Atkins vs Keto

RyanB

RyanB

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Those of you on Keto...

How sustainable do you feel like it is? Seems like Atkins is the better way to go in the long run.
 
I follow a low carb lifestyle combined with watching calories currently. I did Atkins back in the mid 90’s. Read the book, made notes and followed it religiously and lost 53 pounds. Didn't have to watch calories at that point in my life. Now 20+ years later watching the calorie intake has become important.
 
Yeah, I mean basically the same. Just eat what you want and keep your carbs down to 20-30 grams and you'll be fine. Watch the sugar.
 
I go the Atkins route.gets harder as you age.
 
I think neither is sustainable. I am now down 42lbs by watching what I eat and increasing my activity level. I did pretty much eliminate rice, breakfast cereals, potatoes and pasta from my diet. Still eat bread, but never as a snack. Lots of salads, less BBQ. A can of soda is a treat, other than that it's water or ice tea. Keto is attractive to some because it offers the promise to eat piles of meat while still losing weight.
 
I lived that diet pretty much all my life. I have a mild case of celiacs disease. I have relatives with severe ceiliacs. I am not fat.
 
Did the Atkins 20 years ago and lost 60#. Also met Dr. Atkins at a book signing. Approachable fellow.
 
Unit74 said:
I went Keto today at Arby’s. After all, they say WEVE GOT DA MEATS! it was a good start I think.
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So what did you have? A Beef n Cheddar hold the bun?
 
I’ve been doing Keto for the last 3-4 months. I don’t see it as a sustainable diet. It’s helping me lose weight and eat some foods that I don’t usually eat when dieting.
For me, I think the diet is too restrictive to be sustainable.
I think it also lends itself to gluttony when you decide to have a cheat. If you kick yourself out of ketosis, then you want to eat all your cravings before you go through the effort of getting back into it.

I previously lost 40# just counting calories. I prefer this method because I can have pretty much anything I crave; it’s just about portion control.

I’m sticking with Keto for now because my wife is having success and calorie counting doesn’t work for her.
 
There are a lot of Keto recipes that can replace some of the things you crave. I like pancakes. We have them every other week using a Keto recipe that uses Almond flour and eggs. Same with pizza, I have two different ways to make pizza that are Keto friendly.

All of these things require a true lifestyle change to maintain. If you're not willing to make the change you soon find yourself back where you began. I made that mistake once and do not plan on making it again.
 
Calories... just count calories... I did the Atkins 30 years ago... the problem appears to be that you can eat as much as you want of the right stuff. So if overeating is your problem, the diet does nothing to change that behavior. So when yo come off the diet...BOOM! Back comes the poundage... I Lost 70 Lbs on 2000 calories a day and maintain it with around 3k a day. Only dedicated exercise is a 2 mile aerobic walk 3 times a week.
 
My approach to long term weight management......don’t get fat in the first place.
A lifelong attention to caloric intake and physical activity. Match one vs the other over the long term and there you are.
I still contend, in the grand scheme of things, calories are calories....both in and out.
 
wrbix said:
I still contend, in the grand scheme of things, calories are calories....both in and out.
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Yes and no. There are a couple of percentage points difference in how calories from protein vs. calories from carbs are processed.
 
weilke said:
Yes and no. There are a couple of percentage points difference in how calories from protein vs. calories from carbs are processed.
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....IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS...:rolleyes:
 
Substitute "lifestyle change" for "sustainable diet" to see what you really need to do. A doctor friend lost 90 lbs on Atkins, 20 years ago. Kept it off, because his lifestyle is low-carb. As we age, we tend to be less active; that's a lifestyle change as well.
You can eat less food, you can become more active, you can eat foods which don't tend to make you fat, your choice. But whatever you chooe must become part of your lifestyle, forever. Those that are successful in keeping fit and trim owe that success to their lifestyle.
As to the calories in vs. calories out, due to the lousy way we measure calories, that isn't quite so. A chunk of ash wood may have n calories when tested, but will not supply your body with much energy. A baked potato, on the other hand, is extremely easy for your body to break down and quickly raise your blood glucose. Your body likes to store excess fuel, unfortunately, so unless you are burning it, you are wearing it. A chunk of pig or cow reacts differently still. And some of us simply eat to excess (and I am one of them), perhaps under the stress of our job (it will be interesting to see what happens when I retire!)
 
FastEddieB said:
I subscribe to a podcast called Skeptoid. The fellow recently took a skeptical look at the Keto diet.
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I've seen many skeptical looks at it. Still works and still made all my vitals 'normal' or better and lost over 100 lbs doing it. There's always skeptics with any kind of diet.

But the article really isn't that skeptical. Just some contrary observations that he doesn't set in stone. Fair enough article and I could answer some of his points. Maybe I will later.
 
FastEddieB said:
I subscribe to a podcast called Skeptoid. The fellow recently took a skeptical look at the Keto diet.

Read here: https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4664
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I bet a lot of cardiologists will be surprised at the last sentence:

"Where you get your calories just doesn't matter all that much."
​
What I want to know is who here actually has known artery disease and opted for Keto to fight it.
 
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Ryanb said:
Those of you on Keto...

How sustainable do you feel like it is? Seems like Atkins is the better way to go in the long run.
Click to expand...

Calories in - calories out = delta(weight).
Nutritional studies are notoriously difficult to do properly because the tools for tracking humans are really bad.
Eat a balanced diet. Exercise. Have good genes. Live long and prosper.
Keep track of what you eat. I use MyFitnessPal. It's linked to my GarminConnect site that grabs data from my Garmin VivoSmart HR so I get a reasonable analysis of my intake and exercise budget.
Track your weight weekly and adjust caloric intake and exercise as appropriate.
Typically you should lose 1 - 1.5 lbs per week max.
It ain't rocket science but it ain't easy either (currently trying to drop back to a more reasonable weight and damn I love me a big old juicy burger with a pile-o-fries and a real milkshake).
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Substitute "lifestyle change" for "sustainable diet" to see what you really need to do. A doctor friend lost 90 lbs on Atkins, 20 years ago. Kept it off, because his lifestyle is low-carb. As we age, we tend to be less active; that's a lifestyle change as well.
You can eat less food, you can become more active, you can eat foods which don't tend to make you fat, your choice. But whatever you chooe must become part of your lifestyle, forever. Those that are successful in keeping fit and trim owe that success to their lifestyle.
As to the calories in vs. calories out, due to the lousy way we measure calories, that isn't quite so. A chunk of ash wood may have n calories when tested, but will not supply your body with much energy. A baked potato, on the other hand, is extremely easy for your body to break down and quickly raise your blood glucose. Your body likes to store excess fuel, unfortunately, so unless you are burning it, you are wearing it. A chunk of pig or cow reacts differently still. And some of us simply eat to excess (and I am one of them), perhaps under the stress of our job (it will be interesting to see what happens when I retire!)
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In reference to your “lousy way we measure Calories” and your ash wood analogy: no, bomb calorimeters are not used any more....the caloric content expressed in food labels are calculated via the Atwater system of totaling carb/fat/protein components and their respective caloric densities.
 
Unit74 said:
I went Keto today at Arby’s. After all, they say WEVE GOT DA MEATS! it was a good start I think.
Click to expand...

How did you pull that off? Just toss the buns? Or did they hook you up with a lettuce wrap?
 
I will say this from lots of experience: weight loss is 100% nutrition. You lose weight in the kitchen not in the gym. The gym is gravy and everyone should exercise and try to keep physically and cardiovascular fit. I have gone through a period of weight loss working out and not working out. I lost the same amount of weight both ways, with and without exercise, in the same number of weeks. A lot of people will say it's 80/20 toward diet. That's fine too. But the point is you can't out exercise a bad diet. You have to change either what you eat your how you eat what you do eat.
 
BrianNC said:
But the point is you can't out exercise a bad diet. You have to change either what you eat your how you eat what you do eat.
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Dang somebody who actually gets it! I have friends who will spend hours in the gym and as soon as they leave go eat a subway or other fast food junk. And the occasional snickers during the day. They wonder why they can't lose weight. I tell them you can't outrun a snickers and subway ain't healthy like they say.

Keto is good I love it when on keto. It isn't even depriving me. I get to eat waffles, cheesecakes daily, pound cakes, whip cream, taco's with cheese shells, all sorts of stuff. I mean I can stay keto for life it easy for me. I combine keto with IF (intermitent fasting)as well. Keto can be slow to drop actual weight so IF ramps that up. I've was on keto for a year and at my annual physical my chesterol was down and everything was perfect. It's sustainable if you don't lock yourself into just meat and vegis. You can make some great things with almond flour and remain keto. And I'm telling ya throw in IF.
 
I will say that my toughest part on the nutrition/diet aspect isn't when at home, it's when traveling for work. Tough to find acceptable options for breakfast/lunch that don't break the bank and are fast food-ish. Eating a salad for lunch every day gets old quick. Dinner is usually easier when I have more time and can travel further for decent food.

My main problem with Keto is that fruits are pretty much a no-no, and oranges/bananas/berries are probably some of my favorite foods.
 
SoonerAviator said:
My main problem with Keto is that fruits are pretty much a no-no, and oranges/bananas/berries are probably some of my favorite foods.
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I've never been much of a fruit eater so that's never been a problem for me. But berries are OK. They're low glycemic.

Another thing you can do is 'dirty keto' and I do it some. By 'dirty' most mean eating processed foods instead of going all natural or organic. I include it to mean eating things you wouldn't normally eat on keto but you count the carbs. I keep my carbs at about 30 or less, and anything can make up those 30 carbs. All that 30 carbs could be sugar if you want. I personally don't do that because I keep my sugar intake down, but just talking about the principle. If I have poached eggs or eggs over medium with bacon or something I just like to have a piece of toast with butter to sop up that yolk. Well depending on the bread slice, it can be anywhere from about 8 to 15 net carbs. That's under my 30 carbs. I'm not always strict but I keep it within my carb limit. I also like a sandwich everyone once in awhile. So I just make a half a sandwich. Turkey and cheese with mayo or whatever. You could make a whole one and those two pieces of bread would be your carbs for the day. A banana pretty much would be your carbs for the day. Anyway, that's an option.
 
dtuuri said:
I bet a lot of cardiologists will be surprised at the last sentence:

"Where you get your calories just doesn't matter all that much."
​
What I want to know is who here actually has known artery disease and opted for Keto to fight it.
Click to expand...

I thought it was clear that in that last sentence he was just referring to various diets and their effectiveness at weight control. In fact, in the podcast he went into possible health benefits and risks associated with different diets, including the keto diet
 
FastEddieB said:
I thought it was clear that in that last sentence he was just referring to various diets and their effectiveness at weight control. In fact, in the podcast he went into possible health benefits and risks associated with different diets, including the keto diet
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If you read the last paragraph with only weight loss in mind, you're correct. I read it with health mostly in mind and he said, except for epilepsy or diabetes, the Keto diet is not likely to be of benefit, but the risk of trying it is minimal. I think most cardiologists would think otherwise, where you get your calories DOES matter. Maybe I should have used a different quote. I would like to hear from somebody who has CAD and is treating it with Keto. So far, I only know of those who think they're healthy.
 
I do Atkins, wife does Keto. They're basically the same except she has to balance fat/protein ratio which seems like a PITA to me. Atkins is easy once you figure out what has sugar and how it works in your body. Just give yourself 20ish grams of net carbohydrate a day and the weigh sheds off. Do I eat a lot of bacon? Yes. But I also eat a LOT more fresh veggies than ever because pretty much that's the only side dish I can eat. No fries, bread, sugary salads (jello, potato, fruit, etc.) So it's a good protein and some really tasty veggies. You also find yourself cooking fresh food a lot more since processed food almost always is loaded with sugar so I'd say I'm eating MUCH healthier despite the fact that I eat eggs, bacon, and red meat.

I do allow myself carbohydrates every other week or so because the body does need some of the nutritional benefits but largely I'm very content with low-carb lifestyle. I'm down 40lbs and my vitals are all well within norms.

The only thing I miss, and I miss it terribly, is beer. God, I love beer, so help me...
 
I do low carb (near Keto, but I don’t usually go into ketosis) twice a year. Just for 4 weeks at a time, to dump about 10 lbs. I put that weight back on in between because I just love all food and frequently eat to excess, lol. Been doing it this way for about 8 years or so now. My normal weight (before low carb) is about 193, so I’m not exceptionally big.

Having a son that is allergic to wheat (gluten-free diet) and managing a low carb diet is definitely more challenging than having zero diet restrictions at all. However, it’s not prohibitively so, and it’s getting easier.

A couple of things that we have found when traveling, as well when wanting to eat fast food locally, is asking/researching fast food places for low carb options. Frequently, this requires eliminating bread. But, in some cases, this isn’t a bad thing. We like a Hardee’s burger (low carb) in a lettuce wrap. If you just tell them no bun, their eyes will glaze over, but ask for low carb, and they’ll jump right on that. Jimmy Johns has their “unwhich” option, which is just fancy for lettuce wrap instead of bread. They wrap it so tight, it’s like a burrito and almost just as good. A LOT of calories/carbs come in the form of sugary drinks. Drink more water, maybe a Coke Zero as a sweet treat every 3 days or so, and unsweetened coffee/tea. Just about everything else is off limits. Condiments are pretty much off limits too. As noted, rice and potatoes are pretty much a no go. A Southwest salad with chicken from Chik Fil A, but go light on the dressing.

We stick to the above mentioned sandwiches. At home, I eat a lot of bacon, eggs, chicken, steak, etc. Steamed veggies.
 
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