Atkins and Unprocessed Foods

When you first start on the Atkins program, you may be tempted to take advantage of many of the low carbohydrate products on the market today. There are a wide variety of packaged items that are specifically manufactured to be low-carb. These include low-carb snacks, low-carb baking products and low-carb substitutes (like pasta or bread). While it may be enticing to fill your shopping cart with all of these goodies, it?s best for your diet and for your health to use them sparingly.

One of the key things to remember about the Atkins diet is its focus on raw, unprocessed foods. The center of diet, as shown by the Atkins diet food pyramid, is fresh vegetables and fresh meats. Added into the mix are natural cheeses, a selection of fruits and, eventually, whole unprocessed grains. There aren?t any packaged meats, canned vegetables or instant anything.

There is a reason that the Atkins food pyramid shows these foods in their raw states. There are great health benefits in minimally processed foods. Raw, whole foods retain more vitamins and nutrients than foods that have been through chemical and industrial processing. Manufactured foods are more likely to be tainted with chemical additives that can cause a whole host of problems.

Raw, fresh food ingredients provide the best basis for a healthy diet. Many dieters rely on foods that are technically allowed on the plan, but not good for health. One example is bacon. Many people on the Atkins diet consume lots of bacon. In fact, many use it as a daily part of their protein foods. However, bacon contains high amounts of sodium nitrite, an ingredient that is known to cause cancer. The more bacon they eat, the more they expose themselves to this chemical and many others.

The Atkins pyramid, and the Atkins diet books, recommends unprocessed, unrefined and non-manufactured foods for a reason. If people follow these recommendations, they will lose weight and experience health transformations. By eating fresh and natural foods you?ll be providing your body with the nutrients that you need to have optimum health.

Back to those packaged and processed low-carb foods. Technically, they are part of the low-carb program. They can be used in moderation as substitutes for your favorite carbohydrate heavy foods. In a pinch, low-carb bread and baked goods can help you get over cravings and add variety to your Atkins diet plan. However, one look at the labels of these products shows how chemically processed these items can be.

It is recommended that you use these products sparingly. In some individuals, low-carb packaged items cause carbohydrate cravings. This can make staying on the diet even more difficult. If you find that low-carb processed foods make you want to binge on carb-heavy foods, then its best that you stay away from these products. These products may also have hidden carb counts that will increase your daily carbohydrate level without you realizing it.

If you are experiencing a stall in your weight loss on the Atkins plan, re-evaluate your commitment to unprocessed and unrefined foods. If you?ve been eating too many low-carb processed foods, you may be consuming hidden carbs and eating more than necessary. Try eliminating these products and refocusing your diet on unprocessed and unrefined foods, like those seen on the Atkins diet pyramid. When you go grocery shopping, spend time along the outer rim of the store where the fresh, unprocessed foods are. This will help you avoid the temptation of packaged foods that can lead your diet astray.

You may need to rely on packaged meats, vegetables and fruits from time to time. We lead busy lives and convenience foods are part of life. It?s understandable that you may need to use some canned soup, bacon or canned vegetables in your daily life. However, make an effort to concentrate your dietary efforts on a wide variety of fresh, unprocessed foods. Your health and weight loss efforts will be greatly rewarded.

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Atkins Induction Rules

The Induction phase of the Atkins diet is one of the most important stepping-stones to successful weight loss. In addition to the list of acceptable foods, there are a few rules that are important to follow during this period of the diet.

During Induction, you need to eat three regular-sized meals per day or four to five smaller meals. If you find yourself jittery and hungry between meals, try breaking down your meals into smaller portions and eat more frequently. In order to stave off carbohydrate cravings, you?ll need to constantly keep your body running on the proteins and vegetables on the plan. Never skip meals and never go more than six waking hours without eating.

You can eat freely from the list of acceptable foods. Do not restrict your fats and proteins. Eat as much of them as you like. Remember, the Atkins diet is not a calorie-restricted diet. The only thing you need to worry about is your level of carbohydrate grams. Make sure to count your carbohydrate grams when you eat vegetables, cheese and beverages with Splenda. At least 12-15 grams of your allowed carbohydrates should be from your vegetable list. While it may be tempting to eat them all in cheese, vegetables are important to your digestive system (especially while on this diet).

Avoid all fruit, bread, pasta, grains and starchy vegetables (like cauliflower or squash) during this initial period. These foods will be slowly introduced throughout the course of the pre-maintenance phase. Although beans are high in protein, they also include carbohydrates and should be avoided during this phase. If you feel that you must have some grain products, you should limit yourself to high fiber low-carbohydrate products. However, this may slow down your weight loss process.

Anything that isn?t on the acceptable food list is forbidden during the Induction phase. Don?t be tempted to just have ?one bite.? Your one bite may turn into two, and then before you know it you?ll end up ruining your diet.

Remember to adjust the quantity of acceptable foods to suit your appetite. At the beginning of the Induction phase, you may find yourself eating much, much more than you will toward the end of the phase. As your body breaks its addiction to sugar and carbohydrates, you will be less hungry throughout the day. When this starts to happen, make sure to eat only what you need. Eat until you are satisfied and not overly stuffed.

Always read the labels of packaged products, even if they claim they are ?carb free.? You may find that some products have hidden carbohydrates. The law allows manufacturers to round off to zero if a product has fewer than .5 grams of carbohydrates. Look at the list of ingredients for manufactured products to determine if there are hidden carbs. You?ll also need to watch out for hidden carbohydrates when you eat out. There are small carbohydrate amounts in gravies, sauces and salad dressings. The best bet is to eat your meat without sauce and eat your salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing.

Remember to drink 8 eight-ounce glasses of water, in addition to anything else you might drink. This will keep your body hydrated and help you avoid constipation. You?ll also be able to flush out the by-products created by fat burning.

Keep all of these guidelines in mind when you start the induction phase and you?ll be setting yourself up for long-term success with the Atkins diet.

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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.