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 don?t 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 1990?s (after an initial period of popularity in the 1970?s), 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 person?s 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 participant?s 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 body?s 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: they?re 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 person?s 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 participant?s 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 80?s and 90?s were to ?low-fat? and ?fat-free?, Dr. Atkins has helped make the early 21st century ?low-carb?. Whether that?s for better or worse is up to you.

It is often said that the induction phase of the Atkins diet is the most significant part of the diet. This is the part that decides the success of your weight loss program. But it is not all about the foods that are acceptable. There are also some rules that need to be followed.

When you are going through the induction phase, you need to consume three meals a day, or you must have five meals of a smaller size per day. This is more suited to people who feel hungry often during the day. At the same time, you will have to take care that you do not crave for carbohydrates. This can be managed by constantly taking in the permissible proteins and vegetables that are allowed on the Atkins diet. During the induction stage, it is important not to skip meals or to go without eating for more than six hours at a time.

The Atkins diet has no restrictions on eating from its list of acceptable foods. Since the Atkins diet is not a calorie restricted diet, there is freedom to eat as much fat and protein as you like, but you must keep the carbohydrate amounts in drastic limitation. You must see that you get 12 to 15 grams of carbohydrates from vegetable sources. Cheese can provide this amount all at once, but the Atkins diet does not suggest that to be a good idea.

The Atkins diet requires the users to avoid bread, fruits, grains, pasta and starchy vegetables at the induction stage. These foods can be reintroduced later. The list of prohibited foods includes the protein-rich beans because of their high carbohydrate contents. Low carbohydrate products are permissible in the diet, but this may work against your weight loss efforts.

During the induction phase, it is important not to consume even a small amount of the foods that are not included in the Atkins list of permitted foods. The small amounts will lead to temptations for bigger portions.

The quantities of the permissible foods can be tweaked to match with your appetite. It is probable that you will eat more when you are in the induction phase, but this will decrease later on. If your appetite decreases, you have to eat the necessary foods. Care must be taken that you never overstuff your stomach.

Due to the stringent following of rules that you must do during the induction phase, it is important not to consume any foods that look dubious. This includes the low carbohydrate foods which might actually contain carbohydrates in them. If a food has 0.5 grams of carbohydrates; that can be rounded off to 0 grams on the label. That means, you might be actually putting carbohydrates in your body inadvertently. Foods like gravies, salad dressings and gravies also contain some carbohydrate content in them.

Keep your body healthy through water. Drinking eight glasses of water a day helps to avoid problems later on.

Remember all these points when you are starting with the induction phase of the Atkins diet. This is sure to bring to you the weight loss success that you always dreamed of.

Darren Williger is a guitar playing, tea drinking, meditating, low carbohydrate eating, wine making sales maker who writes for MyLowCarbPages.com, and MindSatori.com.