Nowadays, people have become very health cautious and keep looking for diet plans to follow. Some look for losing weight, some for simply healthy living, and some for gaining weight. Today in our diet type category we will look into a low-carb diet type Atkins diet.
Atkins diet focuses on maintaining body insulin levels by proposing a diet with low carbohydrates. Atkins diet is recommended for people who consume food high in refined carbohydrates like beverages high in sugar, fruit juices, white rice, pasta, and bread; consuming food high in refined carbohydrates leads to fluctuation in insulin levels.
The Atkins diet was originally promoted by the physician Dr. Robert C. Atkins, who wrote a best-selling book about it in 1972.
When on Atkins diet, people can eat food high in protein and fat but recommended to avoid carbohydrates. Atkins diet is for weight watchers as well as for people who want to lose weight.
Originally it was considered unhealthy due to high saturated fat but as per new studies, saturated fat is considered harmless. After Nutritionists, thorough studies have shown that this diet helped in improving blood sugar levels, triglycerides, and good HDL cholesterol opposite unlike bad LDL cholesterol despite being high in fats.
Below is a list of food which is suggested to be avoided when on the Atkins diet
• Soft drinks, fruit juices, cakes, candies, and ice cream as being high in Sugar.
• Grains – Wheat, rice, rye, barley due to carbohydrates.
• Low-fat and diet food as they are high in sugar.
• High-carb vegetables and fruits are as high in starch as Turnips, carrots, bananas, pears, oranges, apples, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
• Lentils and beans.
Permitted Food and beverages:
• Low-carb vegetables and fruits like Spinach, Bell peppers, asparagus, Mushrooms, Avocados, Peaches, Honeydew, Berries, etc.
• Fatty fish and seafood: Salmon, lake trout, mackerel, sardines.
• Dairy products high in fat like cheese, butter, etc.
• Nuts and seeds namely almonds, walnuts, and sunflower seeds.
• Healthy fats – Coconut oil, avocados oil, extra virgin olive oil.
• Coffee is high in antioxidants.
• Water which is recommended in almost all diets.
Atkins diet leads to reduced appetite and in turn, helps in consuming fewer calories due to the consumption of high protein and low carb.
Atkins diet is a four-phased diet plan.
Phase 1: Also known as the induction phase. It is the most restrictive phase as it allows you to eat only 20 gm of carbs per day for the next 2 weeks. Cutting on carbs will make your body switch to fats as the main source of energy. So it is suggested you eat high fat, high protein foods.
Phase 2: It is a kind of ongoing phase where your body has adjusted to your low-carb inputs. This phase is about finding out your carb tolerance, by increasing your carb intake a little on a daily basis and finding where you can keep your carb intake and still work on weight loss. You can increase on nuts, add lower-carb vegetables, seeds, and some amount of cheese to your daily food list. Also, you can eat plenty of natural fats and continue having plenty of water.
Phase 3: This phase is known as the pre-maintenance phase. By this phase, your weight loss has accelerated and you would be near your goal weight. This phase is to slow the weight loss a bit and build your tolerance for carbs.
Also, it is about balancing your carb intake and not just to reach your goal weight but to maintain that, so start adding carbs to your diet at 10g per week. Once you have reached your targeted weight and maintained it for quite a few months, you are clear on what works for you, i.e. how much carb and other nutrients intake your body can handle to be at your targeted weight.
If your weight loss has stopped completely after adding more carbs to your diet, you can drop 10g carb intake for a week and then can restart by adding 5g carb per week basis till you find your body balance of carb intake and not just weight loss but to stay at the targeted weight.
It is all about trial and error, as all of our body systems are different, what works for one may not work for another. It’s all about finding equilibrium between your carb intake and weight loss. That is why this phase is also called the fine-tuning phase as well.
Phase 4: This phase is known as the maintenance phase. By this phase, you have reached your targeted weight, and know what diet works for your body. How much carbs your body can tolerate being on your goal weight. From now you can set your body tolerance to healthy carbs and keep adding as many healthy carbs your body can sustain and be at your goal weight.
In case, anytime you feel you are gaining weight, don’t panic and get back to phase 3.
Good info about the Atkins diet is available at https://www.atkins.com/.
Atkins diet is for people who want to lose weight and stay at their goal weight.
Atkins diet phases defined above are too generalized and one has to identify what works as per their own body tendency; as it is said what works for one may or may not work for another.
The choice to follow any diet plan is a person’s own choice, and we at DietFoodTip only provide broad info on it and we are not responsible in ways.
Frequently Asked Questions
Atkins lets you eat anything other than carbohydrates and sugar, so yes vegetarians can surely follow. In fact, vegetarians can directly start from phase 2 and use nuts and seeds before berries.
Atkins is about eating fewer carbohydrates in a controlled manner i.e. it is a low-carb diet. Phase 1 allows eating 20 gm of carb per day for 2 weeks. Phase 2 is about finding your carb tolerance, i.e. keep increasing your carb intake and still can lose weight to maintain your weight loss goal. Phase 3 is about slowing the weight loss acceleration achieved due to the previous two phases and building your carb tolerance. Phase 4 is your result phase where you have found your nutritional balance and carb tolerance to be on your goal weight.
Atkins is not a no-carb diet but it is about controlling your carb intake. It is not recommended to consume seeds and nuts in Phase 1 or the induction phase.
The body starts burning alcohol the first moment you consume it and stops fat burning. As the body stops fat burning it will postpone your weight loss, though it will not stop. Anytime during the diet, if you see your body has stopped losing weight after adding to your diet, stop consuming alcohol.