Atkins Diet Revisited
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No worries, Steve is a good example of someone putting all their eggs in one basket.......it then gets confusing for him when he can't find the answers in the basket, so be nice, it's not his fault.CyberEd312 wrote: »AlanaTedmon wrote: »After trying out the Atkins for about half a month... I discovered it's not a realistic diet choice for someone who is very active. I feel like protein is awesome in how it keeps you full and it's a necessary component of a healthy diet but unfortunately your body can't really pull immediate energy from meats when you do a ton of cardio.
Can't avoid carbs.
No.
And that is the problem with most diets. They can't be kept up as a lifestyle. After 5 years, all diets fail.
There is away to discipline yourself to be in the fat burning state long enough to burn fat over time. That involves a consistent daily morning fast, with a 8 hour "eat" period from noon until 8 p.m. at night.
The rest of the time is water fasting.
With this discipline, the restrictions on what you eat and how much you eat in the 8 hour are very lenient to non-existent.
There is, of course, a discipline needed to maintain the water fast for 16 hours, but the carrot is that you don't have to deprive yourself in the eight hour period .
Believe it or not, after a few days on this protocol you are hungry urges will change and you will begin to lose weight.
So after 5 years of eating over 1000 calories for breakfast alone (because of personal preference of course), hit the gym an hour later, losing 312 lbs., going from being homebound to doing just about anything I want, and maintaining this lifestyle for the last 2 years, means I have totally been doing this all wrong from the beginning?? Well crap..... I have absolutely no problem with people doing any kind of a diet plan that they can adhere to long term but to say any ONE way is the only way when all that is needed is to hit your DAILY caloric intake and come as close to hitting your Macros as you can, and getting your *kitten* moving and stay off the couch will produce just as good of results as long as you do adhere to it is just as good of advice.... I lost the vast majority of my weight eating over 3000 calories a day and have maintained at over 4000 calories a day and I can tell you there is no way on earth that I would try to fit all of those calories into a 8 hour window. Not saying I could not do it, just cut me lose on the pizza buffet but I would miss my macros daily and that I wouldn't do.....
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I lost a fair bit of weight doing Atkins in 2005... and alot of hours in the gym... it is a sustainable regime, nowhere does it say you can't eat any processed crap you buy , just recommends you don't and adjust afterwards. There are hundreds of low carb books that include recipes for cakes, biscuits, icecream etc, if you like/need all that. Oh, and you do get to eat real veg and fruit too, who'd a thought? Funnily enough, the easiest thing it recommends you eliminate is all the processed crap that everyone eats- white bread, white flour, junk food, sugar, beers etc. Exactly the same as any low cal diet also recommends you don't touch!
Sadly, it is not the diet that doesn't work, it's the mentality to deal with your life that messes it up... I know, having had 3 ops, pulmonary embolisms and severe depression over the last 9 years my head wasn't interested in doing any diet, in fact I would happily eat anything and everything I wanted because I really had given up caring.
That's the difference, if you care about your body you will eat what it needs, and only you will know that... not every diet works for everyone. Pick your fave good foods and work round that.. low cal, low carb, low fat. What's unsustainable about protein breakfast, veg lunch, and mixed protein,fats, small carbs dinner, in whatever meat or veg that you love?
As for eating out... again, one bad day won't kill you, and clear spirits have no carbs at all, so wrong with g& t's or vodka cokes?
I am back on it again, and have lost 31lbs since July, along with workouts again. Got a long way to go, but I do know if I can keep my head positive my eating habits are sustainable... self-destruction and non-validation have as much to do with failing as what you eat/ don't eat.
If it's what you know, go with it, have your treats, and work round them, no-one said low carb had to be difficult and restrictive (other than induction)... and bottom line is, it's your body, if you choose to do low carb to lose weight, good on you... at least you care enough to try.
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I lost a fair bit of weight doing Atkins in 2005... and alot of hours in the gym... it is a sustainable regime, nowhere does it say you can't eat any processed crap you buy , just recommends you don't and adjust afterwards. There are hundreds of low carb books that include recipes for cakes, biscuits, icecream etc, if you like/need all that. Oh, and you do get to eat real veg and fruit too, who'd a thought? Funnily enough, the easiest thing it recommends you eliminate is all the processed crap that everyone eats- white bread, white flour, junk food, sugar, beers etc. Exactly the same as any low cal diet also recommends you don't touch!
Sadly, it is not the diet that doesn't work, it's the mentality to deal with your life that messes it up... I know, having had 3 ops, pulmonary embolisms and severe depression over the last 9 years my head wasn't interested in doing any diet, in fact I would happily eat anything and everything I wanted because I really had given up caring.
That's the difference, if you care about your body you will eat what it needs, and only you will know that... not every diet works for everyone. Pick your fave good foods and work round that.. low cal, low carb, low fat. What's unsustainable about protein breakfast, veg lunch, and mixed protein,fats, small carbs dinner, in whatever meat or veg that you love?
As for eating out... again, one bad day won't kill you, and clear spirits have no carbs at all, so wrong with g& t's or vodka cokes?
I am back on it again, and have lost 31lbs since July, along with workouts again. Got a long way to go, but I do know if I can keep my head positive my eating habits are sustainable... self-destruction and non-validation have as much to do with failing as what you eat/ don't eat.
If it's what you know, go with it, have your treats, and work round them, no-one said low carb had to be difficult and restrictive (other than induction)... and bottom line is, it's your body, if you choose to do low carb to lose weight, good on you... at least you care enough to try.
What is it exactly that make all those things crap?
Some people want to do a bit more than just lose weight. Some ALSO want to improve their health from a nutrition path. So, they choose more nutrient dense foods to get their limited calories rather than choosing that other stuff. It is unfortunate that people call it 'crap", but I think that is the goal.
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CyberEd312 wrote: »AlanaTedmon wrote: »After trying out the Atkins for about half a month... I discovered it's not a realistic diet choice for someone who is very active. I feel like protein is awesome in how it keeps you full and it's a necessary component of a healthy diet but unfortunately your body can't really pull immediate energy from meats when you do a ton of cardio.
Can't avoid carbs.
No.
And that is the problem with most diets. They can't be kept up as a lifestyle. After 5 years, all diets fail.
There is away to discipline yourself to be in the fat burning state long enough to burn fat over time. That involves a consistent daily morning fast, with a 8 hour "eat" period from noon until 8 p.m. at night.
The rest of the time is water fasting.
With this discipline, the restrictions on what you eat and how much you eat in the 8 hour are very lenient to non-existent.
There is, of course, a discipline needed to maintain the water fast for 16 hours, but the carrot is that you don't have to deprive yourself in the eight hour period .
Believe it or not, after a few days on this protocol you are hungry urges will change and you will begin to lose weight.
So after 5 years of eating over 1000 calories for breakfast alone (because of personal preference of course), hit the gym an hour later, losing 312 lbs., going from being homebound to doing just about anything I want, and maintaining this lifestyle for the last 2 years, means I have totally been doing this all wrong from the beginning?? Well crap..... I have absolutely no problem with people doing any kind of a diet plan that they can adhere to long term but to say any ONE way is the only way when all that is needed is to hit your DAILY caloric intake and come as close to hitting your Macros as you can, and getting your *kitten* moving and stay off the couch will produce just as good of results as long as you do adhere to it is just as good of advice.... I lost the vast majority of my weight eating over 3000 calories a day and have maintained at over 4000 calories a day and I can tell you there is no way on earth that I would try to fit all of those calories into a 8 hour window. Not saying I could not do it, just cut me lose on the pizza buffet but I would miss my macros daily and that I wouldn't do.....
I said all diets fail. If you exercise for an hour a day, that is not a diet.
If you factor out people who exercise regularly along with the dieting, then that is another question.
But even those who exercise and lose weight if they stop exercising will regain that weight.
I know plenty of people that don't exercise and aren't overfat. When you speak in absolutes like saying they "will regain that weight," odds are you're bound to be wrong, and here you are. If you said "likely to regain," then perhaps, but there are no certainties when it comes to what people will and will not do in the future.0 -
I said all diets fail. If you exercise for an hour a day, that is not a diet.
If you factor out people who exercise regularly along with the dieting, then that is another question.
But even those who exercise and lose weight if they stop exercising will regain that weight.
You do understand that a person's "diet" refers to what they eat right? Exercise is separate and distinct from diet. So inherently, exercise is not a part of diet, its a separate component of one's lifestyle.
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I said all diets fail. If you exercise for an hour a day, that is not a diet.
If you factor out people who exercise regularly along with the dieting, then that is another question.
But even those who exercise and lose weight if they stop exercising will regain that weight.
You do understand that a person's "diet" refers to what they eat right? Exercise is separate and distinct from diet. So inherently, exercise is not a part of diet, its a separate component of one's lifestyle.
This exactly..... I NEVER associate the 2 as 1......... My diet is just that and nothing more and because I exercise I eat more to fuel my body for the workouts that I ask of it to do... 5 years ago I couldn't walk from my chair to the bath.. I literally rolled myself from room to room on a computer chair.. I spent the first 17 months of my journey concentrating on my diet and lost 170 lbs. over that time.. So no these two things are not mutual in my eyes and never will be......
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@AlanaTedmon wrote: »After trying out the Atkins for about half a month... I discovered it's not a realistic diet choice for someone who is very active. I feel like protein is awesome in how it keeps you full and it's a necessary component of a healthy diet but unfortunately your body can't really pull immediate energy from meats when you do a ton of cardio.
Can't avoid carbs.
On Atkins your body is supposed to run on FAT, not on protein. FYI.
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@AlanaTedmon wrote: »After trying out the Atkins for about half a month... I discovered it's not a realistic diet choice for someone who is very active. I feel like protein is awesome in how it keeps you full and it's a necessary component of a healthy diet but unfortunately your body can't really pull immediate energy from meats when you do a ton of cardio.
Can't avoid carbs.
On Atkins your body is supposed to run on FAT, not on protein. FYI.
Your body burns fat regardless of whether or not you're on Atkins.
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@AlanaTedmon wrote: »After trying out the Atkins for about half a month... I discovered it's not a realistic diet choice for someone who is very active. I feel like protein is awesome in how it keeps you full and it's a necessary component of a healthy diet but unfortunately your body can't really pull immediate energy from meats when you do a ton of cardio.
Can't avoid carbs.
On Atkins your body is supposed to run on FAT, not on protein. FYI.
Your body burns fat regardless of whether or not you're on Atkins.
Yup. All that's needed to burn fat is a calorie deficit. The entire reason your body stores fat in the first place is to provide you energy to sustain your life in times of lower caloric intake.
The advantage of a keto diet is that for many people, it acts as a hunger suppressant. That's good, however for myself I didn't overeat because I was hungry. I was bored, stressed, sad, lazy, or more simply, I just enjoyed eating delicious food. It was more of a habit than a hunger thing but I tricked myself into thinking it was about hunger.
Change your habits and you change your life. That's what did it for me. Get out from behind the computer/TV/iPhone and live your life more actively. Find hobbies and activities that keep you moving about. Incorporate exercise into your life. Have goals and make plans to meet them and then get to work actually meeting them. Be that person who doesn't like sitting still. Instead of lounging around munching on low cal/carb snacks and counting the hours until your next real meal, go on a walk, rake some leaves, clean your gutters, fix the door on the shed, patch that hole in the wall, play with your kids, volunteer at an animal shelter. Taking a glance at the clock should make you say "Whoa! I better go eat something now" vs. "Damn, it's still 3 hours til dinner." Personally, I find that being active is a far far better "hunger" suppressant than any kind of diet, and I particularly don't care for diets that are all about big lists of "no" foods.0 -
peter56765 wrote: »The advantage of a keto diet is that for many people, it acts as a hunger suppressant.
For many others, it acts as an appetite accelerant. Low-carb world is full of horror stories of people who couldn't stop at a couple of slices of bacon and started to pack on even more pounds because they were eating above maintenance calories.
There is no One True Path to a caloric deficit.
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peter56765 wrote: »The advantage of a keto diet is that for many people, it acts as a hunger suppressant.
For many others, it acts as an appetite accelerant. Low-carb world is full of horror stories of people who couldn't stop at a couple of slices of bacon and started to pack on even more pounds because they were eating above maintenance calories.
There is no One True Path to a caloric deficit.
So much is psychological, and it's hard to know what is physical and what is emotional/mental when someone is looking for excuses. That includes excuses made to support a self-image of worthlessness... equally people will think they have a psychological problem and they're just not good enough when it's physical.
In a way, keto diet and Atkins are not about physical needs for change as much as psychological. Doing something completely different, a "proven strategy" to believe in, that is regimented with clear and absolute "do's" and "don'ts" is what some people might need to achieve their goals. If that strategy is set up to also be physically effective (and hopefully ethically employed), then there you go. So, there is no one true path on many levels.
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The biggest problem is that most people confuse the Atkins diet with the Induction part of the Atkins diet The diet itself is sustainable - my opinion.0
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Atkins is a solid and easy to follow diet. I like it much better than most of the other low carb diets out there. The problem with it for me personally is that I am not a big meat eater. While I can temporarily eat that much meat to lose weight just fine, it is never a way that I would want to live permanently - which is what you would need to do to maintain its weight loss long-term. I would much rather be vegetarian than have to eat that much meat, as I just don't really enjoy the texture/flavor of meat that much. For someone who does really enjoy meat, I think it's a great option.0
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Dave198lbs wrote: »Some people want to do a bit more than just lose weight. Some ALSO want to improve their health from a nutrition path.
True, but the lion's share of the health benefits come from the loss of weight (fat to be specific)...0 -
The biggest problem is that most people confuse the Atkins diet with the Induction part of the Atkins diet The diet itself is sustainable - my opinion.
That tends to be the neon light that people against the Atkins diet point out. You have to take supplements if you do the induction phase since it doesn't provide you with nearly enough nutrients.
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Supplements during the instruction phase?
I don't recall that - but I did the induction phase well over 10 years ago. The first 3 days sucked, but it got better.
I had a rather funny experience in college while on the maintenance phase of the plan. My nutrition course happened and the professor was very anti Atkins. She felt very strongly that the plan in any phase deprived the body of key nutrients. Obviously I didn't agree, as it was my eating lifestyle that my whole family did, but she was a nutrition expert, so I did listen and respect her opinion.
The course went on and we had a project in which we had to track everything we ate in a data base and see how our eating styles rated to the nutritional requirements for our age, height, weight, etc. It was a month long project, I expected to see that my diet had detriments as she had firmly and repeatedly indicated how awful the Atkins plan was and how unhealthy it was.
At the end of the project, my macro nutrient intake was fine, I hit all the vitamins and minerals that the program said my body needed with no dangerous excesses noted. I hit the sugars and fat types within good ranges. My protein was higher than the necessary range, my fiber was consistently higher than the recommended range, and my overall carbohydrates were about 100 grams too low on a daily basis. My overall calorie intake was on target for maintenance.
The professor couldn't really believe it. She was still skeptical and didn't like the lifestyle, but could at least accept that it could be nutritionally valid if followed as designed.
So yes, it isn't for everyone, but some people don't like brussel sprouts, but it can be a healthy lifestyle if followed correctly. I read the books, the studies, and followed it methodically. I had never used a food scale or really looked at portion sizes until incorporating the plan into my life. Dr. Atkins strongly promoted proper portion size and recording everything.0
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