What is the feeling on the Atkins Diet and Martial Training?

[eXcessiveForce]

I was just wondering if anyone is on the Atkins diet and actively training and if so what are your experience with it.

Does anyone have any informed comments on it I'd like to hear them.

[Guest]

This is my understanding of the Atkins diet.

You fill up on proteins and fats, with very very little carbohydrates. This means you cannot burn carbs for energy (as you have none), so you must burn fat instead.

But the stuff you eat includes all kinds of fatty, greasy, fried stuff, as well as full creams. Sounds yummy, doesn't it? And fat will pour off you if you stay on it.

But there is a price to pay.

1. You feel like shit, and training is the last thing you'll do
2. You stink (halitosis and body odours)
3. It is very unhealthy.

The longer you keep it up, the less healthy it becomes.

Put it in the category of "too good to be true". One of the main reasons to train and lose weight is to be fit and healthy. Why do it in a way that makes you unfit and unhealthy?

I too would like to lose a few (dozen) pounds. But not at that price.

[Builderofmuscle]

I agree with Bri Thai. If Dr. Atkins specifically stated that you should eat lean meats, and unsaturated fat, supplementing with omega 3, than that would be a lot more healtheir than what he prescribes currently. Has anyone seen what atkins looks like?

Also, I think you should never go below 50% on carbs. The martial artist's activity level is just way too high.

[Guest]

I have seen Atkins on the TV a couple of times. He is old and fat. Ironicaly (and this is quite common) he is not a good advert for his own product.

[darrianation]

I have a buddy who is a martial artist and a sparring partner of mine(when we can find the time). He works in cardiac rehab at the hospital where i work. He has his masters degree in exercise physiology. I'll ask him what he thinks. I'll get back to you.

[terry]

The Atkins diet puts you into a state called 'ketosis', right? Not real safe methinks. Also, the long term consequences of a high fat (bad fats) diet have been pretty well researched. Atkins is too extreme for me.

Why not try my 3600 calories per day diet? You can eat lots of healthy foods including low fat meats, veggies, carbs--as long as you take in enough fuel to sustain 1.5 to 2 hours of cardio. All you have to do is avoid unnecessary sugars and fats. (Taking in enough fuel will be the issue.) I lost 70 pounds doing that and gained 10 lbs of muscle and never felt better. It beats the hell out of those slingshot starvation diets.

Terry

[darrianation]

I'll tell ya' what I do know. Duke university did a study comparing the atkins diet and the american heart association diet. They followed 50 or so people for 6mo. The people on the atkins diet lost on average of 25lbs (dieting only) the poeple on american heart last i belive about 20lbs(agian dieting only) So pretty close. The more interesting point however was there colestorol levels.The triglycerides and the ldl (bad kind) didnt change with ethier diet but on the atkins diet the hdl (the good one) increased. While on the american heart the hdl did not change. The ratio between hdl/ldl is one of the factors for heart disease. Now this was only one small study but now the national institute of health will begin another study using the atkins diet that will be larger and broader in scope.

My wife is the atkins diet and she's lost thirty pounds in about six mo. without exercisng. I do remember from a nutrition class i took in school that the human body has a real hard time breaking down protien (just not designed to do it) . So it can be hard on the liver. If you have liver problems then the atkins can give you trouble.

Also, the atkins diet works on two main principles. 1) low carbs depleting muscle glycogen (suger stored in the muscle)the body will use fat for energy. 2) insulin control, the body wont store fat as antipose tissue. As far as athletes and atkins goes I dont know. I'LL get back with you. The zone or one of it's derivitives might be a better choice. More suger (carbs) more energy, and muscle glycogen is good. Also with atkins you can have muscle wasting.

[darrianation]

Well I talked to my freind the physiologst. He absolutly deplores the atkins diet. Although he admitts not knowing much about it. He just says dont do it. So I asked the other exercise physiologest. She's alittle more accepting of the atkins diet. She says If you decide to go the atkins route you should eat more carbs than whats prescribed by atkins (induction 20g carbs, after induction 30 g carbs). She says depending on your size you should eat at least 100-150 g carbs per day. This is still pretty low.

Poeple are starting to except the atkins princples but for athlets in training there are still alot of unanswered questions. I would continue to research it and consider other dieting options. The university of colorado is also doing a study on the atkins diet . It'll be interesting to see the data.

I know this probably hasnt been much help sorry.

[eXcessiveForce]

Thanks from the input.


here is what i know.


Dr. Atkins states there is no need for people who are not overweight to worry much about the atkins diet. If they are at there ideal body weight and are maintaining they are obviously eating the correct number of carbs as described in the atkins for life book.

Induction starts at 20 carbs for 2 weeks.
then Increases 5 carbs every week until weight loss stops.
Then the are reduced by 10 grams of carbs until ideal wieght is almost attained then the carbs are raised to stop the weight loss.

Your body will enter Ketosis. this should not be confused with Keto acidosis which is a problem diabetics can have with causes medical problems.


Reduced carb diets have been done for different reasons since the 50's and 60's and are useful for treating many medical problems including diabetes and some forms of epilepsy.

Atkins recognizes the difference between fats. And states unsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are fine.

He states Trans fats/TriGlycerides should be avoided as they can cause heath problems.

Carb counting on atkins as done as follows. Total carbs are taken and then the grams of fiber are subtracted for the carb count.

This is due to the fact that many carbs that are counted on food labels are not actually able to be used by the human body.


The basic Idea is the more you work out the more carbs you can eat. But sugar and white flour should be avoided and whole foods should be eaten instead.

I recently picked up atkins new book and took a look at it. It seems to go further in depth of how the system is to work.

The main concern is to stay away from foods that make blood sugar spike which then has a corresponding insulin release causing blood sugar to drop and cravings to begin.

[darrianation]

Your pobably tierd of me. But here I go again. What I do is eat only low glycemic scale carbs . Fruites and vegies. No bread, rice or pasta. Also Alittle fat (little) helps slow the rate of obsorbtion (carbs). Also I eat evey 3-4 hours throghout the day. I try to eat right at my resting bmr or sightliy above . To loose wieght eat under your bmr or work out (burn extra calories) I'm sure you work already. Try to keep fat down to below 30% of your daily calories. I try to keep them below 25 % which for me is 55g of fat. Very hard to do. My daily average is around 60g. I'm not on a wieght loss diet though. Although I have been slimming. There is a free on line program that can keep track of what you eat daily, Called fit day. www.fitday.com

[sediousMaier]

well, this is from my personal experience with atkins while on martial arts training. i was on the conditioning phase so i focused less on technique (basically 3 sessions of 2 hours per week). my regime consists of 5 3-hr weights training session (full body with plenty of rest in-between) a week, 10 rounds of ropework and 5 km run (counts as one session) 5 times a week also (after my weights training). during the first day i really felt like shit (due to depleted glycogen), this is mentioned in the book and atkins himself stated that it might take up to two days for your body to switch to ketosis after it has depleted its glycogen supply. i am ingesting approximatly 100g of carbs a day. however, from day 2 onwards, my energy level went back to normal and it is more stable than before. i continued training like this for two weeks before stopping as i couldn't take the diet. You really need to consume HELL lots of protein and fats(healthy, non-hydrogenated), for the amount of calories. i take 6 servings (20g each) of protein shakes a day and it is really taking its toll on me. frankly speaking, atkins is a rich athlete's (or man) diet. try it and you know. Realise that you are forgoing all staples (carbs), and even so, i find it virtually impossible to ingest merely 20g of carbs a day, two handful of cashew nuts has 5 g of carbs, one cup of milk has 10g (at the minumum, most have 15)....

[shasan]

Originally posted by
This is my understanding of the Atkins diet.

You fill up on proteins and fats, with very very little carbohydrates. This means you cannot burn carbs for energy (as you have none), so you must burn fat instead.

I don't think you can "burn" carbs or "burn" fat or "burn" protein. Everything is converted to calories (4/g for Carbs, 4/g for protein and 9/g of Fat) and you use calories (aka kilojoules for those of you scientifically inclined) to do work such as move your ass around.

A calorie is basically a unit of energy.

If your calorie intake is less than your calorie consumption (read: eating less, excercising more) then you will lose fat.

No matter what diet you're on (barring any thyroid conditions and the like) this physcial fact holds true. So any diet that gets you to eat less calories than you expend will make you lose fat.

In case of the Atkins diet, the same is true. The thing with carbs is that they apparently trigger an insulin surge which makes you feel hungry. Fat on the other hand makes you feel satisfied and full. That may be part of the reasoning behind atkins.

But if you go over your caloric limit per day, you WILL gain fat... simple physics - law of conservation of energy - the calories (energy) has to go somewhere, your body happens to use FAT to store such things. Hello love handles.

Barring things like Xenecal (shudder) which make your body do things differently.

[sk12879]

I don't trust any diet that says "Eat all the fat you want, but avoid fruit." Logic doesn't dictate that as being healthy to me. Nor is being in a constant state of ketosis.

[Kilo5518]

I use some of the Atkins concepts but the diet plan he uses would not work for a person involved in mixed martial arts. We burn way too many calories for it to work. We need a combination of strength and speed and cardi endurance.

I eat most complex carbs in the morning- oatmeal, honey, whole wheat toast, etc. I try to taper off my carbs as the day goes by. I stay away from pasta, bread, rice, and any white foods later in the day. I eat as many fruits, nuts, and vegatables as I crave. My weight stays pretty stable and I have energy without storing a bunch of fat. I also stay away from most fatty foods, all soda, sugary foods, and I limit my intake of concentrated fruit juices and sports drinks.

Most of the above is governed by my activity level for the day though. I eat whatever I want at least one day a week and sometimes up to three but I am very strict on the rest of the days. I also drink Met-rx protein drinks and take vitamins.

This is how I do it, and I find it works for me. You will lose a lot of weight on Atkins but will you also lose your energy and muscle? I bet you will to some degree.

[RobertG]

Originally posted by shasan


I don't think you can "burn" carbs or "burn" fat or "burn" protein. Everything is converted to calories (4/g for Carbs, 4/g for protein and 9/g of Fat) and you use calories (aka kilojoules for those of you scientifically inclined) to do work such as move your ass around.

A calorie is basically a unit of energy.

If your calorie intake is less than your calorie consumption (read: eating less, excercising more) then you will lose fat.

No matter what diet you're on (barring any thyroid conditions and the like) this physcial fact holds true. So any diet that gets you to eat less calories than you expend will make you lose fat.

In case of the Atkins diet, the same is true. The thing with carbs is that they apparently trigger an insulin surge which makes you feel hungry. Fat on the other hand makes you feel satisfied and full. That may be part of the reasoning behind atkins.

But if you go over your caloric limit per day, you WILL gain fat... simple physics - law of conservation of energy - the calories (energy) has to go somewhere, your body happens to use FAT to store such things. Hello love handles.

Barring things like Xenecal (shudder) which make your body do things differently.

Well actually the body does use certain fuels preferrentially. So a calorie is not a calorie. A carbohydrate is generally easier to metabolize than a fat or protien molecule. So you metabolize carbs first. Its not like you eat a meal and all of it gets digested simultaneously and you have a bank of calories to draw from. If you eat a bowl of pasta with olive oil, the pasta is going to be available before the olive oil. Also, muscle loss is a problem on starvation type diets. Why? Because the body catabolizes muscle tissue (protein) before it touches precious fat stores. The body can recognize different sorts of molecules and will use them preferrentially depending on circumstances.

That said, bottom line, you are correct--if you eat more than you use, it gets stored. Use more than you eat, you loose. That much is true--the dieting schemes just use different physiological tricks to help the process along, but in the end it is a simple equation that governs weight loss.