What Is The Atkins Diet?

by Slim Slater

The short name for the Atkins nutritional approach is the Atkins diet. It was the brainchild of the doctor named Robert Atkins. He had gained a lot of weight in medical school. Atkins read about a low-carb diet in one of his medical journals. He built on that diet and eventually made it popular.

Atkins, in his Atkins Diet, believed prevailing theories about weight gain were all wrong. He disagreed that saturated fats were the problem. Instead it was carbohydrates that led to the weight problems Americans have. In Atkins theory eating too little fat make things even worse. Many low-fat foods are packed with carbohydrates. Dieters were being tricked into eating foods that would cause them to gain more weight.

This all changes in the Atkins diet. He shifts dieters' metabolism to burn body fats by cutting out carbohydrates from their diets. Once the fat was burned, the pounds will follow. The goal wasn't necessarily to take in fewer calories. Dr. Atkins held that your diet could actually help you burn calories. In fact Atkins cited a study that claimed the body would burn an extra 950 calories on his diet. But the claims were not true.

In addition to claims of weight loss, Dr. Atkins said his Atkins diet could help people with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is most often associated with obesity. Weight loss associated with the Atkins diet, as with any diet, would therefore help people manage type 2 diabetes. But the Atkins diet is also low in carbohydrates, which must be avoided with type 2 diabetes regardless of caloric intake, so by means of this aspect of the diet Atkins claimed those who suffer type 2 diabetes would no longer need medication such as insulin. But that's counter to the prevailing medical theories regarding type 2 diabetes which, although recommending that lowered intake of carbohydrates and weight loss help manage diabetes, ascribe no causal relationship between carbohydrates and type 2 diabetes.

So just how does this Atkins diet work? It follows four phases - induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. Here are more details of Induction which is the most crucial of the phases.

The Induction phase is the most difficult phase of the Atkins diet. Atkins is flexible as to the time period but recommends two weeks. Carbohydrates are nearly removed entirely from the diet, only 15-20 grams can be consumed each day. The lack of carbohydrates will prompt the body to convert fat into fatty acids for fuel a process known as ketosis. Weight loss of 20 pounds over this period isn't uncommon that's a staggering amount.

Learning the ideal carbohydrate levels for weight losing and for day to day intake after the weight loss ends are the purposes of the final three phases in the Atkins diet. The diet lost popularity after Dr. Atkins died, but it's still popular.

Use the Atkins diet the right way and for sure you will lose weight.

About the Author:

Slim Slater is a fat loss expert. For more great information on Burn the Fat Feed be sure to visit http://thefatlossreview.com/burn-the-fat-feed-the-muscle-review.html.