A new medical danger

[Always deferred]

Though this isn't directly related to flying per se, this may affect many pilots on this board. Many pilots among others are now hooked on this Atkins Diet plan utilizing low carb, high fat/protein intake. The results? Quick weight loss initially.

But...

Recently, there have been many reports published, most notably by the American Heart Association, stating that this type of diet in UNHEALTHY and can be DEADLY in the long run, leading to vascular disease and liver disfunction.

Everyone wants a quick fix but few look at the long term harmful effects of short term actions. The best way to lose weight but maintain a healthy lifestyle is to eat healthy small portions of all food groups 4-6 times a day, get plenty of sleep, exercise, and drink lots of water.

Anyone who is on this diet plan, I just ask for your own sake that you do some research into the negative aspects of it, esp the consequences of excessive protien intake and reduced carb intake, and then educate others so this nation can get off its ridiculous DIEt craze and start to adopt a healty lifestyle.

 

[TriJet]

losing weights

There's only 1 way, that's to get your (not you specifically) overdosed-on-99cents-whoppers butts on the treadmill.

 

[WileE]

I've seen those reports.

I'd like to see this report from the AHA, can you provide a link? Seems to be you have a lot of experts out there decrying how unhealthy Atkins is (a lot of whom coincidentally have their own diets their pushing) but I'm not seeing a whole lot of evidence of their claims. Atkins has been around since the sixties, you'd think that they would have some legitimate medical studies or statistics to quote about how unhealthy the diet actually is from the past 40 years beyond anecdotal evidence and unsupported testimony from so called experts. A lot of the articles I've read (Newsweek for example) don't quote that kind of hard medical study. I'm not saying they aren't out there but it seems they would be quoted a lot more often.

Am I on atkins? Yes I am, lost 25 lbs so far and feel great, I'm almost back to my military weight after having left the army several years ago and traded a fairly active lifestyle for the much more sedentary one of the civilian pilot, living in crash pads and eating airport food (what a suprise, I gained weight!). I'll be going in for a physical this month to see what happened to my colesterol so I'll see how that has changed for me. I do know that a lot of the talking heads I see on TV don't seem to have actually read the book. There was a woman on MSNBC putting down the diet this morning (one of those who had a competing diet she had authored) who didn't seem to have actually read the diet. One example was that she was putting down the atkins diet for eliminating fiber from your diet, which it does not. Fiber carbs don't count at all when you are totalling your carb intake. In fact you are supposed to be making sure you get fiber in your diet even in induction. A lot of the low carb foods substitute high fiber grains for the processed flour of your typical diet.

The problem I see is that a lot of the people who are "doing" atkins haven't actually read it (typical example of laziness if you ask me), instead they just start eating all the bacon, steak and other high fat meats they want and not the rest of the plan. There's a lot more to it than that. Atkins is only one of the plans out there (my wife prefers the South Beach diet for example) that promote low carbs. You can pick and choose whatever is right for you, but I figure anything that gets your weight down without relying on drugs like ephedra is going to be an improvement as long as it can work for you.

 

[Znobrdr]

No expert but hanging around the health majors and a minor (with no diets to push) tell me to use common sense.

If ya put more in than ya burn its gotta go somewhere.....

The body needs lots of different nutrients and you usually can't get them from one place

The old saying all things in moderation fits it would seem. Good luck to all of you working on it.............

 

[maineiac]

Wife is in med school, she told me atkins is good for 6-12 weeks, then after that you start to have adverse effects. They covered it in class two weeks ago I think. She said to use atkins for 4-8 then go the traditional route.

 

[flynryan15]

Hey Guys

Hey guys this is an interesting post. I have done alot of research on the Adkins Diet and many others along with various excersie routines. I myself used a self-modified Adkins Diet togo from 247lbs down to 170. I also involved a high cardio excersise plan to do so. Presently I am 190-195 lbs with a BMI of 9.2(Body Mass Index) at 6'1. BMI is the percent of muscle to fat in you body so right now I am 90.8 Muscle 9.2 fat.

Now for you concerns about the Adkins Diet if done wrong yes you could eventually end up raising your Chorlestrol which in turn could cause heart problems. Ideally you want a 1/4 gram of sugar carb intake per pound of body wight a day to loose weight.

Keep in mind that being a Carbohydate Addict is much more dangerous and yes a Carbohydrate Addict is now a clinical fact.

Another issue with the Adkins Diet is most people don't do the research and just stop eating carbs hell I have friends live on Chicken water and broccoli. What will happen then is you become hypoglysemic and eventually pass out.

My best advice to you is to do some online reseach get to know your body and you metabolic rates. Develope an exercise plan that is right for you your weight loss goals and your life style. Remember what worked for me might not work for you. I am not saying it won't just realize that.

Also you can do your body alot of harm in damage if you don't exercise right.

Another suggestion I have is finding meal replacement bars to carry in your flight bags instead of airplane food. I really like the Meterex Big 100(Choclate Chip Cookie Dough) and also I low carb bar for snaking. If you are interested in these do an ask jeeves search you will save yourself 50 percent. Instead of GNC. Also protien shakes the more protien you take in the quicker your weight loss.

Anyway those are my thoughts, I am currently researching a Pilots Diet and exercise plan my motivation is I lost my dad over the summer who was a airline Captain. Lets just say his diet was not great and add in the stressful job that is seditary and you have a massive heart attack at age 54.

I am willing to help anyone in anyway that I can so feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns. Best of luck to everyone in achieving a healthier life style.

 

[Always deferred]

I'm glad this thread has taken on an intelligent discussion. Some great points have been brought up. The reason I began this was because I just finished taking a CPT/Nutrition course and they weren't pitching any kind of diets, but were describing how the Atkins, South Beach, and other fad diets aren't healthy. I wish I could post more factual info to support this, but I am still a novice in the field and I couldn't take notes fast enough, but I will post info as I learn it. One thing I do remember is that the weight that is lost in the Atkins diet is not the weight you want to lose. As carbs are depleted in the system, the body, using its natural starvation protection logic, looks for a source of "fuel" wherever that may be. THe weight that comes off is the body burning water, muscle, sugar and only some fat. The excessive protein intake cannot be readily processed by the liver and is redistributed through the blood stream where it causes gout (arthritis) like symptoms in the joints and muscles.

The best thing to do is use small portions at each meal, exercise 3-5 times a week, and believe it or not, the more water you drink (esp us pilots up there in the dry air) the more healthy you system will work. (including the lower back because the disks are made of 75% water)

Anyway sorry if Im preaching but having just learned all this Im quite excited and just want to try and help educate others.

 

[flynryan15]

You are right

I did forget to mention about the water intake. You have to drink alot of water think of it as flushing your system. After reading what I posted I forgot to mention the biggest problem that people on Adkins incure as you stated (is losing the wrong weight.)

There are Complex Carbohydrates and Sugar Carbohydrates. The Carbs that you want to eliminate so you lose the right weight are the sugar carbs. Complex Carbs are the ones your body will process to replenish your muscles while you exercise.

Remember there are also different kinds of proteins aswell but you can use protein to stop the acidics from breaking down your muscle fiber as you work out.

My theroy on dieting and exercise is this. They are like sex you have to mess around and experiment to find out what works best for your body and gives you the best results.

And for the love of god stay away from the Cinnabuns and Star Bucks that $hit is like plumbers Puddy to your Arteries.

Also anytime you go to the gym start on the bike, aliptical, stair master or treadmill not only does it warm you up but when your legs are exercised they produce your own HGH which stimulates fat burn and muscle regrowth

Like I said before any questions feel free to ask.

 

[JediNein]

It was interesting to see the Carl's Jr. ad in the Sunday Paper. The "low-carb" 6 Dollar Burger wrapped in lettuce, not a whole grain bun.

It's only 490 calories, 1/3 of most folk's daily calorie intake, especially those trying to lose weight. . .

For those on 2000 calorie diets (active duty military in boot camp), the burger is 53% of the daily salt intake, 56% of the daily fat intake, but only 6 carbs.

Drink water, yes, but coffee in large quantities works well, too. I think it is at the 36 cup point where the dieuretic effect is canceled out. . .

Keep the comments coming!

Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein

 

[flynryan15]

I am not familar with that

I can't really speak on the low-cal or low fat gram deits I have never tried them. I researched them alittle bit and quickly decided I can not eat that way and survive.

like I said before for those who are just starting to exercise take it easy I see alot of peole end up having to have surgery because they over do it tear something.


Ryan

 

[SaladShooter]

Dude, if you got a BMI of 9.1 you are in some serious trouble

BMI Weight Status
Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5 – 24.9 Normal
25.0 – 29.9 Overweight
30.0 and Above Obese

Taken from the cdc website

Wife has a Masters in Human Dietitics and is a Dietitian. The Adkins is good for the short term but is will lead to an unhealthy lifestyle if used for too long of a time. This is true for all diets though. The only PROVEN weight loss program out there is a change in your lifestyle. If you keep it simple it is not really that hard, intake less calories and expend more calories than you take in. The best way to do this is eating a variety of foods and increasing your exercise. Check out the CDC website and ADA website about proper lifestyle changes to help you lose and keep the weight off.

 

[SaladShooter]

This is a great website for those interested in Diets

http://www.eatright.org/Public/

 

[WileE]

Some points on the thread.

First of all, it's good to see a decent discussion on something on this forum. That doesn't happen often enough.

I'll try to answer some of the points from Dr. Atkins and Dr. Agatston's (Southbeach) approaches.

ZNOBRDR: Yes you have to get nutrients from somewhere, that's why vitamin and mineral supplements are so important early on in the diets. You can make up those important things later on once you have gotten near the target weight and enter into Maintenance/Phase 3. Moderation is very important in both diets. You eat until you are satisfied and then STOP. You don't try and stop eating before then because you end up always hungry and then everyone except the people with the best willpower end up bingeing. That is the fate of most of the other diets out there that count calories.

MAINEIAC: Sounds like your wife's class covered the first phase of atkins called induction. That is where you cut out almost all carbs. It results in the fastest weight loss and he and the South beach diet only mandates staying on that for 2 weeks, after that you start adding in carbs slowly until you reach an equilibrium. If you have a LOT of weight to lose you can stay on induction longer but for most people you will only stay on the most restrictive phase for a couple weeks. If you go off the diet for a special occasion (traditional Christmas meal for example) you can go on induction a bit before and after to limit the impact of such carb loading, you shouldn't make a habit of it though.

FLYRYAN15: I think you have your BMI a little screwy too. You are talking about your percent body fat which is totally different. If you are 6'1" and 190 pounds your BMI is just a smidge over 25 which is considered overweight by the NIH. That is the problem with the BMI chart, it doesn't consider the level of fitness of the individual. Your typical athlete or body builder would come in on the chart as obese or morbidly obese even if their percent body fat is very low.

ALWAYS DEFERRED: You are spot on with the water. Atkins recommends drinking at least 8 12 ounce glasses of water a day (for South beach- 2 or 3 quarts, however many ounces that is). The vast majority of Americans go through life chronically dehydrated which can lead to headaches and lack of energy at one end and kidney disease and possibly cancer at the other.

Also if the class you went to is saying that about the kind of weight you are trying to lose, I wonder what diet they are talking about because it isn't atkins or south beach. What you are talking about is what can happen on a low calorie diet when you haven't regulated the amount of insulin in your system.

The whole point of the induction/phase 1 period is to get your body into the mode where it uses the weight you want it to use, lypolysis. The idea is to get your body into using ketones for fuel instead of glucose, where it is using the stored fat for energy, the only possible way to get it out of your body. The body is evolved to use that stored fat during periods of starvation, it does not imbibed protein into energy. Your body only uses its structural protein as a last resort. Blood sugars first, stored fat second, then after all that is used up, proteins. If you ran out of stored fat your body would begin burning muscle, but most americans are a LONG way from that. The great thing about being in lypolysis is that when your body processes fat for energy it converts them into ketones. When your body converts carbs to glucose for energy any excess to your imediate needs are converted to glycogen for use as an immediate source of energy stored in the liver and muscles. But there is a very limited amount of glycogen that your body can store there, the rest is all converted by the liver into fat and stored in your belly and other unappealling places. If your body is converting fat into ketones for energy it converts more than you need "right now", but unlike glucose or glycogen, the body cannot metabolize ketones back into fat. It is a one way process for our systems. Any excess ketones not immediately used are flushed out naturally in the urine.

JediNein: You are right, the diuretic effect of coffee isn't a problem. However the caffeine is a big problem. Caffeine causes a hypoglycemic reaction in your blood (low blood sugar) by stimulating the pancreas, which causes food cravings and a tendency to overeat. If you can eliminate it great, but at least moderate it to one or two cups a day. Both South Beach and Atkins recommend that if you need caffeine, tea is a better choice. There is lots of evidence that tea can a beneficial role in the prevention of heart disease and prostate cancer.

SaladShooter: The Atkins and South Beach diet are all about changing your lifestyle, that's why there are several phases after the first one. The idea is to get you to a point of balance in your system where you can enjoy what you eat and maintain a steady, healthy weight. The idea in both diets is to take advantage of the metabolic benefit of burning fat instead of the simple sugars. At the end of both diets you are eating a wide variety of foods like most vegtables, fruits, lean meats and even whole grain foods like pastas and some breads. You have more energy so want to get out more for exercise and not sleep as much.



To everyone: All I can really say is that this diet is working great for me. I was doing the low-fat thing for a while and it wasn't working. This diet has been relatively painless. I enjoy the variety of foods I can eat and its only getting better with food companies recognizing the market for low carb. The benefits I enjoyed were immediate. I have more energy, I'm not crashing in the middle of the day anymore and countering it with caffeine and a candy bar. I feel better, no more headaches from caffeine withdrawal or low blood sugar. I've lost 25 pounds since October and am wearing pants I haven't fit in since I left the army. I'm don't have hunger cravings anymore and the sweet tooth I've always suffered from is gone. I haven't gotten to my target weight yet, I have a bit more to go, but for once I'm confident that I can get there and stay there.

 

[chperplt]

The South Beach Diet is GREAT!!!

It takes the low carb aspect from Atkins, but has you eat plenty of veggies. You eat lean meats with low saturated fat, rather than the high saturated fats of atkins.

The diet was developed by a Cardiologist and seems to work wonders for people who are prediabetic or diabetic, and for woman with PCOS. I've dropped just about 20 lbs in the first two weeks. Very easy to stay on with no hunger between meals and plenty of energy.

 

[flynryan15]

Saladshooter and Wilie

You are right I typed that wrong the BMI is the generic chart that basically makes everyone in this country fat.

The numbers I was refering to was the percentage of muscle to fat in my body. Which is figured out by taking your bady fat which at 6'1 190 gives me a Ponderal Index of 12.7 or a body fat of 19.6 or 37.3lbs of fat. Which as you guys have stated is obese, but the scale that is used to determine it for the individual and forgive me I can't recall the name takes into account waste size which for me is a 31 or 32 depending on the brand. That then tells me my body fat is 9.9% or 18.8 lbs of fat. My goal is 185lbs 31 inch waist which puts me at 8.1%

I actually have the formulas for this if you guys are patient I just moved and as I unpack I will find them and post them so you have them.

As far as the proper terms go I admit I am weak, but what I am able to do and have done for not only myself, but several friends and others is help you find out why your deit isn't working and give you pointers or even design an exercise plan for you to meet your goals.

Best of luck everyone sorry for the confusion in my earlier post hopes this helps to clear it up. Fly safe and keep the Blue side up

Ryan

 

[WileE]

The formulas are okay

To a point, but if anyone really wants the best way to measure your percent body fat (unless they've come up with something new recently that I don't know about) then it's the immersion test. What they do is measure how much water you displace when you float in a tub of water. They then use that figure to calculate your percentage of body fat. Problem is it's hard to find a health club or clinic that has the equipment and training to do the test.

 

[SaladShooter]

The water test for body fat is a great test, I would also recommend a high quality electrical test for body fat to go with it. Once you have those two tests done you can get a caliper test and see how much the overall error is and then figuire out a formula to correct the caliper test in the future. The reason that is a good idea is that the caliper test is realitivly inexpensive compared to the two other tests and can be done quite easy. If you are lucky your gym has great deals on body fat tests and you can have all three done for about 150 bucks.

I will admit I have never read the Adkins diet but I have read alot of research about it in my wifes monthly peroidicals that is pucblished by the American Dietitic Association. The problem they see with the Adkins diet is Americans always think that if low carbs is good for you no carbs is even better. If a little fat is good for you alot of fat is great for you. It does not work that way. Just remember all you are doing in this diet and others is redistrubuting where the calories are coming from. A carb has more calories than a fat or protein so if you cut down on carbs you cut down on the overall calories you intake.

I also admit I have never been on a diet in my life, if I see I am overweight I just pump out a few more miles on my bike each and every day and it comes off quite quickly. In addition I try to avoid high fructose corn syrup as it is nothing more than empty calories, that means no to little soda. But as they say different strokes for different folks, just do what works for you and just make sure you stay healthy as your job depends on it.

Nice to see an adult discussion on this web site for once.

By the way anybody road bikers, I mean bicycling, living in NOVA I am trying to get together a weekly ride once the weather warms up. Just PM me and we can try to work out a little peleton for the spring.

 

[WileE]

Actually

A carb calorie is the same as a fat calorie, it's just a unit of measurement. It's just that the body has to expend energy to extract those calories from the food. In the case of fats the body expends more energy to metabolize them into a useable form that it does simple carbohydrates, which are metabolized into glucose very easily. You can actually eat more calories of a fatty diet than a carb diet and end up with fewer net carbs. Its called metabolic advantage.

Of course there are some fats you should avoid completely, such as hydrogenated fats and trans fats. They have no place in either diet. Also total calories from fat as opposed to protein and carbs should not exceed 20% of your total. The biggest advantage of consuming the proper fats in your diet is that they make you feel full quicker and taste better, meaning it's easier to stay on this kind of diet.

I believe you are dead on accurate that a lot of people claiming to be on the Atkins diet have not researched the diet at all and have no clue about how to go about it properly. It's that kind of half-arsed approach that get them in trouble. The biggest problem with organizations like the ADA is that they are an institution that has been highly invested in their philosophy of weight loss for decades. Trying to get an organization such as that to change is pretty difficult, there will be lots of resistance to any new ideas that would force them to admit that they could have been wrong all along. Some of these groups are more accepting of the new studies that find the low-carb approach both healthy and effective and some are not.

It sounds to me that you are one of those guys blessed with a good metabolizism and a great work ethic as far as exercise goes. Just be careful as you get older, metabolisms tend to slow down (**CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** it all) and you may find that you have to keep adding more and more miles to your routine to stay at the same weight. Not necessarily a bad thing but you should keep it in mind. Some people are affected more than others.

 

[chperplt]

If you read the South Beach Diet, the Dr. there is saying that by eating a low carb (good carb), low fat diet, you are allowing the proper amounts of insulin to be produced at the proper time. By doing this, your body turns off the "I need to store food" switch, and turns on the "It's time to burn this fat" switch.

He says that most people who's body chemistry is messed up carry most of their weight around their midsection. (That's me!!)
He calls them prediabetic and prone to heart problems.

Like I said in my earlier post, I'm dropping about 1 to 1.5 lbs each day so far. Most of the weight has come off my midsection. The true test will be 6, 9, 12 months from now, but I think as far as losing weight the proper way, this is the best "plan" I've seen so far. I've been on Atkins, Pritikin, and all others.

 

[cmonkey]

As said the low carb, high protien diets are great for quick weight loss, but there are downsides. One that hasn't been touched on is the damage that a high protien diet can do to your kidneys. After talking to a urologist and other Dr.'s they say that breaking down protein in high amounts causes excessive work for your kidneys. In addition to this some of the foods, ie cheeses and protien shakes mixed with milk, are high in calcium. Most males have gotten all of the calcium needed for development by the end of their teens and as such excessive amounts afterwards are just that, excessive. This MAY lead to kidney stones, which as anyone who has had them will tell you are not pleasant. Not to mention from a pilot's stand point an additional pain due to medical certification concerns. Most of us eat poorly due to quick turns or financial concerns, but drinking plenty of water during the day, steering clear of too fast food, along with exercise can go a long way in terms of how we feel overall now and in the long run. Not that it will make a 0500 show any less painful.