| Atkins
Diet Plan - What's it All About?
by Martin Smith
A typical breakfast consists
of 3 or 4 strips of bacon, two or more eggs and
coffee. A snack would maybe be chunks of cheese
and a cup of coffee with cream. Dinner might be
a huge steak fried in butter. Sounds really good
right? It sounds so tempting but there is a trade-off.
You will have to give up carbs such as breads,
potatoes, pasta, rice, and other things like chocolate,
cake, some fruits, veggies, and milk at least
in the beginning.
The theory is that when you
cut out carbs your body are forced into burning
fat that your body has stored to give it energy.
Your body burns more calories when burning fat
than when it is burning carbohydrates and you
will lose weight more quickly. Your blood sugars
stabilize which prevents overeating.
The first phase of the Atkins
Diet Plan is the Introduction Phase and must be
followed for at least two weeks. You are only
allowed to consume 20 grams of carbs a day. You
can load up on as much red meat, chicken, fish,
cheese, eggs, mayo, cream, and butter. It is during
this phase that your body switches from the burning
fat to burning carbs.
The second phase is the ongoing
weight loss phase. During this phase you increase
your carb intake by about 5 grams daily until
you find your critical carbohydrate level for
losing weight. The most carbs that you can eat
and still lose between 1 and 3 pounds a week.
Breads, pasta, potatoes, and rice are still off
limits.
The third phase is the pre-maintenance
phase that you enter when you have only five to
ten pounds to go to meet your goal weight. Your
carb intake increases by ten grams each day for
a week in order to help your body adjust to the
addition of carbs and the final phase of maintenance.
The fourth phase is called
lifetime maintenance and intended to help you
keep your motivation. Carbs are limited to less
than 90 grams a day. Get used to it though because
you will be on a low carb diet for the rest of
your life.
There are some concerns about
the long-term effects of the Atkins Diet Plan
and other low carb plans. There is such a high
consumption of fat, particularly saturated fats
and this can cause an increase risk of heart disease.
The Atkins diet eliminates
some nutrients and this could cause deficiencies
and other health problems in the future. Since
there is a limited intake of bone building calcium
you could be at increased risk of Osteoporosis.
A very limited intake of antioxidant nutrients
could cause problems such as heart disease, cancer,
and premature aging.
One drawback of the Atkins
Diet is that it can become boring. Vegetarians
have difficulty with this diet because veggies,
seeds, and nuts are off limits in the first stages.
The diet does present a view of healthy eater,
which keeps us healthy and free from disease.
Other concerns are that the
initial weight loss comes back quickly when you
go off the Atkins plan and a lot of people drop
out in the induction phase. The carbs are very
low and ketosis can result which is dangerous
for a diabetic or anyone else for that matter.
This diet is high in cholesterol
and you can develop constipation and/or heart
disease because of the high fat content. Since
the diet is low in fruits and vegetables, it also
lacks cancer-fighting antioxidants. The most serious
drawbacks to the Atkins plan are that it is not
intended for long term use and there are unsafe
if not downright dangerous side effects.
A few positive notes about
the Atkins Plan are that it works! You lose a
lot of weight quickly and you can eat as much
as you want of certain foods especially protein
and fat.
The Atkins Diet eliminates
to a great degree carbs from rice, pasta, potatoes,
breads, some fruits and veggies. It also eliminates
cancer-fighting antioxidants. It is a high fat
and high protein diet that can increase the risk
for certain diseases like high cholesterol and
heart disease.
On the upside, this is one
diet that actually works but it is not a diet
that you can be on for an indefinite period of
time. Once you go off the program and resume more
‘normal’ eating the initial weight
loss will come back. Also, as with any diet plan
check with your doctor to be sure you can safely
do it.
To conclude let me give you
a reminder. The Atkins diet is not for long term
use and it has inherent health risks. If you need
to lose weight you may already be at risk for
heart disease and high cholesterol, the Atkins
plan has the potential of actually increasing
those risks.
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About the Author
Martin Smith is a successful
freelance writer providing advice on a variety
of subjects. For more information on Atkins
diet plan or Low
carb diet plans, drop by the website. His
numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched
resource of interesting and relevant information.
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