Originally Published in Muscle Media Magazine as: The Atkins Diet - A Critical Review Issue 88, May 2001 Page 101. Reprinted with permission.

Dr. Robert Atkins believes that when carbohydrates are severely restricted and our main energy source, glucose, is eliminated, we will burn our own fat for energy and lose weight.  What he doesn't tell us is that fat is not the only source of energy we use when our carbs are restricted.  We must also rely on our own protein supplies for energy-sacrificing our muscle and other vital lean tissue!  The result-Atkins' dieters achieve weight loss mostly through a loss of water and muscle, not fat, leaving them with a higher percentage of body fat and considerably less muscle tissue.

            Carbohydrates, the most important energy source for the brain and exercising muscle, is the only food that can be used for anaerobic energy production (like weight lifting).  It is also the most efficient fuel for aerobic exercise (cardio) since it is able to produce energy three times faster than fat and requires less oxygen to do so.  Also, the more intense the exercise program, the greater the importance of carbohydrates for energy production.  At maximal or supramaximal exercise levels, carbohydrates are used almost exclusively for our energy source.

            High-fat, low-carbohydrate diets like Atkins' not only increases our risk for heart disease and many cancers; they greatly reduce our ability to sustain high-intensity exercise.  Low liver and muscle glycogen stores (the storage form of glucose), combined with the slower rates we are able to convert fat and protein to glucose, produce a feeling of sluggishness or staleness.  This state, which is characterized by increased difficulty recovering from workouts, chronic fatigue, depression, insomnia, poor exercise performance, frequent infections, injuries and a loss of interest in sustaining high levels of training, is often inappropriately blamed on "the over training syndrome."

            Any diet that severely limits our intake of carbohydrates will always result in the rapid depletion of muscle glycogen, liver glycogen and water, all essential for our biochemical reactions to operate at peak performance.  All of us who have made the Body-for-LIFE Program a part of our healthy lifestyle depend on glycogen, the master high-performance fuel, for our high-intensity, short-duration exercise, as well as our prolonged high-intensity endurance training.  It is through these activities that we are able to create a caloric deficit and rid ourselves of body fat while building muscle tissue at the same time-not sacrificing it!

            The key to successful training, therefore, is to maintain adequate stores of glycogen in our muscles and liver.  This can only be achieved by consuming a carbohydrate-balanced diet.  Glycogen depletion will occur over repeated days of heavy training when muscle glycogen breakdown exceeds replacement if we don't consume plenty of carbohydrates on a daily basis between training sessions.  Once muscle glycogen has been depleted, it can take several days to restore even when a high-carbohydrate diet is consumed.  To maintain glycogen stores throughout our Body-for-LIFE Program, we need to consume a diet consisting of about three grams of complex carbohydrates per pound of body weight each day (about 60 percent of total calories) and make sure we get plenty of rest between exercise sessions to give our muscles time to rebuild their stores.

            The typical American diet of about two grams per pound of body weight each day (300 grams daily for a 150-pound person) just doesn't supply enough carbohydrate for active individuals.  The Atkins Diet, consisting of 0.13 grams per pound of body weight each day (20 grams daily) the first two weeks and then increasing to 0.27 grams per pound of body weight each day thereafter (40 grams daily) doesn't even come close!

            My advice-stay away from the Atkins Diet and stick with six meals a day each consisting of a portion of lean protein and a portion of complex carbohydrates.  You won't go wrong because you will not only gain muscle mass and strength while you shed body fat, you will also improve your overall mental and physical health and prevent many serious diseases.

Jeffry S. Life, MD, PhD. Muscle Media 88(May 2001): 101.