Atkins Diet

[big_will]

Hi. I am really confused. :confused: If I do the atkins diet and keep up training, will I loose muscle mass? Please help me.
Thanks.

[abarlament]

A study has shown that you lose less muscle the lowe your carb intake is. Taking in less than 20g of carbs a day will result in 95% fat loss, 5% muscle. Anyways, you don't want to do Atkin's while you are lifting because all your lifts will go down because of the lack of glucose. I would recomend instead a TKD, CKD. The difference between these diets and Atkin's is they allow, in the case of the TKD, carbs before the workout (around 50g), and in the case of the CKD, carbs for a few days.

Anyways, my point is that you can BUILD muscles, and lose fat, doing one of those, but with Atkin's I'd think it would be hard to build muscle without your glucose. You might want to research those two diest I mentioned (targeted or cyclical ketogenic diets).

[ChrisH]

I would not do the Atkins diet if health is a concern. It may help you lose weight, but that doesn't mean you are getting more healthy. In all honesty, all the Atkins diet does it cut out carbs, doesn't really push eating more healthy.

[abarlament]

Chris why is it NOT healthy? If you don't eat carbs, and take a multivitamin, and maybe a calcium/patassium supp, then what's the problem?

[ChrisH]

It is probably not really a problem. I guess what I'm saying is this. ... The Atkins diet really doesn't promote eating healthy as much as it does promote cutting carbs. Just because you are cutting carbs doesn't mean you are getting healthy. Dr. Atkins himself as you know recently died and not long ago had a heart attack. This is evidence that, although his program works in aiding weight loss, it doesn't promote healthy foods.

I.E - Eat a double bacon cheese burger, just with wheat bread, instead of white bread to cut the carbs. - That is not healthy, although it may help you lose weight.

I'd much rather approach just eating the right kind of foods and exercising. That is the best way IMHO.

[fengalon]

Just a note on that "heart attack"..

It wasn't really a heart attack, but a cardiac arrest, and it wasn't caused by diet. In fact, the condition he was in was no way related to diet. His cardiac arrest was caused by cardiomyopathy (a condition in which the heart’s ability to pump blood is weakened because of enlargement, thickening or stiffening of the heart muscle -- not related to diet), and not blocked arteries. While diagnosing Atkins during this time, they actually found that his arteries were normal. He had contracted this on an overseas trip about 2 years ago.

Just to clear that up. Atkins didn't suffer from a heart attack, but cardiac arrest. And it wasn't caused by his diet.

[abarlament]

Originally posted by ChrisH

I.E - Eat a double bacon cheese burger, just with wheat bread, instead of white bread to cut the carbs. - That is not healthy, although it may help you lose weight.

I'd much rather approach just eating the right kind of foods and exercising. That is the best way IMHO.

Well, first off, what isn't healthy about it you didn't answer that? If you are doing a low carb diet, you would just eat the hamburger, lettuce, pickles, onions, you'd eat everything BUT the bun, you wouldn't get a wheat bun.

I know, I did a low carb and I ate at Burger King a few times, what you do is order a few whoppers and say I don't want the bun, and you get them for half price!! It's a great deal if you ask me.


Further more, to address your "it isn't HEALTHY", it IS. It lowers bad cholesterol, raises good cholesterol (I think t is like LLD or something,, I forget the letters). Also, you lose weight in a safe way (ketosis/lipolysis). If you don't eat carbs, there is no problem.


What I am trying to say is, you say that the Atkin's does not promote healthy eating. I say, Atkin's IS healthy eating, the combination of fats and carbs is a surefire way to get fat, cutting out one or the other is how you can lose weight, and For me, cutting out carbs is easier and healthier.

[Iain]

I used to be quite against the Atkin's diet, but having seen a programme on TV (done by the BBC) and having spoken to a few who have done it the belief that carbs are completely eliminated is not true.

I do have concerns about the fat intake increasing, as fried foods are very much allowed by the diet, but if genuine scientific studies show that the fat levels may even drop then my argument is invalidated.

On another note, this programme took several overweight people and gave them each different diet routines. The three major ones being Atkins, Weight Watchers and Rosemary Connelly plan. The time period was at least 6 months, Atkins and Weight Watchers (which is just sensible eating) shifted a good two stone off some of these people. A woman doing Rosemary Connelly (diet and EXERCISE) lost four stone. The amount of people I know that were surprised by the improvement with exercise surprised me. Probably don't need to tell you guys that though. Interested me greatly.

[carcajou]

The Atkins diet fits the classic profile of a fad diet scam. Furthermore, the primary weight loss mechanisms that the Atkins diet employs are calorie restriction and KEYTOSIS.
Keytosis is a state which occurs when there is an imbalance in fat metabolism ( similar to what occurs in diabetes and starvation ).
In keytosis the body metabolizes MUSCLE TISSUE instead of fat.
Dr. Atkins based his entire diet on ketosis depending on it to trigger weight loss and using it as an indicator to tell if someone is staying on the diet.
The consequences of extended ketosis:
muscle breakdown
nausea
dehydration
headaches
light-headedness
irritability
bad breath
kidney problems
increased risk of heart disease

and in pregnancy the effects of ketosis can cause fetal abnormality and death.
Diabetics that are exposed to extended keytosis are also risking death.

The Atkins diet and the 'Atkins-like' diets are UNHEALTHY.

The American Institute for Cancer Research evaluated the Atkins diet and accused the views about 'sugar causing cancer' as being scare tactics meant to direct people toward the Atkins diet. They also said that the diet can lead to the kind of rapid weight fluctuations that adversely affect the heart and that the breakdown of fatty acids that occurs during ketosis may also increase the risk of heart disease. Another interesting observation that they made was that the diet plan does nothing to encourage the dieter to learn some very basic weight management strategies like portion control and serving sizes, let alone develop the skills necessary for a lifetime of balanced nutrition.

Most people into bodybuilding ALREADY KNOW how to eat healthier than these 'low carb' plans are advocating and almost anyone who has the drive to take up resistance training seriously can certainly do the MINIMUM amount of research required to show these diets for what they are: UNHEALTHY.

Give yourself (yourselves) some credit.

[carcajou]

Originally posted by fengalon
Just a note on that "heart attack"..
BLAH BLAH BLAH
Just to clear that up. Atkins didn't suffer from a heart attack, but cardiac arrest. And it wasn't caused by his diet.

fengalon...you actually BELIEVE what the 'spin doctors' say about the circumstances surrounding Dr. Atkins' condition?

COME ON!! They are trying to protect the $$$$ making ability of his legacy. The man himself was SICKLY and OBESE and people actually listened to what he had to say about anything related to health? His diet is RICH with saturated fat and other unhealthy regularities...but that had NOTHING to do with his death?!?!
I wonder why he had TRIPLE BYPASS surgery?

Hey!! Batboy is helping the coalition forces search the rubble for Saddam's body!! I just saw it on the front page of a paper in the grocery store...it has to be true.

[ChrisH]

CARCAJOU-

Exactly what I am trying to say. It may promote weight loss for some, but by no means is it healthy and I stand by that. How is eating several whoppers just without the buns healthy. It is not. Removing the buns doesn't make anything more healthy at all. Ordering a grilled chicken sandwich or something of the like instead of the whopper, however, is healthy.

All I am saying is I think there are better ways to lose weight than Atkins diet.

As for why it is unhealthy - what CARCAJOU said - it is high in saturated fats. You eat all the bacon, steaks and burgers without the buns you want and that is healthy!!?? Not to me, but by all means if you wish to try the diet, then do it. I stand firm by my opinion on it, however. There is more to health than your weight. It has to do with the type of food you are ingesting.

[carcajou]

ChrisH...I certainly am in agreement with you. I also like the philosophy of "it's not all about weight..."

Fitness starts with a body that is working well...there is no better way to get your body working well than to furnish it with what it needs and to start moving that body. Humans were not meant to be sedentary. It is affluence which has made humans sedentary.

Don't buy into 'carb phobia'...buy into 'additives/processed foods phobia' and you'll be much better off.

[fengalon]

OK, I post about an article I read and I get my head bitten off.

I used to be on the Atkins diet so I could lose weight fast, but that part didn't really work for me because I didn't follow it right. Take note, however, that there are a lot of people I've met who have lost weight on the Atkins program, and are feeling great because of it. It all depends on following the diet right.

And, if you're familiar with his program, you'd know that you won't be eating a high fat/low carb diet the whole time. There are 4 different phases in the Atkins diet: the first one (Induction) is the strictest because you're only allowed 20g of carbs a day. Dr. Atkins recommends at least two weeks, which is really not that long enough to kill you. Then you move on, one-by-one, to the 3 other phases, gradually increasing your carb intake AND lowering your fat intake (since high carb + high fat will make you fat), thereby taking you out of ketosis. He states this in his book and on his website. Induction is just a jumpstart to weightloss. You will hear a lot of fitness professionals say that by decreasing your carbs, you will lose body fat. In the end, the Atkins diet is very much like a diet they would recommend. People always think that Atkins is about eating high fat and low carb all the time, but it really isn't. Like I said above, by the time you reach the 4th phase, a person on his diet will be eating a controlled carb, controlled fat diet program.

As stated above, I lost little weight while on Atkins, because I consumed too much protein. However, I did gain muscle and noticed increased energy while on it. The reason why I decided not to stick to his plan was because I was bored of eating the same things over and over again. Now, I try to eat the right combination of proteins, fat, and carbs, from the information I've gathered from this messageboard. I think this new plan gives me a lot of freedom so I will stick to it. Slowly but surely is fine by me.

[ChrisH]

Originally posted by fengalon
OK, I post about an article I read and I get my head bitten off.

I am by no means biting anyones head off.

I simply have a different idea when it comes to weight loss and health/fitness. There are plenty of people who to the eye may appear overweight and unhealthy, but really are some of the most healthy people around. That is why someone who is supposedly "as fit as a race horse" can die at age 40 of a heart attack, while the supposedly unhealthy/overweight person can run a marathon with no problem and live to be 100.

It has nothing to do with body weight, it has to do with health. Health good or bad comes straight from the diet. Most, if not all, diseases stem from our diets. "You are what you eat." Eat healthy and be healthy, eat unhealthy and be unhealthy.

The Atkins diet may be succesful in helping you lose weight. I want deny that. It does not, however, promote people making a change toward a more healthy diet. Eating bacon, steaks and bunless hamburgers every meal is not healthy, although it may aid in weight loss. Personally I think you would be much better of if you just changed your diet to eat more healthy and let your body do from there what it wishes.

Simples things-->
1) Stop drinking sodas - even diet - the are not good for you. Look at the ingrediants.
2) Drink a green tea - proven to help aid weight loss and is full of vitamins and anti toxins
3) Avoid fast foods. If you must eat fast good, eat grilled chicken sandwiches or salads ... forget the hamburgers.
4) Drink ALOT of water. The body is made up largely of water, so give it what it wants -- WATER!
5) Implement some sort of exercise. 30 mins a day, 3 times a week. Walking/jogging/weight lifting or all ... water ever floats your boat.
6) Eat steaks, hamburgers, etc sometimes, but if you are a huge "red meat" eater, try to replace the red meats with chicken and fish instead. And .. avoid fried food as well.
7) Up your fruit and vegetable intake
8) Avoid sweets or if you can't altogether, than dramatically reduce your intake of them.
9) Buy and use light and low fat ingrediants. (i.e - light cool whip, magnaise<-- (spelling?, lol), etc ...

Do those things and I guarantee you will be so much more healthy, feel better and probably be very successful at losing some weight if that is what you want.

[fengalon]

It's mayonnaise. *pat pat* I agree with you on that. I did some of those items on your list right after I quit Atkins, and then gradually added in the rest.