I fully agree with everything said above, but I believe it refers mostely to the so called old-school Atkins. Personally I am and have always been opposed to it.

I refer to my question to Drew above about there being confusion between Atkins and on the other hand a diet where you eat a fair amount of lean protein, but also plenty of fruit&veg and a moderate amount of complex carbs.

Personally I have not cut out all complex carbs, only cut down a bit and upped the lean protein instead, but I have drastically limited my intake of sugars and 'white' wheat&rice (ie simple carbs). (Boiled potatoes are a staple in the national diet and I grow my own, so I obviously still eat them, though).

As a further clarification, I'm a runner, not on a weight-loss program and haven't struggled with my weight for the past 15 years. I upped the lean proteins and cut out the simple carbs out of curiosity to see what, if any, difference it would make. So far I'm pleased with the results, I feel more full and satisfied for longer periods after the meals, and it also seems to have a positive effect on the body-composition (stubborn 'cosmetic' fat in lower limbs has finally shifted, and physical appearance in lower body is leaner and the muscles are more clearly visible).

markerbull wrote:

QUOTE:
1942 parade in DC. There is a NON PC sign that says to eat fruit and strangely there isnt one fat kid in there. Must be another coincidence because you don't see this in DC anymore.

Another place to check out some pics of ppl from back in the day is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/sets/72157603671370361/?page=6

You can even add your own notes like "Hmmm...where are all the obese ppl? Genetics my ass!!" or "b4 HFCS" and the like.

I swear I almost every pic with a person in it and not ONE fatty, then again maybe the rich ppl were like that and they just don't have pics..either way, very interesting.

Btw, here's one obese person;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2179047512/in/set-72157603671370361/

The notes on that one are pretty funny.

Those old pictures are a trip. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time frame. Things sure to look simpler.

It is truly amazing how many people have born with fat genes since these pictures were taken.

Mary45 wrote:

QUOTE:


As a further clarification, I'm a runner, not on a weight-loss program and haven't struggled with my weight for the past 15 years. I upped the lean proteins and cut out the simple carbs out of curiosity to see what, if any, difference it would make.

same here, it's funny when people critique your diet without any knowledge of your own physical goals. happens a lot with stocky personal trainers who want you to 'bulk' up

Chris wrote:

QUOTE:
Those old pictures are a trip. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time frame. Things sure to look simpler.

It is truly amazing how many people have born with fat genes since these pictures were taken.

I found a couple pics with maybe one moderately overweight person in them. That was it. No one with "Santabelly" or multiple chins. Even the overweight people were maybe like 40 lbs overweight at the most, and there were only 2 in the dozens of photos in the set that I browsed! Wow, fat genes must be a very new phenomenon, right? lolz.

In this photo, you see that people are enjoying treats (this was during a fair, so obviously a special occasion). But you see no fat people piling it on to their plates greedily and devouring it all. People didn't used to regard things like cake, doughnuts, cookies, and pie as everyday food, and thus it was a special thing to indulge in such food and most people didn't shove it down their hole the way people do now. There were fat people, but they were in the minority. The ability to become fat was not afforded to most people as there wasn't as much excess food about. And people these days rarely do the work to make such treats from scratch with pure ingredients - the ready-made versions they get now are heavy with preservatives and weird chemicals. Now the crops used to make these ready made confections are subsidized and cheap, and thus people can afford more junk food than they could back then. Plus most people in the middle class during the early part of the 20th century did manual labor much of the day. A lot of people now spend an 8-hour day behind a desk, then come home and watch television and eat, and that doesn't include all the crap people consume through their day. People still want to eat the farmer's portions without doing the farmer's work!

Namaste wrote:

QUOTE:
In this photo, you see that people are enjoying treats (this was during a fair, so obviously a special occasion). But you see no fat people piling it on to their plates greedily and devouring it all. People didn't used to regard things like cake, doughnuts, cookies, and pie as everyday food, and thus it was a special thing to indulge in such food and most people didn't shove it down their hole the way people do now. There were fat people, but they were in the minority. The ability to become fat was not afforded to most people as there wasn't as much excess food about. And people these days rarely do the work to make such treats from scratch with pure ingredients - the ready-made versions they get now are heavy with preservatives and weird chemicals. Now the crops used to make these ready made confections are subsidized and cheap, and thus people can afford more junk food than they could back then. Plus most people in the middle class during the early part of the 20th century did manual labor much of the day. A lot of people now spend an 8-hour day behind a desk, then come home and watch television and eat, and that doesn't include all the crap people consume through their day. People still want to eat the farmer's portions without doing the farmer's work!

All carbs!

Monday is one of my busy days, so I don't have much time to reply here. I recommend checking out www.thepaleodiet.com, as most of my responses would mirror those there.

Also, www.bodyrecomposition.com for more information than you ever wanted to know about nutrition and fitness.

We are not "designed" to be restricted to such low protein intakes. There is plenty of research showing the benefits to higher protein intakes, especially for strength/power athletes.

There was also a research review published a few years back dispelling the myths about higher protein intakes being damaging to kidneys, liver, etc., unless there were pre-existing problems.

Quick note on Atkins - macronutrient ratios are only part of the picture - where those nutrients come from is also important.

For example, a "Zone" diet of 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fats would produce very different outcomes if the carbs were from fresh vegetables and fruits than if they were from a lot of pastas, grains, and HFCS, the fats were heavily saturated versus monounsaturated, and if the protein was poor quality or incomplete versus higher quality lean meat, poultry, fish and eggs.

In a nutshell - I recommend consuming moderate portions of lean proteins, massive amounts of fresh vegetables (which will result in only moderate to low calorie intakes from veggies), and moderate portions of fruits, nuts, and healthy fats. Next client here, gotta go.

DrewBaye wrote:

QUOTE:
Monday is one of my busy days, so I don't have much time to reply here. I recommend checking out www.thepaleodiet.com, as most of my responses would mirror those there.

Also, www.bodyrecomposition.com for more information than you ever wanted to know about nutrition and fitness.

We are not "designed" to be restricted to such low protein intakes. There is plenty of research showing the benefits to higher protein intakes, especially for strength/power athletes.

There was also a research review published a few years back dispelling the myths about higher protein intakes being damaging to kidneys, liver, etc., unless there were pre-existing problems.

Quick note on Atkins - macronutrient ratios are only part of the picture - where those nutrients come from is also important.

For example, a "Zone" diet of 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fats would produce very different outcomes if the carbs were from fresh vegetables and fruits than if they were from a lot of pastas, grains, and HFCS, the fats were heavily saturated versus monounsaturated, and if the protein was poor quality or incomplete versus higher quality lean meat, poultry, fish and eggs.

In a nutshell - I recommend consuming moderate portions of lean proteins, massive amounts of fresh vegetables (which will result in only moderate to low calorie intakes from veggies), and moderate portions of fruits, nuts, and healthy fats. Next client here, gotta go.

The difference between complex and and simple carbs is how quickly the are broken down in the small intestine before they are transported to the liver and stored as glycogen. No matter what you eat fat, protein or carbs they all end up in one or two forms glycogen or fat.

Your advice is right on about diet. High carb in the form of plants is the healthiest way of eating there is.

C.Ricci wrote:

QUOTE:
markerbull wrote:

QUOTE:
1942 parade in DC. There is a NON PC sign that says to eat fruit and strangely there isnt one fat kid in there. Must be another coincidence because you don't see this in DC anymore.

Another place to check out some pics of ppl from back in the day is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/sets/72157603671370361/?page=6

You can even add your own notes like "Hmmm...where are all the obese ppl? Genetics my ass!!" or "b4 HFCS" and the like.

I swear I almost every pic with a person in it and not ONE fatty, then again maybe the rich ppl were like that and they just don't have pics..either way, very interesting.

Btw, here's one obese person;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2179047512/in/set-72157603671370361/

The notes on that one are pretty funny.

I remember when I was in junior high 1993-95. There was one really fat kid, and one slightly overweight kid in our whole class. When my younger brother was in the same grade 6 years later, about 1 out of every 5 kids were overweight.
Now, when I go to the mall or movie theater I see more fat kids than thin kids.
I am going to have to really take extra care in teaching my daughter how to be healthy by the time she is ready for school.
I won't let her become one of the statistical fat kids. If I let that happen I would consider it failure as a parent on my part.