atkins dieters is they do not correctly follow it. They stay on Stage 1 (Induction) for months on end. You're only supposed to be on that for 2 weeks!
And, yes, you should also watch your fat intake. You should also make sure that the carbs you DO eat are good carbs, and not garbage carbs, such as you find in processed foods.
You can eat whole-grain breads, whole-grain rices, etc. on Atkins...but you want to watch HOW MUCH of it you are eating. Similarly, you do want to watch HOW MUCH fat you are consuming.

And it is best not to combine fats and carbs in the same meal!