May want to read the Zone diet then. Does a better job of balancing carbs and protein. Not nearly as extreme as Atkins. But still claims americans are eating way too many carbs. Also, the carbs it recommends are the complex ones, and always balanced with protein and a little bit of fat. It focuses primarily on keeping your insulin levels at a nice steady level. One of the least extreme diets ive seen, and has a lot of interesting data to back it up. Many controlled scientific studies have been done on diets which qualify as a "zone" diet, and the results are pretty impressive. peace axeman
PS. Pasta IS excessive. For example... in the ZONE the doc advises to eat low density carbs like veggies. (Lot's of healthy veggies, etc, and lower glycemic fruit is ok in the zone) But 1 cup of pasta is equivalent to 14 cups of broccoli She may find that her modified Atkins diet, IS, or is very very similar to the ZONE diet. peace axeman
Very interesting...My in-laws did a Suzanne summer diet ( don;t laugh) and they each lost about 20 lbs in three or 4 months....they eat carbs plus no meat in one meal and then vice versa.....they look great and its been 3 years now.... I think one of the most misunderstood aspects about the low carb diets result form lack of ture knowledge about the plan..I watched some videos of him and read some other material and the fact of the matter is that he doesn't suggest eliminating carbs completely or permanently....for example: If you want to lose 20lbs...he suggest 20 grams or less a day of carbs until you lose the desired weight...but then he specifically recommends increasing by 5grmas per week to slowly reintroduce carbs into your diet but that is where a lot of people screw up...they lose 20lb then eat a bowl of pasta ...He also is dead set against cane sugar at any time....He suggests that if you feel weight coming back on, reduce your carbs accordingly....too many critics pick up on only the initial weight loss part of the plan and run with it...that's what what iv'e been trying to explain here...ihave only used atkins in short spurts for more cut in my muscle and/or if i have been travelling ans living high on the hog and eating on the run....I'll eliminate bread, pasta ect...for a brief period.
I think your dead on. Everyone focuses on the induction phase of Atkins. It is my impression that basically what atkins does is allow the person to discover his carb "threshold", by first eliminating them nearly completely, and then slowly raising carb intake until your body reacts. Aka starts putting weight back on. Everyone is a little different, so this makes pretty good sense. I think that once someone finds the level of carbs their body can handle, they will find that on average, they are very close to the ZONE diet. I dont think the diets are that far off, its just the starting implementation. The difference is, the zone starts with a balance of protein, carbs and fat, that the doc thinks is optimal for the AVERAGE human being, and THEN proposes that you fine tune it for yourself by paying attention to how you feel. Then add/remove protein, fat, or carbs depending on what your body is telling you. The Atkins starts on one extreme end, and slowly introduces carbs to find your balance. Futher, the zone diet cannot be called a low carb diet because it requires slightly more carbs than protein, but the point is, this is still FAR LESS carbs than the average american eats. The zone diet is slightly higher carb than protein, and a low fat diet. Also, a lower calorie diet. You can visit www.drsears.com and get a free account to access many of the studies online for free. Its worth the read if you don't feel like buying the book. peace axeman
The Calorie Issue From Atkin's Diet Revolution P. 17-18: -------------------------------------------------- Understanding Some Basics There are a few principles I need you to understand in order to put Atkins into action. Let's start with a couple of definitions. First, a calorie is simply a unit of energy-precisely the amount of heat needed to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius at sea level. Second, metabolism is the sum of the physical and chemical processes by which food is transformed into energy. Now let's move on to some concepts and misconceptions. Don't Excess Calories Cause Weight Gain? It is true that gaining weight results from taking in more calories than you expend. But excess calories certainly cause you to pile on the pounds-and this is a gigantic "but"-only when you are eating a lot of carbohydrate along with fat. So it's time to abandon the assumption that the only way to lose weight is to strictly control your intake of calories. Many people think that only one thing matters: how many calories you take in and use up. It's not that simple. When you follow a controlled carbohydrate approach you get what I call a "metabolic advantage." When you control carbohydrate consumption sufficiently, your body will switch from burning glucose derived from carbohydrate to burning primarily fat for energy. This means you could eat, say, 2,000 calories and still begin losing pounds and inches. In contrast, if you were consuming 2,000 calories on a low-fat diet, you might not lose weight, and you might actually gain weight. The metabolic advantage is that burning fat takes more energy so you expend more calories. And if you eat fewer calories-as many Atkins people do because their appetite is usually diminished-you'll likely lose weight even faster. So it's not that calories don't count, it's just that you will burn more of them, with less hunger, when your body is operating on a fat-based metabolism. When I published the first edition of this book ten years ago, that claim was quite controversial. Today it is galloping into acceptance among scientists who study the human metabolism. Glance through the references listed at the back of this book and you will see the numerous studies and articles published in the past six years.
nice post...i have read parts of that before....another thing that was pointed out was something that i knew from has biology but forgot....a carb is no different then sugar... a cup of cane sugar=a plateful of pasta=a coke=a nice chunk of italian bread ..... Now, obliviously some have more nutrients involved and vitamins....but once those are gone you have the same basic materials which will be broker down to the same thing in your body ...sugar. this explains why diabetes is becoming epidemic in this country... If you want to do something amazing try this...get a regular jar or package of any food you like....the get the LOW FAT or NO FAT version of the same product....compare the levels and it's amazing...while they may take out some tropical oils, they compensate by adding a tone of sugar and salt...and usually about double the calories!!! this is another huge lawsuit comingdown the pike....look at the Mcdonald law suit....it didn't stick...but thats not the end of it....How many people followed the low fat approach and would eat a box of 'no fat snackwells' LOL!!..sure, there's 'no fat' but they just ingested 10k calories!!!..unless yoy have a really high metabolism your body will store this energy for later use...usually right around your waist
i'm probably one of the most in shape people who was posting to this thread. i was saying the truth about losing weight. what i say works. i am living proof of it. i am not going to post to this thread anymore. instead, the pages will now be filled up with mostly baseless opinions. delete my posts (containing links to scientific studies), but keep posts by alfonso (nothing but uninformed opinions); yeah, that makes sense. this is what censorship does. good job, moderator. you have done a great service for the ET community. (i expect this post to be deleted.)
Thanks man. I'll find a way of getting her to look into it that makes her think it was her idea . If she liked beer I have a feeling just two or three good beers a week would fix it. Beer is an amazing low-density source of complex carbs. A couple of quick notes on me personally while I'm at it: I stayed in the Atkins induction phase all this time and have lost 50lbs since May 25, yet for the past month I have plateaued at 190. I originally thought this might be due to reinitializing and increasing my exercise routine, but now I wonder. I'm still not physically able to risk heavy weightlifting and such (I have a titanium lower back), so the extent of my "workout" involves a several mile walk every other day culminating with pyramid sets of dips, pull-ups, lateral body raises, and decline push ups - not exactly mass-inducing exercise. Something else I notice is I have begun craving certain foods, like peanuts and sunflower seeds. In moderation I can still fit these into the ~20g/day parameter (1/4c Planters s/f seeds = 6g, f.ex.), and sometimes I just get this overwhelming desire for a plate full of eggs (which luckily I can pretty much eat as many as I want on this diet anyway). The weird part is, other times eggs taste like total crap and I can barely swallow them. All in all, this whole thing has been an interesting body-listening process.
What makes you think you are in better shape then me??? What a foolish thing to say...but lately we have come to expect that from you.....but the question again: if you are in such great shape, why contaminate this thread with your negativity??? ..and assanine staements about the 'shape' your in???? what you say works???? aren;t you like 23-25 years old??? everybody is in great shape at that age...thats the easy part.....I just think its hysterical though that " WHAT I SAY WORKS".....but you discount a Dr. who has sold 30 million books !!!!! LOL!!!
WELO; congats and keep up the healthy living...Titanium back??? wow...i don't even have titanium golf clubs!!! Can you do stair masters or stationary bikes? you need at lest 20 minures on those to burn not only a boatload o calories now...but through the next few hours and if you keep with it religiously you will change your metabolism....it sound like you need some supplements though...check with your Dr. about that but often times when we crave certain foods it's because we are lacking certain things...a lot of women have told me how when they were pregnant they craved to eat not only pickles but ROCKS and CHALK and things of that nature and their doctor said they needed more minerals and calcium in their diet because of the baby...