Atkins Pros

OK folks, there is no danger to your kidneys on this diet.

Here are some excerpts from the web site:

"There are no studies showing that Atkins causes kidney or liver problems in healthy individuals. There are research trials that looked at liver and kidney and heart function, with participants on ketogenic diets similar to the Atkins approach in which no negative effects were observed. Also, when we did a follow-up of more than a year on patients at The Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine, including checking their kidney and liver functions, there was no adverse effect. Of course patients in kidney failure are extremely restricted in everything they consume, including water, so Atkins would not be appropriate for them."

"Confusion about ketosis often comes from people mistaking it for ketoacidosis, a condition found in Type I diabetics; this occurs when a person's blood sugar is out of control and he or she cannot produce insulin. No doctor should have trouble differentiating physiologic ketosis, which you will experience while doing Atkins, from ketoacidosis. Further, since people are often overweight specifically because of an overabundance of insulin, it is essentially impossible for them to be in ketoacidosis."

Atkins does not recommend starving your body of carbs. You actually are supposed to consume 20 grams per day for two weeks, then increase it as you level off your weight.

People who gain it back aren't "doing" the maintenance right. They must be going back to the way they were eating before which is why they got fat in the first place. After you lose the weight you want to lose, you must maintain it with controlled carb intake. You can never go back to the way you ate before, and that's true with any diet.

Fred, you should read the book. As a nurse, I would think you'd like to know everything about this nutrional approach. I was skeptical as well, but the author has some pretty convincing medical evidence.

 

well....I think you look fine. But you live your life the way you want. I don't say a word.

 

Those ketosis sticks are a waste of money. Think about it...anytime someone does any diet to lose fat, at some point, they have to be using fat for energy...whether it is atkins or any other diet that someone is losing fat on.

As I've posted before, your initial weight loss is all water. Your muscles store carbohydrates...they are called glycogen. Each gram of glycogen has four grams of water with it....you will use your glycogen before fat...therefore the initial weight loss is all of the water. If you workout, then you'll lose a lot more fat.

The latest research is pointing to any "white" carbohydrate as your enemy because they get turned into fat easily...sugar, white flour, pasta, etc. Unprocessed carbs like the ones in wheat, vegggies, and certain fruits are absorbed and burned slowly, therefore not stored as fat as easily. You have to read the labels carefully....wheat bread for example can contain upto 75% white flour....read the label, if it says "flour" or "white flour" find another brand...never consure more than 50 grams of carbs in any one meal and you'll be alright.

 

Yeah I kind gained in stages till I was 20 I weighed about 145 then I bumped to 160 till 30 then 180 at 40 now I'm at 200. Trying to get it back down to 155 160 and stay there that was a comfortable weight. It took me a month of failed starts before I really got to the point where I could give up eating junk food and beer. Now I really don't get hungry, we'll what happens when school starts in january.

 

I lost almost 55 lbs in a little over a year using this philosophy.

 

So I assume you got 100% approval for going on this diet from your MD first? ANY dietician would go bolistic if you ask him/her about Atkins.

 

"It is typical of any weight loss plan, including the Induction phase of Atkins, that during the first few days, or even the first week, some of the weight loss will be water loss. However, when you follow a controlled carbohydrate eating plan, your body switches from burning carbohydrate to burning fat for energy, resulting in the loss of stored fat. In fact, research shows that even when water is lost during the first few days on a controlled carbohydrate nutritional approach, the water balance soon returns to normal, and the weight loss comes from fat. The most dramatic sign of this loss is seeing the inches drop off your measurements."

In addition, I have to drink something like 96 ounces of water per day. It's not like my body is not getting water.

I wish the naysayers would just read the book.

 

Do you really think the author of the book is gonna make money is he is not able to convince people too lazy to diet the healthy way that there is no quick fix?

Check with me in a year and let me know what your B.U.N. and Creatine levels are running and how much of the weight you kept off.

 

oh I've read the book...and I've done atkins sucessfully in the past and still practice some of its principals..."atkins" type diets are the staple most weight lifters use now-a-days.

 

Depends on who you talk to. My wife's doctor told her that controlled carb intake is a good idea. I don't have any health problems that would preclude someone from not doing this diet. If I did, I would consult a doctor. Believe me, I did a lot of research before doing this.

Again, read the book and maybe this stuff would make more sense.