Atkins Diet

[TheWife]

[ QUOTE ]
An interesting aside, anyone notice that the beginning of America's obesity problem coincided with the introduction of the Dept of Agriculture's carb-heavy "Food Pyramid"? The "Four Food Groups" was more balanced but less profitable, which is why it was replaced.

[/ QUOTE ] Although, around that same time, fast food and busy schedules got more and more common, so I don't know how you can really blame that on the food pyramid.

 

[stuckingfk]

I have been reading the new book "The South Beach Diet" and it has been very informative. I am not on this diet, but it is interesting to read how certain foods have a higher Glycemic Index than others. The foods that have a higher GI always made me feel fatter.

I applaud everyone on this board who has successfully done the Atkin's program. I have been lucky enough that I can eat what I want and not gain weight. I have a very active lifestyle, but I am trying to get my body fat down to around 4-5%. At 9% right now. Anyone have any tips?

 

[aloft]

[ QUOTE ]
Although, around that same time, fast food and busy schedules got more and more common, so I don't know how you can really blame that on the food pyramid.

[/ QUOTE ]Pick up their nutritional content pamphlet next time you're at McDonald's. Fast food IS the Food Pyramid. Lotsa refined, bleached flour, starches and high-fructose corn syrup.

Moreover, ya gotta ask: what was wrong with the 4 Food Groups? They weren't pushing grains and corn enough, and the Dept of Agriculture was having to subsidize farmers to keep them in business. It's all about money. What do you think the profit margin is on a nice thick porterhouse steak is? And how 'bout for a box of your favorite breakfast cereal? The cereal profit hugely eclipses the steak as it costs next to nothing to make.

 

[FL270]

As said, you can't do Atkins without reading the book ... or just cutting all carbs out. Even during Induction, the strictest phase of Atkins, you still eat 20 grams a day of carbs, primarily from leafy green vegetables. I eat an omelette for breakfast daily, a light lunch, and dinner of a meat dish (shrimp, pork, chicken, beef, etc.) and a vegetable, usually caesar salad or asparagus. I'm not hungry, I don't miss out on the food I'm not eating, and I very rarely have any cravings for "forbidden" foods. That's why I've stuck with Atkins, when other eating plans go out the window quickly.

I also agree that the term "diet" is a real misnomer, and "diets" in general will doom you. You have to make a lifestyle change in order to have sustained, permanent weight loss.

FL270

 

[sbe]

[ QUOTE ]
A "normal human being's diet"?! What exactly do you think that is?

[/ QUOTE ]

Balanced by eating a lot of different natural foods (meat, greens...). You are right...if you look back in history, or at certain groups of people today, diets are heavy on protein/meat. I don't pretend to be a nutrition expert. However, my body complains loudly when it doesn't get what it wants. I know what happens to my body when I eat a big steak. I know what happens to my body when I don't eat any fiber. I know what happens to my body when I eat TOO MUCH fiber. Believe me, you don't want to know the details on any of those scenarios.

My body doesn't handle red meat well at all. I can eat it, in moderation. I absolutely cannot eat a steak that has been prepared by a restaurant and not pay for it in a big way. Which is unfortunate, because I love red meat.

So in a nutshell, I can't do Atkins even if I wanted to, and when I say it seems unhealthy I'm going off of MY body's reaction to eating those types of food.

I've started to cut portions, slowly been forcing myself to really look at what I eat. Combined with (right now) light exercise. I weighed myself for the first time in weeks the night before last, and boy was I happy!!

Sarah

 

[TheWife]

Huh? I follow the food pyramid, succesfully, and I don't see where it has anything to do with corn syrup and bleached flour. It says "whole grains". Anyway, I think the four food groups are fine too, but if you have protein AND carbs in moderation, you'll still be fine.

 

[aloft]

[ QUOTE ]
I have been reading the new book "The South Beach Diet" and it has been very informative. I am not on this diet, but it is interesting to read how certain foods have a higher Glycemic Index than others. The foods that have a higher GI always made me feel fatter.

[/ QUOTE ]Glycemic indexing is what Atkins does too, he's just more aggro about carbs.

[ QUOTE ]
I applaud everyone on this board who has successfully done the Atkin's program. I have been lucky enough that I can eat what I want and not gain weight. I have a very active lifestyle, but I am trying to get my body fat down to around 4-5%. At 9% right now. Anyone have any tips?

[/ QUOTE ]Atkins will do it; there's an article in this months Muscle & Fitness on it, written by a university PhD researcher who's also an ADA-certified dietician. Check it out.

 

[TheWife]

[ QUOTE ]
Even during Induction, the strictest phase of Atkins, you still eat 20 grams a day of carbs, primarily from leafy green vegetables. I eat an omelette for breakfast daily, a light lunch, and dinner of a meat dish (shrimp, pork, chicken, beef, etc.) and a vegetable, usually caesar salad or asparagus.

[/ QUOTE ] What about fruit though?

 

[aloft]

[ QUOTE ]
Huh? I follow the food pyramid, succesfully, and I don't see where it has anything to do with corn syrup and bleached flour. It says "whole grains".

[/ QUOTE ]Actually, it says nothing about "whole" grains. It says 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice and pasta--the vast majority of which in the U.S. is made of bleached, refined flour which is stripped of virtually all nutritional value.

Again, the bottom half of the pyramid has huge profit margins associated with it; the top half, very little.

 

[TheWife]

[ QUOTE ]
but I am trying to get my body fat down to around 4-5%.

[/ QUOTE ] Why do you want to be that low!?!? That is as low as marathon runners and full time athletes!

 

[P38]

Gotta be careful with fruits, they have alot of vitamins and minerals, but there is also LOTS of sugar in some fruits. This is pretty important for those on the Atkins plan.

 

[TheWife]

Hmm, there is a new food pyramid out, I am not sure when it was revised, but it has 6-8 servings of whole grains and fiber rich foods. I have it on paper, I'll have to see if I can find it on the net.

 

[aloft]

[ QUOTE ]
Gotta be careful with fruits, they have alot of vitamins and minerals, but there is also LOTS of sugar in some fruits. This is pretty important for those on the Atkins plan.

[/ QUOTE ]And the South Beach'ers...and the Zone'ers...most fruits have a high glycemic index for the very reason you stated...high sugar content.

Why all the fuss over glycemic indexes? Foods with a high glycemic index are rapidly converted to blood glucose, high levels of which trigger a release of insulin to metabolize it or store it off as fat. This constant cycle of insulin surges desensitizes your body to insulin (can you say "Type II Diabetes"?) and prevents your body from converting body fat to blood glycogen--in sum, it makes it very difficult to lose fat regardless of how little you eat.

 

[tonyw]

[ QUOTE ]
whatever happened to just watching your portions and eating a balanced diet (protiens, fruit, veggies, breads, etc)? I've finally made myself start doing this after a fall of traveling constantly, and voila I've lost 6 pounds in 3 weeks now, and counting. I feel great, too.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm with Sarah on this one. A diet is a diet is a diet. The reason you lose weight is because you cut calories. It doesn't matter if they're calories from carbs, protein, or fat. You could eat a pound of butter and if that was all you ate, then you'd lose weight!

Far better than things that tell you, this food is bad, that food is bad, don't eat this, don't eat that is plain old common sense. Eat things in moderation, cut back on your intake of foods with really high caloric content (Atkins has one thing right, eating a lot of processed sugars will make you gain weight), and exercise more.

Watch what happens to your weight. Hell, I didn't change my eating habits at all when I got laid off and I lost 20 pounds, dropping from 195 to 175. Why? Because I was walking around all day long instead of sitting at a desk. Now I'm making sure I get some cardio in every single day to make up for the loss of that movement.

I also watch what I eat and hit the weights at least three times a week.

 

[stuckingfk]

[ QUOTE ]
Why do you want to be that low!?!? That is as low as marathon runners and full time athletes!


[/ QUOTE ]

It is a goal. I feel so much better when my body fat is loser. Plus, it has always been my goal to be on the cover of Men's Health Magazine (yeah, everyone laugh now). So haveing the a low body fat percentage combined with lots of exercise and weight lifting (at least two hours a day for me).

 

[tonyw]

[ QUOTE ]
Actually, it says nothing about "whole" grains. It says 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice and pasta--the vast majority of which in the U.S. is made of bleached, refined flour which is stripped of virtually all nutritional value.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, we've only got ourselves to blame for that. There are other options than Wonder Bread and Sugar Snaps. You can get whole wheat bread and cereals that actually use oh, my God, somewhat natural ingredients!

And of course, then we add lots of sugar into the processed stuff which gooses the calories in it, and we wonder why we're becoming a nation of fat people.

 

[TheWife]

I really think if you don't want to do Atkins then really just stay away from any "pre made" type foods. Make yourself some stir fry or tacos or anything that doesn't come out of a box, and then have reasonable portions, and you will be just fine!

 

[tonyw]

[ QUOTE ]
Plus, it has always been my goal to be on the cover of Men's Health Magazine (yeah, everyone laugh now). So haveing the a low body fat percentage combined with lots of exercise and weight lifting (at least two hours a day for me).

[/ QUOTE ]

Dude, Mike Modano was on the cover of Mens Fitness this month. I don't think anyone can question his conditioning, fitness, or anything like that.

Well, guess what he didn't have? He didn't have the six pack, the ripped body, or anything like that.

 

[aloft]

Only ourselves to blame? But Wonder Bread and Mac 'n Cheese and Rice-a-roni are what the government says you should eat! In large quantities! The reality is revealed by a simple comparison with the French: they eat a diet loaded with fats and proteins and have a much lower incidence of obesity and heart disease to show for it. It's not all about intake/portion control, those are overly simplistic answers and neglect what really goes on with the body's chemistry.

Nope, this we owe to money and politics.

 

[Heath]

LOL. Aloft, dude, I'll bet you know who shot Kennedy!