Can the Atkins diet work along with the Power 90 program (with the exception of juice needed to take the creatin)?

Hello level2,

Nice to see that you are taking the steps to getting fit.

A lot of people looking to lose weight have looked to the Atkins diet. The Atkins Diet for those of you who don't know already is a high protein/low (or no) carb diet. The body uses carbohydrates for quick energy and since there are no carbohydates in the diet, the body uses fat as energy.

However, the Atkins diet does stress exercise but not necessarily an intense workout as delivered by the Power 90 program. Protein supplementation (or merely a high protein diet) leads to building lean muscle mass in the body. Basically, your muscles are increasing in volume and in most cases strength.

So why aren't you seeing the continued weight loss? Well, the answer has to do with the weight of muscle as compared to fat. Muscle is denser than fat and in accordance, weighs more. Therefore, building muscle increases your body weight which may be off-setting those pounds you were losing of fat using strictly the Atkins Diet. You are still burning fat on a high protein diet, but you have the added benefit of adding muscle mass and strength. This is one of the reasons that a persons weight is not necessarily a good indicator of their level of fitness. If people went strictly by weight, every single body builder would be considered overweight. Notice that the medical community has instead converted to the body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of obesity and overall health, thereby attempting to by pass the constraints of a strictly height/weight correlated indicator of obesity and health. To calculate your BMI, see http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/

Hope this clears it up. Continue to try hard to reach your goals. Cheers.

reality PhD

Got your answer but I'm still not clear on whether or not it's okay to use the Atkin's diet along with Power 90 or should I stick with the diet plan that came with Power 90 (Michi's ladder, etc.?

In a nutshell, sure. The Atkins Diet and Power 90 can be used in conjunction with one another. Just be sure to add a little bit more carbs to the diet to help with energy and blood sugar levels after a workout. Don't want anybody passing out. ;-)

reality PhD

The Atkins Diet may give you okay results at first, but you won't get best results with P90 without carbs. As Reality stated, carbs are needed for quick energy. On P90, you're working hard and you need that energy.

Furthermore, the philosophy of Beachbody is much more holistic than Atkins. A no-carb diet isn't something you can sustain. You'll do it until your body gets sick of it, then you'll stop and you'll gain all your weight right back. By learning how to eat a balanced diet, carbs included, you'll put yourself in a position to eat healty, and stay fit for the rest of your life.

For a more scientific explination, Steve wrote a great newsletter article that breaks down the many problems with the Atkins Diet. You can find part one here:

http://www.beachbody.com/jump.jsp?itemID=134&itemType=NEWSLETTER_ISSUES

and part two here:

http://www.beachbody.com/jump.jsp?itemID=141&itemType=NEWSLETTER_ISSUES

Here's some more. For many people, a low-carb diet can sort of kick-start your metabolism and this can be effective. It will limit you eventually. I think you'll find the answers to your questions in this thread, from someone who's probably in a similar situation as yourself:

http://forums.beachbody.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=528299664&f=238299664&m=2802932896

Hi all!

Admin:

I agree we need some carbs for a good diet and energy. You are sadly mistaken that the Atkins diet is a ZERO carb diet. I am on the final stages of the lifestyle (its not a quick solve diet that you go on and off of like a low fat diet) and I eat about 30 % carbs, mainly LOTS of veggies, berries, whole grain cereals and breads. Also, if you eat all those healthy foods and take supplements you don't need junk carbs for energy to do the workouts. And if you don't think it will work with P90, just wait to see my 90 day pictures. I started out only 8 lb over my ideal weight and am already down to it, now am increasing muscle mass. After only 3 weeks.

Of course a NO-carb diet isn't something you can sustain, that NOT what the Atkins diet IS, and if you think it is you haven't educated yourself about it or just refused to listen to what was really being put forth.

I agree that if you don't stick to it, ie go back to your old ways of eating unhealthy, you will slowly (or fastly!) gain it all back. That's exactly what the CONTROLLED (NOT NO CARB!) lifestyle is all about.

As for the newsletters, I didn't see any solid scientific evidence presented there.

I apologize for getting so emotional about the subject, I just know how it changed my life for the better, and want to see everyone do so good!

Thanks for the inspiration and guidance guys!

Bill

Thanks for sharing your experience with Atkins. I can understand your enthusiasm for the diet and frustration with non-believers because it seems to have worked so well for you -- and so many others that have lost weight too.

Honestly, if you are able to maintain and not gain the weight back, you will be the first person I know that lost weight using Atkins and kept it off long term and I know many. I believe it is the "controlled carbs" thing that you described that so many people have trouble with long term. Also, the people I know that tried Atkins all had much more weight to lose than you.

I lost 31 lbs using Power 90 and have maintained my desired weight goals for almost 2 years. I don't control carbs, but I only eat quality carbs (e.g. whole grains and foods made with ground whole grains). I eat all the fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fish and some lean meats I desire with complete satisfaction.

All that said, based on what you say, it sounds to me that the Atkins diet may not be terribly different from my diet with the following exceptions:

I don't "control" carbs, (I don't eat junk carbs either like food made from refined grains - flour or white rice). I eat about 50% carbs a day normally (I think 40% is too low for active people - it would be for me). I restrict unsaturated fat and eat nothing with transfat. However, I do get lots of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat from nuts, seeds, beans, fish etc. Also, I didn't use supplements to lose weight and don't take supplements now because I believe I get all the vitamins and minerals I need from eating a nutritious diet.

Having interchanges like this is an excellent opportunity for us all to learn so I'd like to hear back more from you on Atkins so you can perhaps clear up some misconceptions. I believe that a truly healthful diet lies somewhere between the Governments Food Pyramid and Atkins. Based on all my research, and my own experience, I of course believe that my diet is the right one!

Look forward to seeing your pics!

Jim

Hi Jim!

It sounds like you have found the perfect diet for you, just as I have. We eat a very similar diet. I also eat lots of seeds and nuts.

If people couldn't keep weight off long term that only means they will not commit to being healthy for whatever reason. I know them too. And it is frustrating knowing exactly how they could be healthy, but we feel like our hands are tied behind our backs for helping them. They have to want to help themselves, and we just have to watch and hope.

I think you should consider supplements. It is real hard to eat a perfect diet no matter what you eat, and todays produce does not have the vitamins and minerals that it should. And if you are doing lots of physical exercise, we need even more nutrients that even a perfect diet cannot provide enough of. I can't hurt to make sure we are getting everything we need, and I think you will notice the difference in energy level.

Keep up the good work!

Bill

I completely disagree that the reason that people don't succeed is because they are not committed to a healthy lifestyle. There are many reasons why people have difficulty to include things that are beyond their control like genetics. It is very difficult for people to find the right energy balance that is not so life impacting for them to continue long term. That is why diets don't work. Yes, I am proud that I have been able to maintain for 2 years, but I am also very fortunate that I haven't struggled with weight my entire life and don't have a genetic predisposition to being overweight as so many people have.

You have only been doing this for three weeks...it might be too soon for you to declare victory on "long term" success using the Atkins diet. Studies that measure long term weight maintenance achievement are measured in years, not days, weeks or even months.

Concerning supplements - I have done a lot of research over the past two years (from scientific literature) and have come to the conclusion (changing my position several times along the way) that with a sound diet supplements are not needed. Also, I am reading more and more reports recently that taking vitamin supplements may in fact be dangerous for many reasons. I have looked at the benefits, the risks and the cost and made a decision not to take supplements for nutritional purposes myself - at least not now. I don't necessarily buy into the theory that produce lacks nutrients because the soil its grown in lacks nutrients (with the exception of one or two minerals). It is the plant that needs the nutrients from the soil and without them they would not grow and produce a viable crop. I believe that if you eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds and fish you can easily get all the nutrients that you need on a daily basis. That being said, I think that in general the health, fitness and medical community supports the regular taking of a multi-vitamin because most people do not get all the nutrients they need from what they eat. For man to think that he can do a better job at packaging nutrients into a pill than nature can do with food is a flawed concept. Did you ever wonder what they use to hold all that stuff together? However, more data from scientific sources could change my mind again. Here is one of my favorite quotes concerning supplementation by Dr. Gabe Mirkin (www.drmirkin.com):

"The human body wasn't made to be supplemented. The human race has been here for 5 million years. All these foolish supplements haven't been here for more than 60 or 70 years. I don't understand why the human physiology has to change to accomodate entrepreneurs. I just don't understand it."

To add to that, it is man that recently started taking perfectly good food and smashing it into pieces and removing the nutrients making it necessary for us to take supplements to get the nutrients that he just removed! I'ts gotta be a big conspiracy to make money

Jim

Woops, I forgot to tell you I have been doing the controlled carb lifestyle for 2 years now. I lost 50 lbs doing that. It took six months. But I had some injuries (knee surgery and disc problems in my neck) that kept me from intense exercise. I crept back up several pounds and started the Power 90 3 weeks ago when my wife bought it for me for an anniversery present. Best present ever!

Yes some people have the genetic predisposition. We can be thankful we're not. But others just eat horrible diets and I have little pity for them. These are the people that need supplentation the most. People that don't eat right and people that are trying to lose weight real fast. Do you agree?

Keep up the good work educating everyone out there!

Bill

Bill,

Thanks for clarifying. Buying Power 90 for was no doubt the best gift I have ever received too! It's a great program and I am sure you will do well on it.

I agree that people that don't eat well should take a multi vitamin supplement, but eating the right foods is a better solution to the problem. I don't agree that people that want to lose weight fast should necessarily. For one thing, I don't think it is good to lose wieght fast. Additionally, I don't think that one should restrict calories so much that you need to take supplements to get nutrients. However, taking a reasonable multi-vitamin (not one with mega doses) from a reputable company is probably an ok idea. I've read that Atkins provides customized supplements for that diet because it does lack certain nutrients. Is that true?

Besides genetics, there are also emotional/ psychological reasons why people are overweight. I have empathy for anybody that for whatever reason is overweight and unhealthy. Partly, because I was that way myself, but didn't realize how bad it was until it was out of hand. It's not that I didn't want to be healthy or a good weight, I just didn't think much about it until I started feeling terrible. For the longest time, I actually thought it was normal and OK to get that huge gut as I was getting older. I have pity for that guy in my before pictures even though I wasn't doing all the right things to be a healthy. I am so thankful that I was in the right emotional state (feeling like a piece of chit --physically and mentally) and desperate to change my life (I felt like I was dying) when the Power 90 infomercial flashed in front of my eyes. I honestly never thought about the possibility of exercising and eating well to get healthier until I saw the infomercial and never in a million years would have dreamed that such a transformation was possible. So, in short...have a little pity....until you walk in their shoes you will never know.

Jim

Jim,

Yea its true, Atkins recommends supplements during the weight loss phases, especially the initial phase call induction, where you are really trying to jump start weight loss (this would be true for any diet). This lasts for 2 to 4 weeks. During that time you are limiting your carb intake alot, so you need more nutrients than the amount of vegetable carbs you eat. But after that you gradually add more good carbs until you find the balance point where you don't gain weight. At that point you are eating alot of healthy veggies, fruit, grain, nuts, etc that I agree supplements are not absolutely necessary. I just prefer to take them, for some reason it helps my energy level. I seem to need less sleep.

It sounds like this has been a big life changing experience for you. I love that part! Well, the Atkins diet was my life changing experience. Now I'm taking it to the next level with Power 90, to really get in shape and build muscle.

Thanks,

Bill

Bill,

I am curious to know how long ago you lost the 50 lbs, and if you exercised regularly in the past 2 years to maintain that weight loss. I am assuming you did because you said in an earlier post that injuries prevented you from exercising which resulted in weight gain.

I've come to believe that diets, by themselves rarely work for long term weight loss (without regular exercise/increased activity) and your situation seems to support that. I am convinced that if I stopped exercising regularly, in spite of my good eating habits, I would gain weight back too.


Thanks,
Jim

Hi Jim!

I got done losing the weight about a year ago. Most of that weight was lost over a 8 month period, the first couple months of which I couldn't evercise much beacuse of knee surgery. Then I was gradually able to work out on my Nordictrack and lift some weights. I gained all that weight previously (before the Atkins diet) because of trying to eat low fat (ie high carb) and having back problems which prevented intense workouts. So I guess that proves that evercise definately helps me lose weight faster and keep it off. I've kept it off ever since because, like Atkins recommends, I never let myself gain back more than 6 or 8 lbs without doing something about it, that is watching what I eat and evercising enough.

Thanks,

Bill

Hi everyone,

Well I'm new to P90. I've done the low fat diets, the shakes, counting calories and even weight watchers counting points. All this diets always left me hungry. I ate several small meals a day and I would loose a few lbs here and there but gained everything back right away and sometimes even more. My doctor told me that my blood preasure was high, cholestral was also high and close to being diabetic I need to loose weight. Like I said before I've tried everything that people would suggest. Two co-workers started the Atkins diet and right away you noticed a difference. I decided to start the diet myself two months ago. I weight 260lbs and after two months I've lost 25 lbs. Went back to see my doctor He could not believe my tests results. Everything from my cholestral to my high blood preassure has gone down to almost normal. I explained to him what I was doing and he said continue doing it. The only thing that was missing was a good excercise program So, I purchased P90. But, after reading some of the comments that the Advise staff were saying about low carbs, I was getting discouraged. The key word is low carbs not NO carbs. But thanks to billthom I will stick to my low carb eating and see if P90 will give me the fitness that I believe it will.

Good going! I know how you feel about the attitudes concerning low carb lifestyle. It MIGHT not be necessary to follow a strict low carb diet if you are doing P90 and being very active. It depends on your metabolism and how fast you want to lose weight. You might start losing energy if you follow a very strict low carb diet. I only tried it because low fat diet didn't help me when I had injuries that kept me from exercising. If you continue eating healthy foods and working out you can't go wrong. I don't totally agree with Michi's ladder. I think they have it about 90 percent right. I still refuse to eat junk food like pasta and white bread and eat very limited quantities of whole grain bread, potatoes and other starchy veggies in moderation. I am working alot more fruit in also. Here's a couple good threads on the subject:

michi's ladder

just curious

Keep up the good work!

Bill