It seems every time you turn around someone has the diet that will make all your weight loss dreams come true. Some have been proven good and others have turned out to be dangerous to your health. This brings us to the Atkins diet, what is it? Will it work for you?
Dr. Robert Atkins finished medical at Cornell University in 1955. Some years later, he found himself overweight and looking for answers. He based his currently popular diet program on a diet something like what he saw in the Journal of American Medical Association. He first published Dr Atkins Diet Revolution in 1970.
Over the years, he revised his plan somewhat but never strayed from the diets core principals. The diets focus is on eliminating carbohydrates from the western diet.
The whole diet revolves around the idea that carbohydrates are the main cause of you being overweight. As you would imagine this means, the diet will restrict the intake of carbs. The diet is broken down into four phases each one building on the last.
Induction. The first part is definitely the most limited. The suggested time to stay on this phase is two weeks, but Atkins states that you it is safe to stay at this phase for months. Carbohydrates are limited to 15-20 grams per day of which 12-15 must come from leafy vegetables. This part of the diet will also let you eat little amounts of cheese, large amounts of meat and essential fats. At this stage, the goal is to put the body into ketosis and add some healthy fiber to the diet.
Ongoing Weight Loss. The second phase is to gradually increase the intake of carbs until a sustainable weightloss of 1-2 pounds per week is achieved. Carbohydrates will increase by five grams each day from a special food list, but vegetables can be eaten depending on how much carbohydrates are in them. Dieters stay in this phase until they are within five to ten pounds from their goal.
Pre Maintenance. Weight loss can begin to slow at this time. 1-3 months is the time that Atkins recommends loosing those last 10 pounds or so. Dieters will use the method in phase two and add carbohydrates as much as ten grams per day, again, to the point that they are able without gaining weight.
Maintenance. Take all that has been learned from the previous phases and continue on a healthy plan to maintain your optimum weight. Avoid the common end of diet mentality and return to bad habits.
Now, let’s talk about ketosis. When the amount of ketones in the blood are elevated, this is called Ketosis. This normal response of your liver happens when you decide to go on a strict low carb diet. Your liver will work for you in converting the fats into fatty acids. Under normal conditions, your body uses glucose made from carbs that you eat. When that supply runs out, then your body will start to burn its stored fat. You can be pretty sure that your body is in ketosis state when you notice that you have foul smelling breath or a metal taste in your mouth.
Medical professionals are divided in their opinion on ketosis. Some say that it unnecessarily stresses the liver and can cause destruction of muscle tissue, however that debate is far from over.
For a large number of people, the diet does work. The first phase alone can reduce your weight ten to fifteen pounds in a week. As with any diet, the results will be multiplied with excercise in order to increase your metabolism and help to prevent heart disease.
