Thread: Atkins Diet questions?

I don't like the Atkin's diet. First of all, you need to get some carbs in your system periodically to get your metabolism out of "starvation mode." Second, carbs are an important part of your body's required nutrients. You can lose weight just as effectively by increasing the amonut of physical activity you do and decreasing the number of fat, protein, and carb calories in proportion to what a healthy diet is comprised of.

I was reading about the Atkins diet today, and I think 20 carbs a day is CRAZY!!! 20C of veggies? Thats nuts. Id die without oats, plus sice I train i would be so friggin weak. Not a diet Id EVER do!

Atkins is not the best way to go for gaining LBM and cutting down....

It's okay if you want to get rid of those ugly muscles Just playin (but it's true )

If you just some average fat-ass trying to loose weight go for it.

If your trying to loose FAT and keep MUSCLE then it sucks.

"For years we've been told high fat foods are bad for us. Now it turns out bacon and eggs, minus the toast and hash browns could help us lose weight.

For thirty years, the diet, made famous by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins, has been criticized as foolish, and potentially dangerous by the medical establishment.

Now two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine say the Atkins diet — which limits carbohyrdates but permits unrestricted amounts of protein and fat — helps people lose weight faster without raising their cholesterol.

Compared to a conventional high-carbohydrate, low calorie approach, Atkins dieters lost twice as much weight after three to six months. At one year, there was no difference between the groups but Atkins dieters had a greater increase in good cholesterol and a greater decrease in triglycerides.

Both studies concluded the diet is safe and effective in the short term.

"Our initial findings suggest that such diets may not have the adverse effects that were anticipated," said Dr. Gary Foster, lead author of one of the studies and clinical director of the Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Sixty-three obese men and women who were 44 years old, participated in the study. They were divided in to two groups.


In three months, those in the Atkins group lost an average of 14.7 pounds compared with 5.8 pounds in the conventional group
At six months the Atkins group lost an average of 15.2 pounds compared to 6.9 pounds
At 12 months, the Atkins average loss was 9.5 pounds compared to 5.4 pounds
The other study, conducted by the Philadelphia Medical Center, reported similar results.

The studies are making the medical establishment take notice, and rethink its approach to nutrition.

A long-term study is about to begin, which will look at how a high protein diet affects the heart.
"

for info purposes.

most anyone on this board will say atkins is no good, or they dont like it. we are all trying to gain muscle. On atkins you will lose fat and muscle. So of course bodybuilders are going to say atkins=bad

Atkins will work but at what cost??

That diet is just not major organ friendly. Save your liver, pancreas,kidneys and heart. Heck, a moderation type diet (Weight Watchers) is better than Atkins.

Originally posted by miamiguns
Heck, a moderation type diet (Weight Watchers) is better than Atkins.

As much as I despise Atkins diet, I disagree with that statement.

Originally posted by kvyd
most anyone on this board will say atkins is no good, or they dont like it. we are all trying to gain muscle. On atkins you will lose fat and muscle. So of course bodybuilders are going to say atkins=bad

Where does a study show that you will lose muscle on the Atkins diet?

atkins is the lazy man's way to loose weight, in my opinion

Atkins sucks.

Originally posted by Jodi
As much as I despise Atkins diet, I disagree with that statement.

Could you explain? Is Weight Watchers not as good? Thats not what I heard from several dieticians.

Originally posted by WebMonkey
Where does a study show that you will lose muscle on the Atkins diet?

Make the mistake i did and try it for a few weeks and watch your muscles melt away. Im not a doctor and i dont know what relation carbs have with muscle building/maintaining but for me it dosnt work.

Weight Watchers is good if followed as intended.

However, if followed as all the ladies in my office follow it... which is to say "if it fits the Points, eat any crap you like" then it is merely moderately-calorie-controlled junk food.

And then they're surprised and depressed when they don't lose at their weekly weigh-ins.

Atkins is probably a good option for someone who really is obese, committed to changing lifestyle, and would like an encouraging start -- as long as he or she is prepared to adjust it once some initial weight is lost, and preferably start getting some exercise. But for someone who is already lean-ish, and definitely for someone in heavy training, it is no fun and there are better ways.

What you just said makes no sense to me. Why would a diet subject an obese, which could mean 100 lbs over normal weight, to heavy doses of fat and dairy products? Even if temporary 3-4 months, this could lead to acute medical problems.

Weight Watchers I believe stress a balanced diet.

Which diet would you start if you were 100lbs overweight? You would cetainly not eat all that fat and dairy if you knew anything about chemistry.

For maximum althetic performance and lean mass gains, Atkins sucks in a very big way.

If all you care about is pounds, Atkins will drop them, but at a high cost.

In terms of Weight Watchers, why pay someone to put "points" on food for you when you can do it yourself.

It's so simple:

1. Use one of the many online calculators to determine your basal metabolic rate (BMR, i.e. how many calories you must ingest to maintain stasis)

2. The only way you lose weight is by jacking the metabolic rate with exercise, reducing caloric intake, or preferrably both. Shoot for no more than 1-2 pounds per week if you intend to keep the weigth off. 3500 calories equals roughly one pound. So you need to burn an extra 3500 calories or eat 3500 less in a week to lose a pound.

3. Now that you know your BMR and have a target weight, use this formula:
Carb = 4 Protein = 4 Fat = 9
That's how many calories are in each gram of the constiuents that make up your food. You can immediately see why FAT seems to be a dieters enemy--it's more than twice as calorie dense. In reality, you need fat, but only certain kinds of fat are good for you (that's for another post). At any rate, you'll have to decide what ratio of Carb-Protein-Fat is best for you, but many people do well with 30-50-20. Then you just make your meals fit into the plan.

4. Drink lots of water....like a gallon a day if you can.

5. Eat more frequently--like 5-6 meals instead of 3. This speeds up your metabolism.

6. USE PROTEIN SHAKES! These are a great way to get high-quality nutrients at a low caloric price. They're much cheaper and healthier for you than SlimFast.

7. Limit the amount of simple sugars and processed carbs you eat--these lead to a spike in insulin, which has a detrimental effect on your abiltiy to burn fat(except first thing in the morning or immediately following a workout).

8. Watch your stress levels--the body produces cortisol in response to stressful situations, and this has a negative effect on your fat-burning ability.

9. Don't drink BEER, and if you drink alcohol, minimize it. Empty calories and alcohol slows your metabolic rate, which is the opposite of what we're trying to do here.

10. DON"T DRINK NON-DIET SODA! One large coke from McDonalds has around 300 calories. That's a big waste, and the insulin spike you'll get is no good.

11. Take a multivitamin.

12. Try to get 8 hours of sleep a night. This is the hardest for me, but this is when your body respairs itself and grows stronger.

This is obviously hardly conclusive, and there are tons of other great ideas, methods, and supplements that can help . Everyone's body is a unique complex machine. You came to a great place for answers. Good luck!

Originally posted by miamiguns
What you just said makes no sense to me. Why would a diet subject an obese, which could mean 100 lbs over normal weight, to heavy doses of fat and dairy products?

Beats the hell out of me, but all I know is that yes, studies, not all of them funded by or profiting from anything Atkins, have found that the Atkins diet, and similar models, is very, very effective for removing fat from obese subjects with a minimum of pain and suffering.

Yet another proof that we are still fumbling in the dark in places when it comes to knowledge of biochemistry.

As for the health effects, that's why I say you don't stay on the thing. Atkins will start an obese person on the weight-loss road. Then, when some poundage has been dropped (making exercise much less of a torture) and you're already starting to feel more positive, then is the time to move on to a more sustainable plan.

only prob with weight watchers... say a piece of pizza is lets say 9 points...im not possitive and your only allowed 30 points a day you just had about a 1/3 of your daily intake with one slice say you eat three slices thats all you can eat all day... not a good diet.

I still don't see how you can lose muscle on the Atkins diet while lifting weights, because you eat a lot of protein.

Does anyone have any studies that actually prove that you will muscle on this diet while lifting weights?

WebMonkey, do you know what ketosis is? It's the "magic" behind the Atkins diet, and the reason you lose muscle. Your body is in starvation mode, why would it start funnelling resources to muscle growth.

Also, with such low-carbs there is no way to build glycogen stores that would support the kind of lifting necessary to build mass.

Protein doesn't just isntantly turn into muscle in your body. Otherwise bodybuilders would just drink protein shakes all day and watch T.V. Protein can make you just as fat as any food.

If you doubt me, ask any doctor.

Or better yet, read what the other posters have said--no one who trains here is on Atkins. It's a medical fact that Atkins will not support muscle growth.

Atkins is NOT for athletes, it's for obese people!

Brodus,

Yes, I do know what Ketosis is and i'm simply asking where is a study or some factual info that shows that the atkins diet causes one to lose muscle tissue.

And I know that just eating protein doesn't build muscle

If you eat 25g to 30g of carbs before you workout you're body will use that for the energy source for the workout.

So can someone show me a study or any factual info on losing muscle tissue from the atkins diet?

And i'm not going to ask as Dr. as i'm not going to pay out the rear end for a question.

Yeah can Jodi or someone answer that becuase its a good question. I know why you cant build muscle on atkins but why do you loose muslce?

Muscles rely on glycogen. If we replaced carbs with protein and fat in our diets such as Atkins, we would have lower muscle glycogen stores. For that reason, a high protein/high fat/low carb diet cannot provide enough glycogen for our muscles, so we feel weak, tired, and fatigue quickly.

It's important for a BB to take in enough carbs. Carbs are used to fuel our muscles that you need to help build LBM. Lots of extra protein by itself will NOT build muscle -- carbs actually spare protein so that it can be used to repair muscle tissue, which is how we build strength and size. When your body is in ketosis, not only will not have enough energy due to the lack of eating the proper carbs, but your body may revert to muscle proteins for energy resulting in a loss of not only body fat but also muscle tissue.

What she said! Your knowledge is amazing!!

Originally posted by Jodi
Muscles rely on glycogen. If we replaced carbs with protein and fat in our diets such as Atkins, we would have lower muscle glycogen stores. For that reason, a high protein/high fat/low carb diet cannot provide enough glycogen for our muscles, so we feel weak, tired, and fatigue quickly.

It's important for a BB to take in enough carbs. Carbs are used to fuel our muscles that you need to help build LBM. Lots of extra protein by itself will NOT build muscle -- carbs actually spare protein so that it can be used to repair muscle tissue, which is how we build strength and size. When your body is in ketosis, not only will not have enough energy due to the lack of eating the proper carbs, but your body may revert to muscle proteins for energy resulting in a loss of not only body fat but also muscle tissue.

And what if you eat 25 to 30 grams of carbs before you go in to workout?

Originally posted by Jodi
Muscles rely on glycogen. If we replaced carbs with protein and fat in our diets such as Atkins, we would have lower muscle glycogen stores. For that reason, a high protein/high fat/low carb diet cannot provide enough glycogen for our muscles, so we feel weak, tired, and fatigue quickly.

It's important for a BB to take in enough carbs. Carbs are used to fuel our muscles that you need to help build LBM. Lots of extra protein by itself will NOT build muscle -- carbs actually spare protein so that it can be used to repair muscle tissue, which is how we build strength and size. When your body is in ketosis, not only will not have enough energy due to the lack of eating the proper carbs, but your body may revert to muscle proteins for energy resulting in a loss of not only body fat but also muscle tissue.

WOW magazines are full of shit one said that a low-carb diet would increase your energy since your body is switching from a low octane fuel (carbs at 4 calories a gram) to a high octane fuel (fat at 9 calories a gram).

This is a diet where they tell you to significantly reduce carbohydrates from your diet and eat all the eggs, cheese, meat, fat, and oil you want. For the record, the Atkins diet is effective, however I don't recommend it for the following reasons:

Bad breath
High cholesterol
Kidney damage
Acne
Improper nutrition balance
Attitude/mood changes from bad nutrition
Increase risk of heart attack
Dry skin
Yellowish instead of white eye balls
Thinning hair . . .

The list goes on. This type of diet is ideal for a dog. It's exactly what dog food consists of . . . high fat, low carb ingredients. Any questions?

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