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.
