Thread: Atkins Diet

that's only part of it.
True, you will be taking in much protein.
However, you will be depleting your body of carbs and go on a deficeit. (sp)
when your 'diet' is over..and you introduce carbs back into your body, the will be soaked in and weight goes back on.Imagine a dry sponge put in a container of water. The sponge soakes it all up and expands.
Tis will happen to your brother, your friends, whoever goes abck and takes in carbs.
Would be better to monitor and reduce / cycle your carbs, instead of Atkins..

Well, it seems to me that there are two different diets:

1) Those who have read that actual Atkins book and understand good carbs bad carbs, introducing them back in and changing an overall lifestyle.

2) Those who think that the Atkins diet is - Eat No Carbs


People who read the book understand that Dr. Atkins understood which carbs were better than others.

whether you do an Atkins or Ketogenic, personally I see them as a short term diet, they can definitely help you shed bf, but I would not use a diet like that long term.

The atkins and programs like it are not for bodybuilders! They are designed for sedentary people and are a short term diet.

Ketogenic diets can work for a bodybuilder during a cutting cycle.

I agree with Prince. Keto diets work very well for bbers when cycled properly. On the other hand, long term keto diets are not necessarily healthy for sedentary people either. It requires a balanced lifestyle change. And I do NOT agree with the philosophy that ALL the weight comes back on when carbs are reintroduced.

What is Keto dieting

Originally posted by Prince
Ketogenic diets can work for a bodybuilder during a cutting cycle.

Not for natural bodybuilders...................if they want to keep their muscle. They are too risky for naturals, there are so many better diets than keto for naturals.

Originally posted by BabsieGirl
What is Keto dieting

a CKD (cyclo-ketonic-diet) is simply a diet that consists of two cycles: low/no-carbohydrates and high-carbohydrates. A Ketonic diet is something that we all hear from Atkins, which is basically High-Fat, Moderate-Protein and Low/No-Carbs. Yet, this type of diet, although very effective for the average Joe, is not sufficient for a bodybuilder’s (weightlifter’s) needs.
Why? Well, once your muscle glycogen is depleted, your workouts become a pain in the ass, you are sluggish and muscle loss can occur. (due to the fact that no insulin is present in the system, there will be NO muscle gain while in Ketosis) Because, the main goal of Ketosis is to have no glycogen in the liver so glucagon can be released. Basically, it all boils down to the following: Day 1-6 you eat High-Fat/Moderate-Protein/Low-No-Carbohydrates, then Day 7 you eat HIGH-GI carbohydrates and low-fat, in order to achieve supercompensation and refill muscle glycogen. (this will ensure quality training throughout every CKD cycle you do)
If you are following a CKD then you need to do a Refeed not a carb-up. You cannot eat just veggies. Veggies do not have enough effective carbs in it to re-fill glycogen.

Awww...Thanks Dg for your help.

unless you read Atkins' new revised edition book, you shouldnt comment on his diet. atkins helped me lost 25 lbs barely working out at all.
now that i am sort of bodybuilding, i need more carbs to get better workouts. so i am moving away from the low carb model. i gained all my weight on a carb only diet and inactivity.

there are 4 stages of atkins diet program. you start off the first 2 weeks taking in no carbs, then progress along the remaining 3, re-introducing the right carbs for maintenance.

most BB'ers have done atkins principles in one way or another.

Originally posted by FatGuy
most BB'ers have done atkins principles in one way or another.

I agree only with this comment

You still have to understand what type of carbs to eat! Give me an example of a slow release carb!

Originally posted by naturalguy
The atkins and programs like it are not for bodybuilders! They are designed for sedentary people and are a short term diet.

Yes, yes and no. I've been on Atkins for 6.25 years. As I am IR with compensatory hyperinsulinaemia, I intend to stay on it for the rest of my life. My carb intake varies with activity level. Barry and Monica Groves have been low-carbing for 43 years. Dr Richard K Bernstein, for 30 years. Ray Audette, for 18 years. Jonathan Christie, for 14 years.

If it ain't broke..........

Originally posted by dg806
a CKD (cyclo-ketonic-diet) is simply a diet that consists of two cycles: low/no-carbohydrates and high-carbohydrates. A Ketonic diet is something that we all hear from Atkins, which is basically High-Fat, Moderate-Protein and Low/No-Carbs. Yet, this type of diet, although very effective for the average Joe, is not sufficient for a bodybuilder’s (weightlifter’s) needs.
Why? Well, once your muscle glycogen is depleted, your workouts become a pain in the ass, you are sluggish and muscle loss can occur. (due to the fact that no insulin is present in the system, there will be NO muscle gain while in Ketosis) Because, the main goal of Ketosis is to have no glycogen in the liver so glucagon can be released. Basically, it all boils down to the following: Day 1-6 you eat High-Fat/Moderate-Protein/Low-No-Carbohydrates, then Day 7 you eat HIGH-GI carbohydrates and low-fat, in order to achieve supercompensation and refill muscle glycogen. (this will ensure quality training throughout every CKD cycle you do)
If you are following a CKD then you need to do a Refeed not a carb-up. You cannot eat just veggies. Veggies do not have enough effective carbs in it to re-fill glycogen.

Are you sure about that Dave, I do keto and I only take in maybe 10g of carbs a day, moderate fat and high protein, I do 13 days of this and then one day of carb up, last meal of that day, when I reach close to my goal I'll switch it to carb cycling(maybe), although carbs make me feel yucky, here's a couple of links;

Summary-Keto

Ketogenic Diet

And here's another one listing different types of diets. I haven't done alot of research at this last site.

BB Diet

Originally posted by naturalguy
The atkins and programs like it are not for bodybuilders! They are designed for sedentary people and are a short term diet.

I don't believe this to be true at all..............

Originally posted by katie64
I don't believe this to be true at all..............

Because?

Originally posted by naturalguy
Because?

Because I am not a sedentary person, I weight train and it works for me, I do a ketogenic diet, similar to Atkins but I also carb up and change my diet when I'm tired to meet my nutritional needs........when I say something it only applies to me and what I have experienced....................

are you trying to increase your muscle mass at all katie?

i vary my eating plans and have done well when i low carb with a carb up every 4th day (keeping carbs at 30 g a day on non carb days) with moderate fat (efas) and about 1.5 g protein per lb bodyweight. that works well for me. (probably not so well for others).

again, only speaking for myself, i can't imagine trying to maintain or gain muscle with carbs only every 13 days.

the only problem i had with atkins was weakness when i lifted and constipation. other than that, low carb worked well with me

i now eat about 100g a day of the right catbs. usually i eat 1/2 cup of oats, 1/2 cup of fiber onecereal, a cup of brown rice, and lots of veggies. (i hope thats 100g).ill have an apple every few days.

i am trying to burn fat. i take in the carbs because i do cardio every day for 30 mins with a day off here and there

we all vary so much in our bodies and our goals. to me weakness when i lift would be a huge and unaccepatable problem. i can continue to increase my strength while i cut if i carb up every 4th day. if i found my lifts dropping i don't think i'd be able to hang with the eating plan.

i couldnt stand the constipation. i might be lifting more now on carbs because i gained a lot of muscle and got stronger. sorry to be gross but i didnt pass a lot of gas when i was on atkins. when on moderate carbs, i am legendary.



atkins is good for a sedentary lifestyle, or someone who can't weight train for 2 hours/day. (there are actually people who arent lucky to have 2 hours/day to spend in a gym, we should consider ourselves lucky)

atkins is definately not for bodybuilders.

Originally posted by nikegurl
are you trying to increase your muscle mass at all katie?

i vary my eating plans and have done well when i low carb with a carb up every 4th day (keeping carbs at 30 g a day on non carb days) with moderate fat (efas) and about 1.5 g protein per lb bodyweight. that works well for me. (probably not so well for others).

again, only speaking for myself, i can't imagine trying to maintain or gain muscle with carbs only every 13 days.

I was doing that way of a nutritional diet for a couple of months, lost 10lbs, then stalled, which brought my research to the keto, lost another 20lbs, I am not purposefully trying to increase muscle mass, more of w8 loss and strengthening at this point, I am quite muscular just soft, not too bad now as in the beginning but I still have a ways to go..................

And I can maintain this for 4 to 6 weeks then I tend to have an extra carb up day or two, then I start it again............

As I said before, when I become closer to my goals, I will change it up and go back to what NG is talking about or do the carb cycling, either way it will be healthy, and at this point "my plan" will be to increase muscle mass............one thing at a time for me I guess........

A couple years ago I read the book" Protein Power" by Michael & Mary Eades and followed it strictly for a long time.Which means I was on low almost no carbs.Lets say under 50 g's per day for almost two years.I lost fat and muscle but stayed strong.Now I'm cycling carbs and feeling more solid ,also burning fat more efficiently.
I agree with Prince that these super low carb diets can be useful for cutting cycles but not long term.We just need to learn how to manage our carbs and eat the right ones.
If ya wanna get cut use lighter weights and do higher reps.Cheers!

I tried low carb... but it ended up I was eating very few calories... I lost some weight but hit a very early plateau where I had slowed my metabolism down too much... after switching to 5-6 meals a day and just watching the portions and using 2 MRP's a day... I find I have WAY more energy and have much more success when it comes to lifting...

Here is why atkins is not for bodybuilders..............You cannot give your best effort in the gym. It comprimises your workout. I have heard people say that they feel fine however if you experiment on your self, do atkins for a month and then eat the right carbs at the right time for a month, you will be much stronger in the gym, you will recover better and have much more energy to train harder.

I've been on the induction phase of the Atkins diet for a year and a half now. I 've lost about 45 to 50 pounds....without one single workout. I started lifting 2 months ago and put on 7 pounds.....and there ain't NO question its muscle. From what I've read in this forum and other books....that just shouldn't happen, but it did for me. Guess it goes to show that everyone is a little different. I've now switched to consuming the "good carbs" and it seems to be going great. Just my 2 cents worth on the subject. By the way....hi...my name is Randy and this is my first post here. Thank all of you for this great forum where a greenhorn can get great tips from experts without having to pay.