OT but I need info on Atkins diet

[john]

I have started the Atkins diet on my way to losing 20 pounds I need to know.  Do you have to eat all high fat foods or are some low fat things thrown in OK?  Also do you count carbs in your meats or only in veggies?

There is shaZam! on the web for general info, I don't want to buy a book, so maybe someone can give me a readers digest version here?

[Zarathustra]

here's my understanding of it anyway.  you count carbs in everything.  it doesn't matter the sorce of your carbs, it's that you're eating carbs period.  so you must count them all.  also, the fat content doesn't wholey matter, it's more the protein.  therefore, low fat foods with good protein such as buffalo burgers, etc; are still good.
 the only thing i'd say to watch out for is your consumption of organ meats, ie. liver, kidney, brain, etc.  i saw a news report on people getting gout on the atkins diet.  just watch yourself.
 on a side note, does anyone else question the reliability of this diet?  it just seems like a diet geared towards americans who don't want to change what they eat (no offence john).  americans are one of the most meat crazy societies on the planet.  but i mean, when has a society at a whole, let alone a healthy one, anywhere throughout history, survived on a high meat, low carb diet?  it just doesn't seem healthy to me.  sure you may lose weight, but weight loss is not important, it's overall health.  but that last part is just my thoughts, maybe i'm wrong.

[shep_bannister]

>>i saw a news report on people getting gout on the atkins diet

Yes, I've heard reports of this as well.  It's supposed to be quite common for hardcore Atkins dieters.

[RANT]

The problem with diets is their very nature.  A diet is really a short term fix for a permanent problem.  The only reliable way to lose body fat and keep it off is with a change of lifestyle, not with a diet.  A diet may help someone lose weight for a while, but as soon as you stop the diet, the weight is likely to come back, and depending on the way you lost it, often times it comes back worse than it was in the beginning.  This is because MOST diets involve eating less food, which just slows down your metabolism.

The fact of the matter is, if you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.  If you burn more than you consume, you will lose it.  The Atkins diet takes advantage of the fact that Carbohydrates contain more calories than protein or fat.  Granted, there is much more to it than that, including the fact that carbohydrates are converted into a certain type of blood sugar which your body will burn before it consumes its own stores of fat.  In general though, Atkins just came up with a way for people to consume less calories without giving up cheeseburgers or steak.

But just consider the nature of the Atkins diet.  It tells you vegetables and fruits are bad (our #1 source for vitamins and minerals).  It tells you that high saturated fat foods are good.  Personally, I think it's a quack diet, just like the rest of them.  It works for some people, because all they are interested in is shedding pounds.  But if you actually want to get healthy and fit (which looks MUCH better than skinny), you have to exercise and have a healthy, balanced diet.

I really would recommend going with a diabetic's diet before an Atkins diet.  They preach similar ideas, in terms of reducing unneeded carbs, and eliminating excess sugars as much as possible.  The biggest difference is that diabetics don't try to live on bacon fat alone (which really DOES increase the chance of heart disease, whatever your nearest country bumpkin doctor might say).  If you are interested in something like this, look for a book called Sugarbusters.  I hear it has a very logical and realistic approach to diabetics diets.
[/RANT]

That said, I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist.  I'm just pro-nutrition and pro-health.  I personally think you'd be better off eating all your vegetables, cutting out maybe 1/3 of your carbs and working out 5-8 hours per week.  And if you do something like that, you just have to remember that weight really means nothing.  It's your body fat percentage that's important.  Because muscle weighs more than fat.

[john]

Well Shep from what I have gathered after the induction stage (2 or 3 weeks right?) carbs are increased to a level where one can eat quite a reasonable anount of vegetables and even some fruit.


Thanks for the 411 on counting the carbs.  It sounds like I need to focus on the carb counting a bit more than I have been.

[South East Rocket]

I've worked at GNC for 4yrs.   Here's the basic thing I always told everybody about the Aktins diet:
Take a good B-Complex and be sure to take an antioxidant formula.  That's it!

You'll loose your weight and you'll loose it quick!  I've frequently talked to people who've lost well over 100Lbs with the aktins diet

[Blueknyt]

Im using a Modified Ver of atkins, in 7 months i went from 289 to245, since i started working out im still loosing inches but im back up to 250.   the induction to the diet is basicly extremely low carb intake per day, i was at 32g of carbs per day.   Basic idea, NO BREADS,Pastas or the like, no sugars, (although i ate fruits and vegies)   I didnt eat late at night, i ate my carbs early in the day so i had a chance to burn them off. DRINK LOTS OF WATER, the diet will make you pee, alot. Diet soda is ok now and then but easy to get hooked as water gets boring. no booze. Lots of vitamins.  i didnt eat alot of "fatty" foods, but lean meats, hardboiled eggs,lots of chicken, i need to eat more fish. once your in the flow, you can add more carbs, i added ate natural fruits for sweet tooth, lots of vegies.    now and then i have a sandwhich or pasta dish, i merely work out alittle after, and watch my intake the next few days to balence it.  Becareful of your salt intake.    and keep checking with your doc.  it can get expensive and boring eating steaks all the time. its not a cheap diet but it works. and it can be taylored to each person  the basic idea is still the same, Low carbs to get your body using thestore fat,  (raising the metabolism through working your mucsle and heartrate is a big factor) then feeding the body enough carbs to be healthy and enough energy to feel good.  good luck

[pantablo]

LOSE WEIGHT NOW, ASK ME HOW.


I'm the skinny one in black/orange



No, really.Atkins works same as most other diets in that the TOTAL food/caloric intake is significantly less than an average persons daily intake. Yeah, watch your carbs-pasta, bread, BOOZE. Try doing an inventory of what you eat on a typical day. I mean everything-every little snack. you might be surprised to find out how many extra calories you might be taking in.

Exercise a little. How has the bike riding been working out? eat in moderation and try eating smaller portions-Americans eat huge portions, much more than necessary.

High fat foods should be minimized, except those that are of the good fat variety (avocadoes are the only things I know of that fall into this category).

Eat a little less. Drink a little more water. If you treat it this way instead of X diet it will be easier to integrate it with your life.

[Blueknyt]

forgot to add, there is a difference in the type of carbs,  lookin at the label, you will see TOTAL carbs say 15g    further down you will see sugar carb say5   that would mean 10 of those carbs were derived from non sugar sources, and depending on what, may not be counted in your Daily carb count.  carbs from Whole grains are ok, like peanuts and such.  try www.atkins.com plenty of sites around to help, but keep in touch with your doc.

[EricRat]

I have done some research on this as well and am very suspicious of the overall healthfulness of the typical Atkins plan.

The higher protein lower carb part does, however make sense and work for me. The rich proteins satisfy not just my appetite but what feels good to me/for me. Although, If I eat to much red meat it doesn't work.

Oily fish and as much as I hate to say it Soy protein work better. You really do have to keep a handle on the fats though, there is no way around it. Without a very active lifestyle I don't think you can overcome a high fat intake.

Eat right and exercise more is the only answer. 1 pount off is a deficet of about 3500 calories. Come up with a 500 calories deficit per day and you get to lose a pound a week. 500 calories isn't that hard, 250 from 20-30 minutes of exercise and 250 from dietary changes.

Some days less intake, somedays more exercise. And, imho, it is sustainable.

Also, I would argue, America is not the MOST meat hungry culture.

and lastly, Every pound off increases you top speed. With 40ish horse power we need all the help we can get.

[Jeremichi]

I've gone from 258 to 205 in 2 years, but not on the atkins diet.  Just watched what I ate (switched to lean meats such as turkey).  I now exercise regularly 3 to 5 times a week.  I'm thinking of trying something like the atkins diet because I eat way too many carbs.  Its just hard to lose that last twenty pounds but I think thats because of my binge drinking on the weekend.

[90GS500rehab]

The Atkins diet takes advantage of the fact that Carbohydrates contain more calories than protein or fat.  

Actually carbs and protein have the same cal. per gram. Fat is almost double the calories per gram.

The Atkins diet sheds weight because your body thinks you are starving since your blood sugar is depressed so it burns fat.

But like you said - its all in how many calories you eat not only what you eat.

[90GS500rehab]

forgot to add, there is a difference in the type of carbs,  lookin at the label, you will see TOTAL carbs say 15g    further down you will see sugar carb say5   that would mean 10 of those carbs were derived from non sugar sources, and depending on what, may not be counted in your Daily carb count.  carbs from Whole grains are ok, like peanuts and such.  try www.atkins.com plenty of sites around to help, but keep in touch with your doc.

Fiber is not a counted carb since humans cannot metabolise it. It merely helps our "exhaust" system from having too much "backpressure".  :mrgreen:

[Blueknyt]

oh, so thats what that Burbling back fire is?  lack of fibre  

[JeffD]

Kinda interesting theory I heard about.  Just read for a second.


Your body tries to maintain 98.7F or about 37C.  So if you drink 32f or 0C water then your body is going to have to use energy to raise the temperature of the water up to 98.7F to try and maintain body temp.  So in theory if you drink a lot of freezing water you body will eventually use some stored energy to maintain the temperature of your body.  
(what do you think?  I know all the diets tell you to drink LOTS of water)


I thought I might try it,  But I have also started running every other day too.  OH and my Girlfriend went on Weight Watchers and has lost ~ 5lbs in 1.5months, so I am kinda pulling stuff from her too.  FYI weight watchers is basically calorie counting for dummies  

[90GS500rehab]

oh, so thats what that Burbling back fire is?  lack of fibre  

Or a lack of exhaust leaving the "pipe".

[john]

See the reason I am willing to try it  is because I am a carnivore by nature.  I like steak and hot dogs and ham and eggs and I CAN live without bread or potato or french fries and chips.  

Fruit is a tough one but for 3 weeks I'll survive.  I am serious about cutting my carb intake permanantly, after I go though the induction phase.  I think I can survive on 55g carbs a day after this first few weeks.

About ALCOHOL.  Is a shot of vodka or rye and diet gingerale OK?  What about low carb beer -not 6 of them just one maybe 2?

[jake42]

I"ve read alot about the Atkins and other diets because part of my teaching load includes physiology teaching and the digestive system.  

Atkins has been around for about 25 years and it is lifestyle change like any other eating plan.  There has been alot of research studies done and more than a few of them have shown that people following a typical Atkins diet have reduced LDL (read bad) cholesterol levels. And Jon you are right, after the first couple of weeks you do increase your carb levels up to something more manageable.  The idea of induction is push your body into ketosis, which are byproducts of fat metabolism.  Yeah it's strict and yeah you should exercise, but speaking from personal experience, after about a week or so you will start to feel better and you will have more energy and less high's and lows like you have with carb heavy diets.  

you may not have a bowel movement for a few days add soluble fiber like metamucil or something.  The atkins book is only like 12 bucks and worth looking over.

RANT
what's the real farce is the fact that the USDA is still pushing the high carb low fat diets. a quick medline search will bring up some interesting research.   My other Buddha Loves You is that portion size is ridculous.  For example, a package of Ramen noodles is actually two servings, so in reality you would have to break that block of noodles in half and only use half the packet of seasoning, or that a bottle of pepsi is 2.5 servings.. and everything is biggie or supersize this or that.. Conagara are not helping .

Rant over

by the way, there is also the evolutionary argument that says we crave things like carbs because we were scavengers and our bodies have become really well adapted to storing energy (read fats).  Physiologically carbs are quite easily converted into fats by a couple of enzyme driven reactions.

I'm done

jake

[vegbiker]

My screen name will give you a clue about which type of diet I think is best   So, with my biased opinion in mind, let me say this: I'd be cautious of the Atkins diet, or any other diet that restricts healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. I've heard a few bad things about Atkins. Too much protein can stress the kidneys and cause calcium depletion.

Also, low-fat meats still have the same amounts of cholesterol as high-fat ones. High-protein, low-carb diets induce ketosis (trick your body into thinking it's starving), but if you slow down your metabolism by being in "starvation-mode" for too long, it'll be harder to keep weight off later.

Simple carbs (sugar, white flour, white rice) are just empty calories, but complex carbs (whole grains, etc.) are really good. I'd be willing to bet that if you ate an unrestricted calorie diet of whole grains, beans, legumes, veggies and fruit, you'd lose weight. I know, I know...no mention of meat, eggs and dairy - the fake versions are good too, tho. (hides for cover).

Good luck with the diet, and don't forget that simple things like walking are great calorie-burners - it's all about balancing amount consumed with amount burned.

Oh, I'd say treat yourself to a rye and ginger every now and then (or red wine?) - you gotta live, right?  

[Zarathustra]

it's all about being vegetarian vegebiker; i got your back.     i suppose atkins is one extreme, and we're the other.  i would argue that vegetarianism is more healthy overall, but then again, you can be vegetarian and still pound down soda and chips and not do anything for yourself.  it's all about keeping yourself in check and watching what you eat, no matter what your dietary constraints.  simply sticking to one catagory of food or another is not going to be good for your body in the long run, but i think with vegetarians now a days, we can get all the vitamins and minerals we need anyway, and with the fake meat stuff (which i agree are good), we've got it made.  so john, just be careful, i hear shifting is hard when you got the gout   .

[vegbiker]

Well put, Zarathustra...donuts and coke are vegetarian food, but far from healthy. Balance, right?