Atkins diet and building muscle?

[Michael T]

Ok here is a question for anyone who has been on the
Atkins low carb diet. My wife and I have been on it for about
a month now and we have each lost a little weight. I have been
trying to hold onto my muscle mass that I have, which isn't much.
Is it possible to actually build any muscle at all while on this diet?
Or is it just possible to keep your existing muscle and still loose
body fat?

Michael T,

[greyowl]

Originally Posted by Michael T

Ok here is a question for anyone who has been on the
Atkins low carb diet. My wife and I have been on it for about
a month now and we have each lost a little weight. I have been
trying to hold onto my muscle mass that I have, which isn't much.
Is it possible to actually build any muscle at all while on this diet?
Or is it just possible to keep your existing muscle and still loose
body fat

I don't see why you can't build muscle on this diet since it is moderately high in fat and protein.

For ther ultimate in low-carb diets that promote muscle growth check out Dr. Mauro di Pasquale's Anabolic diet. While you're on it your wife can try his Metabolic diet, which is similar but not as hard-core.

[jonny21]

Wouldn't recommend it. Carbohydrates(CHO) are a necessary part of well balanced nutrition as well as muscle growth and appearance (fullness 2* glycogen/h2o). Your body will manufacture glucose from Amino acids/ glycerol(gluconeogenesis) in the absence of CHO. Unfortuneately some of those amino acids will be obtained from your muscle stores. This is a catabolic process and your body cannot be anabolic and catabolic at the same time. Besides, you will probably feel like shit with decreased energy levels 2* low glucose levels. I am not saying CKD style of dieting does not have its place in bodybuilding; I just think it is better utilized when used during a cutting phase of training not bulking phase. JMO

[MANWHORE]

I wouldn't eat that much sat fat and expect to keep healthy .. I saw results from the PSMF diet Bob showed me ... I would keep protein high as it will not only hold muscle but it takes the most energy to digest speeding the metabolizm more than carbs and fats,eat only GOOD carbs such as Mono and Poly,and keep carbs low like under 20g/day ... That i believe is good short term but if you are looking to go long term i have a diet you may be interested in .. I didn't write it or make it up but i will send it to you,if you PM me ... It's very long and by far the best diet i have ever seen,it just takes dedication to make sure you get the right carb,pro,and fat combos at each meal .. I don't use it but i don't need to lose fat .. I need to gain weight

[hackskii]

Just found this.
Yes you can build some muscle but it wont be as fast as having a ballanced diet with the addition of carbs.

Atkins diet, or ketogenic diets do work, I have used them with very good success and swapping Ketones and FFA's for fuel rather than glucose and glycogen for fuel will help burn bodyfat.

I actually do have very high energy with sustained blood sugar levels from a ketogenic diet.
I get more tired from a traditonal diet than a keto diet, probably due to rise and spiking of blood sugars with some involvement of insulin.

Vince Gironda used to train guys on diets high in fat and protein.
There is a ton of evidence that the diet does not raise cholesterol and even some evedance that meat can lower cholesterol.

Our hormones are made from cholesterol and yes even test is made from cholesterol.
Diets low in cholesterol and fat usually have low test levels too.

Every bodybuilder I know drops carbs when dieting, many carb cycle.

Many of those polyunsaturated oils are very bad and considered rancid, many drive up AA in the body and this is a pro-inflammatory substance in the body, also drives up inflammatory eicasinoid production too.
Not to mention the typical American diet is high in Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio and polyunsaturated oils promote this ratio even higher.
Good ratio of 3 to 6 is 1/1 to 1/4 typical American diet is 1/10 to 1/25, adding more polys in the diet only raise the ratio and raise the inflammation in the body.

[MANWHORE]

Originally Posted by hackskii

Our hormones are made from cholesterol and yes even test is made from cholesterol.
Diets low in cholesterol and fat usually have low test levels too.

All cholesterol is not the same as all fats are not the same .. Sat fat is not a good thing .. were are the studies showing high levels of sat fat to be good at lowering cholesterol? .. Do i see an Eskimo study coming up some where .. I really hope not

[hackskii]

Only about 20% of our cholesterol is from diet the other 80% is manufactured by the liver.
so if you take in more cholesterol then the liver wont produce as much.
Not saying to pig out on cholesterol layden foods but you dont get high cholesterol from a typical diet that has whole foods with fruits and vegetables.

Problem is more on the lines of poor food choices that have trans fats and hydrogenated oils, too many vegetable oils, these are the foods to avoid.

Eggs, butter, cheese are just fine and everything in moderation is fine too.
just like wine, a glass is good, a bottle is bad.
Get the picture here?

There is nothing wrong with saturated fats and not if you eat a ballanced diet.
Avoiding saturated fats all together is not a good idea, you need some in your diet to be healthy and ballanced.

With your comment ManWhore that saturated fat is bad tells me you have no idea what you are talking about.

[wildfox]

Originally Posted by Michael T

Ok here is a question for anyone who has been on the
Atkins low carb diet. My wife and I have been on it for about
a month now and we have each lost a little weight. I have been
trying to hold onto my muscle mass that I have, which isn't much.
Is it possible to actually build any muscle at all while on this diet?
Or is it just possible to keep your existing muscle and still loose
body fat?

Michael T,

Get a copy of Natural Hormonal Enhancement by Rob Faigin. Much better.

WF

[hackskii]

I think I would like to read that book.

[wildfox]

Originally Posted by hackskii

I think I would like to read that book.

There is another thread in this forum about it. I know another guy on here is planning to start the diet in the book. I got my copy at www.beyond-a-century.com. You can also go to the author's website at www.extique.com.

WF

[hackskii]

Originally Posted by wildfox

There is another thread in this forum about it. I know another guy on here is planning to start the diet in the book. I got my copy at www.beyond-a-century.com. You can also go to the author's website at www.extique.com.

WF

Oh cool, thanks for that I love to read stuff like this.
Cheers

[MANWHORE]

Originally Posted by hackskii

Only about 20% of our cholesterol is from diet the other 80% is manufactured by the liver.
so if you take in more cholesterol then the liver wont produce as much.
Not saying to pig out on cholesterol layden foods but you dont get high cholesterol from a typical diet that has whole foods with fruits and vegetables.

Problem is more on the lines of poor food choices that have trans fats and hydrogenated oils, too many vegetable oils, these are the foods to avoid.

Eggs, butter, cheese are just fine and everything in moderation is fine too.
just like wine, a glass is good, a bottle is bad.
Get the picture here?

There is nothing wrong with saturated fats and not if you eat a ballanced diet.
Avoiding saturated fats all together is not a good idea, you need some in your diet to be healthy and ballanced.

With your comment ManWhore that saturated fat is bad tells me you have no idea what you are talking about.

You don't need sat fat .. you do need fat so who doesn't know what they are talking about?? AND Dietary cholesterol has nothing to do with the cholesterol in your body it's the sugar and sat fat that determines that ..

[hackskii]

Id say that if you tell me you don’t need saturated fats in your diet you need to come to the table with any information supporting your claim.
In fact if you read below your claim is not only unsupported but also unhealthy and not sound nutritional advice.



The Framingham Heart Study is often cited as proof of the lipid hypothesis. This study began in 1948 and involved some 6,000 people from the town of Framingham, Massachusetts. Two groups were compared at five-year intervals; those who consumed little cholesterol and saturated fat and those who consumed large amounts. After 40 years, the director of this study had to admit: "In Framingham, Mass, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person's serum cholesterol. . . we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active."3 The study did show that those who weighed more and had abnormally high blood cholesterol levels were slightly more at risk for future heart disease; but weight gain and cholesterol levels had an inverse correlation with fat and cholesterol intake in the diet.4

In a multi-year British study involving several thousand men, half were asked to reduce saturated fat and cholesterol in their diets, to stop smoking and to increase the amounts of unsaturated oils such as margarine and vegetable oils. After one year, those on the "good" diet had 100% more deaths than those on the "bad" diet, in spite of the fact that those men on the "bad" diet continued to smoke! But in describing the study, the author ignored these results in favor of the politically correct conclusion: "The implication for public health policy in the U.K. is that a preventive programme such as we evaluated in this trial is probably effective. . . ."5

The U.S. Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial, (MRFIT) sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, compared mortality rates and eating habits of over 12,000 men. Those with "good" dietary habits (reduced saturated fat and cholesterol, reduced smoking, etc.) showed a marginal reduction in total coronary heart disease, but their overall mortality from all causes was higher. Similar results have been obtained in several other studies. The few studies that indicate a correlation between fat reduction and a decrease in coronary heart disease mortality also document a concurrent increase in deaths from cancer, brain hemorrhage, suicide and violent death.6

[hackskii]

Mother's milk provides a higher proportion of cholesterol than almost any other food. It also contains over 50% of its calories as fat, much of it saturated fat. Both cholesterol and saturated fat are essential for growth in babies and children, especially the development of the brain.

Under your accusation of not needing saturated fats mothers milk is no good right?


As a final example, let us consider the French. Anyone who has eaten his way across France has observed that the French diet is just loaded with saturated fats in the form of butter, eggs, cheese, cream, liver, meats and rich pat's. Yet the French have a lower rate of coronary heart disease than many other western countries. In the United States, 315 of every 100,000 middle-aged men die of heart attacks each year; in France the rate is 145 per 100,000. In the Gascony region, where goose and duck liver form a staple of the diet, this rate is a remarkably low 80 per 100,000.25 This phenomenon has recently gained international attention as the French Paradox.

Can you explain this one for me if saturated fats are to be avoided?

[hackskii]

If saturated fats are so bad then why is this?

Saturated fatty acids constitute at least 50% of the cell membranes. They are what gives our cells necessary stiffness and integrity.


They play a vital role in the health of our bones. For calcium to be effectively incorporated into the skeletal structure, at least 50% of the dietary fats should be saturated.38


They lower Lp(a), a substance in the blood that indicates proneness to heart disease.39 They protect the liver from alcohol and other toxins, such as Tylenol©.40


They enhance the immune system.41


They are needed for the proper utilization of essential fatty acids.
Elongated omega-3 fatty acids are better retained in the tissues when the diet is rich in saturated fats. 42


Saturated 18-carbon stearic acid and 16-carbon palmitic acid are the preferred foods for the heart, which is why the fat around the heart muscle is highly saturated.43 The heart draws on this reserve of fat in times of stress.


Short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids have important antimicrobial properties. They protect us against harmful microorganisms in the digestive tract.
The scientific evidence, honestly evaluated, does not support the assertion that "artery-clogging" saturated fats cause heart disease.44 Actually, evaluation of the fat in artery clogs reveals that only about 26% is saturated. The rest is unsaturated, of which more than half is polyunsaturated.45

What about cholesterol?
And what about cholesterol? Here, too, the public has been misinformed. Our blood vessels can become damaged in a number of ways, through irritations caused by free radicals or viruses, or because they are structurally weak, and when this happens, the body's natural healing substance steps in to repair the damage. That substance is cholesterol. Cholesterol is a high-molecular-weight alcohol that is manufactured in the liver and in most human cells. Like saturated fats, the cholesterol we make and consume plays many vital roles:

Along with saturated fats, cholesterol in the cell membrane gives our cells necessary stiffness and stability. When the diet contains an excess of polyunsaturated fatty acids, these replace saturated fatty acids in the cell membrane, so that the cell walls actually become flabby. When this happens, cholesterol from the blood is "driven" into the tissues to give them structural integrity. This is why serum cholesterol levels may go down temporarily when we replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated oils in the diet.46


Cholesterol acts as a precursor to vital corticosteroids, hormones that help us deal with stress and protect the body against heart disease and cancer; and to the sex hormones like androgen, testosterone, estrogen and progesterone.


Cholesterol is a precursor to vitamin D, a very important fat-soluble vitamin needed for healthy bones and nervous system, proper growth, mineral metabolism, muscle tone, insulin production, reproduction and immune system function.


The bile salts are made from cholesterol. Bile is vital for digestion and assimilation of fats in the diet.


Recent research shows that cholesterol acts as an antioxidant.47 This is the likely explanation for the fact that cholesterol levels go up with age. As an antioxidant, cholesterol protects us against free radical damage that leads to heart disease and cancer.


Cholesterol is needed for proper function of serotonin receptors in the brain.48 Serotonin is the body's natural "feel-good" chemical. Low cholesterol levels have been linked to aggressive and violent behavior, depression and suicidal tendencies.


Mother's milk is especially rich in cholesterol and contains a special enzyme that helps the baby utilize this nutrient. Babies and children need cholesterol-rich foods throughout their growing years to ensure proper development of the brain and nervous system.


Dietary cholesterol plays an important role in maintaining the health of the intestinal wall.49 This is why low-cholesterol vegetarian diets can lead to leaky gut syndrome and other intestinal disorders.
Cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease but rather a potent antioxidant weapon against free radicals in the blood, and a repair substance that helps heal arterial damage (although the arterial plaques themselves contain very little cholesterol.) However, like fats, cholesterol may be damaged by exposure to heat and oxygen. This damaged or oxidized cholesterol seems to promote both injury to the arterial cells as well as a pathological buildup of plaque in the arteries.50 Damaged cholesterol is found in powdered eggs, in powdered milk (added to reduced-fat milks to give them body) and in meats and fats that have been heated to high temperatures in frying and other high-temperature processes.

High serum cholesterol levels often indicate that the body needs cholesterol to protect itself from high levels of altered, free-radical-containing fats. Just as a large police force is needed in a locality where crime occurs frequently, so cholesterol is needed in a poorly nourished body to protect the individual from a tendency to heart disease and cancer. Blaming coronary heart disease on cholesterol is like blaming the police for murder and theft in a high crime area.

Poor thyroid function (hypothyroidism) will often result in high cholesterol levels. When thyroid function is poor, usually due to a diet high in sugar and low in usable iodine, fat-soluble vitamins and other nutrients, the body floods the blood with cholesterol as an adaptive and protective mechanism, providing a superabundance of materials needed to heal tissues and produce protective steroids. Hypothyroid individuals are particularly susceptible to infections, heart disease and cancer.51


You were saying what about saturated fats not needed?