Atkins

[BikeSwimLaugh]

True story......

Some friends of mine recently had a competition to see who could lose the most amount of weight in one month. They all weighed-in and each threw in $20; biggest "loser" takes all. I did not participate, but I did tell them they should incorporate body-fat% into the picture and they just ignored me.

The winner lost 12 pounds, he did it all on Atkins and with a bit of exercise. The funny thing is, when I saw him this weekend he was sitting there and he had just as big a "pot" belly as ever...but his face looked thinner and most notably his chest, shoulders & arms looks emaciated. He had that classic sunken-in chest/gaunt look to him....ya know, that Atkins look.

Each gram of glycogen requires 3 grams of water....when you cut carbs, you cut glycogen and the associated water (aka "water weight"). Did he lose weight, yes....did he lose fat? partially. The moment he returns to a balanced diet he'll regain his glycogen/water and bounce back several many pounds.

The question you have to ask yourself is simple: do you want to lose weight, or do you want to lose fat?

I'm under the impression that a person moving away from obesity and towards better health will find themselves losing fat AND gaining muscle. When I tell trainers or nutritionist how I've lost body-fat% but hardly lost any weight on the scale, their response (to my complaint) is "That's awesome!!!!".

Bottom line; you have to look at the COMPLETE PICTURE

As for Atkins, huge return-to-fatness with most people who go on it. I would imagine using Ketosis-based diets on a temporary basis as a tool to bust a plateau or mix things up could be worthwhile in the hands of a knowledgible person, but I don't see it as a long-term tool, IMO.

 

[theGOOCH]

True story......

Some friends of mine recently had a competition to see who could lose the most amount of weight in one month. They all weighed-in and each threw in $20; biggest "loser" takes all. I did not participate, but I did tell them they should incorporate body-fat% into the picture and they just ignored me.

The winner lost 12 pounds, he did it all on Atkins and with a bit of exercise. The funny thing is, when I saw him this weekend he was sitting there and he had just as big a "pot" belly as ever...but his face looked thinner and most notably his chest, shoulders & arms looks emaciated. He had that classic sunken-in chest/gaunt look to him....ya know, that Atkins look.

Each gram of glycogen requires 3 grams of water....when you cut carbs, you cut glycogen and the associated water (aka "water weight"). Did he lose weight, yes....did he lose fat? partially. The moment he returns to a balanced diet he'll regain his glycogen/water and bounce back several many pounds.

The question you have to ask yourself is simple: do you want to lose weight, or do you want to lose fat?

I'm under the impression that a person moving away from obesity and towards better health will find themselves losing fat AND gaining muscle. When I tell trainers or nutritionist how I've lost body-fat% but hardly lost any weight on the scale, their response (to my complaint) is "That's awesome!!!!".

Bottom line; you have to look at the COMPLETE PICTURE

As for Atkins, huge return-to-fatness with most people who go on it. I would imagine using Ketosis-based diets on a temporary basis as a tool to bust a plateau or mix things up could be worthwhile in the hands of a knowledgible person, but I don't see it as a long-term tool, IMO.

Speaking of "Biggest Loser" I had the idea to take a year get as fat as possible and then sign up for that show. Can you imagine how fast I would lose weight with my metabolism? I maintain my current weight with around 4000 calories. They put you on 1600 a day on that show. I would kick ass LOL.

 

[BikeSwimLaugh]

I maintain my current weight with around 4000 calories.

FU GOOCHY!!!!!

Wait till menopause comes, we'll see how your metabolism holds up then!

 

[theGOOCH]

FU GOOCHY!!!!!

Wait till menopause comes, we'll see how your metabolism holds up then!

Hey, don't worry, I'm cutting right now, so I'm down to a measly 3600

 

[buzz]

The exception to this rule is ketosis, which is what Atkins is based on. If you are in ketosis you can eat a surplus and still lose weight. I'm not an advocate of it, but it does work.

sorry but you are wrong,atkins works because protien has a higher satiaty value ie it fills you up more so you eat less cals overall.
any exess cals from wherever will be stored as fat,its cals in versus cals out no exeption.

 

[theGOOCH]

 

[tjl]

sorry but you are wrong,atkins works because protien has a higher satiaty value ie it fills you up more so you eat less cals overall.

Atkins and other super-low-carb diets automatically eliminate most junk food, which typically combines (bad) carbohydrates with (bad) fats into something that is very high calorie, but low satiety. (Note that super-low-fat diets (Pritikin / Ornish type) also eliminate the same kinds of junk food.)

Also, fat (like butter or cooking oil) does not stick as well to meat and low calorie vegetables as it does to carbohydrate foods. So eliminating carbohydrates eliminates foods that can absorb a lot of fat and result in a huge calorie bomb from both the added carbohydrates and the fat that they absorb.

Most people have a hard time eating plain butter, but would likely eat a lot more if they could put it on bread (i.e. more butter, plus the bread = way more calories than if just the butter were available).

 

[theGOOCH]

All that contributes to weight loss, but there is also the matter of ketosis. People can, in fact be at a surplus and lose in ketosis.

I'm not sure why keep coming back to this thread, I'm not even a fan of keto

 

[tribal1]

Atkins is not rocket science. From a BBC writeup :-

Prof ARNE ASTRUP: We could see from the data that the reason why the high protein group had lost more weight was because they had actually consumed fewer calories throughout the study, despite the fact that they had just as the same free access to all the foods they really want to, to eat.

NARRATOR: At last the mystery of how the Atkins diet works may have been solved. It might have nothing to do with calories being lost. Probably nothing to do with ketosis. And apparently nothing to do with burning more calories. Neither does it seem to be due to gorging on fats. The secret to the diets success may be down to something completely different. Protein makes you feel full. Increasing the amount of protein in the diet may control appetite and make people eat less than they would normally. If this research goes on to be confirmed it will be a major advance for science.

 

[theGOOCH]

I'm sure more often than not that's the reason why the average person loses weight on Atkins. In addition to proteins making you feel full, most carb heavy foods are very calorie dense. I have a fast metabolism and the only way I can get in my cals is to include brown rice, ww pasta, ww flatbreads etc in my diet

BUT

There are people on this site in addition to other fitness minded people, bodybuilders etc. who have tracked their calories and stayed in a surplus, yet cut in ketosis.

 

[WeezyTT]

My oncologist told me that atkins is completely safe and has not shown any long term effects. He just said to make sure i drink lots of water for my liver and i would be fine.

 

[vaecicla]

My oncologist told me that atkins is completely safe and has not shown any long term effects. He just said to make sure i drink lots of water for my liver and i would be fine.

I belive Atkins is said to be a fad diet. Why have the headaches and complaints when people go on Atkins when you can get the same results on a "proper" diet?

 

[illiniphase4]

My oncologist told me that atkins is completely safe and has not shown any long term effects. He just said to make sure i drink lots of water for my liver and i would be fine.

An oncologist deals with cancers, that doesn't make him an expert on diet and nutrition. Unless he's actually been working on studies related to Atkins, I wouldn't take his advice as law. It always kind of irks me when a medical specialist gives "sound" advice on items outside of his/her field.

 

[BikeSwimLaugh]

Let me just say it again.....

1) Atkins causes the body to dump it's glycogen storage (no carbs), each gram of glycogen req's 3 grams of water...so YES, you're losing weight, but you're not losing fat....you're losing a lot of "water weight". The moment you return even a balanced diet, your body will replenish the glycogen and you'll gain weight back.

2) Atkins promotes the body to run lean; you'll shed lean muscle. EVERY single Atkin's dieter I've seen looks like they were stranded on an island...they look emaciated, gaunt and just plain weak/fragile. I've seen countless people with that shrunken chest, scrawny arms and gaunt look on their face.

3) Methamphetamines will kill your appettite, kick-up your metabolism and do wonders for weight-loss....but obviously it's bad for you. Do you really think playing ketosis games with your body is healthy?

The truth is, it's really still just restricted calories disguised as some kind of science. After you get sick of eating greasy bacon cheeseburgers w/o the bun, you eventually resolve to eating less overall.

Why not just eat a well-rounded, nutritious meal implementing some basic deficit and exercise? Most the things worth having in this world don't come easy....you have to earn them. There are no short-cuts, just do it right from the beginning.

 

[buzz]

There are people on this site in addition to other fitness minded people, bodybuilders etc. who have tracked their calories and stayed in a surplus, yet cut in ketosis.

then they haven`t tracked there cals correctly
you simply cannot be in a surplus and lose weight,its physicly impossible.

so lets say i eat only protein (if possible) and my maintanance was 4000cals but i eat 5000cals what happens to the other 1000cals if it isnt stored as fat.

also look at the inuit people(eskimos) they eat only protein anf fat no carbs but most are still overweight.

 

[Chillen]

then they haven`t tracked there cals correctly
you simply cannot be in a surplus and lose weight,its physicly impossible.

so lets say i eat only protein (if possible) and my maintanance was 4000cals but i eat 5000cals what happens to the other 1000cals if it isnt stored as fat.

also look at the inuit people(eskimos) they eat only protein anf fat no carbs but most are still overweight.

I agree with my friend Gooch with respect given to "reasonable"; however, when one analyzes the biological processes within the body during ketosis, the law of energy balances are being met.

The law of energy balance always holds true, whether one uses drugs, manipulates macro-nutrients, or approaches diet in a"more traditionally" accepted method. A "deficit of some sort", has to take place to lose bodily tissue--there is no way around it.

I believe in studying (appropriately) different types of "reputatable" diet approaches. THE DIET IS KING and is the platter that will bring your GOAL FOOD, BABY!

Low carb (or KETO) ISNT the way to go for all persons wanting to lose fat tissue. Do not get me wrong, I do support KETO (or low carb diets), but we have to be careful to whom this is suggested to.

Whether one decides to go low-carb will depend on their "present goal position" , amount of good quality lean muscle mass, and the amount of fat tissue to lose, IMO. Additionally, one ought to embark on a personal quest to determine the PROS and CONS of each diet INCLUDING the KETO DIET in conjunction with their goal aspirations, because simply there are PROS AND CONS. Analyze the respected data, and make a decision for yourself.

The diet isnt the hindrance for most people. It's there self.

"Side Effects of You"

You should already know the "side effects of you". And, the only "anal discharges" one should get, is being anal about your diet and exercise.

You have the power and the power of WILL. Be stronger than your than any disappointment.


Seek and you shall find: There are many paths one can take in a journey and many forks in the road. But, when you properly educate yourself in the goal you seek, this will allow you to learn which fork to take and lead you to your goal.

Remember this: There are no bad bodily feedbacks in my opinion whether its negative or positive. The negative portion may not be the one you wanted, but its feedback and SHOULD TELL YOU SOMETHING, and how you handle this can determine alot of different things on your journey toward you goal.

And one more thing brotha and sista's:

Battling your mental self is an ongoing MENTAL TEST, it does not end.

Knowing HOW, WHEN, WHERE, and then implementing positive battles is what makes a WINNER..............NO ROCK FORWARD!

Do not give UP! I will come and haunt all of you!


Best wishes

Chillen

 

[Phate89]

then they haven`t tracked there cals correctly
you simply cannot be in a surplus and lose weight,its physicly impossible.

so lets say i eat only protein (if possible) and my maintanance was 4000cals but i eat 5000cals what happens to the other 1000cals if it isnt stored as fat.

also look at the inuit people(eskimos) they eat only protein anf fat no carbs but most are still overweight.

Whether you believe the science or not. The results prove it works.

 

[buzz]

Whether you believe the science or not. The results prove it works.

not really as i said the guys you are talking about probably miscalculated there intake.
you just cant eat at a surplus and lose weight,as chillen said

The law of energy balance always holds true, whether one uses drugs, manipulates macro-nutrients, or approaches diet in a"more traditionally" accepted method. A "deficit of some sort", has to take place to lose bodily tissue--there is no way around it.

thats what science tells us not bro-science

 

[Phate89]

not really as i said the guys you are talking about probably miscalculated there intake.
you just cant eat at a surplus and lose weight,as chillen said

thats what science tells us not bro-science

You obviously can't get past the black in white look of calorie in and calorie out.
The body is much more complex than that.

And no, I don't believe thousands of bodybuilders and lifters on the Keto or Anabolic diet miscalculated their calorie intake.

People are able to eat much more on a very restricted carb diet because the body requires more energy from the proteins and fats to sustain itself, thus altering the metabolism.

When fat makes up the bulk of your diet, you dont have those large amounts of glycogen
for energy anymore. Most of your energy will come from the breakdown of fatty acids or from the
fat stores from your body.

Instead of burning glyocgen, the body burns free fatty acids.

 

[amp89]

I had the fortune of talking with Dr. Sam Klein, a researcher at my university that has done some studies on the Atkins diet. He found that compared to other diets, when obese people were placed on the atkins diet lost they lost the most weight over a 6 month period. They also had better lipid profiles However, after a year the weight loss between the diets evened out and the lipid profiles took a turn for the worse.