Atkins Diet 7 Day Plan - Helping you Lose Weight Effectively

Currently, we have over 5 millions of people on a diet called the “Atkins Diet Plan.” Just in case you aren’t familiar with what the Atkins diet plan is, it is one of the surefire ways to lose weight.

The Atkins diet plan, also referred to as ‘Atkins Nutritional Approach,’ has caused quite a stir in the media. There are so many kinds of diet plans out there, each bringing one specific thing to the table. One mutual thing about these diet plans is that you are required to watch the amount of calories you take. Aside from this, these diets require that you eat food with lower fat content.

However, the Atkins diet plan stands out from the rest; it gives you all permission to eat eggs, cheese, red meat, bacon and even a large amount of butter. This makes the diet plan controversial among so many people.

Although, so many people on this diet are quite exhilarated because of its unconventional ways of helping them lose that excess weight, doctors are a bit divided on the effect of this diet on people in the long run. Atkins diet plan is so effective that it makes people wonder how exactly it helps one lose weight.

Late Dr. Atkins, the inventor of this diet plan, argued that the amount of carbohydrate you take is the sole determinant of how much weight you end up losing. The added that if you can set limitations to the amount of carbohydrate you take, you will lose weight.

Carbohydrates are foods that contain refined sugar and wheat flour; they are mostly processed foods such as bread, pasta, cereal and rice. According to the late Dr. Atkins, reducing your carbohydrate intake forces your body to burn the fats rather than the carbohydrates.

The Four Phases of Atkins Diet Plan

The Atkins diet plan consists of four phases. The foods that you eat depend on your metabolism and the phase that you are in:

v  Phase 1 – The Induction Phase:

This is restrictive of all phases. This means that in phase 1, you are not allowed to eat carbohydrates at all. Depending on your body, you can eat 20 grams or vegetables.

v  Phase 2 – The Ongoing Weight Loss:

Under this phase, you are allowed to eat carbohydrates. This phase allows you to increase the carbohydrate by 5 grams. Every week, you are supposed to increase your carbohydrate intake by five grams. You are supposed to do this continuously, until you stop losing weight. When you reach that point, the plan requires you to subtract five grams, as this is to ensure that you maintain your weight.

v  Phase Three – Pre-maintenance:

Under this phase is where you transit from losing weight to maintaining it. You are permitted to increase your carbohydrate intake by 10 grams every 7 days, provided that you do not gain any weight.

v  Phase Four – Life Maintenance:

    The final phase is the lifetime maintenance which allows you to choose any food that you want, provided you limit your carbohydrate intake. This phase allows you to keep your weight down while eating any kind of food that you want.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Atkins Diet Plan

So many people have testified that The Atkins Diet has helped them lose weight. Many dieters of this plan confirmed the fact that when you set a limit to the amount of carbohydrate you take in, your body now uses carbohydrates to burn fat, resulting in weight loss.

Additionally, with the Atkins Diet 7 day plan, you can easily maintain your weight: it reaches an ‘equilibrium’ point where you cannot lose or gain weight, the plan now allows you to maintain what you have.

The Atkins diet plan also prevents you from having diabetes: when you take in small amounts of carbohydrate; you reduce the chances of being diabetic.

Lastly, the disadvantage with this kind of plan is that you tend to have bad breath because of constipation and excess production of ketone.