I’ve never tried a low carb diet…I’d say I eat a moderate carb diet (30-40% carbs). I was always under the impression that these low carb diets were just a fad. However, I see a lot of people still follow them. What’s the final consensus? Why did it lose its popularity in the mainstream?
When low fat became the new fad.
The sad truth is this
People (the general retarded masses) generally equate dietary fat with bodyfat, fat = fat. Most people think, sadly, that eating fat will make them fat, because, well, fat IS fat!
On many low carb diets, people cut out the carbs and ate a lot of crappy, low quality food. They also shunned vegetables because, technically, vegetables are carbs!!
So now you have a bunch of people eating those Atkins and Boost low-carb shakes, afraid to eat fat, and underconsuming vegetables. And they felt like shit and got gallstones. Well no fucking shit!! When you cut carbs it is ESSENTIAL that you increase fats, which many people were afraid to do. Those that DID increase their fats probably were eating bacon and pork rinds like Dr. Atkins said instead of avocado, nuts, and fish oil.
So in conclusion, low carb got a bad rap because the general public did not know how to diet correctly, werent exercising, still afraid to eat fat, consuming those god-awful Atkins products, and had an underconsumption of fiber and vegetables. The media jumped all over low carb and said “its unhealthy, its too much fat, people are lethargic, bullshit bullshit bullshit.”
Diet is a tricky thing, but if you know how to low-carb it correctly, its actually quite easy. I crave natty almond butter more than I do pizza and ice cream!
I agree with Mapshooter for sure! I’ve been on a low carb, KETO protocol diet for almost a month now and its the BEST thing…FOR ME, that is. Its how YOUR body works it. Atkins gave it all a bad rap cause like Map said, no one knew how to configure it CORRECTLY! Check out alot of CT’s articles esp “Reformed Physique transformation” and it give you a good run down of it. You’re basicaly replacing the carbs with GOOD fats to be used as energy, (fat adapted).
I take in alot of fishoils, Natural PB, EVOO, egg yolks and nuts, in place of carbs. With a standard Keto diet the Carbs are like less than 30 grams a day but your fats are up to 120-150 grams…all of the GOOD ones. Its hard for the first couple of weeks, and as CT said “it takes about 10-14 days of this strict protocol to become fat adapted”, but my cravings too have deminished.
I crave more natty PB, than say a pizza, bun burger and samm’ich now a days as well. You should at least TRY it and if it doesnt work for you or you goals, just go back. I’ve been able to drop a good amount of BF% in just the one month, the pics prove it!!
Ill have to say too, keeping with the topic title, yes LOW carb ATKINS was and still is a fad as far as I’m concerned, but there is alot more to it if you want to do it correctly!! 
There was and still is nothing wrong with what Atkins advocated for. What he started has evolved into the AD and other approaches that yield great results for a section of the population that needed the help that traditional approaches failed to help. The approach now is better and it works simply because smart people began to listen and add their critical contributions to it. But make no mistake about it, without Atkins to point out how ineffective low fat was in getting results there is a good chance that low carb would still be something needing to be discovered.
To adopt a low carb diet is to go against a ton of social inertia that says “fat is bad”. Plus, apple pie is tasty and when you’re carb adapted (addicted) the thought of not eating it again is a little too much to handle.
[quote]905Patrick wrote:
There was and still is nothing wrong with what Atkins advocated for. What he started has evolved into the AD and other approaches that yield great results for a section of the population that needed the help that traditional approaches failed to help. The approach now is better and it works simply because smart people began to listen and add their critical contributions to it. But make no mistake about it, without Atkins to point out how ineffective low fat was in getting results there is a good chance that low carb would still be something needing to be discovered.
To adopt a low carb diet is to go against a ton of social inertia that says “fat is bad”. Plus, apple pie is tasty and when you’re carb adapted (addicted) the thought of not eating it again is a little too much to handle.[/quote]
Well, the FAD part comes from the fact that people looked at the diet as:
ALL THE BACON and BUTTER you want! Eat butter sticks wrapped in bacon and dipped into pulled pork (no bbq sauce unless it’s splenda based)…and, oh yeah, eat some broccoli. If you need a snack, have this 2000 calorie sugar free chocolate bar for a snack…
At a certain point, all the ‘gimmicky’ or ‘gadgety’ items that were being sold, as well as the misuse of Atkin’s induction phase as a cop-out to ever introducing low GI carbohydrates and sensible meal timing ,etc. it died under it’s own weight.
So, yeah, for the masses, it was a fad that didn’t last.
For those that can see how it fits and how it should fit with one’s body, it’s valid.
“Oh, I supposed to exercise on the Atkins Diet, too?”
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
“Oh, I supposed to exercise on the Atkins Diet, too?”[/quote]
Ahhhhhhhhhh fuck yeah, “we forgot that”!! LOL , I personally worked as a “food coordinator” for Jenny Craig, and laughed at ppl when they said the program sucked, cause they would go for the food and $$ but forgot the all important rule:: diet AND exercise LOL too funny
LOW CARBS… a fad since man stood upright…
The reality of any low carb diet is that, conceptually, the principles are accurate in terms of how the body processes (and stores) sugar. Unfortunately, the faddish low carb diets only talk about the 10% of the story that will make them 90% of the money.
The reality is that if you want to look/perform like an athlete, bodybuilder, fitness model, whatever, you not only have to train like them, you MUST eat like them. This means ‘managing’ carb intake, period. Ain’t no way of getting around it.
Who gives a fuck about the mainstream? As long as they have a voracious appetite for quick fixes, let 'em stay fat.
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.” – Einstein
I want to try low carb for shit n’ giggles.
[quote]Digity wrote:
I want to try low carb for shit n’ giggles.[/quote]
Well, make sure you get enough fiber, either in food or powder/pill form, or you won’t be doing much of either.
your average joe sixpack moron views “low carb” as “i’m going to eat hamburgers, steak, cheese, eggs, etc. all day and not touch any veggies” and then wonders why his health goes to shit
low carb does not mean low fiber
[quote]LightsOutLuthor wrote:
Digity wrote:
I want to try low carb for shit n’ giggles.
Well, make sure you get enough fiber, either in food or powder/pill form, or you won’t be doing much of either.[/quote]
haha, been there
i still strongly believe carbs should not be limited for long periods of time. i have had great success losng body fat when low-carbing, but carb cycling helped me lose body fat as well, without losing so much muscle.
For all those people who think ketogenic and low carb diets are “unhealthy”
Lets agree that modern man has been around for 25,000 years, give or take a few thousand
Grain agriculture has been around for what, 2-3 thousand years, probably less . . .
So for the MAJORITY of our existance, mankind has sufficed without harvested grains, bread, etc. What did you think primitive hunters ate? Fucking wheat thins? Fish, meat, berries, nuts and that was about it. Disease, particularly colon, became prominent once manufactured grains became the primary energy source.
The paleolithic diet is spot on. You want to eradicate disease, you want to eradicate obesity? Stop eating processed fucking carbs! Its that simple!!
do you have a sedentary job ? then you probably don’t deserve those grains you are chowing down right now
The key with low carb diets is that low carb diets does not = meat and sugar alcohols.
The meat and sugar alcohols diet was the “fad”, the actual meat, vegetables, and fruits diet is the thing you’re supposed to be doing.
I once had a guy see me eat broccoli and steak and said “I thought the vast majority of people realized that these low carb diets just don’t work”, with a huge air of smugness and a little passive aggressive tone. Really pissed me off, especially given all my research into nutrition over the last 2 years. I said, “yes, appeal to an authority that is 60%+ overweight and diabetic.”
I’ve been on the low carb diet for since 30/6, first week was brutal, last week was alright not really craving as much and well now it doesnt bother me, i do keep up with my fiber intake, a lot of atkins/low carb products have extra fiber added to them which is great because i now snack on them, nuts and got this nut butter i geuss its called, a mix of a few different nuts instead of pb, its great kills any cravings i want my macro breakdown is p:c:f 45/5/50, or similar to that ratio, first 2 days my body was dead, now im going good
Just don’t stuff yourself with white bread. But also don’t start worrying about the carb content of a tomato.
once again to prove how braindead most people and “experts” are when it comes to nutrition:
you heard it here first, white bread is good for you because “white bread has less fibre, it means that more of the calcium is absorbed. You should try to give the kids wholemeal as a rule but white bread does have some nutritional benefits.”
who the hell wants meat and veggies, i want some insulin resistance instead please