What you need to remember is this… the human body effectively tries to keep it’s blood sugar levels within an optimal operating zone. There are a lot of myths about insulin, (or rather, woeful misinterpretations) but what is a fact is this - insulin is a hormone response to too MUCH blood glucose, and it’s presence is not a CAUSE for high blood sugar levels - rather it is a symptom.
The human body ideally likes to operate in the following manner - optimal blood glucose levels, followed by optimal glycogen stores. Now, as you can imagine, a lot of factors come into play regarding the former - but the latter is mostly a function of the former. That is, even if you’re undereating on a daily basis by 500 calories compared to what you’re burning, it’s still quite possible for the body to top up it’s glycogen stores overnight during sleep via fat consumption. And those glycogen stores live in both the liver and our muscles. However, it’s worth noting that the body can top up it’s glycogen stores much quicker if we’re not undereating and instead, are overeating by 500 calories per day.
In the 2nd example, the body has a surplus of blood glucose, and that surplus is distributed to the liver and muscles with much greater efficiency.
But mark my words - it’s quite possible to function as a human being at extreme aerobic levels even during sustained periods of ketosis - the key is lots of rest and sleep. It’s during the rest periods that the body is able to top up it’s glycogen stores via fat burning.
Something to bear in mind though is that in the great scheme of things, 1000 calories burnt in a gym session is not mega taxing. Certainly, it’s better than nothing, but the key is consistency - namely, burning calories every day through either exercise or manual labour.
1000 kilocalories in 1 1/2 hours is about 650 calories an hour, which is about running at a 12-minute pace. (Of course your body weight has to be factored in.) That’s an adequate pace depended upon your level of fitness, but if you upped that to 1,000 kilocalories an hour, now we’re talking about hard exertion. I’m not saying that is necessary for the average person, but if you’re a competitve runner, it is.
I feel like we’ve been throught this same arguement many times before. Atkins done right is not boring at all.
If someone on Atkins is eating nothing but eggs and bacon and fried hamburgers, sure, that’s boring after a few days.
But if you read the book, and eat what is outlined in the book, you can have a wide variety of fresh foods. Meat, poultry, seafood, cheese, veggies, nuts, eggs - what’s boring about that? You can fix eggs any number of ways. Same with chicken and turkey. After Induction and you start losing weight, you can add fruits and whole wheat bread back in.
Just cut out the simple carbs, white flour, excess sugar, candy and soda and that’s it. Not boring at all.
higher levels of carbohydrates facilitate release of the neurotransmittor Gamma Aminobutyric Acid(GABA). This neurotransmitter helps ease anxiety and calm mood and is vital for anyone wanting a sense of balance. I predict that coupled with the obvious lack of carbohydrates with which a person will not have as much energy and be deprived of their favorite food, the diminished positive effects will yield really aggression-prone people. i certainly dont recommend this diet for the obvious reason that you will never adapt this as a life style; it will collapse eventually. good health is a conscious choice that you have to do some work for, meaning adopting a comfortable diet. by the way, people who tend to go on diets like later these complain about stretch marks, and i tell them that they brought it upon themselves.
We’ve had numerous threads about the Atkins diet, but since you’re a guest you can’t search.
I’ve been on Atkins for a year, and have lost 70 pounds. I feel great, better than great, and in fact, I’ve gotten what were nearly crippling migraine headaches under control.
I have tons of energy, I sleep well and wake up feeling rested.
I don’t miss former “favorite” foods much at all. I don’t care for pasta at all anymore (it seems so bland), potato chips tend to taste funny or “off” to me, and I haven’t had french fries in I don’t know how long. The smell of fries and of the fryer in fast food places makes me sick to my stomach, to be perfectly frank.
I do still like bread, and eat whole wheat bread a couple of times a week.
My diet consists of mainly protein and veggies; chicken, turkey, fish, cheese, eggs and lots of dark green veggies; lettuce, broccoli, green beans. And lots of water.
I’ve had all the blood work done and I’m perfectly healthy. I’m not the least bit aggresive.
Sounds like my diet, with a couple of exceptions, and I’m not on any diet. I Just try to eat healthy. I never eat any junk fried at a fast food joint, with not only hydrogenated oils but rancid as well. I never add salt or pepper to my food and too much salt is not tasteful any more. However, I eat whole wheat bread practically every day. I often grill a salmon fillet with onions and tomatos and dump it onto two slices of whole wheat bread. Delicious. And of course I wash it down with a glass of red wine. (I know you wine aficianados will say, “No, no, white wine with fish.” But I don’t like white wine and red wine has some antioxidants that white wine doesn’t have. If I have iced tea, it is always sweet (with real sugar), as sugarless iced tea does not taste good. A salad with that gives me all my greens. So, if the Atkins diet becomes normal after the “inoculation period,” it is not bad, but why bother with the inoculation period.
Sounds wonderful, and except for the two slices of bread and the wine, I’d be right there with you. The bread would depend on how much bread I’d already had that week, and the wine is always a big no-no. It’s a migraine trigger - I don’t even eat grapes or drink grape juice.
Atkins is not a no-carbohydrate diet. It’s a low-carbohydrate diet. It’s about changing both the net amount of carbs you consume, and what type of carbs you consume (at least half from leafy vegetable sources).
Phase 1 (Induction), which you follow for at least 2 weeks, allows you to consume up to 20 net grams of carbs* per day.
Phase 2 (Ongoing Weight Loss), allows you to keep adding net grams to that daily amount until you reach the limit where you aren’t losing weight any more. Those who exercise regularly can consume up to 60-90 net grams of carbs per day.
Total carbs minus fiber and sugar alcohols.
barbitu8, here are 354 recipes for the Induction phase alone. That number jumps to 641 recipes suitable for the Ongoing Weight Loss phase.
Wow, I can’t believe this thread is still going. I noticed there’s a couple things I never reponded to:
Holy cow. So you’re contending that every study that’s ever been done has shown that low-carb diets effect metabolic changes that result in weight loss independent of number of calories consumed? Man, that’s just wrong. A couple studies show some promise, and merit further study, but to say there is NO contradictory evidence, that’s just…wow man…wow! You’re living in an Atkins dream-world.
To say that brocolli, lettuce, etc. are not the nutritional equivalent of bread and potatoes is a frivolous criticism? Yikes, you guys! I’ll say it again:
“Vegetables are carbs.” <- FALSE.
That’s a gross and misleading simplification of reality.
Holy cow. So you’re contending that every study that’s ever been done has shown that low-carb diets effect metabolic changes that result in weight loss independent of number of calories consumed? Man, that’s just wrong. A couple studies show some promise, and merit further study, but to say there is NO contradictory evidence, that’s just…wow man…wow! You’re living in an Atkins dream-world.
Ok so can we mark that down as a “No, I don’t have any contradictory studies?”
I have been reading all these low carb vs traditional diets here for years.
One thing I keep wondering is whether people who changed to a ‘low carb’ diet were actually on a high carb, high GI diet to start with and are now just on a normal balanced diet. In the US especially it seems that the typical diet consists of a lot of heavily processed foods (high GI).
Perhaps people who go on a ‘low carb’ diet are actually just improving the quality and quantity of carbohydrate intake to suit their energy expenditure.
Hey, I could be wrong - its just an impression from reading these threads. The only way to determine is using scientifically designed studies measuring carbo input.
Remember - there are good oils and bad oils, there are good carbs and bad carbs.
It’s been done to death here. Google your own studies, or just search any Atkins thread in GD. You will find contradictory studies to your heart’s content. I’m not here to debate - I’m just telling you what I know.
Wonderful - “Um, they are.” Yes, what a well thought-out, cogent response. :rolleyes:
At some point, everyone needs to concede that the goal of Atkins is not to eliminate carbs …it’s not “no carb”…even “low carb” might be misleading.
“Right Carbing” might be more like it. The right types (from grains, nuts, fruits and veggies) and the right amount.
I learned as a body builder in the 1980’s about good and bad carbs. It’s been around. Atkins took it to another more elevated well known level, and made more of a ‘plan’ about it. When you see someone avoiding carbs like the plague as a way of life, that is not Atkins-ish. Thats’s friggin dumb as a way of life.
The bulk of people I know who run from carbs are eating bacon and cheese omelletes everyday, scarfing down pork rinds and cheese for snacks, and wouldn’t eat fruit for anything.
I keep fruits, nuts, grains, veggies in my diet because they hold vital anitoxident and nutritional benefiits. That is smart.
I avoid white flour, refined sugars because they are empty calories. They run up your calories count fast, contribnute to weight gain and increase hunger. Avoiding them is smart.
Pumping your body full of grease and cheese and declaring you are on "Atkins’ is ignorance. Tinkering with your body in ways you would never tinker with your car is f–king stupid.
Really, I think that’s misleading. NOBODY recommends loading up on refined sugar and bleached flour. NOBODY. It’s virtually a truism. The ADA recommended diet (the so-called “high-carb” diet) ALREADY recommends whole grains and limiting refined sugar. If that were all Atkins were about, then there would be no difference between the two diets. I agree with you that the Atkins diet does not require an ABSOLUTE ZERO intake of carbohydrates, but to say it’s not a low-carb diet is not accurate, IMO.
barbotu8, nothing in your quotation about sugar alcohols disagrees with what I wrote, does it?
The amount of calories that sugar alcohols contain is trivial, between 2.1 to 4.0 calories per gram (a piece of Trident sugarless gum contains 1 g of sugar alcohol). And the digestion of sugar alcohols involves little or no insulin.
The main concern for Atkins followers is not counting calories, which is an indirect method. The main concern is the impact of carbohydrate on blood sugar and insulin levels.
Well, I don’t know. An increase in blood sugar (glucose) would normally call for an increase in insulin so that the glucose can be absorbed into the cells. And the cite says that blood sugar can be raised. Sort of ambiguous. It does not say that blood sugar will be raised. “Can be raised,” but why “can”? How can it and does it happen all the time? I don’t know.
(I know you wine aficianados will say, “No, no, white wine with fish.” But I don’t like white wine and red wine has some antioxidants that white wine doesn’t have. If I have iced tea, it is always sweet (with real sugar), as sugarless iced tea does not taste good. A salad with that gives me all my greens. So, if the Atkins diet becomes normal after the “inoculation period,” it is not bad, but why bother with the inoculation period.