Latest posts

Forum Statistics

Threads
27,639
Posts
542,810
Members
28,583
Latest Member
jacobss
What's New?

Why Lowcarbing Works!

B

Brian C

Member
Sep 19, 2010
24
0
If you are considering the Atkins plan and want to know why the diet works...the following information comes from Colette Heimowitz, M.Sc., director of education and research for Atkins Health & Medical Information Services.

Though various experts once speculated that the Atkins diet is impossible to stick with, they have been forced to reconsider since the first long-term study of the diet got underway last year that the university of Pennsylvania Weight and Eating Disorder Clinic. Not only did test subjects on the Atkins diet lose twice as much weight by the 12 week mark as those on a traditional, low-calorie, low-fat, high-carb diet, but Atkins dieters continued to lose weight twice as fast by the 26-week mark. Plus during the study, test subjects on Atkins have been less likely to cheat or drop out then traditional dieters.

Experts concur that most diets ....even trendy ones like the Zone...Keep calories low. The Atkins diet, however, works by keeping the carbohydrates low, forcing the body-which relies on carbs to fuel the brain-to convert your body fat into carb-like substances that are quickly burned off.

You can lose weight eating as many as 2,200 calories a day! On ordinary diets, you have to burn off all the calories you eat plus 3,500 more to lose a single pound. That's why most diets limit you to a paltry 1,000 to 1,500 calores a day. But since the Atkins diet forces the body to use its fat stores not by a calorie shortage, but by a carb shortage, you get to eat a lot more. Around 1,800 to 2,200 calories a day during the weightloss phase of the Atkins diet....according to Colette Heimowitz of the Atkins Center.

Not only do you get to eat more calories then on any other weight-loss plan, your hunger diminishes since "protein and fat are slower to digest, staying in your system longer and making you feel full longer. Also the fat conversion process triggered by this diet-called ketosis-produces a by-product called ketones. "Ketones are an appetite suppressant.

There are two ways that traditional diets make a sluggish metabolism worse. First... anytime you cut calories by more then 250 a day, your body fears starvation and slows the rate at which you burn calories. Second...when you take in fewer calories then your body needs to sustain itself, it burns stored fat AND muscle for fuel. When you lose muscle, your metabolism drops. But on atkins you don't cut calories, so you stay out of starvation mode. Plus, all the protein in the plan stimulates muscle GROWTH, which increases metabolism. And the number of calories required by ketosis increases your metabolism even more.

On other diets you only burn stored fat after everything you've eaten is burned; on Atkins, you constantly burn stored fat-so you lose more of the flabby stuff.
 
woodswise

woodswise

TID Board Of Directors
Apr 29, 2012
4,334
1,340
I am on my third or fourth ketogenic diet in 2 years, and am loving it. Each time I dieted for about 20 weeks and was hardly ever hungry, and lost about 40 lbs of bodyweight. This time I am down 20 lbs after the first 6 weeks. My goal is another 20 lbs but I don't think that will come off nearly as fast as the first 20 lbs. I have also lost a similar amount of weight on a traditional diet, so I can speak to my experience on both types.

I enjoyed the article, but it has a couple inaccuracies and assertions that should not be left unchallenged.

1. Atkins may be a protein sparing diet because of its nature: the body is burning mainly fats, and you are eating an excess of protein. But make no mistake, if you are in a caloric defecit, you are unlikely to build new muscle.

2. The statement "You can lose weight eating as many as 2,200 calories a day!" is misleading. The number of calories you should eat to lose weight on a ketogenic diet depends entirely on your daily maintenance calories (how many calories your body needs to run itself without a defecit). So bigger guys with more muscle, can eat even more (my current caloric goal is no more than 2,800 calories per day and no fewer than 2,600). Smaller people will need to eat fewer calories.

3. The statement "That's why most diets limit you to a paltry 1,000 to 1,500 calories a day." is also misleading. Anyone who diets without calculating their daily maintenance calories and using a standard formula like 1,000 to 1,500 calories a day is crazy. Even on diets with carbs, you need to calculate your daily maintenance calories, then consume 250 to 500 fewer calories each day in order to lose.

4. The article gives traditional diets a bad rep. The truth is dieting is all about getting into a caloric defecit of 250 to 500 calories per day, whether you are on a ketogenic or regular diet. If you do that, neither the ketogenic nor the traditional diet is going to be particularly catabolic or muscle wasting. Nor will your body enter into starvation mode, especially if you have an occasional re-feed day.

So while I agree ketogenic ("Atkins") diets are great for fat loss, I disagree that they are somehow superior to traditional diets. The two are just different ways of achieving the same goal.
 
Blacken

Blacken

Senior Member
Sep 6, 2013
212
40
The other thing I will add in a not so well worded way as Woodwise. When it comes to calories you need to monitor them consistently at least weekly, many things can change your caloric needs. Hormones, stress, daily life, sleep or lack of, etc
 
PillarofBalance

PillarofBalance

Strength Pimp
Feb 27, 2011
17,066
4,640
inb4 shortz strokes out
 
gunrunner

gunrunner

Senior Member
Jul 24, 2013
193
22
I used a Low Carb Paleo diet to lose weight when I was a lard ass. Now that I'm down in weight and working more toward building muscle I find I do need carbs and eat a more balanced diet. But you are correct on never being hungry on a Keto diet. It worked great. I was eating a lot of meat (still do), avocado, bacon:) lots of veggies.
 
A

Abram

New Member
Apr 1, 2014
4
0
That can be the best thing when it comes to keeping yourself in shape in terms of physique maintaining the amount of calories we take on daily basis can help for sure.
Its about burning the fats and staying away from substances that body doesn't need.
 
Who is viewing this thread?

There are currently 0 members watching this topic

Top