Atkins Support Group

ARRRGGGHHHH got a phone call yesterday that my friends mother lost her battle with breast cancer. This has just been an awful week, I'm still logging my food even though I'm totally blowing it. I definitely now know that stress is a major factor in my eating. Have a funeral this morning for my friend, then I'm sure another Monday. Say a quick prayer for me, I'm moving my daughter into her college dorm this weekend, I'm not giving up, just struggling a little.

To our poster with criticism, there is someone like you for every thing, your way is the only way. Please just leave our little forum alone and let us continue with our successes.

Your brain needs fat and cholesterol not carbs! Why don't people get this?

Well if you want to eat away all your brain cells on atkins. . . . ie no carbs for the brain to survive on .. . . that is up to you.

Well hello there Ms. Uninformed! Please, return to us once you've actually read up on the lifestyle, including the various doctor reports and writings on the subject of carbohydrates and what they do to your body, including but not limited to, increasing the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Thank you for your 2 cents.

Day 2 of atkins. since i jump started with a cleanse i am already in ketosis. i have to take my younger cousins to chuck e cheese and i have this fear that i will give in to the pizza and bread sticks. any advise?

Well if you want to eat away all your brain cells on atkins. . . . ie no carbs for the brain to survive on .. . . that is up to you.

The brain uses ketones for energy when you don't have any carbs available. It runs fine on it.

I don't follow Atkins, I follow Primal (there is low-carb and ketosis involved in weight loss). It looks like your 'disclaimer' didn't do a thing:

here's a great article regarding why fat is the body's preferred fuel. "The brain runs perfectly fine (maybe even optimally) on ketone bodies" - not an exact quote from Mark. I touted high-carb for quite a while. My research (always wanting to know why) is what led me to knocking most of the carbs. I get my carbs through vegetables, nuts, and very limited fruit.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-metabolic-paradigm-shift-fat-carbs-human-body-metabolism/


Excerpt from Comments:
<<Registered Dietitian wrote on May 23rd, 2011
Where are your evidenced based articles to support all of your theories?? I thought excess calories = weight gain…not carbohydrates. Isn’t it true that fat provides 9kcal/g and carbohydrate provide 4kcal/g? Therefore, that would mean more fat= more calories..correct?? Our brains exclusively use carbohydrates for fuel…if we do not have carbs we rely on ketone bodies..which therefore our bodies go into ketoacidosis… Also, when we are in the anaerobic state…we only use carbohydrates as a source…such as a sprint or quick movements…you are saying if i have a low carb diet this will be more successful?? I do not understand. here is an article you can learn from. http://www.eatright.org/About/Content.aspx?id=8365

REPLY: As a RD, you should know better. Re-read Stryer, or Guyton Biochem books. You are still responsible for the info….Specifically pg. 770 in Stryer…integrated fuel metabolism
Calories in vs. Calories out? The neurohormonal regulation of appetite destroys that idea. Satiety control in the body is a system-based entity…not linear. Humans are not “physics-beaker-experiments” aligned with the First Law of Thermodynamics. We loose heat/energy to the environment, we use energy to make energy, energy production uses enzymes…etc
The brain can use ketone bodies for fuel very nicely. It does NOT exclusively use carbs for fuel. During starvation (in between meals, sleeping every night) and ketosis, kb replace glucose for the brain. 70% of the brain function can convert to kb use.
And the heart prefers to use kb for its energy needs. It prefers to use acetoacetate to glucose. Heart, lungs, muscle, tissues prefer preferentially to use kb for energy needs. They run better on kb than glucose.
Here’s an article YOU can learn from:
http://www.jbc.org/content/285/34/25950.abstract
Using kb for fuel, does not put us into ketoacidosis. This is a pathological state occurring in UNCONTROLLED ketosis. Ketosis occurs every night when you sleep. It’s part of fat-based energy metabolism. In ketoacidosis, the body accumulates keto acids that the pH of the blood is substantially decreased. Those are two vastly different metabolic states.
Ketone bodies are relevant to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and the heart and brain operate 25% more efficiently using ketones as a source of energy. Research has also shown ketones play a role in reducing epileptic seizures with the high-fat, near-zero carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet.>>

And this:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dear-mark-ketosis/

even if you don't follow Primal, Mark's Daily Apple has some great articles regarding carbs and ketosis. You can search the forum and archives for information, too.

Edit: GOOD LUCK ON YOUR INEVITABLE SUCCESSES!!

Day 2 of atkins. since i jump started with a cleanse i am already in ketosis. i have to take my younger cousins to chuck e cheese and i have this fear that i will give in to the pizza and bread sticks. any advise?

C'mon, in Day 2 your resolve HAS to be better than Chucky Cheese's yucky pizza!! Now if it was Romeo's, I'd understand...J/K. Anyway, eat before you go!! I know when I'm in ketosis sometimes it's a struggle TO eat, not to abstain!! If you think you can't make it fry up some (legal) pepperoni before you go and also some cheese. It's pretty much the same thing...

I loved your intro: I don't want to hear 2 cents about....

I'm not on Atkins but my sister works for Atkins. She manages questions regarding ATkins. So if people call in and same concern or question is brought up she investigates the common thread, so they can make new products people are looking for or issues people have come across with products.

:-)

Hi! I'm on day 3 of Induction. I watched "Fat Head" and was amazed! I have successfully lost 38lbs on a low calorie/low fat diet but my cravings for sweets have gotten worse the last few months. I can't seem just to eat a treat every now and again. I only have about 10 more lbs that I would like to lose and I'm not on Atkins for fast results. This lifestyle makes sense to me. Low carb, I mean. I did a lot of research, read a few books, including Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution and chose the Atkins diet. I'm sure I won't be on induction for long but I already feel so much better. I used to obssess about food almost constantly and now I am hardly hungry, have zero cravings and feel satisfied after a decent meal. Thanks for starting this thread!

martina

" Hi! I've been on Induction for almost 6 months, but I'm still losing steadily (about 8 pounds a month). I've got about 50 pounds to lose, I'm not having any problems health-wise, or with cravings, and I'm not bored with the diet. The book says I can stay on it indefinately if I'm doing ok and havn't reached close to my goal weight. What do you think? Should I move on or stay here? I should mention, that I've been under and over 20 in the course of a week, but haven't gone drastically over--never over 25ish. Thanks! "


Hi Martina,
I think it's safe to stay on induction as long as your losing. Why fix something that's broken. Just if you start slowing down and or get really bored with your food choices then you can start moving up the ladder. but only add in carbs at 5 grams a week and only one food added so you can rule out any negative results.

MAybe my body does ned fat and waaay less carbs...so I tried it and I must say I probably will never go back to the processed carbs. I mean if I look at the way i felt the ast 4 years and how I feel now I don't even want to go back and have a piece of cake.

Yes! This (and a lot of the others posting here) sound a lot like me. I had limited success with other diets in past, but nothing like the success I've had with doing low carb recently - about a month for me. I used to be a huge sugar-person, but I look at sweets now and other refined sugars and I don't even want to eat them, or feel bad about not eating them. If those are the things that are 'making' me fat, why do I want to put them in my body? I sort of see them as cleverly disguised poison

I know you can enjoy them in moderation, but it's a helpful thought for sticking to the low carb diet.