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I think your post wins the "worst analogy in this discussion" award. There is so much pseudo-science on every side of this debate that I'm against just about a

I think your post wins the "worst analogy in this discussion" award. There is so much pseudo-science on every side of this debate that I'm against just about anybody who takes an absolutist position in the way you have. Personally, from my own research and experimentation in my own diet, I firmly believe that weight is an I/O issue though good health is more complex than that. While Atkins never specifically advocated for calorie restriction, it strikes me as common sense that some portion of new Atkins dieters experience positive results due to calorie restriction. It can be difficult to replace the number of calories in pastas, pizza, etc, in part just based on caloric density. It's also confused by the fact that Atkins and other (if not "fad" then "theme" might be a better word?) diets have to change both physical, calorie I/O issues, and mental issues to truly be effective long term. While I truly believe that for weight loss, 2000 calories of fast food is the same as 2000 calories of lean protein, fruits and veg, after the period of strict control (the "diet") the person eating 2000 calories of fast food has not done much to truly change their habits and mindset. I, personally, have accomplished a lot by intermittent fasting (didn't know it had a name until later, to me it was just about not eating as much during the day in favor of a bigger dinner) and learning that it's OK to feel not-full. And to learn the difference between hunger and feeling not-full. I went from 210 to 170 and lost 55 pounds!! of fat during the process. I have a big dinner (usually 50% of my daily caloric intake) and dessert every night (another 20%). That's complimented by a lunch of around 25% of my daily intake. Very infrequent snacking. No breakfast, even on Gym days, and no soft drinks only water, aside from alcoholic beverages.

crusso 13y ago
You stand behind the I/O issue and then later admit to benefitting from fasting techniques which are most likely affecting your insulin cycle, which is the purpose of a low carb diet. Atkins dieters experience positive results due to calorie restriction When you're on a low carb diet, your carb cravings are reduced or go away. You tend to eat less. It seems like you wanted to be snarky about the analogy I made but you didn't really understand it.
- encoderer 13y ago
  Maybe I didn't understand it, you tell me. You're suggesting (with scoff) that driving fewer miles will naturally reduce risk of accident, so by putting less gas in the car you'll force yourself to drive fewer miles. So you tell me what I'm missing there. Because as interpreted that's a pretty poor analogy. More importantly, I'm not trying to be a critic on your writing style, which is why I have 1 sentence about the analogy followed by paragraphs about your larger point. Looking at the mental portion of this, the learning to eat less and better, your comments about atkins..."tend to eat less" reminds me of exactly what I say about my strategy of "intermittent fasting." (Which is a phrase I didn't learn until recently, well after I've lost the weight). What I mean is, in both cases, behavioral changes lead to eating less. And I firmly, 100% believe that THAT is the primary mechanism that worked for me. Not changes to insulin levels effecting metabolism. But specifically: I eat far less than I used to. Far less. And THAT is why I've lost weight. And intermittent fasting helps me to accomplish that the way Atkins does to followers of that diet, ditto Paleo, ditto the Cookie Diet, etc. Most importantly: I hope everybody acknowledges that there's mountains of contradictory research and a lot of complicated science here that nobody really understands. All we know for sure is what has worked for us, not even always why, and we are on very thin ice advocating to others what they should do.
  - crusso 13y ago
    From what you've posted in this thread, I gather that you have not taken the time to understand insulin, what it is, and how low carb diets affect insulin, carbohydrate cravings and cell metabolism. First link briefly covers the insulin response second link is general information regarding insulin. http://www.spinalhealth.net/insulin.html http://www.spinalhealth.net/insulin.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin See the Gary Taube youtube link elsewhere in this thread for a great deal more information. mountains of contradictory research Not really. There's mountains of research and then public policy officials and non-scientist nutritionists that have let the food industry provide guidelines and cheap foods that aren't really good for us. As Gary Taube points out in the video link, the science is old news. The puzzling thing is why the science has been ignored for so long.

crusso 13y ago

You stand behind the I/O issue and then later admit to benefitting from fasting techniques which are most likely affecting your insulin cycle, which is the purpose of a low carb diet. Atkins dieters experience positive results due to calorie restriction When you're on a low carb diet, your carb cravings are reduced or go away. You tend to eat less. It seems like you wanted to be snarky about the analogy I made but you didn't really understand it.

encoderer 13y ago
Maybe I didn't understand it, you tell me. You're suggesting (with scoff) that driving fewer miles will naturally reduce risk of accident, so by putting less gas in the car you'll force yourself to drive fewer miles. So you tell me what I'm missing there. Because as interpreted that's a pretty poor analogy. More importantly, I'm not trying to be a critic on your writing style, which is why I have 1 sentence about the analogy followed by paragraphs about your larger point. Looking at the mental portion of this, the learning to eat less and better, your comments about atkins..."tend to eat less" reminds me of exactly what I say about my strategy of "intermittent fasting." (Which is a phrase I didn't learn until recently, well after I've lost the weight). What I mean is, in both cases, behavioral changes lead to eating less. And I firmly, 100% believe that THAT is the primary mechanism that worked for me. Not changes to insulin levels effecting metabolism. But specifically: I eat far less than I used to. Far less. And THAT is why I've lost weight. And intermittent fasting helps me to accomplish that the way Atkins does to followers of that diet, ditto Paleo, ditto the Cookie Diet, etc. Most importantly: I hope everybody acknowledges that there's mountains of contradictory research and a lot of complicated science here that nobody really understands. All we know for sure is what has worked for us, not even always why, and we are on very thin ice advocating to others what they should do.
- crusso 13y ago
  From what you've posted in this thread, I gather that you have not taken the time to understand insulin, what it is, and how low carb diets affect insulin, carbohydrate cravings and cell metabolism. First link briefly covers the insulin response second link is general information regarding insulin. http://www.spinalhealth.net/insulin.html http://www.spinalhealth.net/insulin.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin See the Gary Taube youtube link elsewhere in this thread for a great deal more information. mountains of contradictory research Not really. There's mountains of research and then public policy officials and non-scientist nutritionists that have let the food industry provide guidelines and cheap foods that aren't really good for us. As Gary Taube points out in the video link, the science is old news. The puzzling thing is why the science has been ignored for so long.