The Master Buffeteer on A Buffet Diet

[Buckterrier]

an 18oz. rib-eye would be approx. 1,600 calories, and 145 grams of fat.
That's enough fat in one meal for 10 days?????????????
Better lay off the ranch dressing

[dd74]

Pro cyclists burn 3,000 calories a day. Just something to consider...

[Tim Hancock]

I don't know how many calories I was taking in, but I did the Atkins deal for two weeks a couple months ago. I was staying at about 20 grams of carbs a day by eating bacon, turkey ham, chicken, hamburgers without the bun, steak, cheese, salad w/ a bit of ranch dressing, black coffee and lots of water. I lost 8 lbs and was stuffing myself on the above food items.

It was great at first, but I could only swing it for two weeks. I had recently had blood work done and suprisingly my cholesteral numbers were all real good, so I was not worried about the temporary fat intake in regards to my two week bacon bonanza.

Bottom line..... extremely low carb diets work, but long term, I don't think they are very healthy.

[cgarr]

Maybe this will work for you?

[dd74]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

Bottom line..... extremely low carb diets work, but long term, I don't think they are very healthy.

This is correct. The carbs are the fuel to help burn the protein. If a person eats large portions of protein without any carbs, they'll be a stopped-up glob of cholesterol.

[tabs]

I really don't care what you believe or don't believe. I have lost close to 60 lbs, by restricting Carbs to under 100 grams a day. There is no problem with maintaing that level. Last time my Cholesteral level was 163...so you can go figure it out.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by tabs

I have lost close to 60 lbs.

Cutting off your head doesn't count.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by dd74

Cutting off your head doesn't count.

Yes yes now I am just a talking head.

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by tabs

Yes yes now I am just a talking head.

Um... that would be cutting off your body.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

Um... that would be cutting off your body.

He means the other head.

[Scott R]

The diet works, however you can't really ever get off it. The real key is to become efficient in processing what you're taking in. I've lost a 100lbs, and have kept it off now for 4 years, I'm 40 soon, and I'm ripped enough to be on the cover of Men's Health magazine, but it takes a great deal of time. Between weight training and cardio, and custom meal planning its a full time job.

Good for you Tabs, congratulations on your weight loss and keep it up! Whatever works, and whatever you like, is good for you.

[Buckterrier]

So it's all about weight and not health? hmmmm

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

So it's all about weight and not health? hmmmm

Still healthy, less stress on the heart and other organs.

[LakeCleElum]

I dunno, I'm kinda depressed about all this....After I take my meds in the mornings, I've exceeded my calorie intake for the day????? Where do you go from there?

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by Scott R

Still healthy, less stress on the heart and other organs.

Eating a 20 oz. rib-eye is never healthy, sure losing weight is obviously better for you. But replacing muscle and bone mass with plaque in your arteries... I don't know.
And I commend you for your weight loss.

[Mo_Gearhead]

Weight loss ... a Billion Dollar per year industry.

Eat LESS
Exercise MORE

How much did that cost you?

[Carrman]

Originally Posted by dd74

This is correct. The carbs are the fuel to help burn the protein. If a person eats large portions of protein without any carbs, they'll be a stopped-up glob of cholesterol.

I was on low carbs for several years, had blood work done before, during and after, and my cholestrol never went up.

There's several ways to lose weight, but cutting carbs is one of the most effective ways. I quickly and easily lost 45+ lbs, and have kept it off for 5 years now. During the first few years I exercised quite a bit, but I haven't exercised one bit in the past year or so, and have still kept the weight off by not eating a lot of carbs.

No one would stay under 20 carbs per day for long term, you'd lose too much weight and there'd be no reason for it. But I was under 60-80 carbs per day for years (still try to keep it as low as possible). I had the blood work done because, while I was pretty certain the "protein without carbs will shoot up your cholesterol" argument was BS, I wasn't sure (only 1 way to be sure), and I didn't want to damage my health. Plus, I love experiments.

[Carrman]

Originally Posted by Mo_Gearhead

Weight loss ... a Billion Dollar per year industry.

Eat LESS
Exercise MORE

How much did that cost you?

I think the theory behind low carbs is that in the absence of carbs to burn, your body begins burning fat. You body burns carbs, fat, then muscle, in that order.

Even though low carbs have been very effective for me, I still am not sure if I buy that theory 100%. The other idea is that your body is basically just a calorie counter, if you burn more calories than you intake on any given day, you will lose weight on that day, and vice versa.

But anyways, one of the benefits of low carbs that I found was that it helps you stay disciplined. It completely eliminates a LOT of foods from your diet. Basically, anything processed is gone, you are mostly eating whole foods - unprocessed chicken, fish, meat, veggies, nuts, salad, etc. Junk food is eliminated completely.

[Tim Hancock]

Your body converts unused carbs to fat....when on an extremely low carb diet (under 20 carbs/day), not only does your body quit adding to your fat, but your body switches gears and starts using reseves of fat for energy. To really get the large initial weight loss, you have to strictly keepyour carb intake VERY low to make your body start burning the fat instead of the carbs. Less than 20 grams of carbs per day takes a bit of research and label reading to attain. Basically anything with sugar is out and even some veggies have some carbs (carrots are bad). Fruit is also a no go. A glass of grape or orange juice will be about 30 grams of carbs.

When I did this for two weeks, I drank only black coffee (normally I do the cream and sugar) and I ate lots of plain hamburgers with no bun or condiments (2-3 double cheeseburgers from BK minus the buns), salads with a small amount of ranch dressing and some strips of ham/cheese, Grilled chicken, bacon and eggs, lunch meat, fish, cheese and small quantities of veggies. After two weeks, I was dying for a plate of pasta. I simply wanted to drop 10 lbs and it pretty much worked. Those who want to lose more eventually slowly start increasing carb intake as they approach their target weight then the goal is to stay on a "somewhat" low carb diet from there on to keep the weight off.

As I state earlier, I don't claim that eating a bunch of greasy burgers and bacon is healthy, but my cholesteral is very low and I was not worried in the least bit that two weeks of a non nutritious diet would hurt me long term. The first week is easy and I loved shoveling all the meat down my gullet and still seeing a weight loss each morning, but by the end of the second week, I was ready to start eating my normal food again.

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by Carrman

I think the theory behind low carbs is that in the absence of carbs to burn, your body begins burning fat. You body burns carbs, fat, then muscle, in that order.

Isn't it glycogen, muscle, then fat? Fat is the hardest thing to access. Think of your body as a carburetor. It needs fuel, (gas), and oxygen. If you starve it of oxygen it won't function properly. Your body needs fuel, (glycogen and or fat), and oxygen. If you can't get enough oxygen you can't burn the fat. You'll burn muscle. That's why sedentary folks loose muscle mass as much if not more than they loose fat when dieting.
Lets say you want to lift weights and run a few miles as your exercise for the day. And your goal is to loose weight, (fat). You'd lift first as that burns the glycogen. Then when you run you'll burn fat.
What's great is when people say the cut down on carbs. Don't get me wrong, they are. But if people understood just how little a body needs it would amaze most, (approx. 120 grams a day). Think about it, you "snack" on a package of Twinkes. 50 grams in the little buggers, damn near two meals worth.
But as stated above , basically eat less and exercise more. Someone else stated above that to much carbs turns to fat, yes correct. But that also goes for protein and fat.