talizman

iTrader: (1)

Just wondered how you found it?

I've been out of commision for 3 months due to surgery, and the weight has piled on a bit.

I'm still not fit enough to do proper exercise to burn the fat, so I thought about giving Atkins a bash.

I don't really want to lose weight as such, more to burn the fat round the belly that has appeared!

I'm 6'3 and 14.5 stone. My B.M.I. is 24.7 and fat is currently 16.3%.

Would I benefit from cutting out the carbs, or is there a better/quicker way to burn the belly?

Does being on Atkins affect energy levels, since your energy is being metabolised from a different source?

Cheers

TelBoy

*stares at screen*

imlach

If you put 3 months to put it on, you should expect it to be no QUICKER than 3 months to take it off again.....through eating properly and exercise.

Atkins does work, but given your recent surgery, see no need to try and lose it as fast as Atkins may do so....

You were obviously realtively healthy & trim before for a reason. Stick to these good reasons.

talizman

iTrader: (1)

TBH, it hasn't been 3 months strictly speaking, it has been a gradual thing for a while, with slight acceleration over the last 3 months!

I need to shift it quicker than 3 months also.

I need it as a quick-fix, then I can spend as much time as required getting into shape "properly".

MattW

With Telboy on this

talizman

iTrader: (1)

Why?

cinders

Atkins is total rubbish and very bad for your health.

Try this for size:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...818204-1674027

You could also try some Clenbuterol, it's excellent at burning fat, slightly illegal though (but only slightly... )

MattW

6' 3 and 14.5 stone,

You skinny bas*ard

imlach

WHY do you need to shift it quicker?

Does your life depend on it?

If it tooks years to put on, why expect a quick fix in weeks???

talizman

iTrader: (1)

I didn't take years to put on, and I'm not exactly overweight, I'd just like to shift the belly as quick as possible.

As for why.... the "Lanson Black" conversation

talizman

iTrader: (1)

Skinny bas*ard with a pot belly!

MattW

Ah! - I advocate the fattening up of Chin, Cheeks, ****, Back and thighs, you'll look in proportion then

red_dog104

I did the Akins Diet for 2 weeks and at the end of it gorged myself on pasta and carbs!! i has so little energy that I couldn't even walk upstairs! Did lose a stone though! I wouldn't recommend it tbh.

And while i'm still here........ Cinders I do hope that was a joke!! Clenbuterol is bloody dangerous!! I did toy with that idea myself for a while tho!!

Leslie

I used the Atkins to lose a couple of stone before I had an operation. It worked well but I think the real reason for losing the weight was that a carb free diet causes you to lose your appetite. I have gone back to a more normal diet but not too many carbs and find that the reduced appetite, which is easier to keep up now, is still keeping my weight down after the operation. I did not seem to lose that much energy during the diet.

Les

talizman

iTrader: (1)

Cheers Les.

Diesel

Careful mate, you may blow over in the wind

Atkins didnt work for me in 2 weeks despite sticking to it closely,if not 100% -I had to have a teaspoon of ketchup on my morning cholestorol fest! It also plays with your head due to various huge system changes. Not good.

Now this operation, it wasnt liposuction was it? 14s is little for a tall chap like you!

corradoboy

Atkins should not be considered as a quick fix, it is more a lifelong dietry change. If it's done well, it is perfectly healthy, much healthier than the diet I used to have. Get the book (it's only £4) and read it, ALL. I used the introductory phase (recommended for 2 weeks to 3 months) for the full 3 months and lost over 4st. Since re-introducing limited carbs I have maintained my weight easier than at any time in my life (family tendency to weight gain). The biggest mistake I come across from the doubters and failers is the belief that the diet consists solely of meat. Since starting this diet I have never eaten as much fresh salad and veg, the key is which veg!
It works, as others have said by suppressing your appetite through limiting insulin production. Insulin is produced by the body to process carbs, and as the carbs diminish, so does the insulin. Your brain sees the reduction in insulin as hunger and tells you to eat. The trouble is, carbs are always processed first, and so when your brain is saying it's time to eat your body has done nothing with the fats and proteins from you last meal while you're busy shovelling the next plateful down, so they get stored. On Atkins, the limitation of carbs makes the variations in insulin levels barely perceptable and so your brain misses the false hunger trigger, leaving your body free to process the fat/protein. The double whammy is that as you have ingested less carb anyway, it gets onto the fat/protein quicker too.

A few pointers....

Breakfast -
I have eaten a cooked breakfast almost every day for over a year now. I'm not talking geasy spoon though. 2-3 rashers of bacon (fat/rind removed) and 2 turkey sausages (sausages often are high in carb, aim for each one to contain 1g carb) grilled. 2 eggs either poached or fried in a little olive oil. Mushrooms and tomatoes, cooked however you prefer.
Omlette (bacon, cheese, mushroom etc)

Lunch -
Usually make a pack-up consisting of a variety of salad leaves, bean sprouts, babycorns (avoid sweetcorn), peppers, celery, cucumber and maybe a couple of pickled onions/beetroot (root vegetables are high in carb, but I like pickles), teamed with some smoked mackerel, tuna, sardines, cheese, cooked chicked etc.

Dinner -
Obviously, any meat main course, steak, pork chop, chicken blah blah blah served with lots of fresh steamed broccolli, cauliflour, asparagus a little carrot etc.
Cook fresh curries using tomato (rogan josh) or cream (korma) but avoid ready made sauces in jars as they're bulked out with cornflour. Chillis or bolognaise again with fresh tomatos, mushrooms, onion, peppers. Instead of serving with rice/pasta, try it with a selection of steamed veg.

Deserts -
Any berries served with fresh cream.

Snacks -
The temptation to snack will diminish after you get through the first 2 weeks or so and your insulin level settles at a low level, but you must eat every 4 (waking)hours, so if you need to snack got to the fish shop and get a lightly battered fish (NO CHIPS) or remove the batter, call at a supermarket and grab a rottisserie chicken or raid the salad bar for low carb salads or carry the pack-up I mentioned earlier.

Drinks -
Decaf tea/coffee with sacharin (avoid aspartame at all costs, it's toxic) based sweeteners if needed. Lots of water. No fizzy drinks, even diet ones and no fruit juices except cranberry juice.

If you want to buy cooked/cured meats, avoid any which contain nitrates as a preservative. They are know carcinogens.

If you try it, the hardest bit is in the 1st 2 weeks, when your body will fight the reduction in carbs, making you feel lethargic. Headaches and slight nausea are also common, but all this is is your brain crying out for the sugar it is ADDICTED to. It does pass and when it all settles down your energy levels will return and you'll feel fine. Many people report that when exercising that their energy levels seem to last much longer than on a carb based diet. One downside is that your breath will stink, but hey, you can't have everything.

Good luck, I hope your strong enough to get through the initial phase if you try it and if applied well, you WILL get results.

anc-sti

Atkins is NOT a healthy diet, a balanced diet with exercise is the best and only way IMO to lose weight and keep it off. You really are what you eat, I race bikes at a national level and diet is as important as training.

Diets like Atkins starve you both of essential vit's and minerals important for body function, not to mention what it’s doing to your cholesterol levels and bone composition. Tread carefully.

BedHog

Did atkins for about 6 months and dropped from 12st3 to 11st

Came off it onto a low fat diet and now back over 12st after about 6 months - going back on atkins very soon

It's a good diet and most people who slag it off don't know enough about it - I think you'll find most people who try it and fail have never read the book, just eat what they 'think' is correct and wonder why it doesn't work.

Because of the way it works you have to stick to it 100%.

As for all the associated side affects, I never had any apart from a bit fatigued for the first few days then really full of energy afterwards with no highs and lows like you get from a carb diet.

As far as I can see there is only 1 problem with the diet (and I suppose this goes for any diet really lol) no beer

http://www.foodanddiet.com/NewFiles/highprotein.html

anc-sti

Sorry but for every article that say's its good there's one that points out the risks

http://weightloss.about.com/gi/dynam...atkinsdiet.htm

Balanced diet with exercise, sure its harder but the positives outway the negatives.

imlach

Which surely indicates that it isn't that great!

You're seem to be in a yo-yo cycle, whereas a more balanced diet with plenty of exercise may not have had such rapid results (ie, you wouldn't have got to 11st so quickly), but you'd perhaps be below 12st today????

corradoboy

imlach, the mistake bedhog made was to come OFF Atkins. If you read the book, it is a lifestyle change, the key word being LIFE. The idea is to reintroduce carbs in small amounts until weight loss stabilises and then keep to it. If you simply revert to your previous eating habits once you have lost your target weight then yes, you will enter a yo-yo cycle. My weight has remained constantly within 7lb of of my ideal and I can go up or down at will. No low fat diet has ever afforded me such control or has ever been as easy to stick to, as the food I eat on Atkins I enjoy in portions which suit me (BIG). Every other diet I tried previously was like a punishment, with controlled amounts of specific foods that I didn't care for in the 1st place. It might not suit everyone, but for me it's absolutely ideal.

imlach

corradoboy - yes, I agree with that, as I'm one of the few who have read the Atkins book to the end too

The point is, people see it as a quick fix every so often, and don't use it as a lifestyle change......

BedHog

Gotta agree with corradoboy - should have stuck with it, although it was more an experiment than anything.

Low fat/high carb diets like loads of pasta/baked potatoes made me put weight on. So going back on atkins.

Plus as said, once your weight stabilises you can actually eat quite a lot of good carbs and stay the same, especially if your pretty active.

Atkins is being pushed for diabetics now I believe as it promotes a very stable blood sugar level.

One more thing, the missus is a nurse and she told me how bad for me the atkins diet would be, until she read the book then she went on it

corradoboy

It's all down to applying it correctly. The numpties who don't bother reading the book and gorge themselves on huge portions of meat are bound to fail and drag the philosophy down with them. After over a year on the diet I can truthfully say that I eat no more meat than I ever have, but I eat loads more fresh veg and is that a bad thing. OK, so I don't bother too much with bread, potatos, rice or pasta, but I believe I get all the nutrients I need from the other wholesome products which I serve with my reasonable meat portions. Is what I'm doing so bad. I suppose I could revert and be like 80% of the population and live on chicken nuggets, burgers, chips, kebabs, pizzas and excessive quantities of alcohol

Kiwi

I did atkins & dropped from 235 lbs to 210 lbs in two months. This was in april weighed myself this morning 211 lbs so it worked ok for me

Leslie

I also had my total cholesterol drop from 6.2 to 3.3 with the help of Avorstatin I must admit. I avoided the supersaturated fats as well.

Les