Hi!

I just started Atkins again on May 3, I have lost about 8 lbs so far and am happy with the results. I would like to become a leaner and toned, I am just wondering how I am going to remove more fat by eating fat. I have read the Atkins New Diet Revolution, but still can't seem to understand the reasoning. I just can't seem to understand this concept! Do you think that Atkins combined with regular exercise and weight training will help me achive this goal?

Any clarification is much appreciated!

Lisa

Hi and welcome....

If you've read Dr. Atkins book then I guess there is not much else to say...

The idea that eating fat makes you fat is ludicrous....if you eat lettuce do you turn into a head of lettuce?

That thinking is what fueled the "low fat" fad that made me and scores of others fatter than they wanna be...

I guess the bottom line is that minimizing carbs stops the chemical reaction that causes you to store fat...and eating fat at that point has little effect on our body if we eat like this....

Personally, I've tried everything and this is the only thing that could be a way of life for me...all the others have been "diets"...something to stop at a certain point....with this way of eating...there is no finish line to cross.

I just know it works...I hope i didn't ramble too much...

bob

....Bingo ! you've got the answer in your hands........and eating fat also make you feel full for a longer time...and for some...its even take the carving out

Hi lisa,

If you want a better explanation, i'll try.

Start with the idea that fat is stored by your body ON PUPOSE for future fuel. This is a really handy feature if you're a hunter/gatherer and skipping a lot of meals.

Now..with that premise:

If what you ate when directly into your body, what you said would make perfect sense, fat would add fat, sugar would add sugar, protein would add protein, etc.

However, NONE of your food goes DIRECTLY into your body. It is ALL processed. Your body metabolizes (i.e. processes) carbohydrates the easiest of any of the foods. When you eat carbs, your body burns what it needs for immediate energy, then guess what it does with the rest....you guessed it, the body processes the excess again and turns it into fat so it can use it later.

Your body ALWAYS needs energy. Guess what it does if it doesn't have enough easy carbs on hand to turn into energy.....yep, right again, it changes to produce stuff to burn the fat in your body as energy. The byproducts of that change show up with the keto sticks.

So...if the body has carbs, it will burn carbs, if it doesn't, it will burn fat. Your body cannot process the fat as well as it can the carbohydrates so it's harder for the body to breakdown the fat and then store it for use later.

Hope this helps....if you want more..pm me.

I agree with what has been said. The book, Protein Power, offers another scientific explanation that after reading it, it was like a light bulb went off in my head.

Insulin has a partner hormone called glucagon. This hormone is produced by the pancreas, as a result of balanced insulin. When insulin is normal this hormone goes to work on maintaining healthy veins and it stimulates the removal of fats from the body. In contrast to this, people with T1 diabetes tend to be thin because they have little or no insulin in their bodies so glucagon goes a little hay wire. Fats help to balnce insulin and glucagon washes them away.

Black57

What an awesome explanation DaddioM! Now this whole process really makes sense to me also.
Krazymom

I guess I would go over the thread on "refeeds." There is is post by It's the Woo on page 2 that explains it all in detail. To paraphrase her long on and interesting post, it's the insulin.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...t=183208&page=2

Carbohydrate (sugar) spikes blood sugar. High blood sugar stimulates insulin production and promotes an insulin-dominant metabolic environment. Insulin dominance promotes energy storing, hunger, and over eating among other things. Fat requires virtually no insulin to mobilize and has no impact on blood sugar, making it metabolically neutral. Deriving the bulk of your energy from dietary fat and eliminating most dietary sugar causes your body to elevate glucagon levels in response. Glucagon encourages glucongeogenisis (the synthesis of amino acids into blood sugar), the use of stored glycogen in muscles and liver, as well as lipolysis (body fat burning).

Glucagon is the antagonist to insulin; the two hormones are completely oppositional in nature. When one elevates the other is lower, like a see saw. Insulin prepares us for the famine, and glucagon allows us to adapt to it. Insulin stores food you give it and begs for more, glucagon nixes hunger and encourages self-cannibalization. Trying to lose weight when eating a low fat and high sugar insulin stimulating/fat storing diet is kind of like trying to run a race with your foot bound to a cement block. Its torturous, and needlessly so.

Since we don't run into many famines in america , it is wise for individuals to strive to be in a state of relative glucagon dominance. Starvation isn't a threat and most people barely do more activity besides moderate walking. There is no need for the majority of people to eat foods which promote energy storage. That said, eating a high fat low carbohydrate diet promotes glucagon dominance. A low fat high carbohydrate diet promotes insulin dominance. Eat this way to maintain your weight effortlessly; eat low fat if you want to feel the character-building pain of brutal deprivation, starvation, and fruitless efforts. ... an easy choice as far as I'm concerned .

Awesome explanation ItstheWoo, I copied that as a simple sheet to explain this WOL to the non-believers. Thanks....

Wow, thank you all for your relies and explanations.

It can be a hard concept to grasp. It almost goes against everything that I've ever been taught!

Thanks again to all!

Great Job