Discover All About The Atkins Diet – Also Know As The Low Carb Diet

Nearly everyone has heard of the Atkins Diet by now, even if not necessarily clear on what it is. Some may even know it as the source of low-carb diet craze in the country, but dont know much about it beyond that. Considered as controversial as it is revolutionary, the Atkins Diet has worked successfully for a tremendous number of people, and not so successfully for a good amount of others. This article aims to place a neutral and objective eye on this popular weight loss program.

Re-introduced in the 1990s (after an initial period of popularity in the 1970s), the Atkins Diet is the brainchild of Dr. Robert Atkins.

The diet works in several phases, the first or the induction period lasting only 2 weeks. In this phase, dieters are not to eat any more than 20 grams of carbohydrates of any form each day. The bulk of a persons diet during this period, then, is fats and proteins. Usually, a dieter will reach their 20 gram limit on carbohydrates simply from the small amounts in foods like salad dressing, cheese, sauces, condiments, and vegetables.

Forbidden from a participants diet during this 2 week induction period are fruits, grains, breads, cereal, milk, and vegetables with a high-glycemic index (a measure of the effect a food has on the bodys blood sugar).

During this period, the body enters a state called ketosis, where it begins burning its own residual deposits of fat in order to produce the energy for which it previously had been relying on your regular consumption of carbohydrates.

Atkins also asserts that the source of most weight problems people experience is an insulin-resistance that causes overweight bodies to have difficulty converting carbohydrates into glucose (or sugar) which becomes energy. In this state of ketosis induced by the induction phase of the Atkins Diet, the insulin function of the body is affected in such a way that impedes the production of more fat.

After the two week induction period ends, dieters are then permitted to increase their carbohydrate allowance by 5 grams each week. In other words: theyre allowed 25 grams of carbs per day throughout week 3, 30 grams of carbs per day throughout week 4, 35 g in week 5, etc.

Depending on the persons body type and weight objectives, this gradual increase in carbs should level off somewhere between 40 g and 90 g per day. At this point, the dieter is considered to have entered the maintenance phase of the diet, where they ought to remain for the rest of their lives. Although counting calories is not a part of the Atkins Diet, studies by the North American Association for the Study of Obesity found that adhering to the restrictions imposed by the Atkins Diet led to a decrease of 1,000 calories from participants daily caloric intake.

A quick perusal of the recommendations published by most traditional health experts and health organizations will reveal that 40-90 grams of carbs per day is still a miniscule amount compared to that of what they consider a standard healthy diet.

The Atkins Diet also contradicts authorities (US FDA and the American Cancer Society included) that extol the virtues of eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grain breads and cereals. According to Atkins, even healthy carbohydrates are harmful in large quantities.

Studies by the Annals of Internal Medicine and the New England Journal of Medicine have actually found that participants on the Atkins Diet experienced an improvement in heart disease indicators.

Like the 80s and 90s were to low-fat and fat-free, Dr. Atkins has helped make the early 21st century low-carb. Whether thats for better or worse is up to you.

Atkins Diet – How To Do It The Right Way?

Obesity is the main reason for many diseases like cardiovascular problems, diabetes, depression, and sleep apnea. The only way out of this problem is to follow a strict and healthy diet. But that doesnt mean avoiding food altogether for that it is not at all a good option since it would deprive our body of essential nutrients. Hence a controlled carbohydrate diet is advised for carbohydrate is mostly responsible for increasing ones body weight.

The low carbohydrate Atkins Diet was first introduced in 1970s by Dr. Robert Atkins. But it became popular almost 10 years later after the release of his book – Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution which went one to become one of the bestsellers of that decade. In no time, millions of people in the United States and abroad began to follow Atkins diet specifications as their first diet choice.

What is Atkins Diet?

Atkins Diet is a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. It promotes using meat, eggs, and cheese while discouraging high carbohydrate-content foods such as bread and rice. If excess carbohydrates are taken in, excess enzymes should be generated to digest it. This may lead to disintegration of pancreatic cells in a long run, which may further lead to diabetes. According to Robert Atkins, on having a low carbohydrate diet, our body will enter into a state of ketosis, in which, instead of carbohydrates, fat is digested to release energy. This reduces the need for more insulin produced by the pancreatic cells and the fat deposits are subsided. Thus, the body weight is reduced to a considerable amount.

Advantages of Atkins Diet:

1. Considerable amount of body weight is reduced by the burning of fats which is the secondary source of energy.

2. Inter-meal diets could be avoided since you wont be hungry between meals.

3. Could maintain constant blood sugar level.

4. Since most of the toxins contained in our body are removed along with the burning of fats, overall heath is improved.

Things to Note:

1. It is recommended to consult a doctor or physician before trying out Atkins diet meal plans.

2. Daily exercise is highly recommended along with Atkins diet foods.

3. People with kidney disorders, pregnancy, and diabetes are advised not to follow Atkins diet meal plans.

Phases of Atkins Diet:

1. Induction – In this phase, which includes first 14 days of the diet, it is said that you will lose up to 15 pounds of your body weight. During this time, the amount of carbohydrates consumed per day will be less than 20 grams. The only carbohydrates included in your Atkins diet recipes will be low carbohydrate-content vegetables like tomato.

2. Ongoing Weight Loss During this second stage, the consumption of carbohydrates is raised up to 5 grams per day.

3. Pre-maintenance During this stage of Atkins diet meal plans, the rate of fall of body weight will be slower. Also, you can experiment various other foods to see whether they add your body weight or not. If found safe, you could add it to your Atkins diet food products.

4. Maintenance You enter this phase when you find that you have reduced the body weight to the desired level. Also you could add some more carbohydrates to your diet which do not raise your body weight, like full wheat bread.

Tail Piece: The ultimate result of Atkins diet program (other diet programs as well) depends solely on how well the person follows the recommendations. Hence make sure that you follow it religiously.

Are Atkins Diet And Low Carb Diets Safe?

Are low carb diets safe? How safe is Atkins diet? Are low carb and Atkins diets dangerous to your health? These are burning questions for dieters all over the world.

I have personally tried low carb diets and Atkins diet and these diets made me lose weight very quickly. However not only did I lose body fat weight, I also lost muscle weight. I had very obvious muscle and fat loss because I can visually see my reduced muscle mass in the mirror.

This certainly isnt healthy. Furthermore, the more muscle mass that you lose, the less toned your body shape is. The end result is that you will end up thin and yet looked flabby with lose skin.

The frustrating part will be that after you are off the low carb or Atkins diet, you will very probably gain back all the weight that you have loss and even more. This is because your muscles are active and they continuously burn calories. Since you have less fewer muscle mass now, your bodys metabolism or capacity to burn calories slows down tremendously.

In other words, when you put on weight again, you are putting on body fat instead of muscles if you do not exercise. You will be fatter and less healthy than before you went on the low carb or Atkins diet. To compound matters, because of lesser muscle tissues resulting in lower metabolism and thus lesser calories being burnt, you are going to get fatter.

Since then I have stayed off both low carb and Atkins diet. Both types of diets are almost similar as they require you to cut down drastically on your consumption of carbohydrates. Atkins diet went a step further by advocating almost no carbohydrate consumption for 2 weeks before adding some carbs to your meals gradually thereafter.

Besides losing muscles, how safe are low carb diets? This is what Dr Lyn Steffen and Dr Jennifer Nettleton from the University of Minnesotas School of Public Health commentated in a Lancet report, Low carbohydrate diets for weight management are far from healthy, given their association with ketosis, constipation or diarrhea, halitosis, headache and general fatigue to name a few.

The doctors warned that the diet increases protein load on the kidneys and alters the balance of acid in the body. This also results in loss of minerals from the bone stores and affect bone strength. The doctors went on to say that, Our most important criterion should be indisputable safety and low carbohydrate diets currently fall short of this benchmark.

Dr Atkins, the creator of the Atkins diet died in 2003 after he was alleged to have slipped on an icy road and hurt his head fatally. However his medical report stated that he had a history of heart attack, hypertension and congestive heart failure.

Were Dr Atkins medical conditions related to his low carbohydrates diet is anybodys guess. Do you want to take the risk by going on a low carb diet? I dont think I will. If I ever want to lose weight again, I will rather go on the proven method of healthy eating and regular exercises instead of jumping on any fad diets.

Atkins Diet – Increase Your Heart Attack Risk?

Critics of the Atkins diet have always questioned it’s health validity. When Dr Atkins was called before a Senate committee headed by George McGovern, he was forced to admit that pregnant women following his low carb diet would suffer fetal damage to their unborn babies.

Studies since have found that long term, Atkins dieters do not lose weight more quickly, or keep it off more, over a twelve month period as compared to people following other diets. The initial weight loss is mostly fluid, not fat as is often claimed.

And whilst the high levels of protein and fats, and extremely low level of carbohydrates, appeals to some people’s tastes, for most, it’s unappetizing and doesn’t produce a feeling of well being. As such, it becomes difficult to follow for long periods. Yet it is sold as a ‘way of life’, rather than a diet.

Most seriously, questions raised by Atkins’s death, and the state of his heart health as revealed in the medical report after his death, seemed to give credibility to his critics.

Officially, Atkins died as a result of slipping on an icy pavement near his office. But his medical report revealed that he had a history of heart attacks, hypertension, and congestive heart failure. His wife explained the heart problems as a result of a virus they both contracted in Turkey.

Whether or not this is true, other evidence has since emerged that indicates Atkins diet is not good for the heart after all.

One recent study at Oxford University followed 19 people over a two week period. When they followed a diet high in fat and low in carbs, it was found that the energy stored in their heart was reduced by an average of 16%. In some people, this reduction was as high as 30%. On top of this, whilst they were on this diet, these people’s hearts were unable to relax as easily. These changes reverted back to normal two weeks after they went back to a normal diet.

Jody Goran’s experience was much worse. A 50 year old, he tried the Atkins diet and lost weight. He stayed on it for two years, but in October, 2003 he started having chest pains. He went to the doctor straight away, and they found that one of his main arteries was 99% blocked. He was not far away from having a fatal heart attack, and had to have surgery straight away.

Yet, 6 months before he’d started the Atkins diet, his check up revealed a very healthy heart. He had clean, unblocked arteries, and a 96% chance that he would NOT have a heart attack within the next 5 years. After following the Atkins diet for 2 years, not only was one of his main arteries blocked 99%, but his cholesterol had risen from 146 to 215. Just after the angioplasty, his cholesterol levels fell back to 209. But it wasn’t until he discontinued the diet completely that his cholesterol levels returned to 146.

According to a report in The Weekend Australian Magazine, Atkins even acknowledged that in as many as 30% of dieters, higher levels of the ‘bad’ cholesterol can cause potentially serious heart problems. The same article does state that in others, the ‘bad’ cholesterol levels will lower, but 30% is a significant number. And there are other, healthier ways to lower cholesterol.

Overall, the questions and potentially serious side effects, quite apart from the bad breath and constipation, make this a highly questionable long term approach to weight control.

References:
1. Australian Healthy Food magazine, April, 2006
2. The Weekend Australian Magazine, March 11-12, 2006

Whether Atkins diet plan is suitable for effective weight loss?

What is Atkins diet plan?

It is nothing but a weigh loss meal plan offering high fat, low carbohydrate, but at the same time Atkins diet plan gives the energy normally the body requires.

Atkins Diet plan may not be suitable for vegetarians, because this diet plan recommends for eating meats and cheeses rather than breads, fruits and vegetables.

Atkins diet changes the body metabolism. As per Atkins diet plan carbohydrate intake is reduced.

Normally human body is capable of burning fat and carbohydrates to produce energy for bodys function. Glucose is the first fuel for producing energy to body function. This Glucose comes from Carbohydrate.

As per Atkins diet plan when the intake of Carbohydrates is reduced, fat is compensated as fuel for producing energy to body function. When fat is used as fuel for producing energy to body, weight loss is occurring.

It is the general tendency, that low fat and high carbohydrate diets alone is the solution for weight loss.

But as per Atkins diet plan reverses this fact to those who want weight loss. The Atkins diet plan recommends eating meats and cheeses rather than breads, fruits and vegetables, fat and protein rich foods.

When the intake of carbohydrates are reduced which is essential for producing energy in the form of sugar to the body, the body naturally compensates the fate as fuel for producing energy to the body.

The process of burning fat as fuel may be called as ketosis. Ketones are released through breath and urine during the process of burning fat as fuel, which naturally enables for weight loss. The process of burning fat as fuel also restricts the production of insulin, so additional fat formation in the body is also restricted.

Atkins diet plan recommends for taking three meals per day and does not recommends for skipping any meals or go for walking without eating.

The plan recommends for eating fat and protein rich foods like fish, eggs meat, butter, olive oil, sunflower and other vegetable oils.

So if properly followed the Atkins diet plan may be an effective solution to those who want to reduce weight.

ckriswa
author

Atkins Diet Plan – It’s Really Not Easy

You can easily be bored with the limited carb choices but it does get better as you reach the last two stages. Your doctor can explain the possible health risk associated with the Atkins diet. The Atkins diet plan is not easy but if you stay with it the results will amaze you. An internet search for Atkins diet will yield hundreds of results.

The Atkins diet tries to trick your body into burning fat for energy rather than carbohydrates. If the Reactions are really troublesome you should seek treatment. You can find ways to ease these reactions on the internet and in books about low carb diets.

You might get dizzy, have cramps, and other physical effects because of the changes in your diet. It is possible to ease the dizziness and cramps. There are things that can be done to ease the discomfort of leg cramps and other symptoms. Remember minerals like Potassium, are flushed out of your system quickly.

Take a 90 milligram supplement instead of a banana to replace potassium. Relief from symptoms should be felt in about an hour. While on Atkins follow these suggestions for staying healthy. Listed below are some suggestions that might help you get through the time it takes your body to adjust to the diet.

If your weight loss slows or stops before you are close to goal weight, check how many calories you are taking in. Water is also necessary to your kidneys functioning properly. Drinking enough water to equal half your body weight will keep you out of the kitchen and in another room all day. Not drinking enough water can lead to buildup of ketones which can cause serious health problems.

Weighing yourself more than once a week will only frustrate yourself. If you dont see a drop in inches and pounds, check for hidden carbs and sugars. You will feel your best when you eat the right amount of carbs. Make sure the carbs you do eat are chock full of nutrients. Sugar is off limits on the Atkins diet. Regular exercise improves your general health.

Beware of promises that you will lose huge amounts of weight without exercise. Convert food into energy faster with exercise. Strive for a balance in exercise if you arent a little tired after a session, you probably arent doing enough and if you are too tired to move you probably did too much.
The doctor can tell if your post exercise aches and pains are normal or not. To gain maximum benefit from your exercise and dieting, slowly build your routine. Dont take more than the recommended doses of any supplement without your doctors consent. If you are tempted to cheat, checking your journal will remind you what happened the last time you did that.

Some people overeat and some eat barely anything when under stress, recording what you eat will explain weight loss or gain. If you go off program, dont beat yourself up, just get back on track as soon as possible. Anything significant should be entered because good stuff affects you too.

Knowing you have to list everything is important especially for diabetics so they can see how foods affect them whether its negative or positive. Recording your blood sugar levels in the journal is an obvious fact. Doing this will teach you to recognize patterns such as when your levels are highest or lowest.

You and your doctor can use the journal to recognize what you have been doing right and to build on it. Try to choose foods made from whole grain flour. If your weight loss stalls or slows significantly, try eliminating all caffeine. Having short term goals will keep you motivated.

The amount you lose in a week or a month is not as important as a steady weight loss. Losing more weight than that is potentially dangerous. Yo-yo dieting , losing weight and gaining it back to get out of starvations mode, than losing, etc. may be as dangerous as being overweight.

With the Atkins diet, you have the maintenance phase to use for the rest of your life, so you dont have to return to the old way. Only use diets that suggest a slow to moderate weight loss and possibly some nutrient supplements. So the element of a safe workable diet are balanced meals, exercise and supplements.

Not all supplements can do what they claim, so do your homework before you buy. All natural ingredients have one advantage. Supplements and medications often dont mix well, it might be a good idea to take them separately a few hours apart. You wont need supplements if your diet is well balanced.

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