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2003/06/23, 03:24 PM
Ok my wife wants to give the Atkins thing a try. Does anyone know or have info on muscle loss to expect while on it? I also have questions about energy for heavy workouts while on it cause the carbs are so low...anyinfo of actual in the field results would be great!!!!
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Squats are really a very good thing, but in my world, Deadlifts are King!!!!!!!!
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2003/06/23, 03:37 PM
My personal experience:
I found that unless you cycle a ketogenic diet, you will plateau in your weight loss fairly quickly. This is what happened to me after about 70 pounds. Cycling (i.e., low carb for 5 days, carb up on weekends, for example) seems to keep the weight coming off (albeit much slower) - but you still have to deal with the low energy issue.
I just struggled through the enegy thing in the gym until finally giving up. My weights went way down. And maintaining focus and "drive" throughout an intense workout is just insane. OTC herbals and caffiene help a little, but gave me the shakes so I quit them. Plus, the benefits were short-lived during the actual workout.
Don't know about actual muscle loss, but I would guess that it was considerable because my weights decreased so much.
Hope that helps, Muttster. Its just my personal experience though. As always, everyone is different and your mileage may vary.
Old Guy
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2003/06/23, 03:40 PM
Thanks man all I want to lose is 70lbs but I will not do that if I lose 40 lbs of muscle along the way thanks!
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Squats are really a very good thing, but in my world, Deadlifts are King!!!!!!!!
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2003/06/23, 03:57 PM
I didn't do well on the Atkins. Free to eat all that butter, mayo, cheese, bacon......need I go on? It was too easy to consume way too many calories. The Protein Power diet is similar, but had more limits. I guess if you still count calories it could work, but I haven't heard anyone here say to stay on it for very long.
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~Victoria~
...Some things have to be believed to be seen!
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2003/06/23, 06:59 PM
There are many problems with the Atkins diet...will you lose weight??? Sure, but at what cost? You are looking at thyroid problems, carbohydrate intolerance, and not to mention the obvious risks of unregulated saturated fat intake. This is not a bodybuilding diet in any way. We need a much more balanced diet to build, even preserve lean tissue. The Atkins diet is for folks who are looking to the media for answers, and will try the next diet that comes along. He has a sound basis, but it is very flawed in its approach.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/07/01, 12:01 PM
I don't agree that the Atkins approach is flawed. I don't go into things with my eyes closed and did some thorough research on the eating plan before leaping in.
Visit the web site www.atkinscenter.com there are some terrific research article there that overcome some of your concerns.
Secondly don't believe that it's a carb free diet. It is not. The intial kicker does reduce your carbo intake quite dramatically, however as you approach your goals you switch phases building back carbs. Again the value that you build back depends entirely on your metabolic rate implying that for some a greater value of carbs can be consumed, while for others less is the key.
As for losing muscle, yes this can happen however guard against it by excersize, which will maintain your muscle mass while the ketosis process takes care of the stored fats. Porbabaly the scariest aspect of the diet is potential liver damage...keep up the hydration process to avoid this.
I urge everyone who is considering this health plan to research it first after all it is a personal thing. I have done well on it, many positive results, not only weight loss, but also renewed energy levels, better sleep patterns, reduced snoring and an overall better attitude and higher levels of confidence...plus lower cholestrol, blood sugar etc.
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2003/07/02, 08:53 AM
I'm currently on the Atkins diet and it seems to be going well so far. I was expecting to loose about a pound or two per week, but lost 5 in the first week. I'm not overweight by any means, but I just wanted to get cut for the summer. According to the diet, you can eat as much butter, bacon, cheese etc. as you want. I try to avoid this for obvious reasons. I have noticed a significant decrease in strength at the gym, but instead I just do more sets at a lower weight. I still hurt the following day which tells me that I'm still working hard. So far, I'm happy overall... The only difficult part is trying to stay away from beer, wings, and the three sugars that I put in each of my 4 cups of coffee every morning.
A friend of mine is on the diet as well, but uses supplements to get his protein intake, whereas I get all of my protein from actual food. I think this is a definite key to being able to remain on the diet... EAT REAL FOOD! You'll feel more satisfied.
DRINK LOTS OF WATER!
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2003/07/02, 09:20 AM
hey there mikedesa1,
Pleased to see another Atkins eater. I note that you are battling with sugar...go for one of the alternates, nutra sweet has less than a gram of Carbs in each sachet.
Also noted your rapid weight loss, thats typical of the first week, don't lose heart it evens out to about a 1 -2 pounds a week if you keep a stringent check on your carbs. Also remember that that dramatic intial loss is primarly water loss, so keep up the hydration, particularly with your consumption of coffee, which I believe accelerates dehydration.
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2003/07/02, 10:50 AM
7707MUTT i have a thyroid problem and never did the atkins diet and if you can get thyroid problems with the atkins diet trust me it's not worth it i have so much problems lossing weight,tired, lossing hair, feeling cold, yellow skin, dry skin, retaining water, puffy face,weakness.and so on do it the right way please don't take short cuts that can have a big problem at the end...it took me 3 years just to get it under control now it is time to get myself make into shape again..before my thyroid i won first place in track and field amatier overall most athletic in highschool and 2 medals in gymnactics and one in basketball and lost it all (the fitness)when the thyroid hit me and no one know waht was going on,,,,,in three years i went from 109 to 185 pounds......now i'm focused and back on track ...there is no stopping me now....don't do it please
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2003/07/03, 02:09 PM
Ok... Thyroid problems should not occur using the Atkins diet... Yes some people have ended up with them, but thats because they didn't follow the diet properly.
In the first few weeks of the diet, called the induction phase, you reduce your carb intake to almost nothing. And gradually you introduce carbs back into your diet.
My next comments are aimed at BB1fit.
The thyroid problems occured because people thought that the induction phase was the diet, but its not. In addition, the diet stipulates that you can eat as much fat as you want, but let's be serious here... Would you really sit and eat a stick of butter just because you could?
Lastly, I don't think anyone ever said that this was a bodybuilder's diet... I think thats why its known as a weight loss diet, and not a weight gain diet.
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2003/07/03, 02:13 PM
Well thanks for all the input. I am still in the decision process. My gut tells me to do a modified version but geting the Wife in on that may be a little harder.....but again thanks!
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If you can still itch your nose after arm day, go do another set wussie!!!!
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2003/07/03, 02:17 PM
mikedesa1, If I didn't know any better, I couldn't read I guess. It was explicitly asked in the original post about effects on muscle loss and energy for heavy workouts...if this is not asking about a bodybuilding diet, then I must have sure misinterpeted it.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/07/03, 03:10 PM
Yup, sure looks to me like the original question was about bodybuilding or else muscle loss wouldn't have been brought up, am I correct mike?
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2003/07/03, 03:55 PM
now i know that i don't know that much about diets and atkins ,,but wouldn't you rather do it the healthest way to loss weight instead of the fastest ..fact:the majority of poeple who loss the weight the fastest gain double of it back ..people who loss it the slowest manage to keep the weight of...when you loss the wweight fast your body starts to think that you are starving yourself ...so when you start eating alittle more your body stores it as fat (no matter what type of diet you use)...when you loss the weight slowly your body can adjust to the change and not store away extra fat in cast your body starves again like in most diet.let your body adjust slowly to changes ............ ;D
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2003/07/04, 08:01 AM
BB1fit
Bad call on my part, you're correct in saying that the origional post was about muscle loss... You're definately right, Atkins is not definately not the diet for bodybuilders, and you will loose muscle while on it.
Thanks for the reinforcement dahayz...
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2003/07/04, 10:49 AM
mikedesa1, it is fine. That is why these are "discussion" boards, and why this community is so cool. There is no yelling and fighting as in some forums I have seen. As to diets, all diets, whether the Zone diet, Atkins, low carb, etc. all are based sound logic and have some merit and work for people. I just don't think in this case Dr. Atkins had the bodybuilder in mind. It is nice to get some input from a real life user. Thanks for enlightening me a bit on the aspects of it.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2004/01/07, 01:39 PM
Wow!!! you guys have totally gotten me confused about my diet!! lol
I have been doing Atkins since November. I have lost a total of 31 pounds, but I am at a plateau right now. I am not a body builder, I am trying to loose weight and tone up. I have noticed two different things with this diet (as a female, non body builder) One is I have a lot more stamina, but I think that is due to regular exercise and strength training. Before now, I would encourage people to do the Atkins diet, but right now, I am not loosing any weight, i dont know what happened. I was all the way down to 189 from 230, but when i got on the scale this week i was up to 199 again. I have been following the diet, I have been eating protein bars as supplements too sometimes.
As far as muscle loss, I can't totally agree there. My bi's and tri's look really good. However, My thighs seem like they are NOT as muscular as when I was heavier. This may also be due to loosing the fat inside muscle???? I don't know. Like I said you guys got me all confused. Thinking of changing the diet plan...
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2004/01/07, 02:41 PM
Maybe it's your graduation from the induction phase into OWLs or Maintenance, you need to analyse your carb content and readjust, as you could have added back in too bigger quantities, which is really quite easy. Remember the book calls for increments of around 5 grams a day for a about a week, and that is not very much at all.
Look at the time of year, sure you didn't have an extra glass or two og wine, slip the occassional Chrsitmas pudding past your lips or ?
And a last thought, you may have made weight gains because you've increased your muscle and lost fat, which isn't a bad thing. How do your clothes feel and how do you look?
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2004/01/07, 05:26 PM
I didn't fare well on the Atkins diet. Not only was I not "regular" I was bloated quite often (happens when I have too much protein) I ended up gaining some weight on it. Only 5 pounds but that was enough for me! I'm sure it's because I ate too freely. All in all, it wasn't for me. However, my father has lost about 50 lbs and he's been on it since mid-2003. It works for him. Honestly I think it's just a personal preference and how well your body will take to it. Sorry if I was no help :(
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2004/01/08, 10:05 AM
britder,
I have just re-read your post, confirm that you initially lost 41 pounds in two months, Novemeber & December? If so that is really a huge amount for such a short space of time and intself is quite unrealistic as it represents a loss of around 6-7 pounds a week and that is apound a day. Way too much, as you should be losing around a pound to two pounds a week.
So the fact that you have put back ten in a week is not wholly unrealistic. It does beg a few questions however. Are you weighing yourself at the same time in the day under the same circumstances? This could account for a variation on the reading. Also keep in mind that dramatic losses are associated with water loss rather than real time weight loss.
And lastly if your figures are acurate then the eating plan is working for you, perhaps you need to examine the quantity your eating and as a precaution you might want to eat more. Also please check in with the Atkins centre they are very helpfull and get back to you within 24 hours. The web address is www.atkins.com
All the best.
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2004/01/08, 02:40 PM
I did the diet for a couple months and loss weight at the rate of an anorexic person. If you are not a bodybuilder and need a rediculously low BF%, then just have a balanced diet and get plenty of exercise. There is no healthy way to lose weight fast. Eat right and get off your butt.
On a side note, does anyone know how Dr. Atkins died?
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2004/01/08, 03:21 PM
I am not a person for trivia, however was in Manhattan on that particular day...
He slipped on ice and dinged his head on the side walk. He never recovered.
It was a bitterly cold day and I, not being used to the ice, had slipped that morning as a walked out my front door. Trecherous stuff.
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2004/01/13, 01:19 PM
My wife is on the Atkins diet and she is complaining of headaches and muscle aches. She thinks that the low carbs are messing up her potassium level. If this is true what can she do to supplement it?
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Quoting from nerraw:
I am not a person for trivia, however was in Manhattan on that particular day...
He slipped on ice and dinged his head on the side walk. He never recovered.
It was a bitterly cold day and I, not being used to the ice, had slipped that morning as a walked out my front door. Trecherous stuff.
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Hec da Rec in full effect.
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