The Atkins Diet
By Joslyn Thompson
Of all the diets I have come across in my career, the Atkins it seems has been the most
controversial. Jennifer Aniston, Geri Halliwell and others have all become wonderfully
emaciated on this fab diet and they look gorgeous, so we‟d like a piece of the pie too!!
In his book Atkin‟s talks about how big Americans have become on a diet of refined
carbohydrates (white bread/pasta/rice) and sugars, now this is nothing new, most of us
know such a diet is not a healthy option, point taken, thank you Atkins but it doesn‟t
mean we should cut out carbs all together including fruits…but hang on aren‟t fruits good
for you? - Yes they are and looking at the American diet it fruits are not the primary
culprits for fat gain. So when Atkins speaks of stabilising blood sugar levels we don‟t
need to cut out carbs all together, we just need to make a move towards more unrefined
carbs (wholemeal bread, fresh veg, etc) and cut down on the sugary stuff.
So, to the diet. Well you‟re allowed to “liberally” eat as much protein and fat as you like,
yes that includes saturated fat the very demon we have been warned against by the
medical profession to cut down on due to it‟s conclusive link to CHD. This is the point at
which I just go, hang on a minute here everyone, you lot are about to go on a diet that
let‟s you eat as much fat as you want! Even if it gives you coronary heart disease?! Oh
no hang on, I forgot, Jennifer Aniston says it‟s OK so never mind what Dr‟s have been
saying to you for years, what do they know anyway! In fact I‟m thinking about giving „ol
Jen a call to sort out my back troubles she really seems to know her stuff!! It has been
clinically proven that saturated fat is bad for you, but you‟ve heard it‟s the new thing to
get you skinny, and out goes your rationality left in the dust of the bandwagon you leaped
on with gay abandon to shed that fat!
God this diet sounds great doesn‟t it, no restrictions of calories and still lose weight, but
despite the „eat as much as you like‟ claim, calories are reduced massively on the diet.
Take steak for example, although higher in fat than most carb foods (but that‟s OK as we
don‟t mind putting ourselves at risk to CHD), it is more water dense thus lower in
calories. This goes for many other protein-rich foods cutting out a huge amount of
calories.
But if this diet is so low in calories how come there have been wonder claims of not
having any sugar cravings and feeling peckish? After all that‟s the very reason people
hate dieting isn‟t it? By reducing carbs you are eliminating erratic sugar intake thus
stabilizing blood sugar levels and reducing sugar induced cravings. And by eating so
much fat along with stimulating amino acids (protein building blocks) to cross the blood
brain barrier (discussed later) in larger quantities you develop a greater sense of satiety.
Let‟s take a closer look at protein. Proteins are made up of building blocks known as
amino acids. We need protein for the growth and repair of our bodies. Approximately
75% is stored in the muscles and 25% in the liver as a back up system for the brain where
stored protein is converted into glucose (brain fuel) should glucose levels in the
bloodstream become low. Most healthy eating plans will encourage you to have carbs as
approx 60% of your daily intake. This makes sense as it‟s the body‟s preferred energy
source with the brain alone requiring 576 calories or 144g (bearing in mind Atkins urges
you to have just 20 grams a day in the induction phase) a day as it‟s regular energy
supply, and the remainder giving us energy to go about our daily tasks. So if we cut out
this energy supply where else can we get it from? Well luckily our bodies are complex
beyond comprehension and have many back up systems to keep us going should we
starve it of it‟s main energy source! This is the part where Atkins claims we start tapping
into our fat stores. But both fat and protein can be converted into energy. So bearing in
mind how efficient the human body is, if it needs to tap into a back up energy system,
which one is it going to tap into first? Protein stored readily in the liver and muscles or
the fat that has been sitting there quite comfortably for some time. It‟s a bit like
limescale in a bath tub that just won‟t budge without some real hard elbow grease, hint
hint! So yes, on Atkin‟s measily 20 grams of carbs a day we‟ll tap into the brains backup
system, the liver. But we‟ve got a whole load of brain fuelling to do to make up those
remaining grams as well as fuel the rest of the body. The rest is obtained from muscle
tissue. Quite ironic really, we‟re gaining energy whilst becoming weaker by eating into
our muscle tissue. So the lightheadedness most Atkins dieters feel in the initial stages is
the brain screaming for it‟s fuel, and the body rushing to convert amino acids into glucose
to feed it.
We‟ve now cut out all our carbs and are not really bothered whether or not that‟s good
for us, whilst at the same time loading up on protein, surely too much of that can‟t be
good for you? Once we have utilised the protein we need, 75% into muscles and 25%
into liver what happens to the excess? Thereafter excess has to be broken down and
disposed of. Amino acids have to be split before disposal, one half turns to ammonia
which is toxic within the body and has to be removed. If too much of this waste passes
through the urinary system, it can put a lot of stress on the kidneys. The other half is very
acidic increasing pH levels in the blood stream. The body neutralizes these increased
levels by absorbing calcium from bones into the bloodstream making our bones weaker
and potentially leading to osteoperosis in the long term.
Now this next part really gets me as a personal trainer. Atkins uses the trusty scales to
see the weight loss, but what exactly is being measured. OK so you‟ve cut out your
carbs, now each gram of glycogen (stored carbohydrate in the body) attracts approx. 2.4
grams of water, so not only have you cut out all those carbs but look at all of that water
you‟ve lost too well done! What else do the scales measure? Let‟s see: glycogen, (well
we‟ve cut that right out so that‟s a few more notches off the scale); muscle, (well we‟re
eating into that to give us energy); bones, (we‟re reducing the density of those as we‟re
reabsorbing calcium into the blood stream, later disposed of as waste); connective tissue
(phew haven‟t managed to steal any of that); oh yeah and fat, (well maybe a smidge of
that has budged for good measure). All forms of weight loss apart from fat loss are
detrimental to health, and using scales to measure fat loss when so many other variables
count is useless. If you‟re serious about losing fat, a better guide is to have your body
composition assessed measuring actual fat. Whilst there is a small degree of inaccuracy,
it is much more indicative of fat composition than the scales. Most personal trainers will
assess your body composition if you wish to have it done, leaving Atkins, Slimmers
World et al raving deliriously about how much water and muscle you‟ve lost in the
background, well done!!
The weight loss industry has to be the most successful industry in the world with
approximately $36 billion being spent on it in the US, it‟s the only industry where despite
a product not working time and time again people just keep on buying it. Are there any
bells ringing yet?! There‟s been a little old theory that has sat quietly in the background
for a while now - a healthy sensible diet with preferably resistance exercise, oh yeah
you‟ve heard that before, how boring! Have you tried it though, with as much dedication
as applied to Atkins or all those other diets? I would urge you to do that first. Effective
weight management, which I‟m sure is what you‟re all trying to achieve comes first with
the acceptance that this change will not happen over night, and if it does it‟s certainly not
fat loss that‟s tipping the scales in your favour. Weight loss beyond 1-2lb / 0.5kg per
week is sure to be muscle and water loss, not fat. By losing muscle tissu e you slow down
the metabolism burning less calories when inactive and piling those pounds back on
when you stop dieting again because let‟s face it, how many lifetime dieters do you
know? When you stop dieting, having lost muscle tissue, requiring less calories, all the
under utilised calories are converted into fat. Many overweight people suffer from a slow
metabolism. A 1.4kg increase in muscle increases metabolism by 7%, so add a few gym
workouts to your fat loss plan. Also try to eat unrefined carbs little and often to stabilize
blood sugar levels and reduce cravings. Woohoo, this looks like the long term road to
weight loss!! So I hope you‟ll press the bell to let you off the bandwagon at the next
stop, or dispose of that wool that has been firmly wrapped around your eyes. Our bodies
can‟t be tricked into quick fat loss solutions there‟s one way that works so why not give it
a bash and see how you get on Good Luck !!