Help me Lose 10-15kg

[BigPete33]

I said for fellas.

[rcon]

Well done Rcon. Did you take any suppliments to help or was it just the above food intake??

I'm gonna Google Atkins and see what it's about but please reply via post or PM, well done again M8. My son Joel has just returned from weigh in and has dropped 9 kilos now.

Thanks Bob - it does give you quite a buzz!

Nope, no supplements, just lots of discipline with the eating, and lots of being active. I've heard (can't remember how good a source it was) that weight loss is around 80% diet, 20% exercise. I'm tend to agree with that from my personal experience however. I now really enjoy doing lots of running/riding/weights (tho not so much weights lately) because I can then eat like a pig and still slowly lose weight Not too much on the scales, but I am gradually tightening the belt still.

As Nathan said, Atkins isn't really the most healthy choice, BUT IT DOES WORK. In my case, I was like 40/50 kg over weight, so I used it to drop lots of weight quickly, and then switched to something more sustainable. All the fat from bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning can't really be that healthy for too long!

However, this weight loss is due to fluid loss, not because fluid intake changes, but because when carbohydrates are stored in the body water is stored as a part of the process. So less carbs (such as ATKINS) = less water storage and therefore less weight being stored.

This explains the initial burst of weight loss - I dropped like 6kg in the first week of no carbs, but as you only store a certain amount of carbs , it only happens once - once you've lost that water storage, you can't continue to lose it What Atkins does is force your body to use fat for energy, where it would normally use carbs. Using fat requires you body to convert the fat to something similar to the carbs (Glycogen?), and that chemical process requires 9(?) stages - each of them burning more energy to allow the conversion to proceed. That is also why you can feel lethargic on Atkins! Its similar to hitting "the wall" whilst running/riding endurance events.

Anyway, enough for this post I think - off to the Royal for me




could I suggest to the mods that this topic gets moved to the appropriate forum?

[maccatak11]

rcon, fat (as an energy source) is used predominantly for low intesity activities, but for higher intensity activities our body can only use carbohydrates. our body is not 'forced' to use fat - it simple cannot keep up the energy supply at higher energy activities. Your are right that the breakdown of fat into glycogen takes numerous steps, and this is precisely the reason why our body cannot keep up with energy production at higher intensities.

Now, if you only exercise at low intensities, your fat burning energy systems are working most of the time, and the predominant source of energy indeed comes from the burning of fat, but you simply do not use enough total energy for this to have a significant impact.

Yes, if your body has a sufficient supply of carbohydrates than these will be used preferentially to fat, but at higher intensity activities (such as fast walking, jogging or riding) your body uses mainly carbs for energy, but also uses some fat. it burns as much fat as it can and as quickly as it can keep up.

So in fact at higher intensity levels of activity, although carbs are the predominant source of energy used, the TOTAL amount of fat burned far exceeds the amount burned at lower intensities.

In short, wothout a sufficient supply of carbohydrates in your diet (as suggested in the CSIRO diet) you simply wont have the energy to perform some of the higher intensity exercise that IS required to burn fat. Carbohydrates, which are stored in the liver and in skeletal muscle are also the only energy source that the brain can use for its energy, another reason why many people feel lethargic on low carb diets.

hope this helps, be very wary of the glossy magazine-psuedo science that is often misled of misrepresents fact. (e.g. your body is never forced to burn more fat, in fact your body's fat burning systems are working all the time, and the body only switches to carbs as an energy source once the fat burning system can no longer keep up)

[rcon]

maccatak11 , as I'm running out the door, I'll just clarify my point there - I meant that you are forced to burn more fat whilst you are on Atkins, because you don't have any carbs, due to not consuming any in your diet.

I understand the whole low intensity/high intensity spread for energy sources reasonably well - for a lay person anyway.

[maccatak11]

maccatak11 , as I'm running out the door, I'll just clarify my point there - I meant that you are forced to burn more fat whilst you are on Atkins, because you don't have any carbs, due to not consuming any in your diet.

I understand the whole low intensity/high intensity spread for energy sources reasonably well - for a lay person anyway.

yes on an atkins diet your aren't consuming any carbs, but at low intensities your body uses fat for energy anyway, and at high intensities you need the carbs to be able to do high intesity activity, which in turn burns more fat.

A low carb diet means that people's fat, and especially saturated fat intake is likely to remain unchanged, or be slightly to very much higher. Many health problems suffered by overweight individuals are due to a high saturated fat intake. It is saturated fat intake that raises blood cholesterol levels and causes atherosclerosis, hypertension and others.

Sorry to say this, but you have been sucked in by the absaloute load of carp science that the atkins people feed the public. A high fat diet can never be healthy and sustainable long term. Weight loss could occur, but im sure the major issue here is the prevention of the many diseases and conditions associated with being overweight.

FACT: Dr Robert Atkins weighed 116kg when he suffered a massive heart attack. He recovered from this, but finally died of kidney failure weighing 89 kilos, weight loss attributed to multiple major organ failure. Coincidence? - only if you believe the 'pretend' science that is the ATKINS diet

[rcon]

yes on an atkins diet your aren't consuming any carbs, but at low intensities your body uses fat for energy anyway, and at high intensities you need the carbs to be able to do high intesity activity, which in turn burns more fat.

But I wasn't doing low intensity exercise whilst I was on Atkins (running 20-40min 3x week) - so my total calorie output went up, and my calorie intake went down (lots of lean meant and green salads - very little fat aside from breakfast). Where was the energy coming from?

Sorry to say this, but you have been sucked in by the absaloute load of carp science that the atkins people feed the public. A high fat diet can never be healthy and sustainable long term. Weight loss could occur, but im sure the major issue here is the prevention of the many diseases and conditions associated with being overweight.

I actually have read very little of the Atkins stuff - most of what I've picked up has been from a friend who did sports science at uni a number of (10ish) years ago (so, yes, some of what I have has probably been misinterpreted!).

I never went into Atkins with the thought of using it as a long term plan - I liked it 'cause I got results fast, which kept me motivated in the beginning. I missed my orange juice, the toast with the eggs/bacon and the pizza waaaayyyyy too much to stay on it any longer than necessary.

I remember reading some studies recently comparing weight loss plans, I'm pretty sure it was a low gi versus Atkins, and the main point from it was that whilst the Atkins diet showed far better results (mainly for males I might add) in the first 2 months, the total weight loss over a year was the same. The low gi people actually kept it off for longer in the end too. I'm no apologist's for the Atkins, but the eating plan was easy (does it have carbs? yes. well I can't eat it then) and the results in the early stages kept me motivated. It aint for everyone, and it aint particularly health - but neither is being 50kg over weight

[bennymacca]

It aint for everyone, and it aint particularly health - but neither is being 50kg over weight

(matt unfortunately knows his shit here, he did sports science a couple of years ago, and proceeds to bombard me with this stuff all the time)

i think what he is trying to say is, that the main health issue with being overweight is not the weight itself, but rather the excess body fat. On atkins, you lose weight, but not body fat (well not as much compared with "conventional" diets), so it really doesnt do you much good, even if you are losing weight.

heart disease and all those other nasty conditions are a mostly byproduct of a high saturated fat diet, NOT being overweight. being overweight is also a byproduct, but not the cause.

so in other words, weight loss on the atkins diet is really just cosmetic, and doesnt adress all of the associated health issues.

correct me if am wrong here.

[rcon]

It aint for everyone, and it aint particularly health - but neither is being 50kg over weight

(matt unfortunately knows his carp here, he did sports science a couple of years ago, and proceeds to bombard me with this stuff all the time)

i think what he is trying to say is, that the main health issue with being overweight is not the weight itself, but rather the excess body fat. On atkins, you lose weight, but not body fat (well not as much compared with "conventional" diets), so it really doesnt do you much good, even if you are losing weight.

heart disease and all those other nasty conditions are a mostly byproduct of a high saturated fat diet, NOT being overweight. being overweight is also a byproduct, but not the cause.

so in other words, weight loss on the atkins diet is really just cosmetic, and doesnt adress all of the associated health issues.

correct me if am wrong here.

Yeah, my diet to put me that far over weight was, er, more than slightly unhealthy you could say. I suppose ANY eating plan that didn't consist of fast food and beer was going to help, and yes, there were probably far better choices than Atkins, but 3 months of Atkins was hardly going to be worse than the diet I had before that tho


As for

on atkins, you lose weight, but not body fat (well not as much compared with "conventional" diets)

I'm sure that Atkins does burn its fair share of fat, but I'll leave people more in the know to properly expand/refute it.

[bennymacca]

thats true, i suppose anything is better than beer and pies.

but they taste so good!

[BigPete33]

you forgot iced coffee



no wonder I'm a fat bastard!