The Atkins diet is rather counterintuitive, with its allowance of large degrees of fat and cholesterol, but the fact remains that it works. Many studies have proved that people on the Atkins diet will lose weight and improve their cholesterol rating much faster than people on a traditional low-calorie, low-fat diet. In fact, weight loss on the Atkins diet is faster than weight loss on a traditional diet even if the overall number of calories consumed is greater.
The Atkins diet is also good for keeping weight off. This is because the Atkins diet is not really just a diet, but a lifestyle. In fact, the name has recently been changed from the Atkins diet to the Atkins Nutritional approach. The reason for this switch is that a “diet” implies something you start and then stop, returning to your previous eating habits. The Atkins diet (or nutritional approach) does not work this way.
There are four phases in the Atkins diet. The first phase, Induction, is what most people think of when they hear the term “Atkins diet.” Weight is lost most rapidly during the Induction phase of the Atkins diet, and the carbohydrate intake is most rigidly limited, allowing the participant no more than 20 grams of carbohydrates daily, which is equivalent to 80 calories of carbs, only 4% of the average person’s food intake. The standard guidelines for carbohydrate consumption recommend about 65% of your daily calories to come from carbohydrates.
When you have lost most of the weight you want to lose, you can leave the Induction phase and move on to Ongoing Weight Loss. During this phase of the Atkins diet, weight loss still happens, but slows down as carbohydrate intake is gradually raised. Carbohydrate intake is raised no more rapidly than by 5 grams at a time (about the carbohydrate content equivalent of one third of an orange).
Pre-Maintenance is the third phase of the Atkins diet. You are ready to enter Pre-Maintenance when you are within 5 or 10 pounds of your target weight. During Pre-Maintenance, you increase carbohydrate intake twice as rapidly, in 10 gram increments.
When you reach a carbohydrate intake at which your weight remains stable, you are ready for the Lifelong Maintenance phase of the Atkins diet, which is more of a permanent commitment than a phase. The correct carbohydrate intake differs for everyone, since some have higher carbohydrate tolerance. Finding this balance may take some experimentation. If you begin to gain weight during Lifelong Maintenance you will need to lower your carbohydrate consumption again.
There are a few risks and inconveniences associated with the Atkins diet. Such a drastic change in your food consumption is bound to meet with some initial protest from your body. Some people who should not participate in the Atkins diet include people with severe kidney disease, and pregnant women. Anyone may suffer from carbohydrate withdrawal at first, whose symptoms may include headaches, nausea, dizziness and fatigue. Carbohydrate withdrawal symptoms during the Atkins diet usually last around four days, and not more than a week.
Also, you should probably take multivitamins and/or mineral supplements when on the Atkins diet. Protein and fat sources simply don’t have all the necessary vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy. Vegetables and whole grains are the best sources for most vitamins, and consumption of these is restricted on the Atkins diet.
But what poses the greatest risk to most Americans is obesity, a much greater risk and discomfort than any you will encounter on the Atkins diet. In the United States, over 300,000 deaths result annually from obesity related diseases. In 1999, 61% of US adults were found to be overweight or obese. Obesity highly correlates with heart disease, diabetes, joint problems, and multitudinous other chronic problems. The Atkins diet has done more towards counteracting the trend towards obesity than any other diet in American history. If you are one of the many overweight or obese Americans, you should think about joining the Atkins diet revolution. It may be counterintuitive in many ways, but it gets results.
By Riannon Cutler