Should I Do the Atkins Diet?

Yeah i got two co workers that are severely over weight, and ive watch them both just dumping off fat! im currently 205lbs and 6ft tall. id say my body fat percentage is in the teens. (check my pics on my profile for visual reference) but i want to know if i can do this diet??? is it too aggressive? will i lose muscle mass??? has anyone out there tried it who isnt a butterball?? any advice would be much appreciated!! thanks

If you really want to lose weight, just decrease carbs, increase cardio and lift heavy. You don’t have that much fat on you that you need to go 0 carb

What’s your diet like now?

Many times if you just get rid of the junk, processed foods, and sugars, and start eating whole foods, you’ll drop weight.

yeah, for anyone who lifts you’re gonna need carbs at some point. You just cant work out productively after several weeks of no carbs. The AD works because of the refeeds, and people have had good success with that for dropping weight. Carb cycling is also a solid approach for steady weight loss.

Any diet will work as long as they put you in a caloric deficit. To make sure you’re keeping as much muscle mass as possible, keep your protein intake high (1-1.5g/lb), and continue lifting heavy weights. How severe the diet is depends on your goals and what you hope to achieve.

You don’t look fat to me, just smooth. Maybe you want to consider recomposition?

I’ve done atkins before in the past with success. As someone already mentioned though, losing weight and fat require a deficit. If you do atkins, the first week is hell, but your body can utilize proteins and fats to produce glucose. Amino acids especially BC can be used to spare muscle glycogen. My vote is to just start logging all your food and put youself into a deficit with reasonable macronutrient ratios, i.e. moderate/high protein, lower carb, higher fat.

No.

As others have said, you really just need a calorie deficit with enough protein throughout the day. What you do with your other calories (carbs and fats) is personal preference. There are many ways to get that done and Atkins can be one of them. Atkins however, is not your only choice.

[quote]Ace Rimmer wrote:
No.[/quote]

If he’s going to be lifting weights I totally agree.

well the atkins’ diet doesnt say no carbs. the induction is two weeks and its 20 carbs (i figured 40 would be okay considering i go to the gym) a day for the first two weeks. after that the carb intake gradually increases each week, the amount depends on your target weight or look. eventually you are maintaining.

so what it sounds like is i should be okay on this diet. some of you are unaware that the atkins’ diet doesnt completely eliminate carb intake. but it will quickly get my body into ketosis and from there i think carb cycling will be most affective. does that sound good???

i mean i realize the atkins isnt the only answer but i got two co workers who are strict on it and i could use them for motivation and to keep me on track.

[quote]R1boogeyman wrote:
some of you are unaware that the atkins’ diet doesnt completely eliminate carb intake. but it will quickly get my body into ketosis and from there i think carb cycling will be most affective. does that sound good??? [/quote]

Why get into ketosis? Also, why get into ketosis just to get out of it by carb cycling? You will not be able to carb cycle while in ketosis, you would have to keep your carbs very low.

[quote]elusive wrote:
R1boogeyman wrote:
some of you are unaware that the atkins’ diet doesnt completely eliminate carb intake. but it will quickly get my body into ketosis and from there i think carb cycling will be most affective. does that sound good???

Why get into ketosis? Also, why get into ketosis just to get out of it by carb cycling? You will not be able to carb cycle while in ketosis, you would have to keep your carbs very low. [/quote]

no the first two weeks puts my body into ketosis. ketosis causes my body to convert its own fat for energy. after the two weeks i can gradually increse my carb intake until i get my body the way i want it. when i finaly get my body where i want it then i can use carb cycling (slower more controlled dieting option). SO in simple terms im not going to do two weeks of atkins and then jump into a carb cycle.

I think you should do it.

Seriously, if you have the willpower to go three months full-bore Atkins, no cheats, then you’ve proven that you have guts.

THEN you go and find a performance based plan that suits your personal goals, knowing you have the guts to handle it.

Sometimes the right answer isn’t as important as just picking SOMETHING and doing it with all your heart.

-Sab

Thanks Sab, i truly do feel that i have the willpower to do this and im determined. I got my co workers backing me up and they’ve convinced me that i can do it and i should do it. Actually i started today. ill make an effort to keep a log of my results on my page.

Thanks guys for all the advice!

Your body will burn fat without being in ketosis.