Sorry guys this should have come before the last one.
Today is the first day of the Zone diet. I weighed in at 261 today (1 pound heavier than yesterday for some reason).
I'd like to discuss the rules:
1. Everything revolves around increasing good eicosanoids and decreasing bad eicosanoids (which I will discuss what they are later) and thus putting yourself in the "Zone."
2. The most important rule is the ratio of carbs to fat to protein. It should be 30% fat, 30% protein, and 40% carbs.
3. The 40% carbs should be of low glycemic index (low insulin spiking). This means no sugar, high fructose sugar, cokes, candy, etc. In some respects this is similar to Atkins.
4. Avoid saturated fats.
5. Avoid bad carbs, those mentioned above, but also things like potatoes and corn.
6. Include as much fish oil (omega 3's) as possible. Take a supplement. This helps promote good eicosanoids.
7. Avoid beef and egg yolks. These promote bas eicosanoids.
8. Eat oatmeal. This promotes good eicosanoids.
9. Drink plenty of water, especially with meals. This isn't anything new and is pretty much a part of any diet I have ever heard of.
10. Eat not more than 500 calories at any meal or snack, if you do you are overeating.
There may be more that I am missing that I will come to talk about as I learn more about the diet. Obviously, I will spend most of my scientific time on this diet researching the validity of this eicosanoid idea. Barry Sears claims this diet is superior to normal low carb diets.
For breakfast I had otameal with apple in it (which I botched) and I had a soy milk (lite) and protein drink. For lunch I had peanuts and cheese (which I didn't plan but didn't have time to eat because of work). For dinner I had a salad with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato, turkey, and dressing. I actually had trouble getting carrbs and protein in all meals. It was a challenge. That is interesting, I wonder how efffective it will be for me to increase my protein intake with meals or vice versa, I can already tell my natural eating patterns are not balanced.
On a good note, I took a great giant dump today. Hopefull as I get out of ketosis the consitapation will cease for good. That is one thing I do not miss about Atkins.
I fear that I will not loose weight quickly on this diet, and may even gain a little at first as I rehydrate and come out of ketosis. It is especially frustrating that I can't exercise because of my feet.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
February 2, 2010 (no weight gain out of ketosis)
I weighed in today at 260.6. So, at least I didn't gain a bunch of water weight from going out of ketosis, yet. My guess is the weight loss will now get slower. My cold is getting better and my feet seem to be doing better, but they still hurt.
I am still having trouble making balanced snacks and meals. I had oatmeal with apples and a soy protein drink for breakfast. I had a lean cuisine and apple for lunch with some low fat cheese as a snack. For dinner I had kale and grilled chicken.
Exhausted now...
I am still having trouble making balanced snacks and meals. I had oatmeal with apples and a soy protein drink for breakfast. I had a lean cuisine and apple for lunch with some low fat cheese as a snack. For dinner I had kale and grilled chicken.
Exhausted now...
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Atkins Summary
At the end of each diet I have explored, or new piece of science, I have decided to recommend a book for the lay person about it. In this case it will be the book by Atkins himself. I would get one of the newer versions as they have morphed over the years as doctors have discovered new information. For example, the new Atkins books mention the adverse effects of too much trans fat. So here is a link to a newer one.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
January 31, 2010 (last day of Atkins)
Today, my last day of Atkins, I weighed in at exactly 260.0. That is exactly 25 lbs loss in one month. I get the feeling that will top any of the other diets.
I celebrated by having 6 small sugar free chocolates.
What did I learn? If you want to loose some pounds quickly, like for a wedding, Atkins will definitely work. But, I am not sure how fast one gains weight back afterward. I will take away the idea that having too much sugar and refined flour products is not conducive to weight loss. That's about it. I doubt I could ever go without carbs over a lifetime. But, the Atkins diet does not require one to stay under 20 carbs forever, that is just the induction phase, then one is supposed to gradually work in more carbs. That's why I think the Zone is the next perfect diet. I went and bought supplies today. I am looking forward to having some reasonable carbs.
This seems an anti-climatic ending to my time with Atkins..
I celebrated by having 6 small sugar free chocolates.
What did I learn? If you want to loose some pounds quickly, like for a wedding, Atkins will definitely work. But, I am not sure how fast one gains weight back afterward. I will take away the idea that having too much sugar and refined flour products is not conducive to weight loss. That's about it. I doubt I could ever go without carbs over a lifetime. But, the Atkins diet does not require one to stay under 20 carbs forever, that is just the induction phase, then one is supposed to gradually work in more carbs. That's why I think the Zone is the next perfect diet. I went and bought supplies today. I am looking forward to having some reasonable carbs.
This seems an anti-climatic ending to my time with Atkins..
January 30, 2010 (final questions)
Today I weighed in at 261 (yesterday was 260.4 so I was a little disappointed when I stepped on the scale today). Tomorrow will be my last Atkins weigh in and last day of Atkins. For anyone interested in a good scientific review of Atkins check out:
Curr Diab Rep. 2009 Oct;9(5):396-404.
Low-carbohydrate diets: an update on current research.
Wylie-Rosett J, Davis NJ.
Essentially, Atkins dieters loose more weight quickly at first than other diets (which is why I choose it first). But, at the one year plus point Atkins is equal to a low fat diet. Additionally, after five years, as determined by keeping weight off, Atkins was not the best. But, Atkins does very well with helping diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and even to some degree mood stabilization. The literature also has hundreds of research articles pertaining to how Atkins can improve all sorts of conditions. I don't know how much of it I believe.
From looking at my calories I can see that on this diet I am calorie depleted, even though it is not intentional. There are references in the literature to support this finding also. But, I doubt that is the only reason for weight loss. I think that fat burning works as described by the Atkins people.
Is the Atkins bad for you at all? Some of this will be answered by my next diet, The Zone. One article I found showed that the toxin methylglyoxal was increased in people on the Atkins diet, which is responsible for blood vessel damage. I'm not sure how in depth the research on this subject is. One other issue is that the ketones pull cations like calcium out of the system, which can lead to problems.
One other question I have had, is what exactly are ketones? I know they are created from fatty acid metabolism, specifically acetylCoA, but what are they? They are acetone, acetoacetic acid, and beta-hydroxybutyric acid. The whole thing is kicked off by having too much acetyl CoA around because the TCA cycle is being overwhelmed, because of all the fat breakdown.
One other interesting thing, that might be important for later diets, is that there is a vegetarian version of Atkins, called Eco-Atkins. I can't imagine what one eats on that diet.
I have been craving coffee fro some reason since I started the diet. I have been drinking one cup a day with cream, but decaf only.
I can't wait to see what I weigh tomorrow....
Curr Diab Rep. 2009 Oct;9(5):396-404.
Low-carbohydrate diets: an update on current research.
Wylie-Rosett J, Davis NJ.
Essentially, Atkins dieters loose more weight quickly at first than other diets (which is why I choose it first). But, at the one year plus point Atkins is equal to a low fat diet. Additionally, after five years, as determined by keeping weight off, Atkins was not the best. But, Atkins does very well with helping diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and even to some degree mood stabilization. The literature also has hundreds of research articles pertaining to how Atkins can improve all sorts of conditions. I don't know how much of it I believe.
From looking at my calories I can see that on this diet I am calorie depleted, even though it is not intentional. There are references in the literature to support this finding also. But, I doubt that is the only reason for weight loss. I think that fat burning works as described by the Atkins people.
Is the Atkins bad for you at all? Some of this will be answered by my next diet, The Zone. One article I found showed that the toxin methylglyoxal was increased in people on the Atkins diet, which is responsible for blood vessel damage. I'm not sure how in depth the research on this subject is. One other issue is that the ketones pull cations like calcium out of the system, which can lead to problems.
One other question I have had, is what exactly are ketones? I know they are created from fatty acid metabolism, specifically acetylCoA, but what are they? They are acetone, acetoacetic acid, and beta-hydroxybutyric acid. The whole thing is kicked off by having too much acetyl CoA around because the TCA cycle is being overwhelmed, because of all the fat breakdown.
One other interesting thing, that might be important for later diets, is that there is a vegetarian version of Atkins, called Eco-Atkins. I can't imagine what one eats on that diet.
I have been craving coffee fro some reason since I started the diet. I have been drinking one cup a day with cream, but decaf only.
I can't wait to see what I weigh tomorrow....
January 27, 2010 (beta oxidation)
Today I weighed in at 263. Good progress.
My feet still hurt and the doctor still says I can't exercise. I am afraid I am not going to be able to loose weight on my other diets if I can't exercise. It's really frustrating.
Today I had 3 eggs with cheese (400 calories). For lunch I had a tossed salad with lettuce and Caesar dressing (140 calories) and turkey luncheon meat (100 calories). I had 4 cheese sticks (330 calories) and an Atkins bar (240 calories). For dinner I had pork tenderloin (500 calories). Overall my consumption was about 1800 calories. Based on my weight and size my recommended calorie intake is about 2400, so I am still at a deficit today.
I'd like to get into the proteins involved in beta oxidation more thoroughly since I just touched on it briefly on previous posts. As I said previously, fat is broken down into fatty acids. These fatty acids have long carbon chains and can be of variable length, over 20 carbons with many of them. The chains get broken down sequentially by 2 carbons at a time yielding 1 acetyl coA each cycle (the acetyl is 2 carbons that gets taken from the fatty acid each cycle). The fatty acids start the cylce by having a double bond added to the 2 carbons next to the carbonyl of the Coa-S moiety by means of the enzyme acyl-CoA dehydrogenase. Next the double bond is hydrolyzed (to make an OH group) by enoyl CoA hydratase. Next the OH group is turned into a carbonyl group by beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase. Next the acetyl-CoA is broken from the rest of the fatty acid by means of thiolysis. The fatty acid is then attached to another CoA ready for another cylce and the acetyl CoA is ready to enter the TCA cycle to make energy. That simple.
My feet still hurt and the doctor still says I can't exercise. I am afraid I am not going to be able to loose weight on my other diets if I can't exercise. It's really frustrating.
Today I had 3 eggs with cheese (400 calories). For lunch I had a tossed salad with lettuce and Caesar dressing (140 calories) and turkey luncheon meat (100 calories). I had 4 cheese sticks (330 calories) and an Atkins bar (240 calories). For dinner I had pork tenderloin (500 calories). Overall my consumption was about 1800 calories. Based on my weight and size my recommended calorie intake is about 2400, so I am still at a deficit today.
I'd like to get into the proteins involved in beta oxidation more thoroughly since I just touched on it briefly on previous posts. As I said previously, fat is broken down into fatty acids. These fatty acids have long carbon chains and can be of variable length, over 20 carbons with many of them. The chains get broken down sequentially by 2 carbons at a time yielding 1 acetyl coA each cycle (the acetyl is 2 carbons that gets taken from the fatty acid each cycle). The fatty acids start the cylce by having a double bond added to the 2 carbons next to the carbonyl of the Coa-S moiety by means of the enzyme acyl-CoA dehydrogenase. Next the double bond is hydrolyzed (to make an OH group) by enoyl CoA hydratase. Next the OH group is turned into a carbonyl group by beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase. Next the acetyl-CoA is broken from the rest of the fatty acid by means of thiolysis. The fatty acid is then attached to another CoA ready for another cylce and the acetyl CoA is ready to enter the TCA cycle to make energy. That simple.
January 25, 2010 (one days calories calculated)
I weighed in at 264.8 today, officially over 20 pounds loss now. I also felt great today, I wonder if the diet and stabilized blood sugar is affecting my mood.
My plantar fasciatis is still bothering me and keeping me from exercising.
I decided to have a look at my caloric intake today. I had an egg and a half with cheese for breakfast (165 calories). For lunch I had 1/3 a cup of rotisserie chicken (200 calories). For snack I had a cheese and 3-4 thin slices of sausage (320). For dinner I had a grilled chicken breast with some stir fried green bell pepper (360). I only drank water. So the grand total is 1045. Even if I miscalculated I am way below my basal metabolic needs. I am starting to think that carbs are the biggest booster to caloric intake.
My plantar fasciatis is still bothering me and keeping me from exercising.
I decided to have a look at my caloric intake today. I had an egg and a half with cheese for breakfast (165 calories). For lunch I had 1/3 a cup of rotisserie chicken (200 calories). For snack I had a cheese and 3-4 thin slices of sausage (320). For dinner I had a grilled chicken breast with some stir fried green bell pepper (360). I only drank water. So the grand total is 1045. Even if I miscalculated I am way below my basal metabolic needs. I am starting to think that carbs are the biggest booster to caloric intake.
January 23, 2010 (3 weeks and beta oxidation)
Well, I've been having more trouble keeping up with my blog than keeping up with the diet.
It's been 3 weeks and 1 day. I weighed in at exactly 266.0 this morning. That is 1 pound short of 20 pounds in three weeks!! Pretty good.
I have been eating eggs with cheese for breakfast every morning, cheese and luncheon meat for snacks, and some sort of big piece of grilled meat for dinner (fish, sausage, steak, chicken, pork) and I often supplement with a side salad. I still have quit the nuts. Last week was my birthday and my wife's birthday, it was hard not to have sweets. I survived, but came home and had an Atkins bar. I guess that's what they are for. I still can't imagine doing this my whole life.
I previously talked about what is down regulated with the Atkins diet, so now I would like to touch on what is up regulated. Essentially, because the Atkins dieter takes away the insulin response, the body starts metabolizing dietary fat as well as body fat to survive. This is first accomplished by hormonal control. When blood glucose falls below a certain level (3.58 mmol/L), growth hormone, epinephrine, and glucagon are induced to signal the body to start burning fat (glucagon actually is used to initiate glucose release from glycogen in the liver, of which there is very little on Atkins). Epinephrine and glucagon in particular signal fat tissue to break fat into fatty acids. Fatty acids are just long carbon chains with an acid group at the end. These fatty acids, via the beta oxidation cycle, are converted into acetyl Coa which can be thrown into the TCA cycle for energy. The excess acety CoA (there is a lot off it due to the amount of fat burning going on) is shuttled to other tissues and converted to ketones. Hence, the name ketosis. Eventually, these ketones are converted back to acetyl CoA and sent back into the TCA cycle for energy. Simple as that.
My question still is, how many calories am I consuming a day? I will try and begin to take note of this on my blog next week (today is Saturday, maybe I will start Monday). That way I can compare how much I am taking in calorie wise on the Atkins and compare it to my normal basic metabolic needs when I was not on the Atkins.
It's been 3 weeks and 1 day. I weighed in at exactly 266.0 this morning. That is 1 pound short of 20 pounds in three weeks!! Pretty good.
I have been eating eggs with cheese for breakfast every morning, cheese and luncheon meat for snacks, and some sort of big piece of grilled meat for dinner (fish, sausage, steak, chicken, pork) and I often supplement with a side salad. I still have quit the nuts. Last week was my birthday and my wife's birthday, it was hard not to have sweets. I survived, but came home and had an Atkins bar. I guess that's what they are for. I still can't imagine doing this my whole life.
I previously talked about what is down regulated with the Atkins diet, so now I would like to touch on what is up regulated. Essentially, because the Atkins dieter takes away the insulin response, the body starts metabolizing dietary fat as well as body fat to survive. This is first accomplished by hormonal control. When blood glucose falls below a certain level (3.58 mmol/L), growth hormone, epinephrine, and glucagon are induced to signal the body to start burning fat (glucagon actually is used to initiate glucose release from glycogen in the liver, of which there is very little on Atkins). Epinephrine and glucagon in particular signal fat tissue to break fat into fatty acids. Fatty acids are just long carbon chains with an acid group at the end. These fatty acids, via the beta oxidation cycle, are converted into acetyl Coa which can be thrown into the TCA cycle for energy. The excess acety CoA (there is a lot off it due to the amount of fat burning going on) is shuttled to other tissues and converted to ketones. Hence, the name ketosis. Eventually, these ketones are converted back to acetyl CoA and sent back into the TCA cycle for energy. Simple as that.
My question still is, how many calories am I consuming a day? I will try and begin to take note of this on my blog next week (today is Saturday, maybe I will start Monday). That way I can compare how much I am taking in calorie wise on the Atkins and compare it to my normal basic metabolic needs when I was not on the Atkins.
January 15, 2010 (2 week mark)
It's been two weeks today. Weighed in at 269.6. That's a little over 15 pounds in two weeks. I am so happy.
I had two scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast, 2 pork loin chops for lunch with a cheese stick, cheese for snacks, and a tossed salad and sausage for dinner.
Too exhausted to write more.
I had two scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast, 2 pork loin chops for lunch with a cheese stick, cheese for snacks, and a tossed salad and sausage for dinner.
Too exhausted to write more.
January 14, 2010 (Constipation)
Today I weighed in at 270.6, would be nice if at the two week mark (tomorrow) I weighed in somewhere in the 260's.
I had two eggs with cheese for breakfast. 2 pork loins with bacon for lunch. 2 boiled eggs and cheese for snacks. I had more pork loin with bacon for dinner. I really need to start keeping track of my caloric intake.
Although I have not been hungry, whenever I see candy or other high carb products I start to drool. I have some serious carb addictions I think. I also wonder what I would eat after the diet if I wasn't moving on to a new one next month. If someone looses a bunch of weight on Atkins, what do they do next? My guess is that most start eating carbs again and gain weight. It seems impossible for me to keep eating this diet for years at a time.
I have been complaining of constipation for some time now. Today I haven't had a bowel movement in days. It got to the point where my lower abdomen was feeling bloated. Things kept going in and nothing was coming out. I have been taking the fiber supplements once a day, but I guess that is not good enough. Finally, today I couldn't take it any more. I went to the store and bought heavy duty, non-fiber laxative. It was PEG3350, straight up. I came back to lab, mixed it with some water, swallowed, and five minutes later I had complete relief in the form of crap in the toilet. It kind of freaks me out to have feces stuck in me that won't come out.
No science discussion today, need a break.
I had two eggs with cheese for breakfast. 2 pork loins with bacon for lunch. 2 boiled eggs and cheese for snacks. I had more pork loin with bacon for dinner. I really need to start keeping track of my caloric intake.
Although I have not been hungry, whenever I see candy or other high carb products I start to drool. I have some serious carb addictions I think. I also wonder what I would eat after the diet if I wasn't moving on to a new one next month. If someone looses a bunch of weight on Atkins, what do they do next? My guess is that most start eating carbs again and gain weight. It seems impossible for me to keep eating this diet for years at a time.
I have been complaining of constipation for some time now. Today I haven't had a bowel movement in days. It got to the point where my lower abdomen was feeling bloated. Things kept going in and nothing was coming out. I have been taking the fiber supplements once a day, but I guess that is not good enough. Finally, today I couldn't take it any more. I went to the store and bought heavy duty, non-fiber laxative. It was PEG3350, straight up. I came back to lab, mixed it with some water, swallowed, and five minutes later I had complete relief in the form of crap in the toilet. It kind of freaks me out to have feces stuck in me that won't come out.
No science discussion today, need a break.
January 13, 2010 (lipolysis)
Today I weighed in at 272.2. Although not too many data points, it appears as if the weight loss has increased since I dropped the nuts and Atkins bars.
I still am not having hunger pangs, which is great.
I had two eggs with cheese for breakfast. I had roasted chicken for lunch. 2 eggs and cheese sticks/slices for snacks. I had 1 pound of scallops for dinner. I drank only water.
Unfortunately, I have gotten a little constipated. I am still taking my fiber at night, I may need to ramp it up to more doses per day. This leads me to today's scientific topic. Lipolysis, the reason for my dehydration.
Lipolysis (fat burning) is the goal of the Atkins diet. It is used to break down the fat you ingest and the fat you have stored in your adipose tissue (your fat beer gut). The type of lipids that lipolysis refers to are triglycerides. The biochemical pathway that is used here is called beta oxidation. I will go into beta oxidation and the Atkins diet in another post. But, lipolysis is up regulated during the Atkins diet, it has to for survival since it is the only substantial source of energy. Several hormonal stimuli induce lipolysis: epinephrine, norepinephrine, glucagon, growth hormone and cortisol. The first enzyme released is lipase which breaks down the ester bonds of the triglyceride, releasing free fatty acids which can be funneled into beta oxidation creating energy. The free fatty acids are transported through the blood by binding to albumin mainly. Lypolysis is a hydration reaction, and hence this is why on the Atkins diet one becomes dehydrated and needs more water, and perhaps one of the reasons one gets constipated (constipation is also due to the lack of fiber in the diet). I will talk about the specifics of beta oxidation and exactly what "energy" is produced from burning the fat.
I still am not having hunger pangs, which is great.
I had two eggs with cheese for breakfast. I had roasted chicken for lunch. 2 eggs and cheese sticks/slices for snacks. I had 1 pound of scallops for dinner. I drank only water.
Unfortunately, I have gotten a little constipated. I am still taking my fiber at night, I may need to ramp it up to more doses per day. This leads me to today's scientific topic. Lipolysis, the reason for my dehydration.
Lipolysis (fat burning) is the goal of the Atkins diet. It is used to break down the fat you ingest and the fat you have stored in your adipose tissue (your fat beer gut). The type of lipids that lipolysis refers to are triglycerides. The biochemical pathway that is used here is called beta oxidation. I will go into beta oxidation and the Atkins diet in another post. But, lipolysis is up regulated during the Atkins diet, it has to for survival since it is the only substantial source of energy. Several hormonal stimuli induce lipolysis: epinephrine, norepinephrine, glucagon, growth hormone and cortisol. The first enzyme released is lipase which breaks down the ester bonds of the triglyceride, releasing free fatty acids which can be funneled into beta oxidation creating energy. The free fatty acids are transported through the blood by binding to albumin mainly. Lypolysis is a hydration reaction, and hence this is why on the Atkins diet one becomes dehydrated and needs more water, and perhaps one of the reasons one gets constipated (constipation is also due to the lack of fiber in the diet). I will talk about the specifics of beta oxidation and exactly what "energy" is produced from burning the fat.
January 12, 2010 (Insulin and Glucose)
It's been a while since I have been able to write. I weighed in this morning at 273.6. Pretty good. At the one week mark I weighed in at 275, which was last Friday. That made for a 10 pound loss the first week. I think that is pretty good. I have been trying to keep up with my exercise but it has been hard because of my feet problems.
Upon reading the Atkins forums (which are a great source of information regarding the diet) I discovered that Atkins says not to have nuts of any kind during induction. I also read that many people have had problems with Atkins bars in regards to decreasing their ketosis or curbing their weight loss. I have been using both, but my ketosis has been strong every day according to the ketostix; the effect on my weight loss I cannot determine though. Therefore, I have decided to eliminate nuts and use bars only in emergencies for the time being. I am curious to see if this springboards my weight loss even more.
I decided it would be good for me to start chronicling my food intake everyday in my blog. This may be boring for the reader, but it will be good for me and I don't have any readers at this point anyways. Today I am writing in the morning so I will chronicle my meals from yesterday, and tomorrow I hope to be back to writing at night and will chronicle that days food. I had scrambled eggs with cheese and a few strips of real bacon for breakfast. I had grilled broccoli and cauliflower and smoked turkey lunch meat for lunch. I had 2 hard boiled eggs and cheese sticks for snacks. For dinner I had half a burger patty and 2 sausage links with fancy cheese. I did the biggest loser workout for 30 minutes. Man, it is rough. Cardiovascularly I am fine doing it, but my muscles are really weak when it comes to things like the yoga and pushups. Yesterday was my first day of no nuts or bars. I think the scale showed an improvement today, so it will be interesting if this will continue to be a trend or just a fluke. Day to day weight loss monitoring is hit or miss, the trend is what is important.
Another point I want to stress, is that I have tried many diets, and above all, this one leads me to be much less hungry than all others. I have virtually no hanger pangs at all. I think it was a good choice for many reasons to start with this diet.
I wanted to talk about the answers to my first biochemical question: what pathways does the Atkins diet repress. The first, most important, and most obvious are the insulin pathways. I don't know of any others but if I find them I will discuss them in another post.
Eating carbohydrates (most carbohydrates, but not all) increase the level of blood glucose. The glucose makes its way to the pancreas. This signals the beta cells in the islets of Langerhans to unleash insulin. Insulin is technically classified as a hormone, but it is not a classical hormone in the sense that estrogen and testosterone are hormones. Insulin is a peptide composed of amino acids, it is a protein, whereas typical hormones such as estrogen and testosterone are small organic compounds often with multiple rings. Insulin is a very small protein. It is composed of two chains that are 20-30 amino acids in length. The structure of Insulin was first elucidated in 1972 by Blundell. Since then, the structure has been solved a hundred times over. Looking at the pdb, I found a high resolution one quickly, it was accession code 3i3z. Looking at it, it is a simple fold made of 3-4 helices and 3-4 loops. This is reinforcement that Nature's most powerful entities are often its most simple.
From here insulin targets its receptor, the insulin receptor. The insulin receptor is found in a number of cells, most importantly muscle, liver, and adipose tissue. The insulin receptor is a tetramer composed of two identical alpha and tow identical beta strands. It is a transmembrane protein that has an extracellular domain, and transmembrane domain, and intracellular domain. Insulin binding causes autophosphorylation of the receptor. This is the beginning of the onset of many, many different biochemical cascades. These cascades are triggered mainly by interaction with the Insulin Receptor Substrate (IRS) proteins of which there are six different ones. The cascades that follow include tyrosine phosphorylation, interactions with SH2 proteins, kinases, as well as others. Some key proteins include: Pl3K, PDK, PIP3, Akt, Grb, MEK, ERK, Jak, and many other well known proteins. These pathways have multiple endpoints and therefore multiple effects.
The effects of insulin can be thought of as essentially anabolic for the most part. The insulin signal is a "grow" signal. This includes many things. Perhaps most importantly for the person trying to lose weight it means decreased lipolysis and increased lipid synthesis. It means an increase in protein synthesis to keep up with the growth. Glycogen synthesis also is upregulated to put the glucose away in another form. Gluconeogeneis is also decreased, which seems obvious. It also leads to the cutting off of apoptosis.
So, cutting off carbohydrate intake by means of the Atkins diet should reverse to some large degree the above mentioned results of insulin signaling. Sounds great, right? So what is the downside? There has to be a downside to this somewhere. At this point I don't know what it is, but I will look for it. Is any of this bad for you somehow?
Upon reading the Atkins forums (which are a great source of information regarding the diet) I discovered that Atkins says not to have nuts of any kind during induction. I also read that many people have had problems with Atkins bars in regards to decreasing their ketosis or curbing their weight loss. I have been using both, but my ketosis has been strong every day according to the ketostix; the effect on my weight loss I cannot determine though. Therefore, I have decided to eliminate nuts and use bars only in emergencies for the time being. I am curious to see if this springboards my weight loss even more.
I decided it would be good for me to start chronicling my food intake everyday in my blog. This may be boring for the reader, but it will be good for me and I don't have any readers at this point anyways. Today I am writing in the morning so I will chronicle my meals from yesterday, and tomorrow I hope to be back to writing at night and will chronicle that days food. I had scrambled eggs with cheese and a few strips of real bacon for breakfast. I had grilled broccoli and cauliflower and smoked turkey lunch meat for lunch. I had 2 hard boiled eggs and cheese sticks for snacks. For dinner I had half a burger patty and 2 sausage links with fancy cheese. I did the biggest loser workout for 30 minutes. Man, it is rough. Cardiovascularly I am fine doing it, but my muscles are really weak when it comes to things like the yoga and pushups. Yesterday was my first day of no nuts or bars. I think the scale showed an improvement today, so it will be interesting if this will continue to be a trend or just a fluke. Day to day weight loss monitoring is hit or miss, the trend is what is important.
Another point I want to stress, is that I have tried many diets, and above all, this one leads me to be much less hungry than all others. I have virtually no hanger pangs at all. I think it was a good choice for many reasons to start with this diet.
I wanted to talk about the answers to my first biochemical question: what pathways does the Atkins diet repress. The first, most important, and most obvious are the insulin pathways. I don't know of any others but if I find them I will discuss them in another post.
Eating carbohydrates (most carbohydrates, but not all) increase the level of blood glucose. The glucose makes its way to the pancreas. This signals the beta cells in the islets of Langerhans to unleash insulin. Insulin is technically classified as a hormone, but it is not a classical hormone in the sense that estrogen and testosterone are hormones. Insulin is a peptide composed of amino acids, it is a protein, whereas typical hormones such as estrogen and testosterone are small organic compounds often with multiple rings. Insulin is a very small protein. It is composed of two chains that are 20-30 amino acids in length. The structure of Insulin was first elucidated in 1972 by Blundell. Since then, the structure has been solved a hundred times over. Looking at the pdb, I found a high resolution one quickly, it was accession code 3i3z. Looking at it, it is a simple fold made of 3-4 helices and 3-4 loops. This is reinforcement that Nature's most powerful entities are often its most simple.
From here insulin targets its receptor, the insulin receptor. The insulin receptor is found in a number of cells, most importantly muscle, liver, and adipose tissue. The insulin receptor is a tetramer composed of two identical alpha and tow identical beta strands. It is a transmembrane protein that has an extracellular domain, and transmembrane domain, and intracellular domain. Insulin binding causes autophosphorylation of the receptor. This is the beginning of the onset of many, many different biochemical cascades. These cascades are triggered mainly by interaction with the Insulin Receptor Substrate (IRS) proteins of which there are six different ones. The cascades that follow include tyrosine phosphorylation, interactions with SH2 proteins, kinases, as well as others. Some key proteins include: Pl3K, PDK, PIP3, Akt, Grb, MEK, ERK, Jak, and many other well known proteins. These pathways have multiple endpoints and therefore multiple effects.
The effects of insulin can be thought of as essentially anabolic for the most part. The insulin signal is a "grow" signal. This includes many things. Perhaps most importantly for the person trying to lose weight it means decreased lipolysis and increased lipid synthesis. It means an increase in protein synthesis to keep up with the growth. Glycogen synthesis also is upregulated to put the glucose away in another form. Gluconeogeneis is also decreased, which seems obvious. It also leads to the cutting off of apoptosis.
So, cutting off carbohydrate intake by means of the Atkins diet should reverse to some large degree the above mentioned results of insulin signaling. Sounds great, right? So what is the downside? There has to be a downside to this somewhere. At this point I don't know what it is, but I will look for it. Is any of this bad for you somehow?
January 11, 2010 (Darn it!)
I just wrote a really long blog post, pressed save, and then it disappeared. I guess I will just write tomorrow, I am too mad to try and re-write it all now.
January 7, 2010 (coming along)
I weighed in today at 275. That shows me I have probably moved beyond the water loss and am losing real fat now. Tomorrow will be the one week mark. I am excited to see how I do.
I got the "Biggest Loser" Wii game for Christmas. I didn't expect much from it. I started it tonight, and it was amazing. Very challenging. I think if I keep up with the daily workout on that game I will lose quite a bit of weight. It gave me 30 minutes of a workout, mainly cardio and lower leg toning. My muscles were jelly half way through. It scares me I was so out of shape. Goes to show you what not taking care of yourself really does. On a day to day basis I don't see it very much because my life is so sedentary. Years of little to no exercise and a poor diet are the only 2 reasons for my weight gain, or anyone's for that matter.
The diet is going well. I am not hungry very often- one good point to this diet. You never have to control the amount of food you eat, just the types. I discovered Atkins bars. They taste great. I am not sure how good they are for me though. I think I have a carb/sugar addiction (one of the reasons I wanted to start Atkins as the first diet I do; detox the sugar addiction), so eating Atkins candy bars, while low carb, is kind of not addressing the problem. I am still craving sweets. It's like nicotine patches for quitting smoking. Often abstinence is the only way to go. I'll monitor myself and see how it goes before I decide to phase them out. They might prove to be important.
I am finding it hard to keep up with the blog. I've never had to make time for a journal before.
I also measured my ketosis again today. I was in the 15-40 range of mg/dL ketones in the urine. It is classified as moderate. Perhaps my ketosis is still ramping up. I was told I would go into ketosis in 3 days, but I never heard much of what happens after that. Apparently, for me, it slowly increases after the first 3 days.
Well, I promised biochemistry for this blog. Here are the questions I intend to answer in the coming days:
1. What biochemical pathways are down regulated with Atkins (concerning fat)?
2. What biochemical pathways are up regulated with Atkins (concerning fat)?
3. What role do calories play in the Atkins diet?
4. Does the body store fat more efficiently from blood sugar or from blood fat?
My main goal will be to see if the diet works, what can I take away from it for life realistically, and why.
I got the "Biggest Loser" Wii game for Christmas. I didn't expect much from it. I started it tonight, and it was amazing. Very challenging. I think if I keep up with the daily workout on that game I will lose quite a bit of weight. It gave me 30 minutes of a workout, mainly cardio and lower leg toning. My muscles were jelly half way through. It scares me I was so out of shape. Goes to show you what not taking care of yourself really does. On a day to day basis I don't see it very much because my life is so sedentary. Years of little to no exercise and a poor diet are the only 2 reasons for my weight gain, or anyone's for that matter.
The diet is going well. I am not hungry very often- one good point to this diet. You never have to control the amount of food you eat, just the types. I discovered Atkins bars. They taste great. I am not sure how good they are for me though. I think I have a carb/sugar addiction (one of the reasons I wanted to start Atkins as the first diet I do; detox the sugar addiction), so eating Atkins candy bars, while low carb, is kind of not addressing the problem. I am still craving sweets. It's like nicotine patches for quitting smoking. Often abstinence is the only way to go. I'll monitor myself and see how it goes before I decide to phase them out. They might prove to be important.
I am finding it hard to keep up with the blog. I've never had to make time for a journal before.
I also measured my ketosis again today. I was in the 15-40 range of mg/dL ketones in the urine. It is classified as moderate. Perhaps my ketosis is still ramping up. I was told I would go into ketosis in 3 days, but I never heard much of what happens after that. Apparently, for me, it slowly increases after the first 3 days.
Well, I promised biochemistry for this blog. Here are the questions I intend to answer in the coming days:
1. What biochemical pathways are down regulated with Atkins (concerning fat)?
2. What biochemical pathways are up regulated with Atkins (concerning fat)?
3. What role do calories play in the Atkins diet?
4. Does the body store fat more efficiently from blood sugar or from blood fat?
My main goal will be to see if the diet works, what can I take away from it for life realistically, and why.
January 3, 2010 (having trouble)
I weighed in at 278 today. More water loss. I am in ketosis as judged by urine sticks, about 10mg/dL ketones in the urine. No time to write today....
Monday, May 16, 2011
January 4, 2010 (problems)
I weighed in at 277 today. Looks like the water loss is slowing.
I got in a fight with my wife today. It has ruined all my motivation to do anything. I can see this will be a problem for me.
I got in a fight with my wife today. It has ruined all my motivation to do anything. I can see this will be a problem for me.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
January 2, 2010 (the rules)
I weighed in today at 282.8. Seems like quite a loss for over night- must be a combination of water loss and the time of day I weighed in.
The rules of Atkins, or my interpretation, which may or may not resemble too closely the real Atkins diet are these:
1. No refined carbohydrates.
2, Shoot for below 20 grams of carbs a day.
3. Avoid trans fats (something not included in the original diet)
4. Eat as much protein as you want. Same with fat, but if you want it to work more quickly don't go overboard with the fat.
5. Most green vegetables are ok as they contain mostly cellulose as the carbohydrate (which is not digestable by humans) and are very low in insulin spiking carbs. Avoid starch and sugar vegetation such as fruits, carrots, potatos, etc.
6. Drink as much water as possible. Avoid soda. Only diet soda is allowed if used at all.
7. Avoid artificial sweeteners as they spike insulin to some degree.
8. Avoid too much caffeine as it alters blood sugar as well.
9. Take mulitvitamins every day due to the lack of vitamins in high protein foods.
10. Either take fiber supplements or ensure you get enough fiber in your diet. High protein, low carb foods like meat are often low in fiber.
11. Candy, chips, ice cream, regular soda, and bread are absolutely forbidden. While Atkins friendly immitations of these foods are available, they too are to be avoided if one follows the diet strictly.
I had scrambled eggs and cheese with bacon again for breakfast. I find this to be very satisfying for breakfast. I wonder if I will tire of it. I also think bacon is not a healthy thing to have for breakfast every day on most diets. A switch to turkey bacon would be a help. I had a chicken ceasar salad for lunch at Quiznos and was satisfying as well as Atkins friendly. I had a few ham slices as a snack. I had BWW wings and tossed salad for dinner. I drank water all day and had 1 glass of decaf coffee.
I don't feel quite as shitty as I imagined I would today. Maybe I feel so crappy all the time due to my obesity I can't notice my blood sugar plumiting. I feel tired and week though. Things are pretty much on par with previous experiences on this diet. I had mutliple shits today, each getting more loose. When I have done this diet before I would get loose bowels 2-3 days into it, then it would switch to a coffee colered watery mess, then I would suffer from constipation (a common complaint of the diet). I also intened to begin regular fiber supplements tomorrow. I have been taking a multivitamin and fish oil everyday, but I intend to take these on every diet I try. After tomorrow I should be in ketosis. I will monitor this with urine strips soon.
I am still too sick to exercise. I feel a little better everyday and hope to get at it this week.
The rules of Atkins, or my interpretation, which may or may not resemble too closely the real Atkins diet are these:
1. No refined carbohydrates.
2, Shoot for below 20 grams of carbs a day.
3. Avoid trans fats (something not included in the original diet)
4. Eat as much protein as you want. Same with fat, but if you want it to work more quickly don't go overboard with the fat.
5. Most green vegetables are ok as they contain mostly cellulose as the carbohydrate (which is not digestable by humans) and are very low in insulin spiking carbs. Avoid starch and sugar vegetation such as fruits, carrots, potatos, etc.
6. Drink as much water as possible. Avoid soda. Only diet soda is allowed if used at all.
7. Avoid artificial sweeteners as they spike insulin to some degree.
8. Avoid too much caffeine as it alters blood sugar as well.
9. Take mulitvitamins every day due to the lack of vitamins in high protein foods.
10. Either take fiber supplements or ensure you get enough fiber in your diet. High protein, low carb foods like meat are often low in fiber.
11. Candy, chips, ice cream, regular soda, and bread are absolutely forbidden. While Atkins friendly immitations of these foods are available, they too are to be avoided if one follows the diet strictly.
I had scrambled eggs and cheese with bacon again for breakfast. I find this to be very satisfying for breakfast. I wonder if I will tire of it. I also think bacon is not a healthy thing to have for breakfast every day on most diets. A switch to turkey bacon would be a help. I had a chicken ceasar salad for lunch at Quiznos and was satisfying as well as Atkins friendly. I had a few ham slices as a snack. I had BWW wings and tossed salad for dinner. I drank water all day and had 1 glass of decaf coffee.
I don't feel quite as shitty as I imagined I would today. Maybe I feel so crappy all the time due to my obesity I can't notice my blood sugar plumiting. I feel tired and week though. Things are pretty much on par with previous experiences on this diet. I had mutliple shits today, each getting more loose. When I have done this diet before I would get loose bowels 2-3 days into it, then it would switch to a coffee colered watery mess, then I would suffer from constipation (a common complaint of the diet). I also intened to begin regular fiber supplements tomorrow. I have been taking a multivitamin and fish oil everyday, but I intend to take these on every diet I try. After tomorrow I should be in ketosis. I will monitor this with urine strips soon.
I am still too sick to exercise. I feel a little better everyday and hope to get at it this week.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
January 1, 2010 (Getting Started)
I am transferring my pages from text I started in January of 2010. So all my posts will begin there, posting retroactively. It is now really May 2011, but my posts will begin with what I did in January 2010 when I started my journey.
Today marks the beginning of my journey. It took me quite a while to setup all the other portions of the website so this post will be short. The month of January (2010) will be dedicated to the Atkins diet. For the entire month of January I will follow the Atkins diet religiously.
For breakfast I had scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon. For lunch I had a tossed salad with ranch dressing and chicken wings. For dinner I had a steak. For a snack I had beef jerky, between breakfast and lunch. I drank water all day.
The idea behind Atkins is low carbohydrate (less than 20 grams per day). I will go into a more depth look at the rules tomorrow.
From my recollection it takes about 3 days to go into ketosis (I will explain ketosis in a later blog) and those first 3 days are miserable because your blood sugar is plumiting and your body doesn't like it.
I feel tired, but I have been sick. My cold is going to not allow me to exercise for the first portion of this month. That will bias things.
It is 11:30p.m. and I am really hungry. I am also tired.
My weigh in today: 285 pounds. I have a long way to go. I measured my weight in the evening which is usually higher than in the morning. Normally I will measure in the mornings first thing when I wake up.
Today marks the beginning of my journey. It took me quite a while to setup all the other portions of the website so this post will be short. The month of January (2010) will be dedicated to the Atkins diet. For the entire month of January I will follow the Atkins diet religiously.
For breakfast I had scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon. For lunch I had a tossed salad with ranch dressing and chicken wings. For dinner I had a steak. For a snack I had beef jerky, between breakfast and lunch. I drank water all day.
The idea behind Atkins is low carbohydrate (less than 20 grams per day). I will go into a more depth look at the rules tomorrow.
From my recollection it takes about 3 days to go into ketosis (I will explain ketosis in a later blog) and those first 3 days are miserable because your blood sugar is plumiting and your body doesn't like it.
I feel tired, but I have been sick. My cold is going to not allow me to exercise for the first portion of this month. That will bias things.
It is 11:30p.m. and I am really hungry. I am also tired.
My weigh in today: 285 pounds. I have a long way to go. I measured my weight in the evening which is usually higher than in the morning. Normally I will measure in the mornings first thing when I wake up.
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