RoaringMad Mac

Like alot of people on this board and I'm picking out your statement because you said the one word I was looking for Carb Junkie. It certainly does feel like that but the real reason is you are most likely "insulin resistant.

Ultimately it is not that great of an idea for an overweight with a BMI index in the obese range to do the Adkins diet plan for several reasons. These reasons can be argued til we are blue in the face but one is the fact that most people that are over 25 BMI most likely have cholesterol and high blood pressure issues that are being kept in check by medications. Not having some type of carb source sends the body into ketosis and that IMO is also dangerous unless you are significantly monitoring it with test strips or by your doctor on a weekly basis.

A good balance of Carbs, Proteins, and healthy fats will keep those insulin levels correct and you blood sugar wont be sent into orbit if they are balanced right.

All of these adkins and similar high protein diets come from the theory that man 10,000 years ago only ate meat and did not survive on grains. In theory this is true but the reality is the fact that Humans have evoled since then and our bodies are one of the best adaptiable machines on the planet. We evolve with our living conditions and our food. Heck if you went back 200 years and gave an early American a snickers bar and a bag of potatoe chips they would get sick off of it because at that time they were not used to high processed food.


I have also followed similiar diets and one that is similar is the "Warrior Diet" the only problem with the warrior diet is the fact that it really slows the metabolism down for awhile until you are used to the 4 hour overeating period and 20 hour undereating period.

Long story short. Eating a healthy balanced diet with a good exercise program that you can slowly work yourself into is the best bet. It is not a race but rather a marathon with the benefits being better health in the long run. To many of these fad diets treat it like a race with offering quick weight loss with in itslelf is dangerous.

theetruscan

I really question this stat. I would find it unsurprising that people over, say 30-35 BMI are often keeping cholesterol and blood pressure in check with medication, but 25 is the very bottom end of overweight (if you are statistically average build), and for many it is healthy. Where's the stat from?

This is always a weird one to me. Our ancestors (please stop reading if you think evolution is the work of the devil, go imagine old humans playing with pet dinosaurs or whatever) 40,000 years ago were almost entirely herbivorous and were quite small (<5 feet) and microcephalic (I think that's the word, small headed). Some 20-25000 years ago they became big game hunters, heads grew and stature increased to about 6 feet. But, that was only a short period, there was a small game hunter + hunter gatherer period during which people appeared to become closer to modern before the agricultural periods. Anyway, I had no point, I just find this stuff interesting. There's a good summary of all this in the beginning of "The End of Food."

Seems to me that modern humans have lived healthily as pure hunters, pure farmers, pure gatherers/scavengers and everywhere in between, on diets high in fat, low in fat, high in carbs, low in carbs, and just about everything else. These weird macronutrient level fad diets always strike me as stupid, but what do I know? I'm not a scientist.

RoaringMad Mac

Yes the 25BMI is the lower end of the level. I should have said something about the upper level as well. Studies have shown that starting at 25 BMI is where health risks starts at without medication to keep it in check.

As for the other. Like I said this can be debated til the next generation. I think one of the biggest common denominators in what our ancestors did and what we do today is "activity". We are the most sedentary we have been in all of our time as a civilazation.

Believe me I'm no a scientist. I just read different stuff and do what I can do just to stay active. LOL.

theetruscan

I'm just trying to sort out the numbers. Because "most people" is vague, and >25 BMI is an extremely large category. I guess I'm trying to get a better handle on what's being said. Sorry for being repetitive, I'm not trying to pick a fight, just sort out what's happening.

RoaringMad Mac

I was being kinda vague. I will post up the article when I find it. I have to go find it again. It' been awhile.

No, Don't worry I understand what you are trying to do. I forget myself sometimes on the internet and can be vague with some of my opinions. Good that you ask them makes me try and make sense. LOL.

gbg

There was a TV documentary done in northern Canada of some native village (My big FAT diet). Typically they have a high incidence of Diabetes and high cholesterol and hi blood pressure from the typical North American an diet.

The Dr. did the documentary because of the following:
Wortman's conviction comes from personal experience. Four years ago, he discovered that he had type 2 diabetes. "My immediate instinctive response was to stop eating any food that caused my blood sugar to rise. So I eliminated carbohydrates from my diet. Within four weeks, my blood sugar and blood pressure had normalized and I began to feel much better."

The Hi fat/protein diet resulted in the need for some diabetic/chloesterol/HI blood pressure medicines to disappear in many participants.

subclavius

I did it when I was a serious weightlifter and wanted to lose some pounds before going to the beach without risking the loss of any muscle mass (since I could eat all the protein I wanted). Did it off and on, as needed, for 3 years. It would make me a little fatigued without those easy carbs to burn. Be sure to drink lots of water too, since the diet can be hard on the kidneys.

There's another and perhaps healthier form of low carb/calorie restrictive style diet you could try: the raw food diet. At least you'll be getting your vitamins that way (more than by just eating meat)

takingcontrol

I think you misunderstood my post, I am not currently on the atkins diet. I had tried it in the past but found it unpleasant. I am currently on a balanced eating plan that is doctor supervised with an even 1 to 1 carb protein ratio.

Wogster

The documentary makes a lot of sense, the Inuit eat what they can hunt, this means a lot of meat, a lot of fish, and maybe some berries and other plants when in season. It would include very little sugar. Now of course the same crap that other North Americans eat can be shipped in, which means that while great grandpa and grandpa ate no processed products at all, and papa has had very little, som has loaded up on the stuff, and their systems are not adapted to it, the traditional diet has been around for thousands of years.

The issue with the typical high sugar and processed foods typical in North American and expanding everywhere else, is that it's been around for less then 3 generations, nobody is actually adapted to it. So everyone has the same problems.

JDELUNA

What about the Eskimos or Inuits ?? Many studies have shown that they eat a very high protein and fat diet with little vegetables but heart disease, diabetes, etc. is almost non existant among them ???

Wogster

That's essentially what I said, however if you take an Inuit, and stick him (her) into a big city with a McPukes and Pizza joint on every corner, and nowhere to hunt, then before long, they will be diabetic and in serious risk of a cardiac event. The term eskimo in the Inuit languages roughly translates raw meat eater, it's considered an insult, the name Inuit was developed by the people, and is much preferred.

In Japan there are areas where anyone who dies at less then 100 years of age is considered too young to die. They have been eating the same fish and rice diet for thousands of years. Yet the younger generations now are eating an American imported diet, and they are fat and dropping like flies in their 30's and 40's, from diabetes and heart attacks. When a young man eats a different diet and dies before his great grandfather, it should tell his son something.

subclavius

The Eskimos and Inuits diet is mostly fish, which is very high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids prevent the blood from clotting. The doctor who discovered this was almost discredited by the medical community until he replicated the diet and continually measured the length of time it took for a small cut to stop bleeding.

If you can follow their diet exactly, then go ahead. But don't think you can chow down a bunch of steaks everyday and get the same results they did. And the Eskimo/Inuit diet isn't necessarily healthy just because they have a low history of heart disease, it's just a diet that's extremely heavy in anti-coagulants.

gbg

When I think of the hardiest most resilient people on earth I think of Eskimo/Inuit people 50-100 years ago or so. They ate mainly meat (yes they chewed on whale blubber, lots of calories for spending hours on end in the cold, hunting their food) and ate seal liver, super concentrated vitamins, and caribou meat and fish. The only carbs they would get would be what they could gather in the short summer, and maybe preserve some for the long winter.
Meat/Fat is not bad.
It is terrible when mixed with processed carbs (white sugar/bread/pasta etc). You can mix it with slow digested carbs like some veggies and beans without negative effects as well, but once the carb/sugar ratio rises so do the negative effects. The fat/refined carb combo creates LDL cholesterol, raises blood sugar adds weight which also raises blood pressure.
Low carb diets reverse all that, one of the largest studies a while back confirmed "low carb hi protien/fat" diets reduces cholesterol more than "low fat hi carb" diets (which seems counter intuative).

pipes

Eat a balanced diet and change your life ! Eat right and RIDE . Diets don't work for life you have to learn to eat to live not live to eat !!! Just my 2 cents if its worth that but I have lost 135+ lbs in less than a yr so maybe it works .

I have about 30 # to go and Iam on to maint for life . BUT do what works for you is what I always say just remember it has to keep you healthy forever ! I didn"t do it right at first but now I am under control losing slower and eating better .

sizzam

If you're considering Atkins, look into the South Beach diet instead. To me, South Beach seems like Atkins with a little more common sense. Its all about eating a 'Mediterranean' diet -- fish, lean meats, veggies, olive oil, etc.

Either way, just remember: bacon isn't diet food

IbikezLA

You can't compare to a people that have adapted over generations to that kind of diet.

Velomancer

South Beach worked better for me. After a two week embargo on carbs you reintroduce complex carbs and "good" fats (olive oil etc.).

Big Fat Paulie

If you like meat, probably a workable diet. Personally I don't care for meat every meal or every day.

gbg

It doesn't have to be ONLY meat. It can be chicken, fish, eggs, cheese and ANY kind of carbs (broccoli,cauliflower,beans,spinach, etc,etc) that keep you under your daily limit.
Of course 50 carbs from a spoonful of sugar would not be as wise as 50 carbs from a ton of broccoli.
Look into the glycemic index if you want good carbs (peanuts have one of the lowest glycemic index out there).

Big Fat Paulie

If you want a good program the works very good try this link www.bettermd.net

There stuff has plenty of protein and enough carbs. It works very well if you can stay on it. You eat no food, only their shakes, etc..The good part is that their stuff tastes very good (well most of it anyway)

Big Fat Paulie

Here is another site I check frequently,
https://www.nutritiondata.com

allows you to check nutritional information about everything you eat, including the rapidly prepared food establishments...

It's done me a world of good...

soappedaler

About 8 years ago I did Atkins to loose 10 pounds I couldn't shake, even though I worked out a lot. But I was a carb particularly sugar junkie. The thing with Atkins is you have to read the book and go through the phases. If done right at the end you are basically eating normal except no sugar and white flour products, which no one should eat on a regular basis anyway. Like someone already stated, it makes you read labels and realize that High Fructose Corn Syrup is in everything. My opinion is that it's addicting and people crave it so they eat more and more stuff with it and sugar or refined carbs. The thing with Atkins is that you go through a 2 week period first off to get over the addiction to refined carbs. Over time you slowly add good carbs to your diet. Some people have a problem with the diet because thy view it only as the first two weeks of the plan.
For more information check out.
https://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/index.php

Big Fat Paulie

Reminds me of a commercial I recently heard. You never hear of anyone being called a couch peanut, because peanuts are packed with energy, and a low glycemic index etc....Funny as heck, couch peanut.

Eclectus

If your weight is high enough to cause health problems such as diabetes II and hypertension, I think it is worthwhile to make weight-loss a very high priority, and do a serious exercise regimen. For example, I worked up to 15 hours a week of slow cycling last spring and summer, and fat melted off, 305 Jan 08 to 238 by September. An injury and bad weather put about 5 pounds on by New Year's, but I got a trainer for Christmas and also did some outdoor cycling, 7-12 hours a week, which got me down to 238 again by end of January, and now with better weather I'm averaging close to 15 hours again. Weight 223 yesterday before breakfast.

We're going to have a lot of daylight for riding the next 4-5 months, so before and after-work riding should be feasible for a lot of people, maybe not 15, but 10 at least, for example 45 minutes morning and evening during the week and and one 2 and a 1/2 hr ride on the weekend.

Fat is designed to be an energy store for times of low food availability, i.e. winter. Those of us who have been obese have made chronic deposits, without making withdrawals from our fat bank. Losing weight is a matter of reversing this to continuously make withdrawals without making anymore deposits. Exercise can speed up emptying the account.

A friend of mine and I found that once we retrained our bodies to draw on the fat account, our appetites dropped, and we also didn't need modern-science energy supplements designed for thin athletes, since we were carrying copious internal-energy-source reserves that supplied our needs.

Eclectus

PS, for not needing energy supplements, this would apply to 3-4 hour rides for weight loss, not for races or long endurance rides where in-transit carb intake will boost riding performance per se.