Question For 'Built' & Others Who Have Experienced Success w/ the Atkins Diet...

[b1ggjoe]

Hey Everyone,

I have a female friend who is getting ready to go on the 'Atkins Diet'. By 'getting ready' I mean that she is planning on getting the 'Atkins Book' (Which one exactly, who knows) and is planning on doing a whole lot of shopping this weekend to jump-start her diet this coming Monday. She also just signed-up earlier today at a 'Total Woman' Gym and is in the process of putting together her 'Training Plan' for her to start working out again, next week.

She is a very stacked and attractive 'Hot Blond', 36 years old, about 5'10 and she has hit 130lbs. She wants to drop about 20lbs by this summer.

ANYWAY, she had mentioned that in addition to the 4-6 small meals throughout the day, she was going to also snack/eat 'Atkins Bars' as a meal or as an 'in-between meal snack'.

I was reading earlier on these Forums how the 'Atkins Bars' are full of crap and sodium.

Can you provide any recommendations or suggestions on what would be good to snack on or even meal replacements...such as either any 'good' bars or shakes out there...if they exist?

For example, would it be better to eat some extra crunchy peanut butter or snack on Almonds or have a protein shake, etc?

I don't even know why I'm posting this, but she is a very close friend of mine and I respect your judgement on these matters a hell of a lot more than someone at her gym who may feed her bogus info.

Just thought I would run this by you all fine folks. Also **ANY** suggestions/tips that I can pass along to her are very much appreciated.

Other Info: She has an EXTREMELY busy schedule especially with her 10 & 12 year-old kids in two sports each and she's always stressing at work. It was after I told her that she needed to find an outlet to release her stress and also make some time for just 'herself'...that she decided to start working out again.

Of course, she's freakin hot as hell...so I wasn't insinuating for her to start working out...but whatever. I'm very happy for her either way.

Thanks!!

BJ

 

[Powermaster]

Built has all the bases covered here in getting started: http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/new-members-begin-here/97077-read-me-first-homework-1-newbies.html
Obviously if she thought doing the atkins diet was a good place to start she would have mentioned it. I'm not suggesting the Atkins diet isn't good it's just that she did it and what she wrote is the better way.
As far as protein bars, I prefer whey shakes myself. Easy, inexpensive, & effective but certainly not a replacement for a whole food meal and neither should a protein bar be.

 

[b1ggjoe]

Powermaster,

Thank you!!! Any suggestions on 'preferred' brands of either bars or shakes (i.e., Met-RX, EAS, Zone Diet, etc?)

 

[sassy69]

What is her build like? Holy fuck. She's nearly 6' tall and wants to be 110 lb? I have competitor friends who are a foot shorter at 6% are still above 110 lb. Is that even a healthy & reasonable goal? Has she had that weight before & she's just suddenly gained weight or something? What exactly drives this goal? Can her body even support that goal? Also I wanted to highlight the importance of bodycomposition over what the scale says. Depending on the person, either reducing bodyfat or increasing muscle mass can make whatever weight look better, even literally w/o a change on the scale.

Outside of that, if she's stressed already, having the outlet of the gym in itself may go a long way towards reducing stress--> reducing cortisol.

I personally think the Atkins diet can be a bit extreme. Its a huge change in diet in general and IMO is not a diet that should be considered a maintenance approach. My own personal experience as well, she's going to be lethargic as hell the first two weeks when she drops the carbs for the first time. Does she have time to do that w/ these 12 hr days? If she starts relying on those shitty bars for "between meal snacks", it might actually defeat the purpose. I would very honestly suggest she or you or whoever, post up her current diet and we can look for some easy tweaks. Very simply, your body can only reflect the environment you give it to operate in - this includes your diet, your physical activities, the quality of your sleep, your stress levels. It may be that some 'convenience eating' and high stress levels have increased her bodyfat levels.

As I said, I don't get the weight goal - it sounds scary skinny to me. I've got a friend who is 6'1" and has been very active her whole life, she's 46, so a few more years, but she keeps 150 lb and looks lean but very healthy, so 40 lb lighter is just kinda nuts. But that's me commenting on someone I don't know nor have ever seen.

 

[exphys88]

I also don't think the atkins diet is a good choice, actually I have never even recommended someone use a keto diet before. It's just not a sustainable way to live. No social life, feel like shit and can't train very well. I know many people get great results from it, but I think there are better choices out there.

 

[bigbenj]

I hope that's a typo. 5'10, 130, and wants to lose 20 pounds???!?? That would put her at 110lbs.

To be honest, and this isn't a bash, but if she wants to be that small, basically sickly, she has severe image issues.

 

[hoyle21]

At 5-10 110 lbs there would be no badunk a dunk or titties at all.

Fuck that.

 

[MDR]

I'm doing Keto right now, and I've done it a few times in the past. For me, it is a diet that works well, as I have trouble feeling satiated with carb based foods. Usually I go for 4-6 weeks, and then switch to a bit more moderate approach. Lethargy is an issue in the beginning, and my workouts are lighter and shorter. I'm also going as low calorie as possible, without losing too much muscle mass. There is no doubt that it is a challenge, and it does not work for everyone.

 

[exphys88]

I'm doing Keto right now, and I've done it a few times in the past. For me, it is a diet that works well, as I have trouble feeling satiated with carb based foods. Usually I go for 4-6 weeks, and then switch to a bit more moderate approach. Lethargy is an issue in the beginning, and my workouts are lighter and shorter. I'm also going as low calorie as possible, without losing too much muscle mass. There is no doubt that it is a challenge, and it does not work for everyone.

yeah, a lot of guys love it, I prefer a carb cycling plan personally. I do a lot of cardio because of my hobbies though, so that definitely makes a difference.

 

[ThreeGigs]

Starting a keto (Atkins) diet for the first time is rough. It takes getting used to because the body really has to adapt. Until the body ramps up its fat-burning enzyme production and gets itself switched off of a lifetime of carbs as fuel, life can be hell.

Starting to go to a gym, plus putting your body into ketosis for the first time, plus a busy schedule equals failure.

Tell her to pick one: diet or gym. If she does both it'll be counter-productive.

 

[b1ggjoe]

Hey Everyone,

Ok, after getting some of these responses, I was compelled to go back and double-check and clarify everything. Ok, so after much grueling Q & A...LOL...here is the edited information...yes I was way-off...please forgive me:

1. - She is between 5'6 and 5'7 (Apparently she wears these 3-inch heels, referred to as 'Fuck Me Pumps. I didn't know, sorry...I'm a guy so I know nothing of heels and pumps...lol).

2. - She says she weighs 158 pounds right now, however she wants to drop to around 140-145. (Yep, boy was I off...LOL).

3. - To the comment about losing or not having a 'badunk-a-dunk' and 'breasts'...well...Her Ass is amazing and she had a Boob job a number of years back. I dunno what specific 'cup size' she is...but let's just say...from personal experience....they are huge and won't ever be an issue...LOL.

Anyway, from all that I have read on these forums...losing 20lbs between now and summer, with a healthy balanced diet and working out like she plans to 4 times a week...I would think such a goal should be a 'breeze' and not an impossible goal.

I think she just got freaked out because she said that this is the largest that she has ever been.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone for the excellent feedback...you guys are so amazing and it blows me away that there is so much quality of information and awesome individuals on these forums!!!

BJ

 

[robertover50]

IMO stay away from the Atkins diet. I dropped a lot of weight on it about 12 years ago & when I cycled back to a more normal diet I put all the weight back on plus about 10 lbs. A balanced diet where she watches her caloric intake & macros along with a good weight & cardio program is the key to long term success. I spent most of my life on fad diets & watched my weight go up & down for years before I realized the basics are still the best. As for bars, look for quality bars that aren't just dressed up candy bars. Any good vitamin shop can help her.