Atkins diet and training.

[Arioch7]

Do any of you follow this diet? Really, I am curious.

[Arioch7]

Or you can give me your opinion, whatever you want.

[joedoe]

I lost 10kg in about 2 months on the Atkins diet. So far I have kept about 8kg of it off. It suited me, but it doesn't suit everyone. My girlfriend had problems with it though - made her a bit sick. She needs her vegies :).

[Serpent]

Everybody needs their vegies! :eek:

[uhwo]

Originally posted by Arioch7
Do any of you follow this diet? Really, I am curious.



I've never heard of it? Could you please tell me a site where I could get some information about it so I could try it =)

[Arioch7]

Well, it is a high fat, High Protein, Low-Carb diet.

You can go to the Atkins website and get all the info you need. Just punch Atkins into your search engine.

I was just debating this diet on a 400 post thread and figured I would have gotten more responses but I thank those of you who did respond! :D

[Budokan]

I do from time to time to take off extra weight. It works pretty good, but I like my vegetable too and wouldn't make a lifestyle out of it like some people do.

Exercise and not eating that fifth piece of cheesecake is still the best way to lose weight... :D

[Arioch7]

I hear that!

Bodybuilders do this diet usually for a couple of months a year.

They dont call it this but it is much the same.

[Grahf1]

This diet is awful for athletic performance.

It's only good for temporary weight loss, unless you are willing to follow it for the rest of your life.

It's way too limiting also. In this diet, all you can eat is:

meat and eggs
some veggies
some nuts
avocados
cheese

You can't eat:

starchy veggies(carrots, potatos, yams, etc.)
sweet fruits
high carb nuts
rice
pasta
bread or pastries of any kind
beans
barley
corn
cereal
oatmeal

[uhwo]

Ok, I have tried this diet for few days now, but I only seem to gain more weight, not lose anything. I've been eating mostly meat and drunk mostly water and sugar-free soda. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

-uhwo

[Kope]

This diet is horrible on the body for a number of reasons.

Eat low gycogen index foods, keep a large portion of your diet raw veggies, fruits and nuts. Make sure you get plenty of lean protien, and lots of fatty acids 3, 6 and 9 and you'll be fine.

Atkins is halfway right -- high carb, low fat diets can be very bad. They are bad when the glycogen index of the carbs is moderate to high -- this causes insulin spikes, blood sugar irregularities, and leads to all kinds of systemic problems that are actually harmfull.

But Atkins doesn't focus on the glycogen index - rather, he focus on fat/carb/protien balance.

This balance is largely UNIMPORTANT! What matters is keeping your blood sugars stable, and getting the important vitamins, minerals, and micro-nutrients.

A mostly meat-based diet is going to 'cause long term problems due to a lack of both soluable and non-soluable fibre.

Ignore fat/protein/carb balance (honest!) - focus instead on eating low GI foods and mostly raw foods and you'll be fine.

[Fu-Pow]

In terms of content, if I could sum up the optimum diet it would be the following.

1) Lots of low glycemic index, high carbohydrate and preferably high fiber foods. This is the key to eating carbs and not getting hungry.
(al dente pasta, beans, whole grains, basmati and jasmine rice, bread)

2)Lots of and large variety of fresh vegetables and fruits (including herbs and spices for flavor), moderate on the tropical fruits

3) Overall low fat ,but fat that is eaten is healthy (ie omega 3 and 6, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated veggie oils, most fish oils)

4) Moderate amount of lean protein (most fishes, shellfish, lean steak, chicken, turkey, etc.).

5) Low refined white sugar.

6) Low on alchohol and caffeine.

7) A multivitamin w/o iron and lots of water throughout the day.


Other than that I think its all speculation.

[Mannek]

Noone has mentioned the wonders that frequent eating does for your metabolism. I am doing a diet now, started two seeks ago where i eat 6 times a day. My diet is similer to atkins, but differs in that i do eat starchy fibrous carbs, slow burners that help with energy levels, as well as spiking your insulin levels a tiny bit while you are still insulin sensative in the first part of the day. The reason for this is combatting cortisol(sp?) which is a hormone your thyroid produces which lowers your metabolism.

Other than that, you try to keep insulin levels low so that as yo burn the fat you eat, glucagon takes body fat and burns it as well.

I was 220 and now and 212 after a few weeks of decent training and the diet ( i work outon a split system 5 times a week) My diet is a fairly balanced mix of starchy carbsin teh morning, protein sources and fat/fatty acids. No sugar included.

The one thing ive read about ketosis diets is some people will take the weekend off to take in the right carbs so their glycogen levels are not depleted, then continue the diet durign the week to ketosis. This does however sort of put your hormones on a rollercoaster ride as far as insulin is concerned.

[Royal Dragon]

45-50% raw Fruits and Veggies 35% protine foods (Like a nice juicy steak) and the balance of healthy fats like olive oil on pasta instead of butter and such. My only weakness is sweets. For that
I do more forms.

[Leonidas]

avoid the atkins diet like the plague. its only works because your body has insufficient amounts of carbohydrates (which equals energy) so it uses protein and fat cells instead since you give it no other choice. using protein for energy is not a good idea, besides the obvious its not very efficient and you'll damage your body eventually. skyrockets your chances of getting a heart attack and cancer among other things. the point of a diet is to develop healthy living/eating habits. its not just a quick fix thing so if you use atkins diet just for the moment you've really accomplished nothing

[Fu-Pow]

45-50% raw Fruits and Veggies

Can't recommend eating all raw fruits and veggies. Some things you get more nutritional value when they're cooked. A good example would be spinach.

I also agree with Leonidas, although the results are not inclusive. Doing the Atkins diet results in two known physiological changes:

1) The breakdown of fats into ketone bodies. Which effects blood pH...a bad thing.

2) An increased amount of nitrogen for your liver and kidneys to deal with.

Look.... ketosis is not the ideal way that your body wants to run. Protein is an inefficient fuel with nasty byproducts that you're body would rather not deal with....mainly ammonia. We are not carnivores. Look at our intestines compared to carnivores. A human intestine is 20 ft long, a sharks is 3 inch long.

In fact it is known that fpr millions of years we were hunter gatherers....but mostly GATHERERS. This means that anyway you cut it a mostly vegetarian diet is is the best way to go. Meat is not BAD but it definitely should be a supplement to your diet, not a staple.

The Atkins diet is not a new thing. Its been around in various forms for a long time. It exploits an evolutionary adaptation that would allow our ancestors to survive during changes in food supply. But again....this is not the preferred way that your body wants to run.....

The net effect of this type of dieting is that you lose muscle and gain fat......balance and moderation are the key, if anyone tells you anything else its a gimmick.