Atkins Diet

Atkins Diet Plan Information

The Atkins Diet

What is the Atkins Diet ?

The Atkins Nutritional Approach, popularly known as the Atkins Diet or just Atkins, is a popular but controversial high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet.

It was popularized by Dr. Robert Atkins (1930-2003) in a series of books, starting with Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution in 1972.

It has been astonishingly popular in recent times because of his revised book, Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, in which he updated some of his ideas but remained faithful to the original concepts.

About the Atkins Diet

The Atkins Diet goes against much of the established advice of the previously held ideals in the health community in its acceptance of high fat and meat intake.

Recent studies seem to show that followers lose weight at a greater rate than more traditional plans without serious effects on health.

However, most people may have a very difficult time with Atkins restrictions, since they must fundamentally change the way they eat on a long-term basis, eliminating potatoes, pasta and sweets from their diets on a permanent basis.

How the Atkins Diet Works

The first two weeks of the Atkins diet is termed the "induction" period. During this time, dieters are permitted to eat no more than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day.

This translates into a diet consisting of nearly unlimited meats, poultry, seafood, eggs, cheeses, oils, butter, margarine, bacon, and sausages.

The 20g carb limit is derived from small amounts of carbohydrates in sauces, dressings, cheeses and a couple cups of lettuce greens or vegetables daily.

During these first two weeks, participants are not allowed to have any milk, fruits, grains, cereals, breads or "high glycemic index" vegetables such as potatoes, peas, corn and carrots.

After the first two weeks have passed, dieters can begin adding about 5 more grams of carbohydrates to their diet weekly.

Overall, a diet consisting of no more than 40 to 90 grams of carbohydrates is what dieters must stick to long term, in the "maintenance" phase.

Even this is a limited amount of carbohydrate compared to what health experts and major health organisations recommend in a balanced diet.

Achieving Long Term Weight Loss

Dieting alone seems to have a poor outlook for long term weight control. But, there is much to learn from the thousands of people enrolled in the "National Weight Control Registry".

The average person in this programme lost 60 pounds and kept it off for five years.

Not surprisingly, very few of the participants report following a low-carb or Atkins style diet as their method of achieving long-term weight loss. Actually, the vast majority report the following as their keys to living a healthy lifestyle, and maintaining lost weight: they eat on average 24% of their calories from fat, they expend about 2800 calories weekly in exercise, they don't skip breakfast, and most continuously monitor their eating behavior, often through using a food diary.

Most of the methods the participants followed have been well established for decades as the best ways to lose weight and keep it off.

There is no magic bullet - a healthy balanced diet with regular exercise seems to be the key.

This page is about the Atkins Diet