Should I try Protein Power (Atkins LCer)

[yvonne326]

I am down to my last 20 lbs - it has been a slow journey (3 lbs a month average at best). I am investigating Protein Power Plan and wonder if I would be better suited to follow it. I am working out now 3-4 times a week at CURVES (which I love by the way); I am now doing Atkins but have not lost a single pound or inch for over a month.

Per Protein Power I am suppose to estimate my Lean Body Mass X the protein (which for my activity level is .6). This gives me a daily protein of 65 grams! I am eating 25% more a day.

Am I to understand that you don't count NET CARBS just total carbs and ideally 30 a day? Or is it NET CARBS like Atkins counts to be 30?

Has anyone converted from Atkins to Protein Power with success? All comments welcome.

[wcollier]

The Eades are the "inventors" of net carbs, so yes, you go by net carbs.

Protein Power isn't a whole lot different from Atkins except that they don't include induction. They are also more specific about the quality of carbs as per PPLP (ie. Hedonist, Dilettante, Purist). My personal preference is PP. If I could ever get my net carbs up that high, I will switch. I think they focus a little more strongly on "health" than Atkins does. I'm increasingly frustrated with his encouragement of fake foods. However, I noticed that even the Eades have started to advocate the fake foods as well in their new book.

Hey, go for it! :thup: At least you'll find out whether or not the plan works for you. Experimentation is great at your level since those last few pounds are most likely going to be tough.

Wanda

[yvonne326]

Well I will be happy to say that I gave up 90% of fake foods in 2003 and even cut back caffeine by 50%.

[Kristine]

Hi Yvonne! :wave: Now that you're working out, it would probably be a good idea to 'up' your protein levels. :thup: So it's probably a good time to give PP a try. Since you're already on Atkins OWL, you probably won't notice much difference in your menu, except more protein, like you said. A protein shake or some lean meat here and there, and voila. :idea:

[doreen T]

Whatever you calculate to be your protein requirement for PP, remember that's the MINIMUM you must consume every day ... it's fine to have more than that. :)

Another difference is that PP has you divide your daily protein and carb allotment fairly evenly through the day, so you don't eat "no carbs" all day, then have all 30g for dinner. And it's really important to have at least the minimum amount of protein at breakfast.

Doreen

[paradise]

I, too, am contemplating jumping over to Protein Power. I have been LCing for almost nine months now and am guilty of not exercising. I have been happy with my weight loss to date, but I know if I started working out (cardio & light weights) regularly, the last 4.5 lbs. will go quickly.

Being so close to goal, I took a look over at the Maintenance Forum. Boy, it’s AWFULLY quiet over there. It doesn’t seem like there is much support for people on maintenance or is it that once people reach goal they are no longer interested in the Low-Carber Forums? I also read something about the psychological letdown of reaching goal. One has spent months, even years, focusing on weight loss. “Ok, it’s happened, now what?” I guess my focus going forward will be to continue eating healthily and to get some exercise into my routine.

[wcollier]

Originally posted by paradise
Being so close to goal, I took a look over at the Maintenance Forum. Boy, it’s AWFULLY quiet over there. It doesn’t seem like there is much support for people on maintenance or is it that once people reach goal they are no longer interested in the Low-Carber Forums?
I'm not sure why there aren't many maintainers, paradise. I do see quite a few coming back to LC after losing and regaining though. Mainly b/c it was only a diet, not a WOL. It's an important piece. I hope to be here for awhile b/c I need this forum to help me maintain.

I've only got about 3 stubborn pounds to lose from Christmas. I was maintaining before that with bouts of binges that would cause me to gain then lose the same 10 pounds. It was a terrible cycle I've been focusing on breaking.

Based on my readings, I think maintaining is harder to do than losing (not that losing is easy :daze: ). The (simplified) reason is that the body (namely hormones) doesn't like to think that it's starving (=dieting) and it will make you hungry. So many will gain weight after losing for that simple reason. One of the reasons this happens is if weight loss happens too quickly.

I think your assessment is correct. Exercise and eating healthy should be your focus. The last few might take a bit to come off and you don't want to drive yourself crazy with it. Starting to embrace your WOL is a better option, as you've mentioned. Good going! You're definately on the right track.

[Misa]

I think the main differences between Atkins and Protein Power are:

atkins - divide up carbs however you want
PP - divide up carbs evenly over the day

atkins - doesn't necessarily require that you get all of your protein in
PP - must have protein at every mea

atkins - doesn't ant you to have too much protein (says it converts to glucose)
PP - isn't so concerned with an upper level of protein (although all things in moderation)

and PP starts out at a slightly higher level of carbs.

Now, to me, it makes sense that if we're trying to avoid messing with our blood sugar and insulin, we'd want things to be spread out more evenly.

That being said, sometimes, I really don't want protein at a meal (sometimes, I just want some light veggies or something). So, every once in a while, I'll skip the protein, adding it in throughout the rest of the day to make up for it.

[erbadger]

I too am thinking about a formal switch to Protein power. I just don't feel very healthy eating such large level of fat! I have been cutting it back to about 60% which seems to be much lower than Atkins people have been advising. I have always been a major compulsive binger, and whaen I first started Atkins, it seemed like found something I could eat and eat on and lose weight, however, I realized that cant work for me, and I need to cut calories! So, I am eating 1500-1600/day, and on average about 100 g of total fat(25% is sat.), and 100+ protein with about 20 net carbs. I dont like eating fats, especially bad fats.
I finally have gotten my binging under control (which is very exciting!) but I am very concrned about the fats in my diet due to a family history of heart disease!

So I guess my question is, is Protein power basically atkins with slightly higher carbs, less bad fat and more protein (split between meals)? That is all I have really noticed from my research! And if that is the case, and I am currently doing those things, am I actually already doing protein power?

Thanks for the advice!

[ewinpa]

Hi Yvonne, I've been following your posts about which plan to try. I haven't lost a thing on atkins, am wondering if something between South Beach and PP would work? I lost 22 on WW but have gained back half of that trying to lc, was looking at my old WW journals on fitday and found I was eating about 1500Cal, my carbs were about 200-300-WAY too high, but the fat was down around 28%. Don't know if I lost fat or muscle but there was definitely less of me. Now I feel bloated again even though I'm doing lc. Think I need to cut down on the fats, that's why the indecision about SB or PP. I know you didn't like SB.
Whatever you choose, know that you have LOTS of company out here!!
Elaine :wave:

[Louloo]

Just a question what is South Beach :confused: Am conisdering switching to Protien Power as well.

[ewinpa]

Louloo, South Beach is a diet that is lower carb but not low carb . Go to Prevention.com, there is a whole section devoted to it (they ran it as an article a few months back) and there is a growing message forum. :)
Where's Yvonne???

[glennstg]

All I can say is, Protein Power has been working very well for me...

[klawrence]

yvonne326,
Have you decided whether to switch or not? I'm thinking of switching from Atkins, too (I just ordered a bunch of PP books on Amazon, so I can research the subject.) From what I can glean (admittadly, without the books) PP seems a lot like ATkins OWL, except for the emphasis on lean proteins and good fats, fewer restirictions on leafy greens and more fruit. It pretty much sounds like what I've been tryng to do on Atkins (but I keep getting sidetracked by bars and lunch meats) :rolleyes:
I want to be eating food I'd be happy to serve my children (when I have some) ;) and frankenfoods and processed foods don't fit the bill.

[lindaklkw7]

Well, after 2 months of Atkins - I've lost 10 lbs. I want to speed up this snails pace and was concidering Protein Power level # 1.

From what I have read so far.....

Protein Power # 1
- allows 30-40 total carbs per day
- allows fruit of 10 carb snack per day (with protein)
- protein of 90 grams per day

Dairy questions:
What about cheese? Atkins allows 3-4 oz per day. Is this allowed on Protein Power level # 1?

What about heavy whipping cream 2-3 tsp. per day? Is this allowed on Protein Power level 1?

Low carb products questions:
What about low carb bread (2.5 gr per slice), Atkins bake mix, Atkins pancake mix, etc. as part of the 30-40 carbs per day allotment?

I know that nuts are not allowed on Atkins induction. Are they allowed on Protein Power # 1?

Thanks for your information. I need some help here.

[angelswed]

question..... on the pp when you count your total carbs for the day you also minus the fiber right??
also do you minus sugar alcohol if you have a low carb treat??
this is very interesting i was trying to find a way to speed up atkins a bit and eat a bit healther i was considering the zone but that really seems like alot of figuring out i will have to look more into this pp plan.

[lisaw00]

This is a great topic, and it seems that many of us are in the same boat.

I started Atkins in January and lost a whopping 2 lbs. Now, I realize that my losses will be slow because I only have 10 to lose (erbadger, our stats are almost identical!), but jeez, something has to give eventually!

I read both PP and PPLP and learned quite a bit about nutrition and supplements that I didn't know before. I have always eaten lots of veggies, did WW for a year, but my carbs also were around 200 per day or higher.

I guess I'm doing PP now - but still not losing pounds OR inches. I also know that I definitely need to watch my calorie intake, which I'm doing. I don't eat LC treats like chocolates or bars. I just don't want that stuff in my system.

I guess with my rambling here I can just say hang in there. No program should be a cookie cutter approach to weight loss, and we all need to tweak things to work for us individually.

[RoseTattoo]

I posted a similar question in another thread, but no answer, and you folks seem to know a lot about PP--so hope you don't mind if I ask here.

I did Atkins induction for about a month and lost most of the weight I'd wanted to lose (suspect most of it was water weight, anyway), but what I really need is to lower the amount of fat I carry around my middle. For a relatively small person, I'm not slim (or fit). :cry:

Like many of you, I don't want to eat a lot of saturated fats. So my question is this: How much saturated fat is appropriate IN THE LONG HAUL? Now that I'm very near my goal weight, I want to find a good balance among fats/protein/carbs. I have no problem with the idea of eating monounsaturated fats, but the foods that have those fats almost entirely are quite limited (I found, to my surprise, that even extra virgin olive oil has saturated fats).

So for those of you on a moderate mono-fat, lower sat-fat WOE: how many grams of each do you consider healthful for a day's consumption? And what exactly do you eat to keep the mono fats high and the sat fats relatively low?

Thank you!

[acohn]

RoseTattoo,

There may be a problem with your initial assumption: many of us don't want to eat eat a lot of saturated fats. I can't speak for anyone but myself, of course, but I don't regard saturated fats, per se, as evil. In fact, saturated fats play many important roles (http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/skinny.html) in the body chemistry.

Here is some other background reading about the roles of saturated fats at the Weston A. Price Foundation site:

The Oiling of America, part 4 -- Benefits of Animal Fats (http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/oiling4.html)
Saturated Fats and the Lungs (http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/fats_lungs.html)
Saturated Fats and the Kidneys (http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/kidneys_fats.html)



When the real results of the famed Framingham Heart study were published (in an obscure journal), the study director admitted, “...the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower people’s serum cholesterol. . . we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories weighed the least and were the most physically active.”(30) George Mann, formerly with the Framingham project, conducted independent studies of the Masai in Africa,(39) whose diet is extremely rich in cholesterol and saturated fat, and who are virtually free of heart disease. He was convinced that the lipid hypothesis was “the public health diversion of this century. . . the greatest scam in the history of medicine.”40

Raw coconut oil, a wonderful health food, is a saturated fat, and is unlikely to contribute to getting fat. Butterfat contains butyric cid, which has antimicrobial properties—that is, it protects us from viruses, yeasts and pathogenic bacteria in the gut. It does not need to be acted on by the bile salts but is directly absorbed for quick energy. Raw butter is a a great source of vitamins A&D.

Although my balance of carbs, proteins, and fats is unique to me, I strive to get some of each type of fat -- saturated, mono-saturated, and polyunsaturated -- each day.


30 Castelli, William, “Concerning the Possibility of a Nut. . .” Archives of Internal Medicine, Jul 1992, 152: (7):1371-1372
39 Mann, G V, et al, “Atherosclerosis in the Maasai,” Am J Epidemiol, 1972, 95:26-37
40 Coronary Heart Disease, The Dietary Sense and Nonsense, George V Mann, ed, 1993, Veritas Society, London, p 1

[RoseTattoo]

Thank you, Acohn. I like the idea of balancing the different types of fats. That seems like a sensible way to eat.

[Going2doit]

I too have done WW and Aitkins both of which worked for a while but fount it too restrictive on both. I LOVE my Vegs, Fruit, and meat. Can live without bread and in fact bloatedness goes if I don't eat grains and my asthma is much better. SO
I am doing what I think from reading here a version of PPP. If its white dont eat it. If it is processed dont eat it. And if it is made of chemicals remove it from your thoughts. All the push at WW for their brand of foods (all of which are high in chemicals) makes me think that they are just trying to keep everyone from really being healthy. You can be thin and by eating all that stuff be chemically inbalanced. SO from what I have read PP is really a good way to go. I have to get the book from a library if they have it. I live in Australia so may not.
Good Luck All
Cheers
Going2doit