Atkins Diet

Do you ever feel like you know just enough about Atkins Diet to be dangerous? Let's see if we can fill in some of the gaps with the latest info from Atkins Diet experts.

The Atkins Diet, created by Dr. Robert Atkins, is based on the theory that consuming too much carbohydrates, especially the refined carbs as those found in white bread, sugar and high-fructose corn syrups, is responsible for the high incidence of obesity-causing metabolic disorders amongst the Western population - and lifestyles based on too little physical activity only adding to the problem of obesity and diabetes.

The other unique feature of Atkins Diet is that saturated fats are not considered the main nutritional culprits - it is the trans-fats found in hydrogenated oils that need to be shunned along with carbohydrates. Thus, Atkins Diet is one that is drastically restricted in carbohydrates and is relatively rich in proteins and saturated fats.

Dr. Robert Atkins formulated the Atkins's Diet sometime in the sixties. The inspiration was an article featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Atkins adapted these ideas to formulate a diet and tried it on himself, and the results were startling. He treated thousands of overweight patients and expounded his diet in a series of books. The rest is history.

The logic behind Atkins's Diet is quite simple: your body fulfills a major part of its energy requirements by burning carbs as fuel. And so, if you deprive it of carbs by substituting them with proteins and fats in your diet, the body would run out of fuel and, therefore, be forced into fat-burning mode (ketosis).

All the energy requirements of the body would then be met with by burning the stored body fat, leading to rapid fat loss and weight loss. When the body is in the state of ketosis, one also tends to feel less hungry and so consumes less calories than what one would normally do.

There are four phases in Atkins Diet: (1) Induction, (2) Ongoing weight loss, (3) Pre-maintenance and (4) Lifetime maintenance.

The Induction phase is the most restrictive phase, with the allowed intake of carbohydrates being restricted to a meager 20 net grams/day. This is required in order to push the body into a state of ketosis. A multivitamin supplement is highly recommended during this initial phase.

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In the following phases the intake of carbohydrates is then gradually increased (up to a reasonable amount, though still far lesser than the average carbohydrate consumption), but sooner or later the body gets have used to a low-carbs diet.

Foods Recommended in Atkins Diet

1. High-protein foods such as meat, fish and eggs are a must. However, they must not be breaded, nor should they be consumed along with sauces, which are high in carbohydrates.

2. Low-carb vegetables/fruits are fine too. Some examples of such vegetables are spinach, herbs, celery, radish, sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower and Avocado. For a comprehensive list of low-carb veggies/fruits, you can always run a check on the Internet.

3. Cheese - all kinds of cheese can make a part of Atkins Diet. Butter is good too, but you shouldn't go overboard.

4. Olive oil is the preferred choice amongst cooking oils. Trans-fats have to be strictly avoided. But nuts are great.

5. As far as drinks go, Atkins Diet recommends 8 glasses of water a day. Drinks with sugar content are a big no-no - and that includes sugared tea and coffee. Diet sodas are okay though.

6. Psyllium comes highly recommended, as it is rich in fiber.

7. Sugar is out, while sugar substitutes are okay - but must be taken in limited amounts.

Many people follow the Atkins Diet and many results that have been published in esteemed review journals have spoken in favor of this diet, as they haven't observed any serious side effects. But some controversies and questions still remain, e.g., whether it would be suitable for people having kidney problems. So, before latching on to Atkins Diet diet, it is best to consult your doctor first and get Health and medical information.

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Knowing enough about Atkins Diet to make solid, informed choices cuts down on the fear factor. If you apply what you've just learned about Atkins Diet, you should have nothing to worry about.

What is the Atkins diet and what will you need to sacrifice to achieve the results you've seen other people realize? So you're a size twelve, and you want to drop down to at least the size six that you once were, but you'll settle for a size eight! It doesn't really matter as long you're not anywhere near your present size twelve. What you'll need to begin with is some working knowledge of what the Atkins diet is and what it might encompass. On the other hand before you get bogged down in details you could always just try out an Atkins diet free plan which might help you to get a handle on the situation.

There's no hard and fast place for you to get an Atkins diet free plan of course, but I've found that the internet is a great place for you to find just about anything and everything you need. Start by turning on your computer…it's truly amazing how many pithy looks I get when I state this most obvious of facts! In fact you probably rolled your eyes at me just now!

Anyway, if you just cruise the internet for an Atkins diet free plan, you'd be surprised at the amount of other free plans that you come up with as well. And if you're not hard and fast bound to going the Atkins diet way, then you could always just try out any one of the other free plans. As it implies it won't cost you more than the time spent on the internet surfing the web.

So what can you possibly hope to get with an Atkins diet free plan? To begin with, you can pinpoint what type of foods you can eat and which type of foods you'll have to drop. If you're thinking of going with the Atkins diet then in the first phase alone there are many things that you'll need to sacrifice in order to maintain your diet.

Amongst the list of carbs which you can eat on your Atkins diet free plan you'll find that cream, cheese and butter can be eaten as long as you stay within your carbohydrate allowance per day. So, out go the fruits, the breads, the pastas and the pizzas. Basically anything that's great tasting you might think.

That's not entirely true as you'll see with your Atkins diet free plan. There are plenty of great tasting foods which you can eat and although you might not realize it yet they'll include many of your favorite foods, just not anything high in carbs.

Oh and did I forget to mention that you'll also find on your Atkins diet free plan that although you can drink as much water as you need, you'll have to skip out on your life sustaining caffeine drinks? And if you think you can handle that then you're definitely ready to start – and stay – on your Atkins diet, and pave your own way to dieting success.