Quote:
Originally Posted by WarChild
Personally, I think Atkins is nuts. Unless you're a body builder trying to go from 8% to 5% body fat for a competition, you're crazy to rely on atkins.
Yes, atkins does work, you will burn fat. It's not a lifestyle though. You can't keep assaulting your renal system with fats. Your muscles won't show any significant growth without carbs. The _ONLY_ effective way to lose a beer belly, is to change your lifestyle.
For a man, the stomach is going to be the core area for fat. It's the first fat that builds up and the last fat you burn off. You never see anyone with a ripped six pack and fatty arms and neck. You do see people with a ripped upper body and some fat around the belly.
Diets are a fad quick-fix solution that rarerly ever work in the long run. Consider eating quality foods, carbs, proteins and fats in the correct proportion in sensible sized meals and adding exercise.
A diet will never improve your heart or cardio. On top of that, if you took a guy 100 pounds over weight, and burned every ounce of fat off, he'd just look like a ridiculous skeleton with excess skin hanging off. You want to burn fat off to a reasonable level, and then add lean muscle. Lean muscle will burn more calories in the long run. You don't get that ripped lean look by just losing your body fat, you have to build up the muscle as well. You can't accomplish this in a meaningful way without exercise and carbs to fuel your muscles.
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That's a great fucking post and true.
Here's the thing. Cutting carbs is smart, but doing Atkins style carb cutting is bad news. It does work in the short term but it's not a permanent solution like a lifestyle change is. The reason you need to cut carbs is because most of the carbs we consume are "empty carbs," like white rice, white bread, and of course casked and cookies, which I unfortunately happen to love. So cutting carbs wisely is advisable, but don't cut all carbs. Eat carbs the right way--natural carbs like fruits (not juices) and whole grains.
Of course it's not all about carbs. You have to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Fish is a big part of that. So are vegetable and a fair amount of greens. Basically,make a concerted effort to have grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats.
Exercise. No real way around it. But you don't have to go to the gym. I hate the fucking treadmill. So I walk and play tennis and lift weights a little.
I'm just starting cause I am 25 pounds overweight too. But I know fad diets suck. The best is to use common sense and incorporate healthy lifestyle knowledge from a lot of sources. For example--Atkins is not total horseshit, but also not a real long term solution. He is right that carbs are fattening us. But they thing you have to cut out is bad foods, whether it's carbs, sugar, etc.
I agree with all those who said it's making a lifestyle choice. East better,drink better and get some exercise, min of 30 mins 3x per week. It's not hard to find 90 extra minutes per week. If you don't, you'll have to find time for illness down the road.