The starter of this thread left this forum 6 months ago....

haha yeah but everyone loves a bit of conflict.

I don't actually look at dates but more of what new topic pops up in each forum

How did you measure your body fat? What is your lower body workout? How would you describe your aerobic fitness?
I agree with alot of what has been said

- all calories are not created equal; Eating 3500 extra calories of refined sugar is different then 3500 calories that are low on the glycemic scale

- You will lose fat when you burn 3500 calories more then you consumed

- Protein is essential to build muscle; more muscle acclerates your metabolism and strengthens bones as well

- Endurance Aerobics, such as triatholon or Marathon training, requires a majority carb diet b/c exercise is over 1 hour and the HR is b/t 70-90% of MHR (fat can't be used as a fuel in this case); there are 280 million people in the US; the number that run sub 4 hr Marathons consistently would fit comfortably into the seating capacity at Wrigley Field and are thus the (very small) minority who can consume carbs

- Whether you have glycogen stores or not you will burn fat if your HR is b/t 50-70% of your MHR

- the goal should be the lowest possible BFP; 2-6% is essential fat for men however some can get down to 4%.

My $.02

I don't think 3-5% bodyfat is healthy........sure, be that way if you want to be a professional body builder but on an otherwise healthy adult...YUK!!!! The high protein/low carb approach is not going to work for people that really do not have much weight to lose.....so then you have to decide if you chose this new WOL to lose weight and eat healthier.....or just to eat healthier. I personally believe that for "Mr. Muscles"...a low fat, high protein, mod carb diet would be better.....and he probably had no right doing a low carb/high protein. If his is truly a bodybuilder, he would of known that already....because they are so into nutrition. I think he is just trying to "makes waves". I like my man with a little bit of meat on him, especially when I cuddle. I don't want to be cuddling with "stick man"....

I have to say in my situation, I was thin for a long time most of my life - I worked out 4x a week at the gym, followed all the rules for low fat, high carb dieting, and you know what? I was miserable. I was constantly hungry, but scared to death to put anything extra in my mouth for fear of gaining weight - which I did very easily on the low fat and high carb diet. My life revolved around food. After having my duaghter, I gained about 80 pounds because, as a now single mom, my lifestyle changed drastically. I was unalbe to cart a baby to the gym, didn't know anyone in the city and basically stayed home and ate myself silly.

Now, with low carbing with atkins- whcih believe me, terrified me to start due to the horror stories in the news..I feel better than I have in years, I have tons of energy and no "tired peaks' during the day!! I am not craving food or sweets all day long, I am eating much healthier meals - and honestly, not being able to get low carb meals in restaurants isn't such a bad thing - because a "favorite" meal in a controlled environment (in other words - no seconds) is a treat I allow myself when I reach different goals. I have learned to cook nutrisiouly at home. As well, I have figured out how to put excersize back into my routine, and can honeslty say this way of life is for me.

I know someday soon - after I have more control over my own eating patterns that my favorite pasta WILL cross my lips again , but I will be in control - not the food. This way of life has taught me that you don't have to go through life hungry and miserable all the time.

Just my two cents...

All I know 100% is that when I'm on the LC I'm not HUNGRY. Thus I eat less of everything including FAT. I believe the SCIENCE of LC explains why. BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some people like me just have out of whack systems and LC works.

Read "The Secret to Low Carb Success"

Like teresamay, I tried it their way. And it worked, as long as you can keep up with the exercise needed.
As soon as I got sick and couldn't keep up my schedule, that same way of eating really put on the pounds.
So I'm not a healthy person. I'm a MUTANT. I have to eat in a way that works for my body.
And I have lot of company.

You know, this is a board about people losing weight. Obviously, most of our posters aren't going to fit the traditional view of "healthy." But for those who stick to the program, we WILL eventually become healthy individuals. And guess what? The intelligent ones among us will stay on the diet. That means there will be "healthy folks" on a low carb diet!

Not that there AREN'T *already* "healthy folks"--on this board and elsewhere--who follow a low carb diet.

I'll never understand the people who do a low fat/high carb diet...when it WORKS for them!...voluntarily switching diets! Then acting all surprised when the dramatic switch--to the polar opposite of their previous diet, no less--makes them ill? Then making generalizations about huge groups of people based on an individual experience, in the face of hundreds of success stories?

Pff.

I'm sorry, but this is funny. At 4% bf, you're as unhealthy as I am!

Oh, and FYI, I gained weight at 1100 cals. on weight watchers, and maintained on by the book Slimfast.
I am however losing weight on 2000 cals a day Atkins. I don't have diabetes, or any other health problems.
I also don't exercise. Guess it's some miracle that's enabled this lazy pie-eating chick to lose.

I see the original poster is gone, but my 2 cents is that each person's chemistry is different.

I would never feel full on a low fat, high carb diet. Carbs just never made me feel full compared to eating a steak or other high protein foods.

I've eaten nearly a whole pound of dried pasta (cooked of course) at dinner and still didn't feel full. Cooked weight with sauce is probably close to two pounds of food!

Yes, I've been a glutton and had wild swings in my weight, but when I seriously diet, pretty much all the plans will work for me. That said, the Low Carb diet is the most fun. Previous to this diet, I used a diet that was similar but was called the drinking man's diet. I lost about 30lbs and got smashed about twice a week and had a blast.

Atkins doesn't encourage drinking, but I am a scotch drinker so it's great to be able to have a few drinks occasionally without going off diet. For those who don't like drinking hard liquor straight, I found the LC marguerita mix with tequila to be surprisingly delicious!

As far as his comment about 6 miles with an 80lb backpack, altitude gain is a big factor. On a 11 day backpack trip we were routinely backpacking 15-20 miles per day and 5000 ft gain with 30-40lbs packs.

Doing that, no need to worry about LC, LF or dieting as you cannot possibly eat as much food as the calories you are burning is around 5000+ calories per day. Every one in my group was losing about 2 pounds per day and eating as much as we possibly could. In the 11 days 150+ (2 layover days) miles I dropped about 20 pounds when I wasn't trying to lose weight.

Er, got OT but my main comment is people are different and to categorize us all in one is wrong.

Well, obviously. If you don't need to lose weight, don't enter a weight loss plan, period!

If you look at what people eat on the Atkins lifetime maintenance, you'll see a very balanced diet. Lots of veggies, a bit of meat, plenty of "good" fats (olive oil, avocado, etc.), berries, and a little whole-grain food.

Nobody needs to eat white bread and refined sugar, no matter how healthy they are! A managed carb plan would probably work very well to help people who are healthy stay that way, to help manage insulin levels.

actually, i was on weight watchers before i found atkins... i did very well on it and lost 50 pounds, but after months of it i found that i was starving and could not imagine eating another veggie... i took a month to decide wether to do atkins, i read the book twice and made my decision. i went and had my blood work done, my triglycerides where 350 after doing ww for 6 months that made my decision easy... so i started atkins and 3 months later my tryglycerides where down to 73 . i have more energy than i ever have and i feel a great sense of well being daily.. i'll never change the way i eat now, losing weight or not, it's a healthy way to eat... all natural foods, how can you question that? so flame on who cares =)

ozziesgirl. Oh man I can't stop laughin.. That was so damn funny.

That's how I feel, and what kept me going through three months of no weight-loss.

Actually before Atkins I was on a so-called healthy diet. Mueslix for breakfast, yogurt for snacks, for lunch- a salad. For dinner, maybe once a week, I hit up Wendy's.