Hello everyone,

I am looking to lose about 15-30 pounds (I wieght about 195) and Im thinking about trying the Atkin's diet. Does anyone have any news/suggestions about it?

Thanks,

Josh

Go with some exercise and a "balanced" diet. Carbs are OK, "if" you have the right ones.

I started on Atkins and realized that what it was getting me to eventually, was a balanced diet. Atkins was just working out the sugars and breads by telling me not to have ANY. Then, telling me it was OK to have the good ones. I saw through the smoke screen and realized "balanced" was what I needed.

Just my .02

atkins is by far the worst diet to follow as a lifestyle change

just horrid!

nothing beats a well balanced diet and exercise!

well, the thing is, two years ago i was a sophmore in high school and weighed closed to 230 pounds, i lost 30ish pounds but i was on a lot of pills like Ripped Fuel, Hydroxycut, and about 10 others that ive tried over the years, ephedra and all.

I did most of my weight loss in about a year. Now a year has gone and I still have a gut. My #1 goal has always been to be able to go in public w/o a shirt on.

Im thinking something like atkins will do it, as i want to lose the rest of my weight quickley (before summer rolls around). but unlike my previous methods, i want to do it safely. I dont have the time like i used to to work out 5 days a week any more, unfortunately.

So im looking for a good strategy to follow.

With a well balance diet and exersice you can loose about 35 pounds by the summer.

I was on atkins before and I lost weight but for some reason the past month that I've been exercising and following a strict balance diet I've noticed the fatloss alot more and I feel alot better too.

I too weight 195 and I want to drop about another 30 by the end of June, If my diet continues to work as it is now, it wont be hard to reach my goal... Probably even reach it before I expect it.

Just look at John's food logs to get an idea of what you should be eating and do some reading in this forum and you will get to where you want to be without having to go on atkins or any one of those crazy diets.

The Atkin's diet works. I'm not a big fan of it as there are better alternatives like CKD. If you must use a keto diet look at CKD. It does not stress the red meats and other foods that are high in saturated/trans fats like Atkin's.

what about this "negative calorie" diet, where you eat nothing but greens and other veggies and fruits for a week at a time? is that known to work too?

The text I've psoted below is from fatlosstips.com and it explains why a balanced eating plan is best to lose weight rather than diets like atkins and keto diets etc because you can maintain it for the rest of your life.

The "not so good" way to lose fat

If you just need to lose a few pounds, then you will probably not want a diet that is too extensive. Though I do not recommend them, most people in this situation usually go on some sort of "fad" diet that will cause them to lose weight from a reduction in calories. These diets do work, but you should be aware of the problems that come along with them:

First
Studies have shown that the majority of people who use these diets, will gain the weight back. Often times, they will gain back more than they lost. This is a consequence that most people do not consider. They drink a weight loss shake, or eat a special food for a few months and lose a large amount of weight, but what happens when it's time to go back to regular food? Most people usually start gaining weight again.

Fad diets will definitely help you lose weight quickly if you eat their foods, but what happens when you go back to the real world? You will most likely go back to your old eating habits. You cannot remain on that type of diet forever, and sooner or later you will have to face real food again. They do not prepare you for this. Most fad diets work. The question is only how long can you maintain the results.

Any successful weight loss will require a permanent change in eating habits. A good program should not only help you lose fat, it should also help you to develop the correct eating habits necessary to maintain your new body.

Second
You will lose more muscle mass than body fat. Now, you may say, "It does not matter as long as I'm thin", but understand that muscle burns more calories than fat -- this helps to keep your metabolism elevated. Muscle also gives you a shapely, firm and more defined physique.

If you end up with less muscle than when you started, you can bet that your metabolism has been slowed a great deal, which, in the long run, means your body will be burning fewer calories and storing more fat.

Ultimately, you may get down to the weight that you desire, but you will have more body fat, less muscle mass and no muscle tone. This is why people who have a history of dieting off and on (yo-yo dieting), will lose weight and look thinner, but still remain very soft or "jiggly". You know them because of their waving triceps. This type of dieting is notorious for weakening the immune system.

Marcus :tucool:

Thats a good point, what kind of eating habbits do you suggest I use? (keep in mind, i have to eat what my parents buy at the store because i cant afford to by my own food yet, lol. thats why i was thinking to load up on the green veggies)

and yes, the fat i have is extremely jiggly, especially in my stomach and tricep area :(

Just eat a balanced diet (I assume you know what that is, if not I have some good info in some of my fitness textbooks) with a slight calorie deficit and the right macronutrient percentages for you. eg 50 30 20. Have a look at what John did and his logs and that will give you an idea.

With buying food, just go shopping with your folks and make sure they buy the kind of foods a balanced diet requires. I'm sure theyd be happy to help you with your diet by buying some things they previously didnt.

IMO nutrition is the hardest part about fitness so just keep researching and learning, I still am.

Marcus :tucool:

but have you ever heard anything about the negative calorie diet? since something like celery has 0 caleries, your body has to use its fat for energy to digest the celery, thus burning fat! :) at least... thats what ive heard, and it does kind of make sense...

but have you ever heard anything about the negative calorie diet? since something like celery has 0 caleries, your body has to use its fat for energy to digest the celery, thus burning fat! :) at least... thats what ive heard, and it does kind of make sense...

Yeah, it would work.

So does anorexia.

:rolleyes:

but veggies and fruit are good for you, and if a guy keeps taking a good mult-vitamin pill when doing this diet...

but veggies and fruit are good for you, and if a guy keeps taking a good mult-vitamin pill when doing this diet...

Yeah veggies and fruit are good for you, but you also need to incorporate other food groups into your diet to get your daily nutritional requirements.

Seriously mate, stop trying to take shortcuts with all of these fad diets and just eat properly. It might take a bit longer to lose the weight but the weight will stay off and youll feel and be healthier for it.

Remember the eating habits you adopt to lose the weight you should be able to sustain for the rest of your life.

Marcus :tucool:

Veggies and Fruit are GREAT for you :claphigh: -- eat tons of veggies and a moderate amount of fruit. However, there are other key nutrients that you simply can't get from these foods. Try adding Legumes (like Black Beans) as well as some nuts. These foods will help increase the protien in your diet as well as providing key micronutrients. :eat:

One thing to remember about fatloss diets (all diets, actually) that you buy off of bookshelves is that they are all based on the fundamentals that affect every human. Most of them gloss over some details in order to simplify the diets for certain dispositions. It is best to read and learn how the fundamentals actually work for you. I've done so, and I look at diets and I can see how they're glossing things over (sometimes at an expense of perfect health!) in order to get less driven people to their goals.

The perfect example is weight watchers. The points system is based on an equation done on nutritional information found on packages. (See http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/articles/weight_watchers_points/ for more info). You are allowed a certain number of points a day. But weight watchers never tells you to balance your carbs, your protein and your fats. Sure, I lost 50lbs in 5 months to bring me to the bottom of my BMI healthy range, but I could have done better for myself in many ways (energy, muscle loss, etc) if I just knew the fundamentals before picking a diet.

Knowing the fundamentals means you won't be a sucker for fad diets ever again. Do your research, you're in this for the long haul, right?

Learn about: Macronutrient groups, simple carbs vs complex carbs. Fats, polyunsaturated, saturated and monosaturated. How protein helps you build muscle.

Books like this give you the informational data for a frame of reference: http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0440225647/702-6413293-5193640

Gather information before you start. Treat your patience for results like a valuable commodity: no matter how driven you feel, remember you only have so much patience. Don't wear it thin by doing the wrong things. Learn before you start.

Thanks for the good tips guys!

Sludge: what kind of diet did you follow? i plan on starting tommorow so i dont have too much time to really get too indepth just yet. What I read about atkin's was it starts you off in an introduction phase for thw first two weeks to sort of "clean your body out". I like that idea to start on a clean slate.

Somethings I plan on eating mostly are:

eggs, peanuts, celery, lettace, fruits, other veggies, no caffine (pop) and A LOT of water

Start a food log. Regardless of which diet you follow this will be an essential tool for you. I would recommend just tracking your current eating habits for about a week before changing anything. That will let you know where you are today, and will give you a very good indication of what you need to change.

I already started tracking what ive been eating, and so on. right now im just trying to figure out basicly what i will eat in order to cut weight as fast as possible and keep it off by summer. im going to start lifting weights again, 3 times a week starting this week. i plan to eat a lot of protein during the process to build some muscle too.

Lean chicken, tuna, beans (kidney, garbanzo, etc etc) and that sort of thing.

Get whey too if you can, its really not that expensive.

Limiting yourself to certain types of foods is just going to guarantee that you put the weight you lost back on as soon as you start eating normal food again.

Just as important as eating habits, is exercise habits too. I won't get into that since 90% of this forum is dedicated to that.

Fad diets like the "negative calorie diet" are utter crap. Like someone mentioned before, it works, but so does anorexia

You posted 1 minute before me

but once the weight is off, and i keep exercising and stuff, wont the weight stay off?

On either diet, low carb diet or normal balanced diet, you will gain back the weight if you go back to your old eating habits after the weight came off :) If you continue to exercise and eat sensibily, rest assure they are gone :)

this is what i dont get, how can people that arent over weight not put on weight as easily as someone who is/was over weight? is it a metabolism issue?

and what about the 6 small meals a day method?

Ive started a little fitness progression homepage for myself and all of you to view. You can view it by going to http://fitness.jk0.org. I will be updating the pictures every Sunday. Today I took my first set of pictures, and I do not like what I see, infact, I don't even feel comfertable putting them out in public, but hopefully I will have something to show for it in the near future!

You could be toned in 3 months I think.

i really hope so, its always been an ultimate goal of mine to be able to feel good in public w/o a shirt on. i also would like to get a tan, but i burn instead. does anyone know if i slowly tan for a month or so that i can actually get tan?

and dont expect to put on any muscle during the atkins diet.

you need carbs to fuel muscle growth.. without carbs, good by muscle

i cant imagine doing a workout with such a low carb intake.. the idea makes me quiver

its possible if you are drinking enough whey shakes...

besides muscle mass is not my main priority right now. i have enough muscle to get me by until i can focus on gaining mass. its just a sacrifice I am willing to take i guess...

its possible if you are drinking enough whey shakes...

besides muscle mass is not my main priority right now. i have enough muscle to get me by until i can focus on gaining mass. its just a sacrifice I am willing to take i guess...

you dont see "smart" body builders going low carb..

CKD might give you some muscle.. but not alot.. i hate the idea of carb cycling like that.. just shocking your body like that, already starting to give me a headache!

but whichever you chose man, good luck!

you really should look into a balanced diet with weight training.. why not get shredded with some muscle vs get skinny as a stick?

:gl:

well for one thing ive already been lifting consistantly for 2+ years, so its there, but you really cant see it that well. i want to lose the fat in a timely manner, within a month or two...

I dunno, its hard to explain how i feel. i guess you would only understand if you were overweight. you just want to get it off asap

*Agrees with Jono*

jk0, you would be better off eating 6 times a day with a well balanced diet. You will gain more muscle, which in return will speed up your metabolism, burning more fat each day. Not to mention it's just a better way of eating IMHO.

this diet isnt something im going to be on forever... only a month or so to get started off with pretty much.

once im happy with the results, i will move to the 6 meals a a day routine to keep the metabolism up

this diet isnt something im going to be on forever... only a month or so to get started off with pretty much.

once im happy with the results, i will move to the 6 meals a a day routine to keep the metabolism up

Most of the weight won't come back, but you will see an increase in weight from the influx of carbs with a more balanced meal (and you do NOT want Atkins as a lifestyle diet). I did this exact same thing, except I did Atkins for one month, and the moment I started on my current diet (which is a more well rounded diet, IMO anyway), I gained back 5lbs in the first week. 3 days since that, I dropped those 5 lbs.

However, I'm on a major calorie deficient diet (cutting). Abt. 1700 to 1800 cal/day (and that's not counting the calories from protein, carbs, fat. With those, it's around 3k).

Just a heads up for when you do switch over. Atkins is truly for people who are morbidly obese (280+ lbs) and have a lot of weight to drop. It isn't really good for people trying to do full gym workouts and cardio during the day. In fact I'd keep the cardio around 60% effort for 30 min with a little bit of weights thrown in. That's what I did, and I dropped 20lbs over one month. It felt good, but the lifestyle didn't appeal to me.

As far as any health problems go besides me being out of shape, none that I could tell. Any health problems you hear will probably take at least 6 mo. on Atkins to set in, so don't fret over health issues.

I dunno, its hard to explain how i feel. i guess you would only understand if you were overweight. you just want to get it off asap

Everyone would like to drop bodyfat as quickly as possible, and a good amount can be dropped in two months time, but remember that if you go back to terrible eating habits, you can gain it back. Don't think of diets as a quick shot-in-the-butt that you can do anytime you gain some weight. Think of it as a lifestyle change. That takes care of the mental part, and all you need now is the effort to make that change, and from my experience, that's the easier of the two.

sounds good man! today im fasting and doing so far so good - tommorow ill start eating eggs and stuff like that. these first couple weeks are going to be extremely limited in what i take in. eventually i start working carbs back into my diet and eventually get on a well balanced diet.

However, I'm on a major calorie deficient diet (cutting). Abt. 1700 to 1800 cal/day (and that's not counting the calories from protein, carbs, fat. With those, it's around 3k).

Sake Ninja, I'm a little confused by the above statement. food is basically only made up of protien, fat and carbs. The calories in food comes directly from the calories in protien, fat, and carbs. there is no other source of calories. Or maybe I'm reading what you wrote wrong.

I sort of get what he's saying