ATKINS- weight loss-lack of energy etc
 

firstly hi :)

my names ross im 5 ft 8.5 and weigh around 14 stone 3.
i used to be a muscly bugger but had a big car accident and am now a bit tubby. i joined a gym about a month ago and started the atkins diet (no carbs) on monday, iv read through the posts on here regarding the diet and notce alot of you use it for slimming up but am in a dilema.

i currently train 3 days a week (mon, wed and fri) monday at the gym was great, more energy than ever and loved it but come weds session i was absolutely fooked! iv never sweated so much (perhaps due to drinking more water than ever?) and felt rather weaker than usual.

now my diet consists of:

scrammbled egg for breakfast

chicken with salad (toms, cucumber, lettuce, olives)

hour or so before the gym (to try and give me energy so im not burning muscle) im having an ommlet (3 eggs, meat and one veg)

protein shake after gym (90+) only on gym days

tea consists of a steak (of some sort) sausages veg and usually a couple of eggs.

im drinking lots of water throughout the day.


iv also noticed (as of yet and i know its early days) iv lost no weight whatso ever! now i realise i may put a bit of muscle on but i expected to loose at least a cople of pounds with me training AND being on a low (next to no) carb diet.
is there a reason for this? i can put up my training programme to if you like.

im aiming to loose weight and tone up as iv got an opp in the new year and wont be training for 3-4 months so want to get my weight down (between 12-13 stone if poss) so when i start training again i can get straight into bulking.

im not "fat" so to speak and have always had good arms and big legs.

the areas im struggling with are love handles, belly and tops of legs. my shoulders, arms and back are coming on good as are the top half of my abs (still podgy but can see the muscles)

please help :)

anyone? back at gym tonight and dont wanna feel as drained!

firstly i would feel drained and lethargic if that was all i was eating, personaly i need carbs for energy and like most people carry a bit of lard im 5ft 9in 14st 4lb. use a mirror not ths scales,and 3 days training out of 7 not enough, for energy try some of the pre-workout stuff ie no-explode i personaly dont take this type of thing but a few at the gym use it.....

i thought 3 days would be good as a starting point from doing nothing. i work all body parts (as im trying to loose weight/tone up)

i understand the mirror statement but im not liking what i see there at the moment either :(

im just a bit dissapointed iv not lost much/anything. obviously its early days and i shall carry on for another week untill i decide if its a waste of time or not.

does anyone else take a wile to loose weight on this diet?

just for your info my training consists of:

15-20mins running on teadmill

4x10 shoulder press (usually 15kg per arm)
4x10 flys (12.5kg per arm)
4x20 situps with medicen ball
4x10 bench press 50kg
4x10 squats 50-60kg
4x10 calf raises 120kg
4x10 bicep curls 15kg

seems to be a fair amount of training, the only thing i can say is 1- it takes time.2- everybody is different,reassess your self in another six to ten weeks, just stick with it.....

well, i went tot he gym again on friday and felt alot better :) it might have something to do with the red bull (light!!!) i had before training but other than a bit undermotivated (was just one of those days lol) it all went fine. also feel more awake than usual now but that may be to do with me getting fitter, also noticing im droppin a little size off my belly now :) so i shall weigh myself when i get home, but im more interested in what the mirror tells me if im honest.

foods getting a bit boring now tho i have to say!!!! 7days without one sneaky bit of food, diet 100% :)

You need to buy an atkins book and do it properly before you do yourself some lasting damage mate. Id bet money that your not even in ketosis with that food intake!

carbs = engrgy.......nuff said

I drop my carbs when I want to cut up. You can have a small amount, say around 80g a day. This should be rice mixed in with a few of your meals. Upping your water intake to 6-8 pints a day will help aswell.

45 mins a day walking fast.......not jogging or running.

Also bud....... Your training, you wont see muscle grow fast as hitting to many large muscle groups in one session a few times a week.

I do my chest on Monday
Arms and shoulders on Tuesday
Back on Wednesday
Legs Thursday.

On 2 of my seesions I add some abs, only 5 mins of abs but work them to the max.

To be honest mate...... your training and diet needs to be looked at then wait for the gains!

I can sort you out a complete diet and training plan if you want.

atkins should be really strict for the first week iirc, this puts your body into ketosis (as stu says) now if i remember right this is where your body starts eating the fat on your body for energy rather than the carbs that you intake, so the first week you have to be 100% strict, have a read up on google thats all i did.

my step brother when 15stone if he wants, he will do one strict week of atkins and he loses a stone, no probs

when i did it, it took 3 weeks or there abouts and i lost a stone, after a month and two weeks about a stone and a half, then i went on holiday... say no more lol

i wouldnt mind getting back on it myself as it works for me, but your right in what you say, i feel really tired, un energetic,

jim

I have dropped 7lbs in 7 day on 0 carbs. Keeping protein high is a must as your body will tap in your muscle aswell as fat stores. Keeping protein levels above 300g a day and 8 pints of water will help your kidneys due to high protein levels and also help with bowels as you wont be getting any fibre from a 0 carb diet.

I know I can do 80g a day on carbs and keep bf and weight stable without loosing any muscle.

I wouldnt go for an "Atkins" all protein diet but get a balanced diet, some complex carbs (low sugar) and plenty of protein. Drink ltrs of water a day, (Im on 2-3) to help liver and kidneys perform to their max and up your cardio, high heart rate exercise, Im sure somebody on here can say what heart rate you need to keep above to achieve decent fat burning.

Can anybody recommend a decent read for fat loss? I would like a decent book to work to also.

vince got it right many moons ago,2/3 days of protien and then a day of carbs,but dont go to mad on them if your slimming,failing that check out LA muscle tv on sky 281,if you look long enuf your get plenty of help on there.......