jeepseahawk

Damn, this stuff is so confusing, I normally just control portions and exercise more. Adkins is not good for me, heart issues and too much meat is a lot of bad for heart. Right now I am a fat slob and ready to get back into riding, I have been bad for 1 year!

dkyser

Due to where I can not go a mile without getting into some hills so its pretty high intensity for me. I push myself to keep my HR up. I try and ride at least 3-4 hrs a week.


Thanks for all the great information, lots to consider.

etw

Some really great info there (snipped to save space). I think that if one needs to follow a diet plan, South Beach has many excellent benefits. Many mistakenly think that it is no carb or like Atkins. It is no carb during the initial two week period. The concept is to regulate one's blood sugars and eliminate the cravings for carbs. After that, carbs are added back, but with a focus on complex, more healthy carb choices. Being that it was original intended as a heart healthy diet, there is also an emphasis on lowering fat intake. As one reaches goal the hope is that you will retain a healthy lifestyle, even allowing some indulgences in moderation and keeping it in check, being a little more strict when needed.

tarwheel 

I tried Atkins a while back and lost 10 lbs fairly quickly but, like others, I found it unsustainable. First, I found that the low-carb diet did not fit well with doing a lot of exercise. I cycle a lot, and the lack of carbs led to lack of energy. Plus, I happen to like eating carbs and really missed them in my diet.

More signifiicantly, I developed a kidney stone after following the Atkins diet for about a year. I am the only one in my family (with 7 brothers and sisters) to ever have a kidney stone, and I later found out that kidney stones are a demonstrated risk with low-carb diets. It is easy to dehydrate following a low-carb diet if you do not drink a lot more fluids than usual, which probably accounts for much of the risk.

I also found the diet unbalanced, making it hard to eat many healthy fruits and many vegetables as well as carbs.

After I stopped the Atkins diet, I gained back the weight that I lost fairly quickly. However, I started tracking calories about 5 years ago using an iPhone app called LoseIt! and succeeded in losing 30 lbs following a healthy, balanced diet. I have kept the weight off for 4 years now. I am able to eat foods that I like, and a much healthier diet, by controlling portion sizes and choosing healthier options. I weigh now what I weighed in college, 40+ years ago.

With LoseIt, which is a free app and web site, you enter in basic information such as your age, weight, activity level and weight loss goals. It gives you a daily calorie budget, which you can achieve by tracking your food intake as well as calories burned through exercise. It also helps to start weighing yourself regularly, ideally at the same time every day with no clothes. Don't expect your weight to drop in a straight line. Fluctuations are normal, but I found that long-term weight loss was very close to the goal that I set.

There are other tracking apps and websites that accomplish the same thing.

winston63 

Good luck with the riding!

As to the diet, have you tried using myfitnesspal? I spent a long time exercising quite a bit and kind of watching what I was eating but not really tracking anything. And I did lose some weight, but then totally plateaued and couldn't lose any more. For me, myfitnesspal was something of a revelation because it gave me enough knowledge to make good food decisions without starving myself and still allowing me to eat foods that I loved (certainly in smaller quantities, but still).

I'd say that any diet that denies me things I love won't be sustainable for me for the long term: that means Atkins is out!

Willbird

Yea I am a devotee of Myfitnesspal too, 400+ day streak

lurch0038

Atkins works great for people who are obese or have a high BMI. Once past the "induction" phase the fat just falls off (with exercise) but it could take a week to get past that. Once you get down to a weight you feel comfortable with and are riding more gradually work your way off of it into a more healthy lifestyle.

dagray

From what have read Atkins is not sustainable. I eat low carb.

breakfast is three eggs over medium, three pieces of bacon and one slice whole grain bread.

Lunch is a meat portion and usually a can of vegetables

after noon snack is a protein bar and fresh vegetables

dinner is a meat portion, salad or fresh veggies, fruit portion.

Yes I allow myself to cheat and sometimes eat a donut or pizza or something high carb, but generally I stick to the same routine.

Now the kicker is I don't drink any soda, not even diet, but I do drink black (no sugar) coffee and water is key (over a gallon a day for me as I am 360 pounds, and even that isn't enough).