Atkins questions

[GoingUp]

Well I decided that I want to tone up and get in shape a bit more. Im 6'5" and 185 but I do have a little fat over the stomach that I am trying to get rid of. For kicks Im gonna give the atkins thing a shot. I bought a bunch of atkins friendly food tonite and I will be counting exactly what I am eating. I am also going to continue my weight training and definately increase my cardio workout.

My question is, when you are counting carbs, how do you properly count them. If something has 20g carbs, but 5g are fiber, does that mean that it really only has 15 carbs?

Any other input? Even if you think I'm a moron for doing this.... lemme know.

 

[TechnoKid]

I think you're supposed to count sugar carbs...if it doesn't give a break down of the net carbs, then assume that the grams listed is the total.

 

[Saulbadguy]

Atkins
Yep, you are correct. You can also subtract sugar alchohols, and other carbs that don't impact your blood sugar.

 

[notfred]

You're 6'5", 185 and you're trying to lose weight?

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: TechnoKid
I think you're supposed to count sugar carbs...if it doesn't give a break down of the net carbs, then assume that the grams listed is the total.

Yep.

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: notfred
You're 6'5", 185 and you're trying to lose weight?

not necessarily lose weight, lose the fat

 

[MystikMango]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
Im 6'5" and 185 but I do have a little fat over the stomach that I am trying to get rid of. For kicks Im gonna give the atkins thing a shot.

I think you need to gain weight, not loose any.

You need to tone that flab, not lose weight. There's a difference.

 

[GoingUp]

is there any site where you can goto where you can type in food and get the values for what they would be?

IE I want to know how many carbs an average banana has.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: MystikMango

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
Im 6'5" and 185 but I do have a little fat over the stomach that I am trying to get rid of. For kicks Im gonna give the atkins thing a shot.

I think you need to gain weight, not loose any.

You need to tone that flab, not lose weight. There's a difference.

Well toning is really just the ratio of muscle to fat, so if he wants more definition losing fat is the quickest way to a toned look, since muscle gaining is so slow!

is there any site where you can goto where you can type in food and get the values for what they would be?

IE I want to know how many carbs an average banana has.

Fitday!

 

[ClueLis]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs

Originally posted by: notfred
You're 6'5", 185 and you're trying to lose weight?

not necessarily lose weight, lose the fat

Then I would go to the gym, not on Atkins.

 

[TheNinja]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs

Originally posted by: notfred
You're 6'5", 185 and you're trying to lose weight?

not necessarily lose weight, lose the fat

I'll tell you what I tell everyone else. Hit the weights. Muscle mass will give you the toned look and make you burn more calories at a resting state. Come on Stretch, at 6'5" 185 pounds you don't need to lose weight and Atkins would be a waste for you. Atkins seems to work for people who are VERY overweight as they see results quickly. But if you want to tone you'd be better off lifting weights, doing cardio and you probably won't even need to change your diet.

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: Staley8

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs

Originally posted by: notfred
You're 6'5", 185 and you're trying to lose weight?

not necessarily lose weight, lose the fat

I'll tell you what I tell everyone else. Hit the weights. Muscle mass will give you the toned look and make you burn more calories at a resting state. Come on Stretch, at 6'5" 185 pounds you don't need to lose weight and Atkins would be a waste for you. Atkins seems to work for people who are VERY overweight as they see results quickly. But if you want to tone you'd be better off lifting weights, doing cardio and you probably won't even need to change your diet.

Ive been lifing weights for a year now and I can lift about 50% more weight than when I started last Jan. Im getting stronger everyday and my muscles are getting bigger, but I just cant seem to get rid of the last bits of fat......

 

[TheNinja]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs

Originally posted by: Staley8

I'll tell you what I tell everyone else. Hit the weights. Muscle mass will give you the toned look and make you burn more calories at a resting state. Come on Stretch, at 6'5" 185 pounds you don't need to lose weight and Atkins would be a waste for you. Atkins seems to work for people who are VERY overweight as they see results quickly. But if you want to tone you'd be better off lifting weights, doing cardio and you probably won't even need to change your diet.

Ive been lifing weights for a year now and I can lift about 50% more weight than when I started last Jan. Im getting stronger everyday and my muscles are getting bigger, but I just cant seem to get rid of the last bits of fat......

ahh, that's a different story. I guess i'm in the same boat then, I'm 6'1" around 185 and would like to get rid of the fat too. I still wouldn't recommend Atkins b/c I think you'll lose some energy to lift and in turn lose some of your muscle mass (although I have not researched Atkins enough to say for sure). I switched to a meal plan where I eat like 6 "meals" a day coming to around 2200 cal and 190g protein and I'll see how that works . Oh and try HIIT (high intensity interval training) instead of long distance cardio for 2 month and see how that works, I'm going to try a cycle here closer to spring time (I'm bulking up now).

 

[Cleaner]

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/

Great website for finding out the nutritional content of food. Check it out.

 

[beatle]

On Atkins you wouldn't count fiber. Some food products with glycerine, malitol, etc. will say they only have X number of "net carbs" since they say those products don't impact blood sugar. That's a toss-up. I started coming out of ketosis when I was eating a 2-3 "net carb" bar every day. Experiment and find out how they affect you.

 

[bigalt]

i really wouldn't do atkins for such a minor goal. you don't have too much weight to lose while remaining healthy, and if you're going for the heroin sheik look just do some heroin and don't eat.

the atkins diet puts a big strain on your kidneys, so if you're not looking at a big improvement in quality of life or health, imo it's not worth it.

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: bigalt
the atkins diet puts a big strain on your kidneys, so if you're not looking at a big improvement in quality of life or health, imo it's not worth it.

Says who?

 

[bigalt]

Originally posted by: Wingznut

Originally posted by: bigalt
the atkins diet puts a big strain on your kidneys, so if you're not looking at a big improvement in quality of life or health, imo it's not worth it.

Says who?

big strain may be overstating it, but it does work your kidneys more than you're used to. we won't know for several decades for sure, but i expect we'll see a decent sized group of skinny people with kidney failure.

 

[beatle]

Originally posted by: bigalt
the atkins diet puts a big strain on your kidneys, so if you're not looking at a big improvement in quality of life or health, imo it's not worth it.

Not if you're drinking your 8 glasses a day, it doesn't.

 

[bigalt]

Originally posted by: beatle

Originally posted by: bigalt
the atkins diet puts a big strain on your kidneys, so if you're not looking at a big improvement in quality of life or health, imo it's not worth it.

Not if you're drinking your 8 glasses a day, it doesn't.

my impression was that it's the strain of breaking down the proteins that overworks the kidneys, not buildup of some leftovers or something?

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: bigalt

Originally posted by: Wingznut

Originally posted by: bigalt
the atkins diet puts a big strain on your kidneys, so if you're not looking at a big improvement in quality of life or health, imo it's not worth it.

Says who?

big strain may be overstating it, but it does work your kidneys more than you're used to. we won't know for several decades for sure, but i expect we'll see a decent sized group of skinny people with kidney failure.

Is this based on some sort of research, or just your gut feeling?

 

[bigalt]

Is this based on some sort of research, or just your gut feeling?

well all of my half-hearted interpretations are based on my general understanding of the way the body works (which admittedly isn't all THAT thorough in that region, as my research is in biomechanics).

the general principle is based on some research and on the understanding of the human body by people more knowledgable than I, but the fact is that the atkins hasn't been around long enough to say anything either way.

one of the conspiracy-type websites is here.

I'm not saying atkins is evil, just that there is a minor risk involved so I wouldn't use it to drop a few pounds when you're already rail thin, I'd look to exercise like other people suggested (everything has its risks involved of course, lifting weights can ruin your joints, but what can you do?).

 

[bigalt]

whoo! narrowly avoided a triple post!

 

[beatle]

Originally posted by: bigalt

Is this based on some sort of research, or just your gut feeling?

the general principle is based on some research and on the understanding of the human body by people more knowledgable than I, but the fact is that the atkins hasn't been around long enough to say anything either way.

The Atkins diet has been around since 1972, but only recently has it gained popularity because it has gained "vindivication" from praise in a few medical journals. That's why it seems "new" to most people (myself included).

 

[bigalt]

Originally posted by: beatle

Originally posted by: bigalt

Is this based on some sort of research, or just your gut feeling?

the general principle is based on some research and on the understanding of the human body by people more knowledgable than I, but the fact is that the atkins hasn't been around long enough to say anything either way.

The Atkins diet has been around since 1972, but only recently has it gained popularity because it has gained "vindivication" from praise in a few medical journals. That's why it seems "new" to most people (myself included).

right, the fact that it's only recently been popular means that there will really only be sufficient numbers for long term studies in quite a while.

my understanding was that it was vindicated as an effective way of losing weight and cholesterol. The major criticism originally was that a high fat diet would of course lead to obesity and heart disease, which only recently they took a closer look and decided that it doesn't.