Informed advice please.
I have a friend who swears by it and is offended that im even asking on here.
What facts can I throw at him, or should I eat humble pie? (without the pastry obviously).
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Atkins diet - Does it work?
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Posted 5 months ago #
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My wife did it about 8 years ago and yes it does, she lost a stone.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Yes. Done it a couple of times and the weight does fall off.
Personally I think it's very hard to stick to long term though so inevitably the weight comes back, unless you hop onto another diet.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Does it work? Probably.
Is it sustainable? Debatable.
Is it a healthy way of losing weight? Probably not.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Yes but you can smell bread and other carbs from about a hundred metres away and would probably kill to obtain them.
Posted 5 months ago # -
the reason it works is because protein and fat makes you feel full quicker than carbs.
Eat a small portion of pasta - still feel hungry for about 15 mins after
Eat a similar size protien/fat meal - feel full almost after finishing.so, you'll lose weight but probably increase your risk of coronary disease and stroke!
Posted 5 months ago # -
It works, but then pretty much any diet works if you stick to it.
Posted 5 months ago # -
It works insofar as you lose weight, yes. But it's not healthy or particularly sustainable.
Eat a similar size protien/fat meal - feel full almost after finishing.
This has not been my experience even with low GI eating, to be honest. The feeling of fullness comes from a fair few sources in your body, a full stomach is only one of them.
I just spent 20 mins ploughing through a big plate of chicken, semi-raw veg, salad and lots of beans. Full tummy but still hungry. It's a strange feeling.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Yes but your breath will smell like ass and nobody will want to be within a few feet of you when your talking!!
My boss did it the other year and his breath was like rotting s#$t!!
Posted 5 months ago # -
Yes, it works, and yes, there's lots of health benefits additional to losing weight from being in ketosis.
However, i think atkins got a bit bastardised by the popular media and conventional understanding of it (eat as much processed crap as you want, as long as its low carb) isn't very sensible.
Here's a couple of good starter resources that might be more useful than Googling Atkins:
Posted 5 months ago # -
I worked ona diabetes research project a few years ago and someone in the office tried it. the prof running the research said that although there was no long term data available, he felt that there could be serious long term effects if the diet was kept up for any longer than about 6 months
1 - no evidence to support that theory
2 - he is one of Europe's leading nutritionists and diabetologists (I might have made that second word up, but he is a top studier of diabetes) so is guess is probably well informedPosted 5 months ago # -
He's read your responses and is shaking his head as I type this.
Apart from Finbar - he likes you.oh, and:
It works, but then pretty much any diet works if you stick to it.
is agreed, but Atkins works faster than the others. Right?Posted 5 months ago # -
If done properly, is it not simply a low(er) carb diet?
ie, ignoring the media hype (20 sausages and a kilo of cheese per day), it sounds to me just like a healthy diet.
Which should mean its sustainable for life, right?Posted 5 months ago # -
the reason it works is because protein and fat makes you feel full quicker than carbs.
Eat a small portion of pasta - still feel hungry for about 15 mins after
Eat a similar size protien/fat meal - feel full almost after finishing.so, you'll lose weight but probably increase your risk of coronary disease and stroke!
Plus, based on my understanding, the ketosis plays a large part too. Your body is burning fat as it's primary source of energy.
Posted 5 months ago # -
If done properly, is it not simply a low(er) carb diet?
ie, ignoring the media hype (20 sausages and a kilo of cheese per day), it sounds to me just like a healthy diet.
Which should mean its sustainable for life, right?Yes. Imagine iDave without the lentils, beans etc.
Perfectly easy to do it healthily i.e. plenty of fish, lean meat, salad, low carb veg etc but most people tend to go mad for bacon, eggs, cheese etc which you get surprisingly sick of eventually.
Posted 5 months ago # -
He's read your responses and is shaking his head as I type this.
Apart from Finbar - he likes you.sounds like he has already made his mind up and won't be listening to anyone who doesn't agree with him.
Not much point continuing really, is there?
Dave
Posted 5 months ago # -
How much does it affect your energy levels? A body building mate tried it and gave up as lost a lot of strength - perhaps just because he couldn't train as hard?
Oh yes, breath stinks and followers become fanatical. Everyone I know who's tried it gave up and ended up no lighter.
Posted 5 months ago # -
When i'm really low carb I find my capacity to do moderate/high intensity cardio plummets, but it doesn't really impact any strength sessions i do.
I'm a runner and i stick to bodyweight exercises though, so i don't know the first thing about what a bodybuilding workout is like.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Plus, based on my understanding, the ketosis plays a large part too.
It's not something I've studied particularly, but isn't it the case that the much-lauded 'all protein and nothing else' Atkins diet is actually only the first part of the diet, to throw your body into ketosis, and then you're supposed to change to something less extreme? (Except, people see the initial fat loss and go "I'll keep doing this", hence the problem.)
Posted 5 months ago # -
How fat is the fatty in question?
Posted 5 months ago # -
It's not something I've studied particularly, but isn't it the case that the much-lauded 'all protein and nothing else' Atkins diet is actually only the first part of the diet, to throw your body into ketosis, and then you're supposed to change to something less extreme? (Except, people see the initial fat loss and go "I'll keep doing this", hence the problem.)
Induction phase with <20g of carbs per day. This lasts two weeks
Then you're supposed to add 10g of carbs per day per week until you get to a steady weight
Posted 5 months ago # -
is agreed, but Atkins works faster than the others. Right?
I think it depends on if your aim is to lose weight or to become a slimmer person. If it's the latter then nah, for 99%* of the population there's no quick fix, just lifestyle changes.
*Stat made up
Posted 5 months ago # -
I can't exercise for sh*t when my carb intake is too low. I struggle on iDave never mind Atkins. I've never been so properly fatigued in my legs in my life as when I kept on riding and didn't have enough carbs. An easily doable 18 mile commute felt like the last lap of a 24 hour solo by the end of the week.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Yes it undoubtedly works but found it hard to stick to as the "proper" Atkins diet is very rigid.
Now I just try to stick to reasonably healthy food with a carb content of less than 15% and the weight is coming off nicely.
Posted 5 months ago # -
I've never been so properly fatigued in my legs in my life as when I kept on riding and didn't have enough carbs.
Yep on my weekly club run if I don't take in lots of carbs my legs get sore before the end and stay sore for a day or so. Carbs are the best - taste good and keep you strong and healthy.
So now we need stories of athletes who are keen on this sort of diet.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Atkins, to me, means salad with meat/fish/eggs cheese etc. Perfectly healthy long term.
I can't cycle on low-carbs either, so not much use to me.
Posted 5 months ago # -
You wont find many endurance athletes who don't eat much in the way of carbs.
If you want to run a low carb diet and still have energy for riding, save carbs for breakfast, pre, during and post ride.
Posted 5 months ago # -
cycling on low carbs is a very good point. I will be cycling, he wont.
Ive already lost 5 & 1/2 stone in last 15 months, but have platued for last 4 or 5 so was thinking of Atkins (under colleagues relentless pressure) as a way to shift final 2 or 3 stone for my wedding next July.
I want to look amazing in that dress.TBH, im ,more inclined to stick with whats worked for me (healthier diet & loads of CV work), and just re-double my efforts.
But then the lure of 20 rashers of bacon a day is a tug..
Posted 5 months ago # -
Depends on how/what you're cycling. A steady cruising pace is just fine. Hills and sprinting aren't.
Posted 5 months ago # -
If you want to run a low carb diet and still have energy for riding*, save carbs for breakfast, pre, during and post ride.
* (or running, or swimming)
...so basically, if - like me - you do one of these things pretty much every day, you should basically be eating carbs all the time then?
Is this why I nearly died of hypothermia** on Sunday by following iDave's silly diet for a week, while caught out cycling in the first sudden icy storm of the winter?
** no shit - my ghost would've haunted you idave
Posted 5 months ago # -
It's not something I've studied particularly, but isn't it the case that the much-lauded 'all protein and nothing else' Atkins diet is actually only the first part of the diet, to throw your body into ketosis, and then you're supposed to change to something less extreme? (Except, people see the initial fat loss and go "I'll keep doing this", hence the problem.)
DING DING DING DING!!!
^This.
So many people misunderstand what Atkins is that it isn't even worth discussing it any more.
The extreme zero carb no fruit and veg bit is supposed to last for two weeks only, and yes the weight drops off. You are then supposed to phase back in fruits and veggies and stuff (still no processed carbs), and you what you end up with is something pretty normal but low carb.
People assume it is just the first bit, forever, and then talk a lot of ill-informed bollocks.
Posted 5 months ago # -
**My sleeping shadow would have kicked your ghosts ass
How would eating a diet which contains protein, fat and carbs contribute to hypothermia? Are you being silly and not eating enough, or trying to cut out all carbs?
You can have simple carbs during and after exercise. I never said otherwise.
Personally I have protein/fat breakfast before a long ride.
Posted 5 months ago # -
my target:
Posted 5 months ago # -
A steady cruising pace is just fine
Not for me it wasn't. I was only cruising to work.
I upped the carbs a bit around riding and it was pretty much ok. The more simple carbs I had the better I rode, and the weight still came off.
You're better off understanding the principles and listening to your own body and figuring out how it works than following a script.
Posted 5 months ago # -
@Stuey01
Thats kind of along the lines of what I was thinking.
Its almost as if Atkins isnt actually a diet, is what I guess I was getting at. Its just healthier lower carb eating.But im a cyclist so I get to eat cake.
Posted 5 months ago #
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