Atkin's Diet

[XRe]

I wonder if the fact that I don't have a gallbladder anymore has an effect on this diet.

Look into Ox Bile extract supplementation Supposed to work really well for folks missing their gall bladder....

[CJDOUBLETAP]

Portion control and cutting out the crap was the key for me. In October 2009 I weighed 230 pounds in all my glory. As of mid summer 2010 I was down to 180, where I've stayed for the past 6 months plus or minus 5 pounds. I'd like to get to around 165ish, but I'm happy where I am for now. I feel great, and my BP and resting HR has dropped dramatically. I have more energy and the best part is I don't sweat when it's 70 degrees outside anymore.

and

Stick with it brother, it's definitely worth it in the long run. I still smile when my friends and family ask if I've lost weight

Wow Nick thats awsome! That first video doesn't look anything like you do now!

Now ya got to try to gain some of that weight back with muscle...

Nice work man.

[pries81]

Wow this is great stuff. I tried the Atkins a few years ago and it did wonders. I just can't seem to get rid of the pizza, and beer, and bread...oh boy all of it. This is inspiring though. Think I'll jump on the wagon. Right now weighing in at 210 at 5'8. Would like to get down to 180. I'll see how it goes.

[Jim Norman]

Did the Atkins very strictly a number of years ago. My Cholesterol total dropped to 166 and the good and bad were at the ends of the scale, the good end. Problem was keeping to the diet. I am still doing a reasonable low carb and higher protein. also now 58, Cholesterol is 204, but the numbers LDL is at the low end of the scale and HDL is at the high end. BP is good, could be better, but within norms. Triglycerides are good. Joined a gym, try to get there 3-4 times a week, so far so good. Looking to drop about 15 pounds, 6-1+ and about 205, I'd like to be 190. I'd move better and my knees would probably thank me.

[Jon Merricks]

I wonder if the fact that I don't have a gallbladder anymore has an effect on this diet.

The first time I tried "Adkins" type diet I got really sick too. At the same time I cut out caffeine too. I lost 10 lbs in the first 9 days. I was only about 200 lbs when I started.

Now I am gallbladder less, but can eat about anything I want. I perfer chicken, fish but eat lots of bacon with no problems other than being fat now.

The last time I tried a low carb diet I still ate as much vegi's and fruit I wanted just nothing processed. The weight came off fast but I was also spending about 2 hours in the gym everyday.

Portion control and cutting out the crap was the key for me. In October 2009 I weighed 230 pounds in all my glory. As of mid summer 2010 I was down to 180, where I've stayed for the past 6 months plus or minus 5 pounds. I'd like to get to around 165ish, but I'm happy where I am for now. I feel great, and my BP and resting HR has dropped dramatically. I have more energy and the best part is I don't sweat when it's 70 degrees outside anymore.

and

Stick with it brother, it's definitely worth it in the long run. I still smile when my friends and family ask if I've lost weight

You should be proud! You dont even look like the same person. I'm 217 now and you just gave me hope.........

[KyroWebs]

Thanks for the kind words guys. It gives me a little extra motivation to go after those last 10 pounds. I hope the best for all of you looking to lose a few, and hope to read this in a few months with some more comparison pics!

[fastmtnbiker33w]

The Atkins diet is kind of broken. Sticking to it is hard, sticking to it long term is nearly impossible. Pushing yourself into keytosis is not necessary either.

The guy was right about the basic science behind it, but turned it up to 11.

For those having trouble sticking to it, google for "low glycemic load diet." It's the net result of what atkins started with regards to applying actual science to diet. It also explains why one can eat 1200 calories a day and still be fat. A calorie isn't a calorie, kind of like the 20th tablespoon of water dumped into a container that only holds 19 tablespoons of water isn't the same as the first. Despite being essentially the same.

I've been following a simplified glycemic load diet (instead of a detailed glycemic load diet) for almost a year. I haven't been hungry, feel better, lost 75lbs, dropped my cholesterol 30 points, triglycerides by 200 points, brought my fasting blood sugar and a1c into line, and lowered my blood pressure to boot.

If I had the time and patience to be be more aggressive about the diet and add the recommended exercise to it, I'd probably be much better off.

This is the best advice on this thread. I never trust the diet/lifestyle of someone who died of a heart attack.

To the guy above that cut his diet to 2500'ish calories....that's still A LOT. I still consider myself a professional mountain biker but haven't been training much lately. I commute by bike to work every day....20 minutes to work, 35 home (uphill) and I tend to hammer it. At 6'5" I'm only putting down about 2,000 a day. When I'm putting in six and seven hour rides at 80% of my max, then my caloric intake jumps to 3 or 4 thousand calories. When I want to eat ice cream, cake, french fries, and chips, I ride my bike more BEFORE...not after consuming them.

It's hard to eat less and eat healthy. Getting rid of the empty calories (chips, fries, corn starch, high fructose corn syrup) is the EASIEST way to change your lifestyle and see improvements in health.

[Jon Merricks]

Week 1 finished and I lost 2.2 kgs so right around 5 lbs to celibrate I had pizza and beer. I've also cut back on the portion size and eat 4-5 times a day. Now I get full much quicker.

[Jon Merricks]

I had a pretty bad week and cheated a couple of times, mmmmmm maybe more than a couple. Made it to the gym once or twice. I lost about 1.5kgs/3.3lbs. I can tell a little diffrence in the way my pants fit and wife says she can see a diffrence in my belly. Hope to keep it up for a while.

[smokshwn]

The Atkins diet is kind of broken. Sticking to it is hard, sticking to it long term is nearly impossible. Pushing yourself into keytosis is not necessary either.

The guy was right about the basic science behind it, but turned it up to 11.

For those having trouble sticking to it, google for "low glycemic load diet." It's the net result of what atkins started with regards to applying actual science to diet. It also explains why one can eat 1200 calories a day and still be fat. A calorie isn't a calorie, kind of like the 20th tablespoon of water dumped into a container that only holds 19 tablespoons of water isn't the same as the first. Despite being essentially the same.

I've been following a simplified glycemic load diet (instead of a detailed glycemic load diet) for almost a year. I haven't been hungry, feel better, lost 75lbs, dropped my cholesterol 30 points, triglycerides by 200 points, brought my fasting blood sugar and a1c into line, and lowered my blood pressure to boot.

If I had the time and patience to be be more aggressive about the diet and add the recommended exercise to it, I'd probably be much better off.

This is the best advice on this thread. I never trust the diet/lifestyle of someone who died of a heart attack.

If you're going to have a completely uninformed opinion you might as well state it in public without equivocation.

Even a cursory search will show that Atkins died of a brain bleed caused by a ground level fall.

Atkins Death

[Dan Hefta]

I don't really care how Atkin's died, healthy lean people die all of the time of natural causes.

I am at week three of my low carb diet and my weight loss stalled out. I did some reading and I have not been drinking enough water during the day. So for the last two days I have been forcing myself to drink water, wierd thing is I am lossing wieght again. Water is the key to loosing wieght.

[Jon Merricks]

So for the last two days I have been forcing myself to drink water, wierd thing is I am lossing wieght again. Water is the key to loosing wieght.

Thanks for the info. I drink very little to no water. Will start ramping it up a little.

[CZinSC]

The Atkins diet is kind of broken. Sticking to it is hard, sticking to it long term is nearly impossible. Pushing yourself into keytosis is not necessary either.

The guy was right about the basic science behind it, but turned it up to 11.

For those having trouble sticking to it, google for "low glycemic load diet." It's the net result of what atkins started with regards to applying actual science to diet. It also explains why one can eat 1200 calories a day and still be fat. A calorie isn't a calorie, kind of like the 20th tablespoon of water dumped into a container that only holds 19 tablespoons of water isn't the same as the first. Despite being essentially the same.

I've been following a simplified glycemic load diet (instead of a detailed glycemic load diet) for almost a year. I haven't been hungry, feel better, lost 75lbs, dropped my cholesterol 30 points, triglycerides by 200 points, brought my fasting blood sugar and a1c into line, and lowered my blood pressure to boot.

If I had the time and patience to be be more aggressive about the diet and add the recommended exercise to it, I'd probably be much better off.

This is the best advice on this thread. I never trust the diet/lifestyle of someone who died of a heart attack.

To the guy above that cut his diet to 2500'ish calories....that's still A LOT. I still consider myself a professional mountain biker but haven't been training much lately. I commute by bike to work every day....20 minutes to work, 35 home (uphill) and I tend to hammer it. At 6'5" I'm only putting down about 2,000 a day. When I'm putting in six and seven hour rides at 80% of my max, then my caloric intake jumps to 3 or 4 thousand calories. When I want to eat ice cream, cake, french fries, and chips, I ride my bike more BEFORE...not after consuming them.

It's hard to eat less and eat healthy. Getting rid of the empty calories (chips, fries, corn starch, high fructose corn syrup) is the EASIEST way to change your lifestyle and see improvements in health.

1 - I'm the guy that cut his diet to 2300-2500

2 - I disagree with your assessment. 2500 is not a lot of calories. I was measuring the calorie count on EVERY single thing that I consumed. FWIW, I was running at just about 2000 which included dinner after I got started.

3 - I sought out the advice of a Certified Nutrionist, so I'm comfortable with his recommendations.....

4 - Since Jan 1st, I've lost 20 pounds. That may not seem like a lot to some people for just over two months, but I had two major cheat weekends in that time. I wish it was more, but I know why it isn't.

5 - The way I'm eating, is a lifestyle change. I can do this the rest of my life.

6 - Sure, getting rid of empty calories is Easy, however, you still need to fill that gap. Eating healthier more often has been the key for me. I will not make a blanket statement and say this is what everyone should do, Every person is different, what works for one, may not work for others.

[Dan Hefta]

So for the last two days I have been forcing myself to drink water, wierd thing is I am lossing wieght again. Water is the key to loosing wieght.

Thanks for the info. I drink very little to no water. Will start ramping it up a little.

Jon, read this. http://www.build-muscle-and-burn-fat.com/drink-water-to-lose-weight.html

[Jon Merricks]

Good stuff Dan, thanks.

[Graham Smith]

Joined a gym, try to get there 3-4 times a week, so far so good.

That's something I really, badly, need to do.

There's actually a Y just a short ways from here but during the hours I can reasonably expect to get there, it's standing room only. I think I need to negotiate some different hours with my boss... Wait, I am the boss, so why is it so hard to find time to workout? ... Oh, yah, the bills the have to be paid... <sigh>

[fastmtnbiker33w]

The Atkins diet is kind of broken. Sticking to it is hard, sticking to it long term is nearly impossible. Pushing yourself into keytosis is not necessary either.

The guy was right about the basic science behind it, but turned it up to 11.

For those having trouble sticking to it, google for "low glycemic load diet." It's the net result of what atkins started with regards to applying actual science to diet. It also explains why one can eat 1200 calories a day and still be fat. A calorie isn't a calorie, kind of like the 20th tablespoon of water dumped into a container that only holds 19 tablespoons of water isn't the same as the first. Despite being essentially the same.

I've been following a simplified glycemic load diet (instead of a detailed glycemic load diet) for almost a year. I haven't been hungry, feel better, lost 75lbs, dropped my cholesterol 30 points, triglycerides by 200 points, brought my fasting blood sugar and a1c into line, and lowered my blood pressure to boot.

If I had the time and patience to be be more aggressive about the diet and add the recommended exercise to it, I'd probably be much better off.

This is the best advice on this thread. I never trust the diet/lifestyle of someone who died of a heart attack.

If you're going to have a completely uninformed opinion you might as well state it in public without equivocation.

Even a cursory search will show that Atkins died of a brain bleed caused by a ground level fall.

Atkins Death

Hmmm. Never googled that before. I just went by what a few profs babbled about in regards to Atkins. Very few people in the exercise physiology field respected his diet....or him from what I could tell.

Still though....increasing your protein levels is difficult for many people as they tend to gravitate towards cheaper proteins (meat) that are high in fat and were probably corn fed for the last month of so of their lives. If you are going to increase protein levels via meat, make sure it's good stuff like venison and elk or organic grass fed beef.

I'll stick with keeping the processed crap out of my body. When I want to drop body fat I'll do more of this.. , and less of this.... .

If you really want to count calories, check out www.trainingpeaks.com. I use it every quarter or so for a few weeks to check my caloric intake. They have the best collection of foods and caloric amounts for different things that I've been able to find and it's free. You can also put in your own recipes' ingredients to figure out the calories. I download my gps/heart rate data from my workouts and use my resting metabolic value from my last RMR test (it's been a few years for that)to figure out how much I'm using. I can only stand to do this for a few weeks as it's quite time consuming, but it really helps in regards to caloric intake. You don't have to do any math, just put in the foods and portion sizes and it does it for you. It will separate fat, carbs, and protein for you. If you don't do endurance stuff with a gps/heartrate monitor, counting your caloric usage can be tough.

[smokshwn]

Hmmm. Never googled that before. I just went by what a few profs babbled about in regards to Atkins. Very few people in the exercise physiology field respected his diet....or him from what I could tell.

Ya, those learned professors hate the fact that largely they have been wrong for the last 30 years with respect to diet and the guy they have been making fun of essentially had it right.....Academia can be such a wonderful place

Just for grins here is a very good article from Gary Taubes

And a long but very good lecture from

Edited March 17, 2011 by smokshwn

[John Thompson]

Over the long run I think Adkin's is a loser but for quick and rapid weight lose it can't be beat. If you're an athlete you have to have re-carb days either one for every six days or two for every fourteen or you'll have hormonal changes and energy problems that are rather unpleasant. I lost 30lbs last year using carb cycling.\

BTW when Adkin's died he was quite overweight.

Edited March 17, 2011 by John Thompson

[smokshwn]

BTW when Adkin's died he was quite overweight.

John,

BTW Atkins wasn't overweight at the time of the accident. He was something like 6'2" ish and 200 lbs. But the press really overplayed the weight listed at his autopsy which was in the 250 range. This was due to the high doses of steroids given during his treatment for the head injury in an attempt to keep his brain swelling in check. Not really all that anomalous for that type of treatment. But it is a good example of the misinformation that detractors like to repeat.

Carb cycling is very effective. The downside is that it can be very difficult for some people to adhere to make the correct food choices and meal timing (read that as higher effort and education) than some other diets. In the video linked above there is a bit of discussion concerning diet adherence and its role in diet effectiveness. One of the controls in the data was that the participants were given a manual and IIRC a few hours of education. The idea being that a major component in determining diet effectiveness was the ability of the dieter to manage the complexity of food choice, meal preparation, and lifestyle change within their daily routine.

[John Thompson]

Being educated on proper dieting (eating in general) is the crux of the matter; people don't want to take a little time learning how to take off the weight they spent years putting on.

Edited March 18, 2011 by John Thompson

[sniperfrog]

Hmmm. Never googled that before. I just went by what a few profs babbled about in regards to Atkins. Very few people in the exercise physiology field respected his diet....or him from what I could tell.

Ya, those learned professors hate the fact that largely they have been wrong for the last 30 years with respect to diet and the guy they have been making fun of essentially had it right.....Academia can be such a wonderful place

Just for grins here is a very good article from Gary Taubes

And a long but very good lecture from

I wouldn't say Atkins had it right. There are alot of physiologists, cardiologists and doctors that disagree with Atkins. I tried Atkins and it sucked. I had a constant headache even though I was pounding water and I didn't have any energy to even workout. The weight you lose in the first couple weeks is all water weight. I don't know of anyone that has actually stuck to the Atkins diet for more than a few months. They end up gaining back all the weight and then some.

I think the problem is people just eat way too many calories these days with fast food everywhere. Also, mfgs and restaurants put sugar in everything. Stuff that doesn't even need it. Mcdonalds puts sugar in there freakin' french fries.

A good book to read is "The China Study". It's backed by scientifically proven evidence. It may change how you think about eating all that meat.

Edited March 23, 2011 by sniperfrog

[noidlight]

Every time I try to go strictly on this diet I get sick, again last week, bad. I have to find another way. I'm down 50 pounds in 13 months, but I have no energy and no muscles.

I tried the Atkin's Diet for a week a few years ago. After the third day I started to feel sick and had no energy. Not a good way for me to be eating I guess.

[Jon Merricks]

I'm still loosing but it has slowed down. Been hitting the gym hard and can't help to think that muscle gain is what is countering the weight loss. I have seen the biggest change in my waist.

[Dan Hefta]

I'm still loosing but it has slowed down. Been hitting the gym hard and can't help to think that muscle gain is what is countering the weight loss. I have seen the biggest change in my waist.

Same with me, I have lost only 15 lbs so far but my pants are getting looser and I have to tighten my belt more than ever.