Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Atkins Diet Things You need To Know

By Cathy Maree

The Atkins diet is really called the Atkins nutritional approach. 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.

Dr. Atkins came up with new ideas, his Atkins diet, about the nature of weight gain. 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. He pointed to all the low-fat foods that were high in carbohydrates. Eating a low-fat version of foods was actually less healthy.

The Atkins diet shifts the focus. Once Carbohydrates were removed from a diet, people would burn more stored body fat. Once the fat was burned, the pounds will follow. It's not just a matter of eating less. Now it was all about what your diet can help you burn. 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. The medical world, in general, disagrees with Atkins on this point. They agree lower carbohydrates help with type 2 diabetes, but there is no proof that carbohydrates cause the disease.

What are the specific rules of the Atkins diet? Induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance are the four necessary phases of the diet. Here is an overview of the most important phase - Induction.

The first phase of the Atkins diet, Induction, is like the boot camp for the diet. Atkins is flexible as to the time period but recommends two weeks. During this phase carbohydrates are severely limited only up to 20 grams per day. The result of this phase should be ketosis, a metabolic reaction by which the body converts stored fat into fatty acids, generally prompted by a lack of glucose. Weight loss during this phase can be extreme some Atkins followers reported losses of 5-10 pounds a week.

The next three phases of the Atkins diet help establish the levels of carbs people can consume in order to lose weight and to maintain a desired weight. Millions of people are still losing weight on this diet but beware the dangers of taking in too much fat. - 16752

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