no carbs diet

[skysabove]

I've been hearing a lot lately about the no carbs diet. I think I first heard about it 4 years ago, when Nigella Lawson wrote an article about it somewhere or other. I didn't hear much more about it for a while, and forgot all about it.

But lately it seems to have become almost ubiquitous in certain quarters. Over the last couple of days I've heard it mentioned in Sex and the City and in Will and Grace, and looking at the bestseller list in the UK, I saw that the book that started it all, Dr Atkins' New Diet Revolution, is at Number 2.

So has anyone here actually gone on the diet? Does it really work?

[redbulljunkie]

Like most fad diets, it can give impressive results for the first few weeks, but after you come off the diet you'll put back on the weight. It works by keeping the body in a ketogenic (fat burning) state. The high protein content regulates the amount of sugar released into the bloodstream, preventing insulin peaks which cause carbohydrates to be stored as fat. The problem with the diet is it deprives the brain of glucose, and puts undue strain on the kidneys and liver due to ketogenic waste.

The only proven diet out there is excercise.

[capo]

Went to weight watchers last year and it is superb - not necessarily because the diet is particularly good but because you get weighed at the same time every week. I got great results and have kept it off.

Dr. Atkins undoubtedly works but I'm not convinced entering ketosis is such a good idea. Also have you ever smelled someone one the Atkins diet ? Jeez, the honk is unbearable. Don't know if it's all the protein or what but they stink.

[lil mizz pyx]

And it makes yer breath stinky.

[damien]

The Atkins diet works. Lots of diets work if you stick to them but people are lazy so they just pile back on the weight.

I lost 2 stone in 2-3 months last year without much exercise. I did walk home from work when the weather was good but other than that it was a diet and a simple enough one.

Brekky of Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies. Lunch was small amount of brown rice, steamed veg and some kinda lean meat (usually chicken) , dinner was same as lunch. Ate nothing after 6-7pm.

On it again and I'm steadily losing 4-5 lbs a week. Thing is I have a lot of muscle mass so sitting on my ass all day I still burn lots of calories. [)]

When the rate of mass loss decreases I'll start in the gym and start toning up.

[redbulljunkie]

That doesn't sound like a low-carb/high-fat,high-protein diet. That's an old-fashioned low-fat diet. What was being discussed here was whether the atkin's diet works and is healthy, and whether the old rule of number of calories still applies or whether the nature of the food from which we obtain the calories is important as well.

[capo]

Whatever diet you are on Damien it sure isn't the Atkins diet.

The Atkins diet works on a concept called "net carbs" i.e the total carbs minus the fibre content.

It is reccommended to take less than 20 net carbs a day.

One cup of cornflakes for example gives about 24 net carbs.
Milk on the cornflakes will give you another 11.
One cup of brown rice about 21 net carbs.
Most vegetables have 4 or 5 per portion.

Before you do anything else you are now at three times the reccomended intake !

Don't mean to discourage you though - keep it up.

[skysabove]

It makes your breath stink? Why?

[kevSaMo]

I've done the Atkins, years ago when he first brought it out. It worked for me, except drinking 8 glasses of water a day I found a pain!
Of course, like most diets, when you go off them, the weight slowly comes back, unless you totally change the way you eat, and think about food.

About 4 years ago, my doctor advised me to loose weight because of high blood pressure. This time I tried a diet called "Sugar Busters"
Very similar to Atkins, but not quite as severe.
I lost 60 pounds in a year. (4st 4 lbs)
My mother came for an extended visit about half way through (her house was being renovated) and she stayed with me for 12 weeks.
She was eating the same as me, as I was doing all the cooking.
I mentioned to her several times that she was losing weight, and she kept saying "no, I don't think so"
(I don't have a scales at home, but was weighed every time I went to see my doctor)
When she got back to her house in Ireland, she called me the next day. She was thrilled! She had weighed herself and to her delight had lost 25 pounds. All she needed as an excuse to go out and buy new clothes!

So, I still kinda stick to the sugar busters diet, and have managed to maintain my weight since, not regained any.
It's an easy diet to follow, and even allows chocolate!
And, you can cheat one day a week.

Works for me! Oh, I no longer have to take medication for high blood pressure and my cholesterol has gone down too.
And it doesn't make you stink!

-)
k

[damien]

Where in my post did I state it was an Atkins diet ? Its a higher protein, lower carb diet. I burn more calories than I take in and I lose weight. I wouldn't subscribe to the atkins diet which doesn't seem to be a very natural way for me to lose weight.

Capo I know very well how the Atkins diet works and would rather not touch it. I have seen loads of fad diets around. I know one guy who wanted to gain muscle fast so went on an all meat diet. He used to eat nothing but steak and have the odd few jelly beans. He gained a stone of pure muscle but found he began to stink and sweat non stop.

He basically started sweating uric acid or some equivalent, apparently from all the lovely chemicals the cow took in while waiting to be slaughtered. All his t-shirts started to bleach just from the workouts he was doing. He gained his muscle but didn't enjoy the experience.

I have also seen a bodybuilders style atkins diet where they want to lose fat but still gain weight. "its scientifically proven" Scientists can prove loads of stuff which isn't correct or intelligent..

I think the smelly breath is due to Acetone being produced in the Ketetonic state. This gets exhaled by the dieters. This is actually a way to spot someone thats a diabetic thats not in control of their ailment.

Oha nd RBJ I know what the topic of this thread was and I was posting a counter to your argument that the only diet that works is exercise.

[capo]

Damien,
The Atkins diet works. Lots of diets work if you stick to them but people are lazy so they just pile back on the weight.
I lost 2 stone in 2-3 months last year without much exercise.

Sorry man, no many how many times I read that it seems like you said you were on the Atkins. Apologies if I missed something !

BTW Bill - it's not just the breath that smells, the whole body exudes this kinda stench of death !

[skysabove]

Wow, that's so interesting! I've read that Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox swear by the diet - the set of Friends must stink!

[redbulljunkie]

Originally posted by damien
Oh and RBJ I know what the topic of this thread was and I was posting a counter to your argument that the only diet that works is exercise.

I said diets work in the short term. Unfortunately the body is an adaptable machine, will get used to being fed less calories, and your metabolism will reduce. Plus there's the psychological challenge of maintaining the diet, which most people will only be able to overcome if they eat a balanced diet with plenty of variety. Couldn't imagine anyone in the western world subsisting on chicken and rice long term.

[bioguycork]

last year, when i was literally penniless, and deep in debt, i managed to survive for two long weeks on bread, lettuce and water. My weekly food expenditure was two euros.

I didn't intend to lose weight, but can confirm that this is a excellent weight loss programme!

[amnesiac]

Apparently Spawn of Reality TV/Scene Icons GIRLS ALOUD SWEAR by the Atkins' Diet. (Someone should tell them Dr. Atkins died form heart disease at the age of 71). When they first recorded recnet hit single NO GOOD ADVICE the lyrics were slighty different...

I don't need low-glycaemic carbs,
I'm already ketetonic.
Meat, eggs, fry ups taste so nice,
It's not complicated.

[bioguycork]

I think 71 is a good innings. The heart disease wasn't necessarily related to the diet.

[odyssey_scot]

am similar. totally skint at the moment, can't afford any major amount of food. so basically I go for the cheapest stuff, just happens to be the healthiest.
Great for dieting, being poor that is...lol

[kevSaMo]

Originally posted by amnesiac
Apparently Spawn of Reality TV/Scene Icons GIRLS ALOUD SWEAR by the Atkins' Diet. (Someone should tell them Dr. Atkins died form heart disease at the age of 71). When they first recorded recnet hit single NO GOOD ADVICE the lyrics were slighty different...

I don't need low-glycaemic carbs,
I'm already ketetonic.
Meat, eggs, fry ups taste so nice,
It's not complicated.


He did NOT die of heart disease!

http://www.aubreyturner.org/archives/001432.html


k

[Lucas]

I'm reading the Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution book at the moment. I was cynical and skeptical before, but I must say he had a convincingly persuasive writing style (didn’t mention the acetone breath, of course). As others said, basically his diet consists of protein food and generous helpings of fat, but severely limits carbohydrate food containing sugar, starch or bleached white flour, which instantly rules out bread, pasta, rice and cereals as well as more obvious no-nos like chocolate, crisps or jam donuts.

It starts off with a 14-day induction diet where you eat plenty protein, plenty fat but no more than 20 grams of carbohydrate a day. For those two weeks the only food you’re allowed eat freely is meat, fish, eggs and cheese (the thought of having an omelette or a fry for breakfast for even two weeks makes me queasy!). The 20 daily grams of carb come from salads and green vegetables. He emphasises that you ARE allowed use pure fats like butter, lard, cream and mayonnaise on the diet, because you’re being watchful of the sugar/starch content, not counting calories as you do on standard low-fat diets that allow you big platefuls of pasta for dinner. That first 14 days pushes you into the initial state of ketosis, which guarantees quick pound loss (some of which is water weight).

After that, you move gradually onto a maintenance diet plan where you slowly raise your carb intake by another 20 grams or so. Atkins maintained that some people with delicate metabolisms won’t be able to exceed a 40 gram daily carb intake without gaining the weight back, but other luckier people could graduate back to having about 60 grams of carbohydrate a day and keep their weight under control - once the carb comes from healthy sources like veg, salad and small servings of fruit (all fruit is limited on this diet because it’s high in the sugar agent fructose). Some people manage to stay on the diet by breaking it occasionally, having the occasional slice of bread or two boiled potatoes a week. It sounds like a fairly safe bet for getting quick fat-loss results, especially if you need a motivating kick-start and are watchful not to slip right back into all the old vices afterwards. But it also sounds very impractical in some ways. Eating out at restaurants must be a nightmare.

Regular exercise is still the best proven way to lose weight and tone up, though diet is still important because good exercise results can be easily sabotaged by indulging in a little junkfood (or even in too much healthy food, because portion sizes and overall quantity still matters). Also if people aren’t paying attention to diet as well as exercise, their weight often plateaus, which is when you lose a few pounds but hit a stubborn standstill despite continuing your best exercise efforts.