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Atkins Diet

About

First coming to the forefront in 1970's by Dr Robert Atkins, the Atkins Diet has gone from strength to strength and continues to grow in popularity. The main reason it is so popular is because it does not eliminate what may generally be considered as all "unhealthy food" and more importantly it gets results.

The Akins Diet is based around the theory of reducing your carbohydrate intake, which is your bodies primary source of energy. With carbohydrate intake being so low your body will need to look elsewhere for its source of energy and will use fat instead, a process called Ketosis.

A few arguments against the Atkins diet is that in the inital stages it can be very hard and draining to follow. With such a dramatic change in your nutrional intake where you are effectively eleminating a whole food group you may feel drained, lack energy, suffer from headaches etc. This effect is supposed to go after the first couple of weeks as your body adapts. Another argument against the Atkins Diet and particulary the process of Ketosis is that it overworks works certain organs if stuck to for a long period. What concerns many health professionals as well is the amount of unhealthy fat you are allowed to have with this diet which can have detrimental effects on your body and general health.

How The Diet Works

The Atkins Diet is split up into 4 phases each of which consist of a low carbohydrate theme. The phases are detailed below:

Phase 1 - Induction
In the induction phase your body will be really be shocked into making dramitic changes as your diet is changed to allow only 20g of carbohdrates per day. Due to the dramitc change you are likely to see good weight loss results in this phase, which should last for about two weeks.

Phase 2 - Ongoing Weight Loss
The second phase follows the same principals as phase 1 but you steadily increase your carbohydrate intake (whilst still keeping it extremely low overall) by adding nutritious vegetables to your diet and increasing your fibre intake. Your carbohyrdate level will never go above your pre-defined critical level for weight loss.

Phase 3 - Pre Maintenance
The third phase is put into action when you reach your desired weight and is designed to slightly increase your carbohyrdrate intake and the variety of foods you can eat in order to maintain your weight

Phase 4 - Lifetime Maintenance
Once your are comfortable with the pre-maintenance phase and are maintaning a healthy weight you can then move on to the final phase where you can enjoy a wider selection of food whilst following a diet plan design for you to keep for life.

Advantages and Disadvantages

This is a controversial diet amounst health professionals due to its seemingly neglect of an entire food group, but many people who have tried the diet are more than pleased with the results. Looking at the overall picture we can see the main advantages and disadvantages to the diet which are detailed below:

Adantages

Proven results from many successful dieters

You get see results very quickly

You can still eat fatty foods and lose weight

Many shops and restaurants now have Atkins style products available

Disadvantages

Its high fat content can be harmful to your health

There is a possibility of overworking some of your bodily organs

The diet can be very hard to adapt to and you could feel ill in the inital stages

The New Atkins Diet

Due to concerns over the orginal version of the Atkins diet a new version has now been released namely, "The New Atkins Diet" which is said to be more healthy whilst still getting the same great results.