I was in the gym this morning and talking to one of the trainers there. He was very positive and had a lot of great things to say, HOWEVER . . . he bashed my beloved Atkins WOE and did say 'fat makes you fat'. Argh! However he did make some good points, I just want to make sure I am on the right track . . .
He suggested I eat a low glycemic carb meal before weightlifting (a bowl of oatmeal) and drink something high carb right after. I understand the preworkout carbs, but not the after workout. I have done so well with Atkins and am truly terrified of carbs especially simple carbs. Since I am following a modified Atkins with lower fat and more low glycemic carbs, I don't want to mess up. What do y'all think? I tell you, the nutrition part of this is harder than the workouts! -- Toni

Toni, I'm sure you've heard the saying 'if it's not broke, don't fix it". It applies here. If what you're doing is providing the results you wanted then leave it be. Information overload can mess with your head - big time.

You'll find that everyone at the gym will have an opinion - some will be more vocal than others and some will be more acredited than others If your plan is working, it is working.

The post workout carbs are to quelsh the cortisol that is produced when your body has been stressed. Carbs produce glucose which creates insulin, which renders your body anabolic (muscle growing). Cortisol is catabolic (muscle wasting) as is working out. By producing a controlled insulin spike you're setting your body to muscle building ASAP and helping it shuttle the amino acids from the protein into the muscle.

I've done BFL both ways - low carbs and higher carbs (90-100g) and I've grown muscle both ways. By eating low carb (30-40g) and high fat I lost more fat and maintained muscle mass. It all depends on your goals.

Nat

I've been checking out a really good website on natural bodybuilding and find the same thing... they bash the LC lifestyle... or at least what they call the "very low carb" WOE. So, I skip over that and just figure they probably have never even tried the LC WOE and have no idea.

As long as I'm still feeling good doing it "my way", I don't intend to change.

Well, most bodybuilding sites bash "LC" diets because LC diets alone simply don't lead to the well muscled bodies that are the norm in bodybuilding circles. The problem is that most people that come to LC diets come wanting to lose fat. Plain and simple. How often do you see a person jumping into a LC diet to gain muscle (which burns away fat in the long run)? I've never seen a muscular, healthy person come up and say they were on Atkins... or any other "LC" diet for that matter. If you take on the other hand how many people step directly towards bodybuilding and don't focus on the "LC" aspect of losing fat, they usually achieve excellent results and burn massive amounts of fat without severely restricting their carbs... at least healthy low GI carbs. Think about it.

This is not true, Inigo. You are making generalizations on a subject that you don't know that much about - it's dangerous. Take a look through our Health forum - you'll see why many of us are here: Cholesterol/Heart Disease, Crohn's and IBS, Arthritis, Thyroid Disease, Diabetes, PCOS, Fybro, S.A.D., Candida, Hypoglycemia, and the biggie, Insulin Resistance.

You just met one. Brenda. This kinda makes me chuckle, if you must know - the most common comment I get these days is "Do you ever look fit and healthy"

If you want to meet a few more of us muscular, healthy LCers check out:

My Gym Log - I've been low carbing for a year now.
Marlaine's gym log - M is coming up to her year anniversary on Atkins and has completed 2 Challenges
Judy's gym log
D's gym log
Lisaf's gym log - Lisa completed a BFL Challenge
Niky's Gym log - Niky is doing BSBW
KT's gym log - KT is doing BodyRx

Nat

I am not speaking for people with medical conditions. If I were in the Healtl forum making these statements I could see your point.



Hmm.. I didn't really think BFL was a "LC diet". I know they stress eating low glycemic carbs for a stable metabolism, but other than that... ?? Resistance training is the most important factor in BFL... as it should be.




Are there any photos in these logs? Not sure if I'm accessing the right thing here...

The most important part of any exercise program is always the nutrition. We do the BFL (or other program) exercise but use LC nutrition - because this is a LC forum and LC nutrition is what works for us.

I am not sure if there are pictures in the gym logs - they are usually posted in the members' journals.

Nat

You cannot separate the members doing BFL from their illnesses. Some of THEM - the women doing BFL - have PCOS, Thyroid diesease, diabetes, cholesterol problems.

I think you may be missing the point that LC came first - BFL exercise is something that was added to complement a LC WOL (way of life).

N

Just have to jump in here....


YES!! I was very much low carb the whole time. If you click on my www, then you can look through my fitday food journal for the entire challenge.

Peace,
Brenda

edit~ the entire CKD area is low carb too. Just look at dan, et al.

In the event you missed it, Inigo, on the main forum page (where you have to register then access the BFL suforum) you see this:



Nat

Actually, compared to the way that most Amercian's eat, I'd say the Body For Life diet is pretty low carb.

Even Dr. Atkins in DANDR says that a vigorously active person can intake 90-100 g of carbs and potentially still lose weight. It depends on the individual.

Considering that a Big Mac, Fries, and a coke has over 300 grams of carbs, the 125 that I eat on the BFL plan per day still falls in the low carb category.

The Zone, BFL, SP, and Atkins Maintenance are all low carb eating plans. You just have to find the degree of low carb that works for you.

Agree?

And wow! This BFL forum finally heated up! Let me hear a shout out for all of the BFLers out there!

BFLing, and feelin' fine!

What is the 'T-Dawg' plan you are on? Sounds interesting!! -- Toni

Toni, I'm not Nat, but I can point you in the right direction. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do hot-links (I keep trying but they don't work), but I can tell you that starting about page 132 or 134 (or so) in Nat's journal you will find the info you are looking for on the "T-Dawg".

HTH,

I'd agree 100%. And also, compared to the way most Americans eat, BFL could be considered pretty high protein.... and high cardio, and high resistance training. Get my point?

However, it makes me shudder to hear someone compare the BFL program to the Atkins Diet. BFL has a sensible approach to carbohydrates and fats. BFL is teaching you the best types of foods to eat... where Atkins would have you almost completely removed from carbohydrates of any type... and I'm saying that I think this is dangerous. I see otherwise healthy people who might be 10-20-30 pounds jumping to Atkins because of the "success" stories. I'm here to say there are more sensible approaches to a LONG TERM healthy, lean, muscular body. If you are simply on the "Atkins diet", with little or no weight training, you are causing your metabolism to creep. Guess what. God forbid you ever start eating more that the spinkle of carbs you're currently on because you will balloon. Your metabolism is so low that your body is actually less "capable" of burning fat than before you started the Atkins diet.



Sorry but I don't agree. The Zone and BFL should not be considered in the same light as the Atkins diet. Maybe it's just that we see "LC" in a different way. You refer to LC as it compares to the "normal" American way of eating. I refer to it as a program that disregards the complex nature of carbohydrates and tries to remove carbs from your diet... turning "carbohydrate" itself into a "bad" word.

I, for the most part, subscribe to the BFL program. There are other "programs" out there that seem very sensible and healthy as well. Atkins ain't one of 'em. I've read on this very forum where people are in "induction" for several weeks and MONTHS at a time. It's ridiculous people. Less than 20 grams of carbs a day?

I'm not sure that you've actually read DANDR. If you had, you would understand that 20 grams of carbs/day is what is recommended for the 2 week induction period. That two week period is used as an adjustment period, and is meant to help you get over carbohydrate cravings, and give your body a period of time to adjust to the low carb way of eating.

Atkins recommends adding in as many carbs as you can handle and still lose weight or maintain weight. To say that the Atkins plan is limited to 20 carbs/day, and that is what the plan is 100% about is uninformed.

I was not comparing BFL and Atkins. I was saying that even Atkins talks about upping your carb levels for vigorous exercise, and states that a person can go up to 100 grams of carbs/day and still lose weight. 100 grams/day is about what I find myself coming to on the BFL plan. Not comparing the plans....just comparing the carb level that works for me under the conditions of vigorous exercise.

I think that it is a common misconception for people to dismiss the Atkins diet because they do not realize that the diet goes so far beyond the 2 weeks of 20 g/day induction phase.