How to low carb but not be on Atkins?

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  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,956 Member
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    MelRC117 wrote: »
    steve098 wrote: »
    Hypothetical situation:

    Person A has $500 in cash and $500 in his bank account.

    Person B has $100 in cash and $900 in his bank account.

    Both must spend their cash before using the money in their respective accounts. Thus person B is in "account burning mode" longer.

    Each person makes purchases totaling $800 dollars. Steve's rationale would have you believe that Person B has less money in his account at the end of the day.

    Well, it's good to see you are trying.

    Have you downloaded your copy of Guyton's yet?

    What we're really talking about here are levels of glycogen. Levels can very by a factor of two in some people.

    The point is that when they reach a certain percentage, then the switchover will occur.

    Generally that percentage is around 70%.

    So it is not an absolute figure, but a relative figure.

    Apart from conditions of extreme exercise, the body will always maintain an emergency store of glycogen for instantaneous power demands.

    Well its funny to see you don't even understand what Atkins is. I mean, its pretty basic that Atkins is LOW carb not NO carb. Someone with your supposed "expertise" should know that.


    He's not funny any more. I HATE it when people spread misinformation. smiley-angry047.gif
  • Alyjacck
    Alyjacck Posts: 43 Member
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    avskk wrote: »
    I sort of got cut off earlier (posting from work, easily distracted), but I wanted to mention that I also watch for "hidden carbs" like added sugar in places it doesn't need to be, starches used as filler ingredients, etc. It sounds tedious but it basically just means I check labels briefly for a few key words and suffixes (-ose is a big one for sugars, as an example) and try to buy items without added carbohydrates. I don't mind them if I'm buying or making something that's naturally carblicious -- which I do sometimes, because carbs are delicious -- but I don't want them sneaking in where they don't belong. Pasta sauces and whole-grain breads are the biggest offenders I can think of offhand in this category, but you'll find added sugar and starch in a surprising number of foods that wouldn't otherwise be carby.

    I checked a few days of my diary and it looks like I'm clocking anywhere from 50-200g of carbs eating the way I described in this post and the last. An average day is around 80g, so I guess I do fit the definition of "low-carb." The higher days are fairly infrequent (once every week or two), and it looks like they usually result from alcohol consumption. I lost 65lbs last year doing this and I'm back after a break to lose 30 more.


    Wow thats awesome! Thanks for sharing that. I need to do what your doing:-)
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited October 2014
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    Alyjacck wrote: »
    MelRC117 wrote: »
    steve098 wrote: »
    Hypothetical situation:

    Person A has $500 in cash and $500 in his bank account.

    Person B has $100 in cash and $900 in his bank account.

    Both must spend their cash before using the money in their respective accounts. Thus person B is in "account burning mode" longer.

    Each person makes purchases totaling $800 dollars. Steve's rationale would have you believe that Person B has less money in his account at the end of the day.

    Well, it's good to see you are trying.

    Have you downloaded your copy of Guyton's yet?

    What we're really talking about here are levels of glycogen. Levels can very by a factor of two in some people.

    The point is that when they reach a certain percentage, then the switchover will occur.

    Generally that percentage is around 70%.

    So it is not an absolute figure, but a relative figure.

    Apart from conditions of extreme exercise, the body will always maintain an emergency store of glycogen for instantaneous power demands.

    Well its funny to see you don't even understand what Atkins is. I mean, its pretty basic that Atkins is LOW carb not NO carb. Someone with your supposed "expertise" should know that.




    I sort of understand the atkins. I really didn't want to do that diet. I was trying to see if something with a little more carbs would still cause people to lose lbs...

    Atkins is too dramatic for me. It is something I did when I was a teenager and I felt dizzy and not well. Plus if you don't follow it your whole life you gain back all the weight plus some.

    I think if I aim to do moderate low garbs like no pasta or bread and eat fruits veggies and eggs it would be easier.

    The paleo suggestion seemed kinda great!

    I'll try once more. Please don't report me. Consider the South Beach Diet (for starters). It's not low carb, but does focus on low glycemic carbs (as does Atkins) and it doesn't require carb counting. It might be what you fits for you.
    The poster you liked, who's looking for the "hidden carbs" and what not, sounds a lot like a South Beach type eater.
    fwiw.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    baconslave wrote: »
    MelRC117 wrote: »
    steve098 wrote: »
    Hypothetical situation:

    Person A has $500 in cash and $500 in his bank account.

    Person B has $100 in cash and $900 in his bank account.

    Both must spend their cash before using the money in their respective accounts. Thus person B is in "account burning mode" longer.

    Each person makes purchases totaling $800 dollars. Steve's rationale would have you believe that Person B has less money in his account at the end of the day.

    Well, it's good to see you are trying.

    Have you downloaded your copy of Guyton's yet?

    What we're really talking about here are levels of glycogen. Levels can very by a factor of two in some people.

    The point is that when they reach a certain percentage, then the switchover will occur.

    Generally that percentage is around 70%.

    So it is not an absolute figure, but a relative figure.

    Apart from conditions of extreme exercise, the body will always maintain an emergency store of glycogen for instantaneous power demands.

    Well its funny to see you don't even understand what Atkins is. I mean, its pretty basic that Atkins is LOW carb not NO carb. Someone with your supposed "expertise" should know that.


    He's not funny any more. I HATE it when people spread misinformation. smiley-angry047.gif
    He needs to read the Atkins book if he's going to keep posting about it. At least he spelled it right today.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    OP - if you want to lose weight you can eat carbs and lose weight..is there a specific reason you are interested in low carb? Or is just because "actors and what not" are doing it…?
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,956 Member
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    EvanKeel wrote: »

    And for people who do go low carb, the amount of carbs they eat is largely personal.

    I don't see anything wrong with going low carb as long as it's sustainable for the person trying it; it wouldn't work for me. As a generality, I'd guess low carb is probably 50-100g per day or lower, with people having their own personal definitions.

    It should be noted that you still need to be in a caloric deficit, regardless of how you distribute your macronutrients.

    This is right. You need to decide what level you want to be at as far as carbs. Steer clear from table sugar, corn syrups, or refined flour and it's ilk. Low-carb diets are all about budgeting your carbs, so picking stuff with a responsible gylcemic load and better nutrients are priority. Generally speaking, of course.

    150-100g is mostly the diabetic/medical low-carb level, though many low carbers are comfortable with this level. It is the higher of the low-carb diets and gives you more leeway.
    Many go as far as 50g-100g.
    The ketosis crowd generally hangs out under 50g.

    For me, I currently stay under 30g daily, eat high fat, moderate protein, and use my carbs on green veggies, salad greens, and low-carb dairy (like heavy cream, sour cream, and cheese.) And I keep my calories under my calorie goal.

    HTH. Most importantly, do some research on low-carb diets, as you obviously can't believe certain people on here... And check out the low-carb groups on here.

    Best of luck! :flowerforyou:

  • Alyjacck
    Alyjacck Posts: 43 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    OP - if you want to lose weight you can eat carbs and lose weight..is there a specific reason you are interested in low carb? Or is just because "actors and what not" are doing it…?

    I have lost some weight already. Now that I'm pretty thin it just seems like the weight loss has stopped and I'm looking for a way to shake things up. I noticed the people who are very thin on media usually have some kind of fad diet they are following. Like a juice cleanse, or low carb etc...

    I have not been working out very much so it could be that.
  • strawberrypopsicles
    Options
    Atkins isn't your only option -- the South Beach Diet is also low carb! Or you could just try to stick to a 30/40/30 fat/carb/protein ratio (manually change your macro goals on mfp under settings)

    For anyone who is insulin resistant, low carb is the only way to lose weight. Some people don't even know they're insulin resistant as it really isn't that noticeable, except for having trouble losing weight and being at higher risk for diabetes

    For normal people, low carb is still a really healthy way to lose weight. The fats and proteins keep your skin and hair looking nice, keep you fuller for longer so you're less likely to overeat, and are vital for health

    If you eat no carbs though your kidneys can actually turn the proteins into carbohydrates, spiking your blood sugar and defeating the purpose of the draconian diet
  • meridianova
    meridianova Posts: 438 Member
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    Alyjacck wrote: »
    I sort of understand the atkins. I really didn't want to do that diet. I was trying to see if something with a little more carbs would still cause people to lose lbs...

    Atkins is too dramatic for me. It is something I did when I was a teenager and I felt dizzy and not well. Plus if you don't follow it your whole life you gain back all the weight plus some.

    I think if I aim to do moderate low garbs like no pasta or bread and eat fruits veggies and eggs it would be easier.

    The paleo suggestion seemed kinda great!

    first of all, if you felt dizzy within the first week of doing atkins, then you were doing it right. that is called "induction flu", and it's the body's reaction to the switch from burning glucose from dietary sources to burning stored fat for fuel. it's normal, and it goes away within a few days.

    second, to answer your question... it depends. each person's body is going to handle carbs differently, so whether you're able to eat 80g of carbs a day and lose weight, or you have to drop down to 8g per day to lose weight, it's completely based on how your body reacts.

    i'm not willing to jump into the "low carb dieting only works because it causes a deficit" camp because i've done strict atkins dieting in the past, and based on what i know now about how much i was eating then, i sure as hell wasn't in a deficit... yet i lost about 70lbs.

    since atkins came out there are other options for low-carb diets. what i would suggest is that you look at the lists of foods in each of the atkins phases so that you have an idea of what veggies and fruits are lowest in carbs and which are highest. you might not need to drop down to 20g per day, you might be ok at 50g.

    but yes, cutting out bread, pasta, and sweets will be a good start. remember that fat is your friend (real fats, that is... not fake fats like margarine).
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,956 Member
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    Atkins isn't your only option -- the South Beach Diet is also low carb! Or you could just try to stick to a 30/40/30 fat/carb/protein ratio (manually change your macro goals on mfp under settings)

    For anyone who is insulin resistant, low carb is the only way to lose weight. Some people don't even know they're insulin resistant as it really isn't that noticeable, except for having trouble losing weight and being at higher risk for diabetes

    For normal people, low carb is still a really healthy way to lose weight. The fats and proteins keep your skin and hair looking nice, keep you fuller for longer so you're less likely to overeat, and are vital for health

    If you eat no carbs though your kidneys can actually turn the proteins into carbohydrates, spiking your blood sugar and defeating the purpose of the draconian diet

    Actually, South Beach isn't considered low-carb by most. But it is lower-carb than the Standard American Diet and a good one, IMO.

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    Alyjacck wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    OP - if you want to lose weight you can eat carbs and lose weight..is there a specific reason you are interested in low carb? Or is just because "actors and what not" are doing it…?

    I have lost some weight already. Now that I'm pretty thin it just seems like the weight loss has stopped and I'm looking for a way to shake things up. I noticed the people who are very thin on media usually have some kind of fad diet they are following. Like a juice cleanse, or low carb etc...

    I have not been working out very much so it could be that.

    I would suggest lifting heavy and maybe eat in a slight deficit ..do you really want to be skinny with no definition?

    Juice cleanses are bunk, please do not believe that rubbish …

    what is your height, weight, age,and gender?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    baconslave wrote: »
    EvanKeel wrote: »

    And for people who do go low carb, the amount of carbs they eat is largely personal.

    I don't see anything wrong with going low carb as long as it's sustainable for the person trying it; it wouldn't work for me. As a generality, I'd guess low carb is probably 50-100g per day or lower, with people having their own personal definitions.

    It should be noted that you still need to be in a caloric deficit, regardless of how you distribute your macronutrients.

    This is right. You need to decide what level you want to be at as far as carbs. Steer clear from table sugar, corn syrups, or refined flour and it's ilk. Low-carb diets are all about budgeting your carbs, so picking stuff with a responsible gylcemic load and better nutrients are priority. Generally speaking, of course.

    150-100g is mostly the diabetic/medical low-carb level, though many low carbers are comfortable with this level. It is the higher of the low-carb diets and gives you more leeway.
    Many go as far as 50g-100g.
    The ketosis crowd generally hangs out under 50g.

    For me, I currently stay under 30g daily, eat high fat, moderate protein, and use my carbs on green veggies, salad greens, and low-carb dairy (like heavy cream, sour cream, and cheese.) And I keep my calories under my calorie goal.

    HTH. Most importantly, do some research on low-carb diets, as you obviously can't believe certain people on here... And check out the low-carb groups on here.

    Best of luck! :flowerforyou:

    what is wrong with table sugar???
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    steve098 wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    steve098 wrote: »
    All weight loss approaches have the same goal.

    That is to get their bodies into a predominantly fat-burning state while running a calorie deficit.

    Straight Atkins finds you always in the mode because all you eat is fat and protein- no carbs.

    That is NOT AT ALL TRUE.

    Atkins has 4 phases. You DO eat carbs, just at a rock-bottom level in the beginning, 20g or less, usually in the form of leafy greens and other green veggies. A small amount of cheese. And protein and fats. After the induction level, you go slowly up the ladder adding in other low-carb foods. Nuts, legumes, berries, and etc, until you reach the last phase, where you add until you figure out your personal carb threshold where you begin to gain.

    Check out Atkins website. They have all the food lists for the Phases on there.




    Variations on the Atkins approach are plentiful.

    The point is that the body is in the fat-burning mode.

    By the way, in the fat-burning mode, glucose is MADE from labile non-essential protein.

    Carbs are not needed for that purpose.

    The Inuit Alaskans eat seal meat and blubber all the time.

    Over time in the fat-burning state, the brain can even survive on a 50% mix of ketones-glucose.

    Hey experts out there, if you find someone who has maintained their weight loss using ANY sort of Atkins approach five years out, let's here the details.

    Bet you can't find anyone.

    You do realize that Inuit are NOT in ketosis, right? They eat their meat raw and get glycogen from it as well as other foods in their diets. They have been studied and have not been found to be in ketosis, at least not for long periods of time.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    steve098 wrote: »
    Hey experts out there, if you find someone who has maintained their weight loss using ANY sort of Atkins approach five years out, let's here the details.

    Bet you can't find anyone.

    How much ? http://www.tommytappar.se/?page_id=143

    Tommy_2004_web1.jpg
    Efter-50_web1.jpg
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited October 2014
    Options
    baconslave wrote: »
    Atkins isn't your only option -- the South Beach Diet is also low carb! Or you could just try to stick to a 30/40/30 fat/carb/protein ratio (manually change your macro goals on mfp under settings)

    For anyone who is insulin resistant, low carb is the only way to lose weight. Some people don't even know they're insulin resistant as it really isn't that noticeable, except for having trouble losing weight and being at higher risk for diabetes

    For normal people, low carb is still a really healthy way to lose weight. The fats and proteins keep your skin and hair looking nice, keep you fuller for longer so you're less likely to overeat, and are vital for health

    If you eat no carbs though your kidneys can actually turn the proteins into carbohydrates, spiking your blood sugar and defeating the purpose of the draconian diet

    Actually, South Beach isn't considered low-carb by most. But it is lower-carb than the Standard American Diet and a good one, IMO.
    true. It's NOT particularly low carb. And it doesn't count carbs.

  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,459 Member
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    baconslave wrote: »
    EvanKeel wrote: »

    And for people who do go low carb, the amount of carbs they eat is largely personal.

    I don't see anything wrong with going low carb as long as it's sustainable for the person trying it; it wouldn't work for me. As a generality, I'd guess low carb is probably 50-100g per day or lower, with people having their own personal definitions.

    It should be noted that you still need to be in a caloric deficit, regardless of how you distribute your macronutrients.

    This is right. You need to decide what level you want to be at as far as carbs. Steer clear from table sugar, corn syrups, or refined flour and it's ilk. Low-carb diets are all about budgeting your carbs, so picking stuff with a responsible gylcemic load and better nutrients are priority. Generally speaking, of course.

    150-100g is mostly the diabetic/medical low-carb level, though many low carbers are comfortable with this level. It is the higher of the low-carb diets and gives you more leeway.
    Many go as far as 50g-100g.
    The ketosis crowd generally hangs out under 50g.

    For me, I currently stay under 30g daily, eat high fat, moderate protein, and use my carbs on green veggies, salad greens, and low-carb dairy (like heavy cream, sour cream, and cheese.) And I keep my calories under my calorie goal.

    HTH. Most importantly, do some research on low-carb diets, as you obviously can't believe certain people on here... And check out the low-carb groups on here.

    Best of luck! :flowerforyou:

    This is what I am doing, I have my carbs set to 40, but 25 are fiber, so my goal right now is 15net carbs per day. I also stay within my calories and all the fat, protein and fiber really help with that. I also practice 16:8 IF, just because I don't like to eat in the morning, so it works naturally for me.

  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
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    steve098 wrote: »
    steve098 wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    steve098 wrote: »
    All weight loss approaches have the same goal.

    That is to get their bodies into a predominantly fat-burning state while running a calorie deficit.

    Straight Atkins finds you always in the mode because all you eat is fat and protein- no carbs.

    That is NOT AT ALL TRUE.

    Atkins has 4 phases. You DO eat carbs, just at a rock-bottom level in the beginning, 20g or less, usually in the form of leafy greens and other green veggies. A small amount of cheese. And protein and fats. After the induction level, you go slowly up the ladder adding in other low-carb foods. Nuts, legumes, berries, and etc, until you reach the last phase, where you add until you figure out your personal carb threshold where you begin to gain.

    Check out Atkins website. They have all the food lists for the Phases on there.




    Variations on the Atkins approach are plentiful.

    The point is that the body is in the fat-burning mode.

    By the way, in the fat-burning mode, glucose is MADE from labile non-essential protein.

    Carbs are not needed for that purpose.

    The Inuit Alaskans eat seal meat and blubber all the time.

    Over time in the fat-burning state, the brain can even survive on a 50% mix of ketones-glucose.

    Hey experts out there, if you find someone who has maintained their weight loss using ANY sort of Atkins approach five years out, let's here the details.

    Bet you can't find anyone.

    You do realize that Inuit are NOT in ketosis, right? They eat their meat raw and get glycogen from it as well as other foods in their diets. They have been studied and have not been found to be in ketosis, at least not for long periods of time.

    I would like a source for that.

    Thanks in advance.

    Google scholar. About as specific a source as you usually give.

  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
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    Alyjacck wrote: »
    Hi everyone,

    So I am interested in people who eat low carb to lose weight but are not doing atkins.

    How many carbs do you eat?

    I see MANY actresses/dancer/whatever saying when they want to get in shape the eat no carb no sugar.

    I just wonder if they literally mean no carbs and sugar (like atkins) or something more moderate.


    Thank you.
    First you need to learn that Atkins isn't "no carb". :-) You have a very warped sense of what Atkins is. GOOGLE IT.

    To answer your question, they just eat lower carb. Many on the low carb group here aren't on Atkins. Many who consider themselves low carb on the PCOS group aren't on Atkins.
    Just just eat lower carb.
    okay, WHY did you flag this as abusive? Seriously?

    Perhaps all the Facebookers reflexively "flag" posts that they genuinely admire, or are inspired by (given the lack of an explicit "like" button).

    At least that's how I take it, given my feedback.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    Options
    steve098 wrote: »
    steve098 wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    steve098 wrote: »
    All weight loss approaches have the same goal.

    That is to get their bodies into a predominantly fat-burning state while running a calorie deficit.

    Straight Atkins finds you always in the mode because all you eat is fat and protein- no carbs.

    That is NOT AT ALL TRUE.

    Atkins has 4 phases. You DO eat carbs, just at a rock-bottom level in the beginning, 20g or less, usually in the form of leafy greens and other green veggies. A small amount of cheese. And protein and fats. After the induction level, you go slowly up the ladder adding in other low-carb foods. Nuts, legumes, berries, and etc, until you reach the last phase, where you add until you figure out your personal carb threshold where you begin to gain.

    Check out Atkins website. They have all the food lists for the Phases on there.




    Variations on the Atkins approach are plentiful.

    The point is that the body is in the fat-burning mode.

    By the way, in the fat-burning mode, glucose is MADE from labile non-essential protein.

    Carbs are not needed for that purpose.

    The Inuit Alaskans eat seal meat and blubber all the time.

    Over time in the fat-burning state, the brain can even survive on a 50% mix of ketones-glucose.

    Hey experts out there, if you find someone who has maintained their weight loss using ANY sort of Atkins approach five years out, let's here the details.

    Bet you can't find anyone.

    You do realize that Inuit are NOT in ketosis, right? They eat their meat raw and get glycogen from it as well as other foods in their diets. They have been studied and have not been found to be in ketosis, at least not for long periods of time.

    I would like a source for that.

    Thanks in advance.

    jbc.org/content/80/2/461.full.pdf
    pg 461 is the start and pg 463 gets to the conclusion that they showed no signs of ketosis. However, if I was looking for a population to extol the virtues of a particular diet I think I would avoid the population with probably the lowest life expectancy in the first world. The Canadian Inuit have a life expectancy well below the average at 66.7, rough tied with Egypt ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC548761/
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
    Options
    steve098 wrote: »
    steve098 wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    steve098 wrote: »
    All weight loss approaches have the same goal.

    That is to get their bodies into a predominantly fat-burning state while running a calorie deficit.

    Straight Atkins finds you always in the mode because all you eat is fat and protein- no carbs.

    That is NOT AT ALL TRUE.

    Atkins has 4 phases. You DO eat carbs, just at a rock-bottom level in the beginning, 20g or less, usually in the form of leafy greens and other green veggies. A small amount of cheese. And protein and fats. After the induction level, you go slowly up the ladder adding in other low-carb foods. Nuts, legumes, berries, and etc, until you reach the last phase, where you add until you figure out your personal carb threshold where you begin to gain.

    Check out Atkins website. They have all the food lists for the Phases on there.




    Variations on the Atkins approach are plentiful.

    The point is that the body is in the fat-burning mode.

    By the way, in the fat-burning mode, glucose is MADE from labile non-essential protein.

    Carbs are not needed for that purpose.

    The Inuit Alaskans eat seal meat and blubber all the time.

    Over time in the fat-burning state, the brain can even survive on a 50% mix of ketones-glucose.

    Hey experts out there, if you find someone who has maintained their weight loss using ANY sort of Atkins approach five years out, let's here the details.

    Bet you can't find anyone.

    You do realize that Inuit are NOT in ketosis, right? They eat their meat raw and get glycogen from it as well as other foods in their diets. They have been studied and have not been found to be in ketosis, at least not for long periods of time.

    I would like a source for that.

    Thanks in advance.

    jbc.org/content/80/2/461.full.pdf
    pg 461 is the start and pg 463 gets to the conclusion that they showed no signs of ketosis. However, if I was looking for a population to extol the virtues of a particular diet I think I would avoid the population with probably the lowest life expectancy in the first world. The Canadian Inuit have a life expectancy well below the average at 66.7, rough tied with Egypt ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC548761/

    And this, boys and girls, is how you properly support your claims by citing your sources.