I'm asking alot - so how about this one - Does Atkin's Diet work? Is it ok?

[episodic]

subject says it all. . .

 

[RichardE]

http://www.myfit.ca/archives/v...&subject=Atkins%20Diet


That is an article I give to alot of friends. The atkins diet does work...but...


Also, there is the Keto option. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet

Thats another diet thats apparently good for loosing weight.


The major problem though with these "diets" is you will be starving (not literally) with no carbs in your diet. They are also not "lifechanges" diet so that you have the risk of coming off them and returning to your normal eating habits which results in you gaining the weight and perhaps more back. The diets do and can work, if you have a specific plan to follow them and follow them to a T for a certain amount of time (say to your goal weight) than have a plan to come off them slowly to a life changing healthy type of diet (this is the hard part). The motivation required though is astronomical, you will be hungry all the time, you will have periods where you have a lack of energy, you will become sick more easily, you will have to fight through all this and continue working out as without that factor the diets are truly useless. I am not judging you, but an honest opinion I give to people who ask me this question is how much research have you done on your own? If not very much than chances are you do not have the motivation or drive to see this through. If that is the came your best bet is to begin a life changing healthy diet and incorporate physical (both cardio and weights). Loosing weight is useless if you do not change the pattern that got you there in the first place.

 

[KoolDrew]

Any diet works. All of them just find a way to manipulate calories and in the end that's what really matters. Atkins crap about lack of carbs having some sort of metabolic advantage is just pure crap though, and if you still end up eating more than your maintenance calories, you're not going to lose weight.

 

[nervegrind3r]

I did atkins and lost alot of weight in one summer when paired with cardio exercise. Though it works, imho it is a very bad diet. The problem I had is that it worked so well, I didnt want to gradually add carbs again to the diet because I was so happy with the results; this was a bad idea. When I started adding them, I added too much and starting gaining weight again = bad. I was also missing alot of nutrients by taking out carbs, and did not have the same energy drive. You also don't want to do weightlifting on this diet.

I would advise you to not follow a diet like atkins. Do some research on foods, and modify your eating habits. You should have a good amount of fats, carbs, and proteins in your diet. If youre lifting weights, you could do a keto diet, just google for more info.

 

[Deeko]

Atkins will work to make you lose weight, however, it is generally unhealthy. It puts your body into ketosis, which is not a good thing. It also does not encourage a healthy diet, simply something that causes you to lose weight.

I've been firmly against Atkins for a long time and I remain that way. Actually, funny this thread should come up, I'm currently reading Arnold's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding, and just last night I was reading the section on diet - while he doesn't specifically mention Atkins, he completely blasts the entire low carb idea.

 

[crt1530]

Stop looking for short term solutions.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Atkin's is pretty much poor application of a ketogenic diet. In a ketogenic diet, your body will resort to digesting ketones instead of converting carbs to glucose like it normally would. A ketogenic diet is usually good for bodybuilders and such since it increases secretions in GH and shifts other hormones in a manner favorable to muscle gain. However, a lot of gains from the Atkin's diet are gained back when people reintroduce carbs. Why you may ask? Water weight for one, body shock, etc. You would also have to factor in carb cycling and such to make sure your body has enough glycogen stores. Episodic... you just started. Don't do the Atkin's diet. You can lose plenty of weight doing what you're doing now. It's not gonna be SUPER fast, but it will be healthy, and if you're consistent, you'll get to places you never imagined.

 

[PSU]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Atkin's is pretty much poor application of a ketogenic diet. In a ketogenic diet, your body will resort to digesting ketones instead of converting carbs to glucose like it normally would. A ketogenic diet is usually good for bodybuilders and such since it increases secretions in GH and shifts other hormones in a manner favorable to muscle gain. However, a lot of gains from the Atkin's diet are gained back when people reintroduce carbs. Why you may ask? Water weight for one, body shock, etc. You would also have to factor in carb cycling and such to make sure your body has enough glycogen stores. Episodic... you just started. Don't do the Atkin's diet. You can lose plenty of weight doing what you're doing now. It's not gonna be SUPER fast, but it will be healthy, and if you're consistent, you'll get to places you never imagined.

SociallyChallenged pretty much covered my experience. As a bodybuilder, I liked using Atkins for competitions. However, post competition weight gain was severe. At age 19, I went from 185 to the 210+ range in just a matter of days post competition. In other words, the "whiplash" effect after going off the diet can be tremendous.

 

[SZLiao214]

I've seen it work on friends short-term but they can never seem to keep any of the weight off afterwards.

 

[NGC_604]

..

 

[blackangst1]

IMHO it's not "A diet" that you need, it's diet changes. Permanent. You may lose weight faster (which isnt always a good thing) but after 90 days you will have an eating habit that will keep you healthy for the rest of your life.