I went from about 240# down to 200# the summer before I turned 66 on a version of the Atkins Diet.  I guess I qualify for the over 30 crowd you mentioned.  While losing weight, I didn't lose that much strength.  Always before when I tried losing weight, my strength went way down.  I did a good job at keeping the grams of carbohydrates I ate daily to less than 30.  It was hard to find things to eat, and it was harder to "keep going."  You eventually get tired of tuna and eggs no matter how much cheese you put on them.  It often felt like I had weights on my wrists and ankles, but again, it didn't affect my strength or endurance, just the effort required.  I haven't been on this diet since then since my wife thinks, after reading magazines and talking to a couple of doctors, that not eating vast amounts of carbohydrates will kill you.  I even heard a doctor say that in an interview on CNN.  I don't understand that claim when they see that it just doesn't happen.  I don't understand that (lack of) logic.  Of course, her doctor strongly thinks I should stop lifting weights.  According to him, it can't be good for someone to put over 400# on their back.  Well, I've been lifting for just over 40 years, and I'm still here and still making (slow) progress.z

Awesome! I'm sure it feels good to have made so much progress. I lost about 30 pounds on my own low carb high protien diet, and it felt great. I don't qualify for the over 30 crowd, but still.

At 38 I went from 210 to 168. During that time my max bench went from 185 to 325. Zoom, I hope I'm still lifting at 60. It's not hard to lose fat being over 30. But it is hard to put on muscle.

Garryowen, congratulations.

What is this Atkins diet?

Started the Atkins quite a few years ago when I weighed 180... I got back to 145 and have maintained it ever since... I still do the low-carb most days, munching Carb-Solutions bars for breakfast and lunch...

Big_Guy, the Atkins is a high-protein, low-carb diet... the medical community seems to not like the diet... most likely because it removes them from their piece of a billion dollar a year weight loss industry...

[url]atkinscenter.com/dev/[/url]

Well, considering I was just discussing with my wife a need to drop some weight for the summer.  Would you mind giving us all the gory details on the Atkin's Diet?  

Most diets I have tried made me feel weak, and I noticed a loss of muscle along with fat.  

Would you give us your 'meal plan' for a typical day?  Hoe much do you eat?  What do you use for snacks?  Beer?  etc.


TIA

TheRedGoat

The diet is a simple low carb, high protein diet... you can literally eat all you want when it comes to proteins... honestly, if you're hungry on this diet, you're doing it wrong!  I never noticed any tiredness or weakness, just bad breath... Ketosis... that's how you know your body is responding...

It is fairly simple, all the meat and cheese you want. But no carbs like bread, pasta, sugar and caffeine.

I have been doing it for 7 weeks and have lost 30 pounds. I notice I really feel better mentally w/o all the sugar and caffeine.

The things I miss most are potatoes & bread.

Tell me about it!  I work hard for my gains.  I'm down to only lifting once a week because it takes me so long to recover.  I don't guess I should complain, because I consistently add 2.5 pounds (yes, I made 1 1/4# plates) to my squat per week, and 2.5# to my bench every other week.  That doesn't sound like much, but if you kept that up for ten years, that's 1,300# added to your squat and 650# to your bench press.  Of course, you couldn't actually do that, but it does show that even small gains will add-up long-term.  You just have to keep going!  The strongest lifters I've seen were in their late 40's, and the only reason they quit lifting and gaining was because the injuries pilled-up.  Keep the number of sets at one and the number of reps reasonable, and be careful.  You should be able to plow past those guys in the long term if you don't hurt yourself.

This is something I could write a (short) book on.  I'll try to be brief...

The newsgroup misc.fitness.weights is the best source of information for diets in relation to getting stronger or at least not losing strength.  Here's the misc.fitness.weights FAQ [url]www.trygve.com/mfw_faq.html#whatisanabolicdiet[/url].  I used something that the group coined the phrase "Anabolic Diet" to describe.  Unfortunately, the web page that had been around for 5+ years describing it, is now gone.  The basic principle of the diet is that you eat less than 30 grams of carbohydrates per day.  This is very hard.  If you eat two pieces of white bread with a sandwich, you're over the limit.  Also, if you do eat something with carbohydrates, make sure it's something that doesn't have a high GI index, like grape juice or white bread, to minimize the blood suger spike.  The twist with the anabolic diet is that on weekends, you eat whatever you want, because you want to put your body in an anabolic state (so you can gain muscle).  I found it much more effective, and easier to live with, than just the plain <30 grams per day diet.

Figuring-out what to eat is the hard part.  For breakfast, I used to eat three eggs, bacon, and sausage with a little milk and about an ounce of orange juice.  Lunch would typically be peanut butter and tuna.  Supper would be broccoli or asparagus with around 3/4# of some meat, chicken, fish, or beef.  I'd add different cheeses for variety.  Notice that I didn't list any breads, cereals, pasta, or fruits.  You'll just have to get a list of the amount of carbohydrates in different foods, and find what you like that keeps you under the 30 grams limit.

My wife's idiot doctor has claimed for years, that if you don't eat at least 30 grams of carbohydrates per day, your brain will stop working and you will die.  That's not true.  Your liver can make enough glucose to power the brain.  I know several people who stayed on a <15 grams of carbohydtrates per day diets for months at a time.z

Don't forget to drink LOTS of water top avoid long term kidney failure.  A good 20-30 minutes of cardio a day will make the weight drop even faster.

Correct on the water - LOTS of water.

I don't follow the Atkins diet but unless you cut your carbs you will eventually gain all the weight back you lose on any diet plan.

If you restrict carbs you must replace it with fat but it doesn't have to be animal fat.  Use olive oil on everything if you don't want all that saturated fat.  You must eat fat and protein with every meal.  

The benefits of a low carb diet are weight loss, lower blood pressure, lower bad/total cholesterol, raise good cholesterol and you will maintain your weight loss.  

Carbs raise blood glucose and the body responds with insulin.  Your blood sugar crashes and you get hungry.  There is basically no difference between a simple or complex carb.  The carb in a potato is converted to glucose in minutes after eating it.

After I cut my carbs I find that I don't get hungry between meals anymore.  I have more energy and I never get sleepy after meals either. You also need to exercise everyday.

Most Doctors know very little about nutrition or diet.  They only get a couple of hours instruction in med school.

There is tons of info on the web.  Just do a search on "low carb."

I think "Protein Power" is a much better plan. It isn't as extreme. In the most restrictive form you eat 30 carbs per day and an amount of protein that you calculate based on your body composition. It isn't high protein it is "adequate" protein. I lost 40 lbs with this book in about five months and it is still gone after one year. The trick is that you can [b]never[/b] go back to eating the way you did before. After you've lost your weight you slowly up your daily intake of carbs until you start gaining weight and then you back off until you just stop gaining and are not losing. This is the amount of carbs you should eat per day for the rest of your life. For me it is around 110.

Tip, if you want to get a few books about this go to a used book shop, they have shitloads of these things laying around. A few others in a similar vein are the Atkins book, Sugar Busters, The Zone, Carbohydrate Addicts. I think Protein Power is the best though. It makes the most sense and is pretty easy to follow.

Good luck.

Btw, the protein power book says that eating less than 30 grams of carbs in a day will not help the weight to come off any slower than eating zero carbs. I found this to be true in my case. The atkins book starts you off with less than 10 carbs per day, with is unnecessarily strick.

Three years ago, on Jan 1st, I went on the Atkins diet. I weighed about 315. I went down to 252 in about a year and have kept it off since.

First point I would make is that this is not a "diet", it is a permanent change in lifestyle. If you try it and after loosing the weight you want go back to the eating habbits you had before, you will gain it all back and quickly.

Another big benifit of this diet is avoiding or controling Diabetes. My older sister has Adult Onset Diabetes. I got her to try Atkins because she was ready to start insulin because the medications were not controling her blood suger. She not only lost weight, she isn't on insulin and is no longer on the midications. The Atkins diet controls her blood suger level and keeps it in the normal range.

Think hunter/gatherer and you have a pretty good idea what to eat. Meat, fish, fowl, eggs, cheese, nuts and limited vegitables (I try to eat a salid every day).

Drink liquids. Water is best but tea helps. Avoid soda, even the diet variety. And, take lots of vitamins - good ones. Atkins book outlines the vitamin regimine pretty well.

Well,

I'm no MD, & I don't wish to spoil this, but...

Higher protein intake stresses the kidneys, and there's a point of diminishing returns regarding higher protein intake & muscle hypertrophy. As protein intake increases, increasing water intake is crucial, since proteins have a naturally acidic pH, and water helps to buffer that effect.

FWIW, I don't consume large portions of protein, and  carbs are vital to me for my exercise because of their quick-burning capability. Low carb/high protein routines just don't cut it. I'm 35, have been exercising since I was 15, and can do about as much as I could when I was a teenager. I can still perform 30+ pull-ups, 50-100 push-ups & dips, 15-20 hand-stand push-ups - all the basic stuff I did as a gymnast in HS & college. I do a routine 6 mile run (@ a nice 10 min/mile pace), and occasionally, swim 2-3 miles. I'm not suffering from a lack of protein, and I'd "hit the wall" quickly if I was.

My point is that, you probably would do better in the long run if you focused on balancing the energy intake a bit more, maybe stressing cardiovascular stuff a little more instead. The Adkins diet will certainly aid fat loss efforts, but it won't do much for your running, swimming, or other heart-stressing activities. You need a mix of proteins, fats & carbohydrates for that. Weight lifting also requires carbs, especially if the intensity is high. Of course, this applies to a "normal" physiology that isn't inclined to convert energy directly to fat. Some people have that problem, necessitating a more unique diet. I'd wager that the Adkins diet has a more profound affect on those who fit this "abnmormal" physiology.

Consider: 30 g of carbs = 120 kcals. Your muscles & liver, combined, can store roughly 1500 kcals before any excess is stored as fat. Protein is same as carbohydrate, @ 4 kcal/g, & fat rates @ 9 kcal/g. Consider your own consumption & do the math. The avg. BMR is around 1500 kcal/day (The minimum amount necessary for sustaining  basic bodily functions). The actual amount is specific for each person, but 1500 is a useful, rough avg. for an evaluation in this discussion.

Again - I'm no MD, but I'd argue for a little more moderation. It seems that this diet might work in the short-term, but have long-term consequences. This is probably the best reason to "consult you physician". After all, they aren't [i]all[/i] in the "diet biz".

A note of observation: gout seems to occur more in cultures where meat consumption is greater, but hereditary issues might be at play here, too.

Just my $0.02

That is why I like the protein power book it is [b]NOT[/b] high protein. You calculate a set amount of protein for each day and try not to eat more than that. For me that is 80 grams.

I will agree that doing endurance/aerobic training with less than 30 carbs per day is not very fun, but once you are done losing weight and have increased the carbs a bit you should have no problems.

What's this about caffeine??  Is eliminating caffeine from the diet necessary for the Atkins diet to work??

I ask in part because caffeine normally helps weight loss, from what I've heard.  It causes muscles to jitter more, so you burn more calories.

Also, is there anything against saccharine in the diet?  Not being a rat, I am able to consume it without develping cancer, and I do so in large quantities. [:p]

No.  You combine it with a little (about a 100 mg of Aspirin) and a small dose of Ephedrine, and you have something very effective.  It will raise your body temperature which uses more calories.  Do a search on Deja for "ECA stack" to see what I'm talking about.z

It will raise your body temperature, but it sure makes you feel jittery. I tried it for about a week, and then read something about the possible heart damage from ephedrine. That and the jittery feeling was enough to make me stop.