Atkins/Ketogenic/ Paleolithic Diets

CoachJ77

Hello everyone, my name is Mark and I have lost quit a bit of weight thus far. I used to weigh 270 lbs and for those of you wondering what I did; I simply controlled my portions and ate balanced meals. I added a lot of exercise as well (5 days a week that included weight training and 30 minutes of cardio).

I have been hearing a lot about this Atkins stuff and decided to research it. From my findings I decided to do a 10 day- 14 day trial of it and see how it works and record my meals and what I ate throughout the day. I am also adding a note in the "note" section as well. In the note I will talk about supplements and how I am feeling.

This is currently day two and after cardio today I have lost 2.5 lbs (mostly water weight).

For those of you generally interested in this here is the bio factor and the risks:

Atkins is really called ketogenesis. What that mean is that ketogenesis is the build up of ketone bodies from the break down of fatty acids. So basically what happens is that you do not eat any carbs (keep your table below 40g a day, less the better) and your fats up. The key is getting good fats in the most, ie. nuts, avocado etc. Meat fats are good as well and you can even eat butter, i just do not suggest it since we are trying to be healthy. You do all this while keeping your protein up higher and controlling your calorie count still. Since you will ned 100g of fat minimum, (900cals) you will also need to consider you will need around .7 - 1.0g of protein per pound of weight you are.

CoachJ77

I didn't talk about the negatives yet, but this is what you need to know:

You cannot be a sit behind the desk or chill at home type and do this diet. You must work out some way. Either doing cardio or weight lifting (in my case both).

BREAKDOWN:

What is happening is that as soon as those few carbs are depleted, my body still needs fuel, so it starts using the stored fat (which it is designed to do) as energy. Common side effects in the beginning is a slight headache, tiredness and a slight metallic taste in your mouth.

Just a stat I heard, most people stop the diet after 3-4 days because they really love carbs and the side effects. so I will do my best haha

LotusF1ower

This is interesting, WTG!

I like the way you word your posts, easy to understand :flowerforyou:

saverys_gal

Please keep updating with your trial on Atkins!

I follow a low carb lifestyle and have successfully for over a year. I never had the funny metallic taste in my mouth at the start, but headaches and a general lack of energy, YES! But after about 5 days, I felt FANTASTIC!

A question for you: You mention that this diet is not for someone who sits behind a desk or will not workout. Why? I'm a desk gal 9-5 and my first month or so into the low carb lifestyle I did NOT exercise other than some very gentle walking now and again and I had phenomenal results. Now of course I workout AND eat low carb.

I'm very curious on your thoughts!

andyxbear

Please keep updating with your trial on Atkins!

I follow a low carb lifestyle and have successfully for over a year. I never had the funny metallic taste in my mouth at the start, but headaches and a general lack of energy, YES! But after about 5 days, I felt FANTASTIC!

A question for you: You mention that this diet is not for someone who sits behind a desk or will not workout. Why? I'm a desk gal 9-5 and my first month or so into the low carb lifestyle I did NOT exercise other than some very gentle walking now and again and I had phenomenal results. Now of course I workout AND eat low carb.

I'm very curious on your thoughts!

It is for people who exercise & for people who don't. Most of the people I talked to BEFORE trying low-carb lifestyle said they never exercised at first. They only started exercising after they lost a bunch of weight because most of them could hardly move around due to being so heavily overweight. I have one of the Atkins book and no where does it state the diet is not for people who sit behind a desk & doesn't work out. I sit behind a desk every day at work and I'm lazy so I barely exercise maybe once a week. Sometimes I'll try to push myself to exercise more. I've been eating low carb for about 4 weeks now and I've lost 6 1/2 lbs already and my pants are 1/4 of an inch looser.

Also, I didn't have any of the side effects that are listed for the first couple of days going through the lifestyle change. I'm not say everyone doesn't or does. I'm just stating how my body reacted. I actually felt energized!!

andyxbear

Oh! I forgot to mention that in my experience, I don't even crave bread/pasta/sweet carbs anymore! And that's saying a lot because PIZZA and TACOS are my FAVORITE FOODS!! haha

I just eat veggies and lean meats now. If I feel like I want to splurge(for instance I ate pizza this past Sunday), I'll use one day a week to eat whatever I want and it hasn't affected my weight loss.

rolandhulme

to clarify the whole work out/sedentry thing...

Atkins is ongoing keto - so you are on a permanent low-carb diet and once your body adjusts to burning fat instead of sugar, you'll see results even with a sedentary lifestyle.

For weight trainers, cyclic keto is better - you have >30 grams of carbs a day during the week and engage keto mode, so you burn fat. Then, on Friday night to saturday morning, you 'load' with carbs. This replenishes your muscle energy for what happens on the Sunday - a killer resistance workout, which burns your carb stockpile and you go back into keto on Monday (and work out during the rest of the week, too.)

That diet works and enables you to burn fat and gain muscle (which is practically impossible on a regular diet) but you HAVE TO have heavy resistance training to balance the carb loading period, otherwise you'll just be wasting your time.

saverys_gal

to clarify the whole work out/sedentry thing...

Atkins is ongoing keto - so you are on a permanent low-carb diet and once your body adjusts to burning fat instead of sugar, you'll see results even with a sedentary lifestyle.

For weight trainers, cyclic keto is better - you have >30 grams of carbs a day during the week and engage keto mode, so you burn fat. Then, on Friday night to saturday morning, you 'load' with carbs. This replenishes your muscle energy for what happens on the Sunday - a killer resistance workout, which burns your carb stockpile and you go back into keto on Monday (and work out during the rest of the week, too.)

That diet works and enables you to burn fat and gain muscle (which is practically impossible on a regular diet) but you HAVE TO have heavy resistance training to balance the carb loading period, otherwise you'll just be wasting your time.

Guess I overlooked that part of my Atkins books. :laugh:

Not that it matters much to me, because I honestly don't see why anyone would "diet" without working out. The point of losing weight is to get healthy, in shape and toned, right? At least that's my goal!!

rolandhulme

It;s funny - I lost about 20lbs without doing a lick of exercise - when I started seeing results, though, it inspired me to start exercising. Now I'm lifting weights, joined the gym and am more into exercise than I ever was. I think it's all steps along the road - you make one change in your life and it snowballs into other aspects. I think the reason so many people fall of the wagon is making too many changes all at once.

CoachJ77

to clarify the whole work out/sedentry thing...

Atkins is ongoing keto - so you are on a permanent low-carb diet and once your body adjusts to burning fat instead of sugar, you'll see results even with a sedentary lifestyle.

For weight trainers, cyclic keto is better - you have >30 grams of carbs a day during the week and engage keto mode, so you burn fat. Then, on Friday night to saturday morning, you 'load' with carbs. This replenishes your muscle energy for what happens on the Sunday - a killer resistance workout, which burns your carb stockpile and you go back into keto on Monday (and work out during the rest of the week, too.)

That diet works and enables you to burn fat and gain muscle (which is practically impossible on a regular diet) but you HAVE TO have heavy resistance training to balance the carb loading period, otherwise you'll just be wasting your time.

Very well put. I am not a doctor but from the research I have done if you are eating high amounts of fat then that can be bad on your body even though you are losing weight. Weight loss does not mean healthy.

Please take a look at this website: http://www.womens-health-fitness.com/ketogenic-diet.html

Note: this was developed over 80 years ago and helps kids with epileptic seizures, well 2/3 of them. 1/3 never have a seizure again.

Back to health: Basically without ANY activity at all, the ketones are just travelingthrough your blood doing nothing, not healthy. If you walk for 30 minutes, not only is it better for you in so many ways, but it uses those ketones as energy. Someone indicated that is all they did, sorry I do not remember who, but that is fantastic. And the more you do, the more you are able to do.

Today is day three, had my eggs with cheese and will have my protein shake with peanut butter

Just wanted to add, I also take a multi-vitamin pack from costco. About $16 for 100 packets

CoachJ77

By the way feel free to add me (someone has already) if you want to see my food log, etc

LotusF1ower

Please take a look at this website: http://www.womens-health-fitness.com/ketogenic-diet.html

Note: this was developed over 80 years ago and helps kids with epileptic seizures, well 2/3 of them. 1/3 never have a seizure again.

Spot on with that! I had totally forgot about the diet being used for people who suffered seizures, they had a fair number of successes that lasted the patients lifetimes if I am thinking along the correct lines.

They actually made a movie about a little kiddie who suffered multiple seizures per day and his parents went all out to get to the Doctor who discovered that the ketogenic diet helped them combat their afflictions. The name of the movie is "First do no harm" starring Meryl Streep. Many of the former patients of this Doctor who had success on the Ketogenic diet featured as various characters in the movie, it is well worth viewing!

mooz

I was just put on a Metabolic diet. I'm being monitored by a doctor who specializes in treating obesity. One of the things he stressed was that exercise was MANDATORY! No ifs, ands or buts about it. I HAVE to do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. He said more would be better, but start with 30 and work my way up from there. I didn't ask why. I figured I'm already doing that anyway so no big deal. After reading that article I now understand why exercise is so important. Thanks for posting it.

July24Lioness

to clarify the whole work out/sedentry thing...

Atkins is ongoing keto - so you are on a permanent low-carb diet and once your body adjusts to burning fat instead of sugar, you'll see results even with a sedentary lifestyle.

For weight trainers, cyclic keto is better - you have >30 grams of carbs a day during the week and engage keto mode, so you burn fat. Then, on Friday night to saturday morning, you 'load' with carbs. This replenishes your muscle energy for what happens on the Sunday - a killer resistance workout, which burns your carb stockpile and you go back into keto on Monday (and work out during the rest of the week, too.)

That diet works and enables you to burn fat and gain muscle (which is practically impossible on a regular diet) but you HAVE TO have heavy resistance training to balance the carb loading period, otherwise you'll just be wasting your time.

Atkins is not permanent ketosis, but yes it is a lifestyle change................As you move up the carb ladder and add in foods such as higher carb vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and dairy you slowly come out of ketosis and eat no different than most people on this site................

July24Lioness

Hello everyone, my name is Mark and I have lost quit a bit of weight thus far. I used to weigh 270 lbs and for those of you wondering what I did; I simply controlled my portions and ate balanced meals. I added a lot of exercise as well (5 days a week that included weight training and 30 minutes of cardio).

I have been hearing a lot about this Atkins stuff and decided to research it. From my findings I decided to do a 10 day- 14 day trial of it and see how it works and record my meals and what I ate throughout the day. I am also adding a note in the "note" section as well. In the note I will talk about supplements and how I am feeling.

This is currently day two and after cardio today I have lost 2.5 lbs (mostly water weight).

For those of you generally interested in this here is the bio factor and the risks:

Atkins is really called ketogenesis. What that mean is that ketogenesis is the build up of ketone bodies from the break down of fatty acids. So basically what happens is that you do not eat any carbs (keep your table below 40g a day, less the better) and your fats up. The key is getting good fats in the most, ie. nuts, avocado etc. Meat fats are good as well and you can even eat butter, i just do not suggest it since we are trying to be healthy. You do all this while keeping your protein up higher and controlling your calorie count still. Since you will ned 100g of fat minimum, (900cals) you will also need to consider you will need around .7 - 1.0g of protein per pound of weight you are.

Butter is not bad for you.

July24Lioness

to clarify the whole work out/sedentry thing...

Atkins is ongoing keto - so you are on a permanent low-carb diet and once your body adjusts to burning fat instead of sugar, you'll see results even with a sedentary lifestyle.

For weight trainers, cyclic keto is better - you have >30 grams of carbs a day during the week and engage keto mode, so you burn fat. Then, on Friday night to saturday morning, you 'load' with carbs. This replenishes your muscle energy for what happens on the Sunday - a killer resistance workout, which burns your carb stockpile and you go back into keto on Monday (and work out during the rest of the week, too.)

That diet works and enables you to burn fat and gain muscle (which is practically impossible on a regular diet) but you HAVE TO have heavy resistance training to balance the carb loading period, otherwise you'll just be wasting your time.

Very well put. I am not a doctor but from the research I have done if you are eating high amounts of fat then that can be bad on your body even though you are losing weight. Weight loss does not mean healthy.

Please take a look at this website: http://www.womens-health-fitness.com/ketogenic-diet.html

Note: this was developed over 80 years ago and helps kids with epileptic seizures, well 2/3 of them. 1/3 never have a seizure again.

Back to health: Basically without ANY activity at all, the ketones are just travelingthrough your blood doing nothing, not healthy. If you walk for 30 minutes, not only is it better for you in so many ways, but it uses those ketones as energy. Someone indicated that is all they did, sorry I do not remember who, but that is fantastic. And the more you do, the more you are able to do.

Today is day three, had my eggs with cheese and will have my protein shake with peanut butter

Just wanted to add, I also take a multi-vitamin pack from costco. About $16 for 100 packets

High amounts of fat are not bad for the body.............

As a matter of fact, take a look at my bloodwork. The post is in the signature of my profile. It has gotten better since I switched over to Primal Blue Print and that plan allows more fat than Atkins did.

CoachJ77

Butter is not bad for you.

Um, butter is saturated fat, it may not be terrible for you but it is certainly not good for you. It is high in calories and as I said it is saturated fat. Just because a diet says you can eat something doesn't mean that it is good for a person, or all people for that matter. Higher fats, may be great for certain people, but some people should not eat that way, especially if they do not have the other necessary things in their diet and exercise.

Currently the doctors think I am some supernatural person because my pulse is 59, my blood pressure is fantastic and in a gym I put up more weight and run faster than most people. So maybe I am looking at it from an athletic point of view. Either way, i would love to see a few websites that agree with what you are saying.

July24Lioness

Butter is not bad for you.

Um, butter is saturated fat, it may not be terrible for you but it is certainly not good for you. It is high in calories and as I said it is saturated fat. Just because a diet says you can eat something doesn't mean that it is good for a person, or all people for that matter. Higher fats, may be great for certain people, but some people should not eat that way, especially if they do not have the other necessary things in their diet and exercise.

Currently the doctors think I am some supernatural person because my pulse is 59, my blood pressure is fantastic and in a gym I put up more weight and run faster than most people. So maybe I am looking at it from an athletic point of view. Either way, i would love to see a few websites that agree with what you are saying.

Do some research, Saturated fats are not bad for you. The last 50 years of research is lies and bogus.

Butter is all natural. Not having butter is like not having milk, since they both come from the same place.

Visit Marks Daily Apple website and search saturated fats.

Get the book Good Calories, Bad Calories by DR Gary Taubes

http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats.html

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/08/17/saturated-fat1.aspx

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html

These should get you started with some reading and research material.

Here is a discussion we had on this topic last year................

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/60768-eat-more-fat?hl=eat+more+fat

MrsNeuman

I'm restarting my low carb eating which I did successfully for about 4 months before my wedding, it helped me lose about 17 pounds (In a college dorm of all places- NOT easy to do) and considering I'm 5'9" and started at 146 and went to 129, the last 17 pounds were the hardest to lose. I read the atkins book (and I was taking physiology at the time) and it made SO much sense! I didn't crave carbs at all, and felt healthier and more full of energy than ever- and as his books said, you'll have SO much energy eating like this it makes it SO much easier to exercise! (The first week was VERY tough for me though with sugar deprivation- but after that- no problems at all!) I'm excited this time to make the lifestyle switch (instead of a quick fix) and enjoy my meats, veggies, and down the road plenty of fruit and whole grains. I feel much healthier with this eating style than other people's opinions of "a balanced meal" full of carbs that leave me feeling unfulfilled, hungry a couple hours later, and unnaturally fatigued for no reason. After the wedding I fell off the bandwagon, and I couldn't regret it more, without this eating style I'm a slave to my own cravings that never stop- I was always looking for something to eat, even right after a large meal (just like atkins said maybe I have a glucose intolerance?)