Want to lose weight? (Atkins)

[Rowan]

I see theres some interest in healthy diet and body image on this site so I figured id share my success with my new plan so far.

I was at most 87kg. I mainly focused on weight lifting so I didnt really care how much I weighed as long as I was massing muscle. But after a while I noticed that I could be far more happier with my progress If I were to lose my body fat at the same time I was building muscle. Many people will tell you this is not possible, some will tell you that it is but its very difficult to achieve, but Im here to tell you that its easy as long as you follow a couple of simple rules.

So I was 87Kg now I wiegh 79Kg (lost about 2 inches off waist. So how did I do it? DONT EAT CARBOHYDRATES. (also known as atkins diet)

..well at least try to keep it under 30 grams per day. This will put your body into something called "ketosis" or "ketogenisis". But before we talk about that, we should learn about what carbs actually do for the body. Carbohydrates are used to fuel the body, give it energy. They are important in the sense that if you are running marathons or doing strenuous exercise for extended periods of time, they provide great fuel to the body to be able to perform greater for longer. Are carbohydrates a necessity? Are carbohydrates a dietary requirement? Absolutley not, they provide nothing other than a source of energy and thus making them a non-requirement for a healthy diet.

Ketosis is the process in which your metabolism is forced to burn fat as a source of energy due to lack of carbohydrates. This process is a key factor in wieght loss and has been by far the most effective way to cut the fat. I feel fantastic and im seeing some great results. Now you might be asking yourself "well hang on buddy, you said you weightlift, so wouldn't lack of carbohydrates impeded your performance?" The answer to this is simply "no" Carbohydrates are effective for prolonged areas of exercise such as triathlons, playing sports etc. You should not be training yourself for more than 45 mins - 1 hour if you are weight training or even doing cardio as it would defeat the purpose of training by forcing you into a catabolic state. Catabolic states are where your body is depleted of resources and starts losing its mass instead of gaining (or will refrain from gaining, jury is still out on this one): this applies mainly to body builders. The most important thing to remember though for bodybuilders on this diet, is that you protien intake must be very high. 1 gram per pound of body weight. With no carb intake even with a 45 minute session its possible your reserves might dip into your protiens, although I sincerly doubt this hence my results thus far. But I do make sure to consume vegetables (very little carbs) after my workout (about dinnertime) which is the perfect time to consume since the muscles need the glucose. Sometimes its best to have a protien shake that includes a few carbs. Just as long as we stay under 30, we are okay.

So to put it simply, by restricting your carbohydrate intake to less than 30 grams per day, your body will enter ketogensis and begin to metabolize fat as a substitute for energy and will prove incredibly effective in losing fat without impeding the performance of your current exercise routine. Its perfectly healthy and this kind of diet can be maintained permanantly if desired. Although we all love our carb foods, so after a few months if you decide you'd like to eat carbs again, the general idea is that the average human can maintain their current weight by have no more than 150 carbs per day.


Foods that dont contain carbs are:
All kinds of Meat
Chicken
eggs (.6 from yolk doesnt count)
Fish
Cheese
Oils

Now the carbs you should be having (that would make less than 30 grams) should come from vegetables.
Brocholli
Corn
Green peas
Sweet Patato
and some vegetables that dont:
lettuce, spinach, radish and mushrooms.

Foods to stay away from:
Pasta
Rice
Breads
Yogurt
Chocolate
Cakes
Soft Drink
even most fruits contain a lot of sugar, while it may be natural its still going to add up if you keep eating them. I would reccomend avoiding the following:
Grapefruits, Oranges, Mandarins, bananas and anything you might deem acidic.

Now I didnt think i'd have to mention it, but for this diet to work you are only allowed to drink water (coffee is okay, if anything the caffien gives your metabolism a boost). A single can of coke destroys your daily limit and contains over 40 grams of carbs (sugar) in a single can. So stick to water and coffee in the morning if you are a coffee person. Green tea is a far better subsitute though.

The initial week of this process may have you feeling a bit fuzzed out but thats during the process of your body realizing it need to start using the fat reserves as fuel and can sometimes take upto a week before you start feeling normal again. Once more, carbohydrates are not a dietary requirement. They are used as fuel and stored as fat if they are not used.

In my experience, losing wieght is 99 percent diet, 1 percent exercise. getting fit is 99 percent exercise and 1 percent diet. A combination of both healthy diet and exercise will give fantastic results.

So how quick should you see results with this diet? Well it depends on your current wieght/body fat percentage. I noticed results after the first week. im 6 weeks in now and I notice a great difference. In conjunction with my exercise, I now have much more visable muscle definition and body shape. Results always vary person to person, but the theory is bulletproof.

You also need to want to make these lifestyle changes. Dont bother doing it for a 2 weeks and then start binging because you will lose all your progress and feel like crap. Do it for a few months, see the results and slowly adjust your diet to maintain what you have in accordance to what you'd like to eat.

One last thing on bodybuilders doing this diet, You will see better results if you macro your nutrients, and what I mean by this is eat carbs specifically on the days you work out (afterwards only) and every other day restrict it to zero, but theres a methodology for this if you want maximum results and I havn't quite learned it all yet. I have a bodybuilder buddy teaching me at the moment.

If you have anymore questions about this, ask away... otherwise, good luck!

[Jecht]

I eat the food that IT have, and i still have lost weight so?
as i say before, it goes ON the body of the person.

[Rowan]

I eat the food that IT have, and i still have lost weight so?
as i say before, it goes ON the body of the person.

[Martin]

A definite decrease in carb intake will yield some weight loss results but I'm unsure about Atkins. I don't like the way it's a straight-off 100% stop of energy-rich food groups. I can't deal with the lethargy very well but, hey that's just me.

As with all diets, they work for some and not for others. The human body is too evolutionary and unique to formulate a one-for-all specific diet. But I'll be honest, it works for you and you've done a fair bit of research, so good on you.

[Dranzer]

First off, congratulations that's pretty awesome.

I have to say that I think Atkins is a pretty tricky, and sometimes risky diet choice. I agree, it can be absolutely healthy when you eat the appropriate carbohydrates, and the etc. that you mentioned. However, I don't think Atkins is particularly realistic for a majority of the population. You definitely need to know how to balance out your nutrition so you're not depriving your body of the essential stuff that it needs (I've seen people really **** their systems up by NOT doing this on Atkins).

In my opinion, if you can do it, more power to you. I'd personally recommend the Weight Watchers program though. Most physicians only recommend that particular weight loss program simply because it incorporates all of the food groups into one well-balanced, easy to follow nutritional plan. I've also seen amazing results with people on Weight Watchers who've tried everything else, including Atkins and failed miserably.

It depends on the person though, just like anything, no two bodies are alike.

[Rowan]

The main concern with Atkins is being deprived of mineral and nutrients that can only be obtained through various foods that contain carbs. But as long as you eat healthy vegetables and have them as your only carb intake, you will be satisfying your dietary requirements. A few servings of vegetables a day wont make you go over 30 grams. Keep this in mind.

Just remember why you arn't eating carbs. You want to stay within ketosis and burn off your fat reserves.

[Dranzer]

Daily multivitamins would probably be essential as well (though they should be incorporated into everybody's routine regardless of dietary restrictions), that could make all the difference. Are you lifting everyday? I've been out of the gym since I've had my class, seriously need to get my ass back there. I run a lot, lift lightly for toning purposes. I actually really want to try Soldierfit, a co-worker of mine told me about that workout program and it sounded like it might be worth it (lots of circuit training, etc.)

Oh, one thing about Atkins is normally with such a low-carb diet means including higher fat content, while initially in someone who really needs to lose a lot of weight (obesity/morbid obesity/etc.) this isn't an issue as the weight loss is the main goal. However, I'd definitely watch the fat content in the meat products you're consuming, a high-protein diet that includes higher fat content can lead to cholesterol issues. I think that deals more with maintenance rather than the weight-loss phase. There was a diet out there that was pretty popular a few years ago called "South Beach" that was like Atkins, but lower in fat that counteracted this issue.

Anyway, you're well informed and probably already knew that, but thought I'd share regardless for those who may try it who aren't exactly going for extreme weight-loss etc.