Trying to lose weight? Then DO IT! Its all in what you eat.

[Overmind One]

I understand, but you need to give real proof.

Hi Overmind,

First I'd like to say that good on ya for losing weight, and putting in the hard work.

Alas I have to disagree with some of your information. I have a real issue with ultra-low carb diets, in that they are potentially, very dangerous. I'm afraid that Atkins can do some serious damage to the body, and is not recommended as a long term lifestyle.

LOL. You will have to prove that. First of all, Atkins is NOT an "ultra low carb diet" I did massive research before deciding to go with it and I discovered that most all of the negative press for low carb diets (including South Beach and Atkins and modified low carb diets) are sponsored by dairy industry, grain industry, sugar industry, etc. You post an account of ONE SINGLE PERSON who suffered "serious damage" from a low carb diet. I dare ya. The FDA actually places cow's milk on the food pyramid, when humans are not supposed to consume milk as adults at all, let alone milk from another species of animal whose calves dont even drink milk after weaning. But the Milk Council is very powerful. Milk definitely does a body bad, not good. Drinking it actually DEPLETES calcium in human bones, when they say that you get strong bones from it. The calcium in milk is unusable by humans. The grain industry would love to sell all the nutritionally useless white flour in breakfast cereals and snacks and breads because they make a huge profit on it and it has a shelf life of...forever (when loaded with preservatives). All the "food" products in boxes in the middle of the store are there because they can stay unrefrigerated for YEARS on those shelves.

You mention Ketosis as the body's burning of fat stores, which is in fact lipolysis. Ketosis is when there is inefficient carb storage in the body, fatty acids are broken down to fatty acids and further into ketones from acetyl-COA. This has many problems associated with it, not including acidosis, slowing metabolism, fatigue, kidney and liver stressing, brain function impairment and reducing bone density. Prolonged low-carb dieting causes muscle and tissue wastage and reduced protein synthesis.

Again, please post proof. Im not a novice at this. Ketosis is the state of lipolysis induced when the body switches from its primary carb burning mode to making ketones from fat stores. Humans were not meant to eat substances like white flour, granulated sugar, non-human milk, and none of the preservatives/additives that are in most food on the shelves. If the "food" you eat wasnt here 2000 years ago, its not real food.

Your information is out of date and inaccurate. Here are low carb myths:

1. Low Carb = No Carb

This misconception is the idea that a “low”-carb diet must be really really low in carbohydrates. You will read that low carb diets attempt to “eliminate carbohydrates,” for example.

Fact: Not one low-carb diet author advocates this. Even Atkins Induction, which is very low in carbohydrates, is not “no carb,” is only meant to last two weeks, and actually can be skipped altogether, according to the Atkins Web site.

Fact: Diet authors who recommend reducing carbs have all sorts of different ideas about carb levels.

Fact: The carbohydrate level should be adjusted to the individual.

Fact: Over the years, the “nutritional establishment” has been gradually lowering the range of recommended carbohydrate in the diet, at the same time condemning reduced-carb diets, some of which may be recommending the lower end of the new “accepted range,” or close to it. Example: Dr. Dean Edell, a prominent media physician, once stated that the Zone Diet, a 40% carbohydrate, low saturated fat diet, “could be dangerous” because it is too low in carbohydrates. The National Academy of Sciences recommends that 45% to 65% of the diet be carbohydrate, depending upon the individual.

Please be careful of these diets, as they could be doing irreparable harm. Honestly for long term solutions, the best advice I could give is to increase daily exercise, reduce portion size, and substantially reduce junk/crap food.

Here's some interesting info about low carb diets...
http://www.quackwatch.org/06ResearchProjects/lcd.html

Reducing portion size of a bad food is not good advice. What you should be studying is the long term effect of consuming the foods on the current FDA food pyramid. The result is an obese America and unprecedented increase in heart disease, diabetes and calcium depletion caused by consuming cow's milk. The medical community is revising their information about low carb eating because the overwhelming evidence shows that they are highly beneficial. In my case, my health has inproved more than 100% with added benefits I did not expect like thicker, stronger hair and nails...increased sex drive, increased muscle mass (due to more protein).

About your source:

http://www.anh-europe.org/news/quackbuster-stephen-barrett-md-loses-appeal-and-leaves-home-town

Steven Barrett is an unlicensed Pennsylvania psychiatrist, who,
though he failed his psychiatric boards and has been criticized for
his lack of expertise by several courts, still claims to often advise
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), the FBI, State Attorneys General, HMOs, Consumer Reports,
medical journals and state medical, chiropractic and dental boards. The insurance industry cites Barretts highly opinionated Quackbuster
attacks to deny paying claims for chiropractic and other natural healthcare.


Barrett and the Quackbusters, a vigilante group of self proclaimed
skeptics of any medical or health modality that avoids drugs, surgery
or radiation, attack almost all non-conventional healthcare practices
as quackery. Ignoring all scientific research to the contrary, they
dismiss Gulf War Syndrome, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Chemical
Sensitivity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and dietary supplements as
rubbish. Double Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling is on their quack
hit list along with many well known and respected doctors and
scientists, including Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, and dozens of others.

He was run out of town because he himself is a quack. Why anyone should listen to the rantings of an unlicensed psychiatrist with NO education in nutrition is beyond me.

More on him here:

http://www.quackpotwatch.org/quackpots/quackpots/barrett.htm

Stephen Barrett - Professional Crackpot... The Internet needs health information it can trust. Stephen Barrett doesn't provide it...
Barrett is one of those people whose ambitions and opinions of himself far exceeds his abilities. Without ANY qualifications he has set himself up as an expert in just about everything having to do with health care - and more.


And this from a man who is a professional failure.


Records show that Barrett never achieved any success in the medical profession. His claim to being a "retired Psychiatrist" is laughable. He is, in fact, a "failed Psychiatrist," and a "failed MD."The Psychiatric profession rejected Barrett years ago, for Barrett could NOT pass the examinations necessary to become "Board Certified." Which, is no doubt why Barrett was, throughout his career, relegated to lower level "part time" positions.


Barrett, we know, was forced to give up his medical license in Pennsylvania in 1993 when his "part-time" employment at the State Mental Hospital was terminated, and he had so few (nine) private patients during his last five years of practice, that he couldn't afford the Malpractice Insurance premiums Pennsylvania requires.

 

[Illiterati]

I must say that it's interesting that the current FDA Food Pyramid is perfect...

For fattening hogs.

I'm serious.

 

[stclare]

LOL. You will have to prove that. First of all, Atkins is NOT an "ultra low carb diet" I did massive research before deciding to go with it and I discovered that most all of the negative press for low carb diets (including South Beach and Atkins and modified low carb diets) are sponsored by dairy industry, grain industry, sugar industry, etc. You post an account of ONE SINGLE PERSON who suffered "serious damage" from a low carb diet. I dare ya. The FDA actually places cow's milk on the food pyramid, when humans are not supposed to consume milk as adults at all, let alone milk from another species of animal whose calves dont even drink milk after weaning. But the Milk Council is very powerful. Milk definitely does a body bad, not good. Drinking it actually DEPLETES calcium in human bones, when they say that you get strong bones from it. The calcium in milk is unusable by humans. The grain industry would love to sell all the nutritionally useless white flour in breakfast cereals and snacks and breads because they make a huge profit on it and it has a shelf life of...forever (when loaded with preservatives). All the "food" products in boxes in the middle of the store are there because they can stay unrefrigerated for YEARS on those shelves.

Again, please post proof. Im not a novice at this. Ketosis is the state of lipolysis induced when the body switches from its primary carb burning mode to making ketones from fat stores. Humans were not meant to eat substances like white flour, granulated sugar, non-human milk, and none of the preservatives/additives that are in most food on the shelves. If the "food" you eat wasnt here 2000 years ago, its not real food.

Your information is out of date and inaccurate. Here are low carb myths:

1. Low Carb = No Carb

This misconception is the idea that a “low”-carb diet must be really really low in carbohydrates. You will read that low carb diets attempt to “eliminate carbohydrates,” for example.

Fact: Not one low-carb diet author advocates this. Even Atkins Induction, which is very low in carbohydrates, is not “no carb,” is only meant to last two weeks, and actually can be skipped altogether, according to the Atkins Web site.

Fact: Diet authors who recommend reducing carbs have all sorts of different ideas about carb levels.

Fact: The carbohydrate level should be adjusted to the individual.

Fact: Over the years, the “nutritional establishment” has been gradually lowering the range of recommended carbohydrate in the diet, at the same time condemning reduced-carb diets, some of which may be recommending the lower end of the new “accepted range,” or close to it. Example: Dr. Dean Edell, a prominent media physician, once stated that the Zone Diet, a 40% carbohydrate, low saturated fat diet, “could be dangerous” because it is too low in carbohydrates. The National Academy of Sciences recommends that 45% to 65% of the diet be carbohydrate, depending upon the individual.

Reducing portion size of a bad food is not good advice. What you should be studying is the long term effect of consuming the foods on the current FDA food pyramid. The result is an obese America and unprecedented increase in heart disease, diabetes and calcium depletion caused by consuming cow's milk. The medical community is revising their information about low carb eating because the overwhelming evidence shows that they are highly beneficial. In my case, my health has inproved more than 100% with added benefits I did not expect like thicker, stronger hair and nails...increased sex drive, increased muscle mass (due to more protein).

About your source:

http://www.anh-europe.org/news/quackbuster-stephen-barrett-md-loses-appeal-and-leaves-home-town

He was run out of town because he himself is a quack. Why anyone should listen to the rantings of an unlicensed psychiatrist with NO education in nutrition is beyond me.

More on him here:

http://www.quackpotwatch.org/quackpots/quackpots/barrett.htm

Is there a book you would recommend for me as a new completly clueless starter? Im probably going to be needing recipes too.

For reference; I eat chicken, rice, potatoes and most root vegetables. I dislike red meat but will eat it if theres nothing else in the fridge and we are a slave to soda and junk food.
I dislike salad, i find it very bland and the textures urrrrrr any ideas how to overcome that? as it seems salads would make up some of this low carb way of eating.
Before someone tells me off my kids and husband all eat salad, fruit,fish etc. Im just extremly fussy

 

[Overmind One]

The FDA is a whore to lobbyists.

I must say that it's interesting that the current FDA Food Pyramid is perfect...

For fattening hogs.

I'm serious.

Its ridiculous:



Milk should not even be on that chart. And on the top of that pyramid is a bag of chips and cookies? It has bread and pasta on its foundation level. Just LOL! If people follow the guidelines of that chart, they will be FAT and unhealthy. This chart makes for a healthy diet:



This chart represents the way humans were meant to eat. Our bodies were not designed to process refined flour and sugar, and the effect in the body is INFLAMMATION, which leads to diabetes and high blood pressure and a whole malady of ills.

 

[Illiterati]

Its ridiculous:

View attachment 3702

Milk should not even be on that chart. And on the top of that pyramid is a bag of chips and cookies? It has bread and pasta on its foundation level. Just LOL! If people follow the guidelines of that chart, they will be FAT and unhealthy. This chart makes for a healthy diet:

View attachment 3703

This chart represents the way humans were meant to eat. Our bodies were not designed to process refined flour and sugar, and the effect in the body is INFLAMMATION, which leads to diabetes and high blood pressure and a whole malady of ills.

Consider that humans are designed to eat foods in season, and with today's farming, we're eating all sorts of things at all times of the year. That can't really be good for us now.

 

[Overmind One]

You can buy the latest Atkins book, but you dont really need a book to start.

Is there a book you would recommend for me as a new completly clueless starter? Im probably going to be needing recipes too.

For reference; I eat chicken, rice, potatoes and most root vegetables. I dislike red meat but will eat it if theres nothing else in the fridge and we are a slave to soda and junk food.
I dislike salad, i find it very bland and the textures urrrrrr any ideas how to overcome that? as it seems salads would make up some of this low carb way of eating.
Before someone tells me off my kids and husband all eat salad, fruit,fish etc. Im just extremly fussy

If you want to have a book to guide you, buy the latest Atkins book: http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275 (the image doesnt link to the book, the link does)



Atkins is FREE. You can find all the information you need to learn how to eat low carb free on the Atkins website here: http://www.atkins.com/Program/ProgramOverview.aspx

I will give you this advice about Atkins:

1. Do NOT purchase Atkins products like bars, supplements, mixes, etc. The company Atkins Nutritionals was formed after Dr. Atkins died, and exists only to commercialize Atkins for those who took over after he died. The products are not compliant with its own program and are expensive. Dr. Atkins never meant for his program to be commercialized.
2. Dont deviate from the Acceptable Foods Lists for each phase, and you will see the exact results expected in this program.
3. If you cheat, dont stop the program. Just start back in induction until you are in fat burning mode.
4. KEEP TRACK. Write down your measurements as you do the program. The scale will lie because it does not account for water weight and/or other weight you carry temporarily like digesting food in the bowels. Measurements can shrink whilst your weight climbs due to increased muscle mass so its not a good measure.

You can do low carb in hundreds of ways, but not one of them will allow you to drink regular sodas. Try Diet Rite sodas sweetened with Splenda (make sure it says Splenda and not NutraSweet). Make your own "soda" using tea or other extract flavors and club soda if you must. The foods on the list will have many things you like and some you dislike. Just eat what you like.

I dont like salads either, but I love stir fried veggies. I get my green from eating stir fried veggies with chicken and/or beef in the meal. You can make wraps using low carb tortillas which take the "salad" feeling out of it. Add dark green leafy veggies to your meal. I make my low carb hamburgers by wrapping the burger in lettuce leaves instead of a bun (quite good!). There are lots of ways to compensate.

The effect of this way of eating is that you see IMMEDIATE results, and thus you tend to protect your gains (losses of weight) by sticking to the plan. Its NOT hard like low-fat diets (which dont work). I will help you any way I can.

 

[Illiterati]

Keep in mind that protein/health bars often use glycerin to "sweeten" them, and that glycerin can stall weight loss, as can artificial sweeteners.

And yes, Dr Atkins died, however he died as the result of a fall (he struck his head on a sidewalk/curb when he fell), not because of his way of eating.

 

[Overmind One]

Keep in mind that protein/health bars often use glycerin to "sweeten" them, and that glycerin can stall weight loss, as can artificial sweeteners.

And yes, Dr Atkins died, however he died as the result of a fall (he struck his head on a sidewalk/curb when he fell), not because of his way of eating.

Important to let people know that! I was buying those bars too until they stalled me, just like you mentioned. Many of those Atkins bars go against the guidelines in the original 1972 version of Atkins. The extra cost is so not worth it. Atkins' program is awesome, but the company named Atkins Nutritionals selling products is not.

 

[Overmind One]

THIS is very interesting too...

Consider that humans are designed to eat foods in season, and with today's farming, we're eating all sorts of things at all times of the year. That can't really be good for us now.

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. The human body was designed to go through a seasonal cycle:

1. Conceive in Winter (most births happen in late Winter just before Spring when there is abundant food)
2. Eat carbs and build muscle in Spring and Summer when food is still abundant
3. Store fat and reduce activity in lat Fall and early Winter
4. Sleep 12 hours per day in Winter (minimum) and conserve body fat. This is the best time to conceive children.

Eating foods out of season is unnatural, but most people dont realize it. I know we cant live the ideal lifestyle in our technological culture, but at least knowing what it is can help. The normal sleep cycle is supposed to be from sundown to sunrise. Melatonin production is controlled by light.

 

[Illiterati]

Important to let people know that! I was buying those bars too until they stalled me, just like you mentioned. Many of those Atkins bars go against the guidelines in the original 1972 version of Atkins. The extra cost is so not worth it. Atkins' program is awesome, but the company named Atkins Nutritionals selling products is not.

Wasn't it his widow who pretty much started Atkins Nutritionals?

Dr Atkins' way of eating as he envisioned it didn't really "require" more than buying his book. The rest was up to you, the person wanting to shed the weight.

 

[stclare]

If you want to have a book to guide you, buy the latest Atkins book: http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275 (the image doesnt link to the book, the link does)

View attachment 3704

Atkins is FREE. You can find all the information you need to learn how to eat low carb free on the Atkins website here: http://www.atkins.com/Program/ProgramOverview.aspx

I will give you this advice about Atkins:

1. Do NOT purchase Atkins products like bars, supplements, mixes, etc. The company Atkins Nutritionals was formed after Dr. Atkins died, and exists only to commercialize Atkins for those who took over after he died. The products are not compliant with its own program and are expensive. Dr. Atkins never meant for his program to be commercialized.
2. Dont deviate from the Acceptable Foods Lists for each phase, and you will see the exact results expected in this program.
3. If you cheat, dont stop the program. Just start back in induction until you are in fat burning mode.
4. KEEP TRACK. Write down your measurements as you do the program. The scale will lie because it does not account for water weight and/or other weight you carry temporarily like digesting food in the bowels. Measurements can shrink whilst your weight climbs due to increased muscle mass so its not a good measure.

You can do low carb in hundreds of ways, but not one of them will allow you to drink regular sodas. Try Diet Rite sodas sweetened with Splenda (make sure it says Splenda and not NutraSweet). Make your own "soda" using tea or other extract flavors and club soda if you must. The foods on the list will have many things you like and some you dislike. Just eat what you like.

I dont like salads either, but I love stir fried veggies. I get my green from eating stir fried veggies with chicken and/or beef in the meal. You can make wraps using low carb tortillas which take the "salad" feeling out of it. Add dark green leafy veggies to your meal. I make my low carb hamburgers by wrapping the burger in lettuce leaves instead of a bun (quite good!). There are lots of ways to compensate.

The effect of this way of eating is that you see IMMEDIATE results, and thus you tend to protect your gains (losses of weight) by sticking to the plan. Its NOT hard like low-fat diets (which dont work). I will help you any way I can.

Thanks for all the info im going to do some proper reading through tonight, once the kids are in bed, no distractions !

 

[Bluce Ree]

Good to see you weigh in on this subject (pun intended) . I remember that you and I had a nice dialogue about it on the other forum. I feel so happy for obese people who manage to drop almost half their body weight (some for the first time in their lives) and become their balanced body weight. At that time when we had that other discussion, I was ONLY an Atkins advocate. But now since I am at goal weight and have been there more than a year, I have tweaked the formula and started using the more esoteric benefits/tactics. For instance, if you do eat carbs you can reduce the GI impact of them by eating those carbs with protein or fat, and thus avoid the "sleepies". I also added the South Beach book to my low carb library although I disagree with several items in that program.

That's an important point that should be stressed by nutritionists. I find many nutritionists and personal trainers tend to parrot whatever is popularly accepted in diet and weight loss / muscle building.

The most successful at shaping their bodies are those who discipline themselves and observe through trial & error what works and what doesn't. Most get discouraged because they can't just follow an instruction manual.

And don't get me started on that South Beach diet.

 

[Bluce Ree]

LOL. You will have to prove that. First of all, Atkins is NOT an "ultra low carb diet" I did massive research before deciding to go with it and I discovered that most all of the negative press for low carb diets (including South Beach and Atkins and modified low carb diets) are sponsored by dairy industry, grain industry, sugar industry, etc. You post an account of ONE SINGLE PERSON who suffered "serious damage" from a low carb diet. I dare ya. The FDA actually places cow's milk on the food pyramid, when humans are not supposed to consume milk as adults at all, let alone milk from another species of animal whose calves dont even drink milk after weaning. But the Milk Council is very powerful. Milk definitely does a body bad, not good. Drinking it actually DEPLETES calcium in human bones, when they say that you get strong bones from it. The calcium in milk is unusable by humans. The grain industry would love to sell all the nutritionally useless white flour in breakfast cereals and snacks and breads because they make a huge profit on it and it has a shelf life of...forever (when loaded with preservatives). All the "food" products in boxes in the middle of the store are there because they can stay unrefrigerated for YEARS on those shelves.

Again, please post proof. Im not a novice at this. Ketosis is the state of lipolysis induced when the body switches from its primary carb burning mode to making ketones from fat stores. Humans were not meant to eat substances like white flour, granulated sugar, non-human milk, and none of the preservatives/additives that are in most food on the shelves. If the "food" you eat wasnt here 2000 years ago, its not real food.

Your information is out of date and inaccurate. Here are low carb myths:

1. Low Carb = No Carb

This misconception is the idea that a “low”-carb diet must be really really low in carbohydrates. You will read that low carb diets attempt to “eliminate carbohydrates,” for example.

Fact: Not one low-carb diet author advocates this. Even Atkins Induction, which is very low in carbohydrates, is not “no carb,” is only meant to last two weeks, and actually can be skipped altogether, according to the Atkins Web site.

Fact: Diet authors who recommend reducing carbs have all sorts of different ideas about carb levels.

Fact: The carbohydrate level should be adjusted to the individual.

Fact: Over the years, the “nutritional establishment” has been gradually lowering the range of recommended carbohydrate in the diet, at the same time condemning reduced-carb diets, some of which may be recommending the lower end of the new “accepted range,” or close to it. Example: Dr. Dean Edell, a prominent media physician, once stated that the Zone Diet, a 40% carbohydrate, low saturated fat diet, “could be dangerous” because it is too low in carbohydrates. The National Academy of Sciences recommends that 45% to 65% of the diet be carbohydrate, depending upon the individual.

Reducing portion size of a bad food is not good advice. What you should be studying is the long term effect of consuming the foods on the current FDA food pyramid. The result is an obese America and unprecedented increase in heart disease, diabetes and calcium depletion caused by consuming cow's milk. The medical community is revising their information about low carb eating because the overwhelming evidence shows that they are highly beneficial. In my case, my health has inproved more than 100% with added benefits I did not expect like thicker, stronger hair and nails...increased sex drive, increased muscle mass (due to more protein).

About your source:

http://www.anh-europe.org/news/quackbuster-stephen-barrett-md-loses-appeal-and-leaves-home-town

He was run out of town because he himself is a quack. Why anyone should listen to the rantings of an unlicensed psychiatrist with NO education in nutrition is beyond me.

More on him here:

http://www.quackpotwatch.org/quackpots/quackpots/barrett.htm

Dude! I wish I had your patience and dedication when tearing things like that apart.

Very nice work. :tealc_new049:

 

[Bluce Ree]

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. The human body was designed to go through a seasonal cycle:

1. Conceive in Winter (most births happen in late Winter just before Spring when there is abundant food)
2. Eat carbs and build muscle in Spring and Summer when food is still abundant
3. Store fat and reduce activity in lat Fall and early Winter
4. Sleep 12 hours per day in Winter (minimum) and conserve body fat. This is the best time to conceive children.

Eating foods out of season is unnatural, but most people dont realize it. I know we cant live the ideal lifestyle in our technological culture, but at least knowing what it is can help. The normal sleep cycle is supposed to be from sundown to sunrise. Melatonin production is controlled by light.

Bodybuilding embraces the seasonal cycle. That's why bulking / cutting are so effective when timed correctly.

 

[Overmind One]

LOL...funny isnt it?

That's an important point that should be stressed by nutritionists. I find many nutritionists and personal trainers tend to parrot whatever is popularly accepted in diet and weight loss / muscle building.

The most successful at shaping their bodies are those who discipline themselves and observe through trial & error what works and what doesn't. Most get discouraged because they can't just follow an instruction manual.

And don't get me started on that South Beach diet.

LOL...they advocate french fries as good carbs? Just lol! The part I like about South Beach is the meal frequency, and the fact that it concentrates on the GI impact of foods as opposed to only the carb count. So it serves only as a supplement to my Atkins book, not a dieting guideline. But now, low carbing is my regular way of eating and I dont have to think much about it. I can now even "carb load" before workouts, because Im at my goal weight and they burn off easily.

Questions/observations for you, I would love your comments:

Does whey protein ISOLATE cause hair loss? I was taking three daily shakes of GNC Pro Performance whey protein isolate per day for 6 months, and the hair in the front part of my head started thinning noticeably. My barber noticed it first, then my doctor. He told me "looks like you are starting your male pattern hair loss now". Thing is, it doesnt run in my family and my dad did not suffer from it and neither did my grandfather (a full blooded Cherokee who died with a 12" ponytail at age 92). But I looked up the phrase "whey protein hair loss" and there ARE things about this online. I stopped doing the whey protein isolate a month ago, and my hair immediately started thickening and now its normal again! Thoughts?

Workouts and increased testosterone. How does this happen? My blood tests show that my blood levels of testosterone are much higher than last year, and that my HDL cholesterol is much higher as well. These are great benefits, but what is causing them? I would like to enhance the increased testosterone effect, but I dont know what is raising the levels to begin with.

Muscle mass, how to maintain it without protein shakes? I want to eliminate the whey protein supplements with actual protein. Any recommendations?

 

[Overmind One]

Well, I really believe deeply in this program of low carbing!

Dude! I wish I had your patience and dedication when tearing things like that apart.

Very nice work. :tealc_new049:

I am a HUGE advocate of low carbing because it may have saved my life. It eliminated my pre-diabetic condition, lowered my blood pressure to that of a 20-something, dropped my weight down to a trim and fit level, and increased my sex appeal and self confidence. For me, it was a life-changer. So, when people try to say that its dangerous, I follow up on what they say because I did so much research beforehand and I ran across most all of the naysayers, including Stephen Barrett. I was prepared.

 

[Overmind One]

Bodybuilding embraces the seasonal cycle. That's why bulking / cutting are so effective when timed correctly.

I want to build up now. I cant seem to get my upper body to respond as quickly as I would like. I need to bulk up my upper body to get that proper male "V" shape. I have nice muscle tone and am lean, but not enough upper body mass.

 

[Bluce Ree]

LOL...they advocate french fries as good carbs? Just lol! The part I like about South Beach is the meal frequency, and the fact that it concentrates on the GI impact of foods as opposed to only the carb count. So it serves only as a supplement to my Atkins book, not a dieting guideline. But now, low carbing is my regular way of eating and I dont have to think much about it. I can now even "carb load" before workouts, because Im at my goal weight and they burn off easily.

Questions/observations for you, I would love your comments:

Does whey protein ISOLATE cause hair loss? I was taking three daily shakes of GNC Pro Performance whey protein isolate per day for 6 months, and the hair in the front part of my head started thinning noticeably. My barber noticed it first, then my doctor. He told me "looks like you are starting your male pattern hair loss now". Thing is, it doesnt run in my family and my dad did not suffer from it and neither did my grandfather (a full blooded Cherokee who died with a 12" ponytail at age 92). But I looked up the phrase "whey protein hair loss" and there ARE things about this online. I stopped doing the whey protein isolate a month ago, and my hair immediately started thickening and now its normal again! Thoughts?

There's so much anecdotal evidence out there for and against that it's sometimes hard to distinguish facts from horseshit.

If you're prone to MPB, even in the slightest, I can see how it may be possible to trigger hair loss by heavy resistance training as you build muscle but that's really just a guess. Resistance training causes increases in GH and testosterone. Test converts to DHT, which has been attributed to hair loss.

That being said, I've never read any studies linking bodybuilding / weight lifting to hair loss other than through the use of steroids and, even then, only if you're predisposed to MPB.

Temporary hair loss can also be triggered by other things such as stress or diet.

Studies like this by a hair transplant doctor seem to be based on loose observation:

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20...solate-damages-and-accelerates-hair-loss.aspx

He advocates whey concentrate over whey isolate. The problem with his conclusion that whey isolate increases testosterone production and, therefore, increases DHT is that you get the same effect from a high protein diet combined with intense resistance training. If that were the case and the increase was that significant, we'd all be going bald the moment we start hitting the bench press hard.

Whey isolate has far better absorption into the muscles. They are extremely low on carbs and fats, leaving almost pure protein for your body to absorb.

Workouts and increased testosterone. How does this happen? My blood tests show that my blood levels of testosterone are much higher than last year, and that my HDL cholesterol is much higher as well. These are great benefits, but what is causing them? I would like to enhance the increased testosterone effect, but I dont know what is raising the levels to begin with.

Heavy workouts increase testosterone and GH levels. Training your bigger muscles more heavily, such as the legs, has the effect of further increasing test and GH.

Muscle mass, how to maintain it without protein shakes? I want to eliminate the whey protein supplements with actual protein. Any recommendations?

Protein shakes make it convenient to ingest large amounts of protein without stuffing yourself with large amounts of food. You can try adding more red meat to your diet, which is very high in protein.

IMO, it's a good idea to keep some form of purified protein in your diet to supplement your nutrition and keep the muscles fed efficiently.

Another thing most people overlook is that your body continues to repair and grow in your sleep after an intense workout, which is also when your body releases high amounts of GH. The 6-8 hour stretch of sleep is a long time to go without food because you are essentially starving yourself as you sleep, albeit in a small manner.

Bodybuilders like to ingest a slow digesting protein before bedtime so they continue to feed their bodies as they sleep. A casein protein shake will do just that. You will feel full and not wake up with that empty pit feeling in your stomach.

 

[Bluce Ree]

I want to build up now. I cant seem to get my upper body to respond as quickly as I would like. I need to bulk up my upper body to get that proper male "V" shape. I have nice muscle tone and am lean, but not enough upper body mass.

Chest, shoulders and especially back. Spread the body parts to separate days so you don't overwhelm yourself. I can email you my routine, if you'd like, and it's not necessary to go too heavy on the weights.

If you find you haven't grown much lately, you may have plateaued. Try varying your workouts, movements, types of exercise, etc, every 4-6 weeks. Muscle confusion actually works and was conceived by the Bulgarians, if I recall. Similar principle as the P90X workout videos you see on TV.

 

[Gatefan1976]

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. The human body was designed to go through a seasonal cycle:

1. Conceive in Winter (most births happen in late Winter just before Spring when there is abundant food)
2. Eat carbs and build muscle in Spring and Summer when food is still abundant
3. Store fat and reduce activity in lat Fall and early Winter
4. Sleep 12 hours per day in Winter (minimum) and conserve body fat. This is the best time to conceive children.

Eating foods out of season is unnatural, but most people dont realize it. I know we cant live the ideal lifestyle in our technological culture, but at least knowing what it is can help. The normal sleep cycle is supposed to be from sundown to sunrise. Melatonin production is controlled by light.

Well, you're screwed buddy