The Four Phases of the Atkins Diet

Some years ago Dr Robert Atkins released a brand new diet known as the Atkins diet. The Atkins diet plan went against all of the commonly accepted information about weight loss and healthy eating by promoting a low carbohydrate, high protein, high fat diet. In addition to this dramatic shift followers of the diet were also told to stop counting calories and start counting daily carbohydrate intake. To everyone's surprise the diet really seemed to work with many people experiencing dramatic weight loss and improved health. What is the Atkins diet and does it still have a role for weight loss today.

The Atkins diet plan is essentially broken up into 4 distinct phases which all involve different levels of carbohydrate restriction.

Induction: The induction phase of the Atkins diet is the most extreme stage and generally only lasts for about 2 weeks. During this phase carbohydrate intake is restricted to 20 grams per day. The aim of this phase is to push your body into lipolysis (fat burning) as its main metabolic process by dramatically depriving it of glucose. Significant weight loss is generally seen during this phase but due to the extreme of carbohydrate restriction side effects such as constipation and ketone breath may occur. Supplements are recommended in particular during this phase to make up for lost nutrients from less intake of fruits and vegetables.

Ongoing weight loss: This phase is much less dramatic and you are encouraged to increase daily carbohydrate intake by 5 grams each week until you stop losing weight. This allows you to know your critical carbohydrate level for losing weight (CCLL) which is a valuable tool for maintaining your ideal weight.

Pre-Maintenance: This phase of the Atkins diet is all about stabilising your metabolism after ongoing weight loss and increasing your body's carbohydrate tolerance. You should increase your carbohydrate intake by no more than 10 grams each week and also at the same time experiment with lots of different foods in a controlled manner to see which foods are best for you as an individual. You should reduce your carbohydrate intake gain weight but the ultimate goal of this phase is to discover your critical carbohydrate level for maintenance (CCLM).

Lifetime Maintenance: This phase is all about sticking to the pre-determined maintenance carbohydrate intake that you learned going through the last 3 phases. The main aim of this phase is to learn strategies to avoid temptation in order to stay at your ideal body weight.

That is a brief run down of the four phases of the Atkins diet. Though an effective diet for weight loss, its important that you know what you're doing before embarking on the Atkins diet plan, and I would highly recommend reading into the topic further before starting. As with any new diet you should also visit your doctor first for advice and for baseline blood tests to ensure that the diet is working for the benefit of your health as well as your waistline.

Jared Bannister writes about dieting issues with a particular focus on the paleo diet. To learn more about the 4 phases of the Atkins diet please visit us at DietingRevisited.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jared_D_Bannister

Atkins Diet Weight Loss - Pros and Cons

The Atkins diet has been around for quite some time now, and is still gaining popularity among those who want to lose weight fast. The essential principle behind this diet is the high protein, low carbohydrate combination. When Dr. Atkins first introduced this concept back in 1972, many doctors and health experts did not agree with him, because of the often misconception that it encourages increasing fats and proteins.

Many believed that the Atkins diet can lead to hypertension and other metabolic diseases. However, as is proven in a lot of literature about it, the low carb Atkins diet has shown to improve blood sugar levels, increase HDL or good cholesterol, normalize blood pressure levels and lead to permanent weight loss.

Although there are many who benefited from the Atkins diet, there are also some people who are clearly against it and who would say that it is not a healthy way to lose weight. Anyone who has heard of the Atkins diet would have an opinion about it. If you want to try this diet, you may want to consider the pros and cons of the Atkins diet as follows:

### Pros ###

1. It is the only diet that allows you to eat "forbidden" foods!

Where else would you see a diet plan that allows you to eat steaks, butter and cream? Only the Atkins diet would even encourage you to add more fats and protein to your diet, because this diet plan is built on the principles that these can increase the body's metabolism and therefore, help you lose weight fast.

2. It is simple to follow.

Much has been written about the Atkins diet that it easy to find meal suggestions which also include the carbohydrate count of each meal. It is basically a four-phase plan which requires you to limit your carbohydrate intake and include essential fatty acids, healthy oils and high amounts of protein. There are several meal plans that you can choose from, which would allow you to include variety in your daily meals.

3. It is a healthy way to lose weight.

Contrary to what critics of the Atkins diet often say that a high protein, low carb diet could lead to health problems, most of the researches conducted prove that the Atkins diet raises HDL levels by at least 10% and reduces the triglycerides in the blood by more than 15%. This results to fewer risks for heart attacks, hypertension and strokes.

### Cons ###

1. Some people give up on it after a few days because of the sudden restriction of carbs to a mere 20 grams per day for about two weeks. There are some who do not enjoy the first two weeks of the program because the meal plans usually consist of eating more salads and less of their favorite foods such as pasta, potatoes, rice and sugar filled desserts. The diet plan also requires you to count your carbohydrates every day, which some people may find tedious.

2. Some people may not like the meal choices given in the Atkins diet, which makes them quit after just a few days of following it. Some also complain that the meal suggestions use expensive ingredients.

3. Others complain of persistent headaches and fatigue during the first few weeks of the program. This is because the body is still trying to adjust to the sudden changes in food supply. However, this only happens during the Induction stage, and is only the body's temporary reactions to the low carbohydrate intake.

Despite these drawbacks, people are still drawn to the Atkins diet, and thousands do agree that it is the perfect diet for them. If you plan to give the Atkins diet a try, make sure to consult your doctor first, especially if you already have pre-existing medical conditions, which may not allow you to abruptly change your eating habits.

Want to be able to easily persist through your weight loss diet? Join our weight loss FaceBook group where we share up-to-date tips and tricks on healthy and permanent weight loss!

Also visit our weight loss web site, where you'll discover a unique, natural and effective way to almost effortlessly stick to your diet: http://www.weightlossacupoints.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Blaz_Banic