I have been warned by so many people that the Atkins diet will cause health problems later in life if you are on it too long. I am having a hard time with the last 10 pounds, and I need to firm up my belly. I have been doing crunches and sit-ups until I can barely move, and still my lower belly has a bulge. I asked two seperate people, both body builders, which is the best thing to do to get rid of my belly. I was told that first of all, I need to get off the the Atkins diet, and do all ab workouts in the morning on an empty stomach, and then eat a good breakfast. They both told me that Atkins doesn't give you enough carbs to feed your brain, and that I can actually go crazy later if I don't get enough carbs. I have been feeling very tired lately, so I did a re-feed today, and I didn't even eat really bad stuff, I had a potato with my meat, and a sub sandwhich from subway with a regular bun, and I felt so sick...I thought that I was going to be sick!! I don't think that my body wants the carbs anymore!! Who is right?? I feel good not eating the carbs, and staying on Atkins, but I don't want to go crazy, or be sick either!! Someone else told me to go on the Zone diet, I read the book, and it is so complicated!! HELP!!!

A person is certainly not meant to stay in the induction phase for life and I could see how yes that might cause long term effects but by the time you are to the maint. phase of Atkins you get plenty of carbs.

Hi...
I just wanted to add that I have studied this way of life a lot. Both before I began and even now almost 18 months into this lifestyle I still read everything on it and try to learn as much as I can about it. I NEVER saw anything about "going crazy from not feeding your brain." I actually read studies showing that ketosis causes improvements in a person's concentration and thought clarity throughout the day.

A lot of people believe that ab workouts should be done before breakfast and that "6 pack abs" can only be the result of a strict fat free diet. This is a myth. Although I prefer working out before breakfast I am quite sure that a fat free diet will not produce abs any faster. Perhaps, watch your calorie and fat intake for a few days. Sometimes even lowcarbing people can consume too many calories.

Jenn

Dr. Atkins himself at low carb for 30+ years. He seemed pretty sharp to me.

if you check out the research forum you can find plenty of articles that will show that the brain can function just fine on ketones and I have even read somewhere that it can fucntion up to 25% better on ketones.

You get enough glucose in your 20g a day for any parts of your body that would need it and worst case assuming you didnt, your body can manufacture glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis.

If anything I would think the refeeds are more harmful. If you want to burn fat then you want your body to use ketones for energy and keep fat utilization by the body maximized.

Well, the alternative to controlling carbs (which is the long-term plan, right?) is increasing insulin resistance, weight gain as you age and metabolism slows, high LDL, increased risk for heart attack and stroke, fatigue, depression.....need I say more? You say you're feeling great--so am I! That's good enough for me!

BTW--you might want to try Pilates for your abs. I did a search for Pilates at our little local library system, and came up with 74 titles! You can probably borrow a dvd or video from your library to try out Pilates at home.

Peach

Thanks for all of the info. I did raise my carb intake somewhat because I realized that I have been mostly on the induction level all of the time!! Sometimes less than 20, but I have been eating the "net carb" candy and snacks, which I know that I need to get a grip on, so I reached for an apple instead of lo-carb chocolate, and felt great!! I only felt sick after the potato, and the same body builder people told me that I have been on a carb restricted diet for so long, my body is probably having trouble digesting the starch in it, and that's what is making me sick.

Your body probably was having a problem getting subjected to all those carbs at once. That is one of the purposes of OWL. Not only to develop healthy eating habits for life, but to rebuild your tolerence levels.

Instead of reaching for starch, why not pick up Atkins for Life? It has easy to read tables of foods to eat often, in moderation and on rare occaisons. Fruits, nuts, and even whole grains are much better for you and your body then refined sugar, flour, or high GI foods.

Native-Americans have low carbed for centuries and the biggest health mistake they ever made was "Americanizing" their diets with pasta and bread. They are paying for it with obesity and diabetes.

Did you know that sex will make you go BLIND. I just can't believe the superstitions that people believe?

I don't know about that. But the kids it produces definetly can make you crazy.