Reply With QuoteYou don't understand the difference between Paleo and Atkins?
Member
Question re SS nutrition advice
Hi Mark,
I’m currently quite a bit above the suggested top end of 20% bf, so my goal is fat loss at this point although I want to balance that with a desire to do well on the novice program each week.
So, I zeroed in on the bit about nutrition at the back of the SS book and thought I had a good understanding of how to proceed. You mentioned lower-carb paleo which I’m familiar with so I thought I was good to go. But then it said if you’re doing Atkins and not progressing, YNDTP. I admit that I associate Atkins as a lower-carb paleo approach, so I was left thinking I’m not sure what you meant. I’d like to ask what you see just in general as the difference between your advice to apply a lower-carb/paleo diet and the Atkins diet, so I can better apply your advice?
TMPHBITEU
You don't understand the difference between Paleo and Atkins?
Member
No, I guess I don't. I think of both Atkins and paleo as being based on "hunter gatherer" type food that was available before advent of agriculture...so eggs, meat, fish, and a bunch of veggies with small amounts of fruit, ie. berries. I see both as low carb meaning elimination of basically all grains, pasta, legumes etc., along with sugar of course, junky or processed foods, and really limiting starchy carbs like potatoes and rice. Although there is some debate in paleo circles now in favour of "safe starches" ie. sweet potato, taro, yam which seems to make alot of sense. But I pretty much view Atkins as under that general paleo umbrella of dietary approaches.
Will you help me understand what you mean by the difference? I just wanted more clarity on this so I can implement the dietary advice properly (for my fat loss objective) along with the training.
TMPHBITEU
You want me to google "Paleo vs. Atkins diet" for you? Son, this isn't how the forum works.
Member
Paleo = eat the food that hunters/gatherers ate. This can include things like sweet potatoes since hunter/gatherers like the Kitivan eat sweet potatoes. Paleo usually ends up being lots of single ingredient foods which are often, but not always, low carb
Atkins = low carb, moderate protein, high fat. Processed, unprocessed, available to cavemen or not, doesn't matter. You just need to maintain low carb, moderate protein (not high protein, since high protein can knock you out of ketosis), and high fat.
Member
For the OP, this is a great starting point for nutrition :
To Be a Beast
By Jordan Feigenbaum MS, CSCS, HFS, USAW Club Coach
http://www.barbellmedicine.com/potpourri/584/
Member
Let's start here: age/height/weight, what program are you doing, current work weights? I'm going to ignore the >20% bf remark because I'm guessing you don't actually know.
Member
This information is important, but I don't think I've ever saw any man who claimed they were above 20% body fat for whom this measurement was not a good lower bound. Almost everybody underestimates the amount of fat that they have.Originally Posted by Milo's Ghost
My impression is that the OP is a novice, so you can still expect to lose weight to about 20% body fat while making progress like a novice. Jordan's To Be a Beast (linked in an above post) is a good point to get an idea of the numbers to start with. Then fill the macros with single-ingredient foods.
Member
Maybe. What I know for sure is:
1. Lots of people - including plenty of men - vastly overestimate how subjectively 'fat' they are. I'm talking body image issues, not a specific percentage. What used to be much more prevelant among women is now eating at men as well. Sigh.
2. Most body fat percentages are wrong and not all that useful anyway.
I renew my original questions to the OP. I think they will lead in a more fruitful direction for both him (assuming it's a dude) and the forum as a whole.
Member
True. You could have a man who is 5'10 and 170 lbs with over 20% body fat, but he's not really 'fat', just under-muscled.
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