Many people have heard of the Atkins diet, the short name for Atkins nutritional approach. Dr. Robert Atkins invented this low-carb diet. He put on a lot of pounds while he attended medical school. He read about this diet in the medical journal. He built on that diet and eventually made it popular.
Dr. Atkins had rather radical theories about the nature of weight gain as expressed in the Atkins diet. First, he dismissed the idea that saturated fats were bad. Instead it was carbohydrates that led to the weight problems Americans have. In fact Atkins thought that the focus on fats had made a problem much worse. Many low-fat foods are packed with carbohydrates. That meant people on a diet often ate foods that were worse than they normally ate.
The Atkins diet shifts the focus. By cutting out carbohydrates people would burn stored body fats. Lose the fat lose the weight. Atkins flipped the equation from lowering caloric intake. The diet would work because it burned calories. The Atkins diet supposedly burned an extra 950 calories everyday. That sounded good but it wasn't true.
Dr. Atkins also touted the positive influence this Atkins diet could have on people with type 2 diabetes. Being overweight is generally considered the major cause for type 2 diabetes. So in general any diet that helps decrease weight will help address type 2 diabetes. In addition the Atkins diet also addresses the measure of taking in fewer carbohydrates which is part of managing type 2 diabetes, so that Dr. Atkins suggested people on his diet would no longer need to monitor their blood sugar or take 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.
What are the specific rules of the Atkins diet? It consists of four steps or phases which are induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. Here are more details of Induction which is the most crucial of the phases.
The first phase of the Atkins diet, Induction, is like the boot camp for the diet. It lasts for about 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. During this phase weight loss can reach as much as 10 pounds per 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. The diet lost popularity after Dr. Atkins died, but it's still popular. - 15995
Dr. Atkins had rather radical theories about the nature of weight gain as expressed in the Atkins diet. First, he dismissed the idea that saturated fats were bad. Instead it was carbohydrates that led to the weight problems Americans have. In fact Atkins thought that the focus on fats had made a problem much worse. Many low-fat foods are packed with carbohydrates. That meant people on a diet often ate foods that were worse than they normally ate.
The Atkins diet shifts the focus. By cutting out carbohydrates people would burn stored body fats. Lose the fat lose the weight. Atkins flipped the equation from lowering caloric intake. The diet would work because it burned calories. The Atkins diet supposedly burned an extra 950 calories everyday. That sounded good but it wasn't true.
Dr. Atkins also touted the positive influence this Atkins diet could have on people with type 2 diabetes. Being overweight is generally considered the major cause for type 2 diabetes. So in general any diet that helps decrease weight will help address type 2 diabetes. In addition the Atkins diet also addresses the measure of taking in fewer carbohydrates which is part of managing type 2 diabetes, so that Dr. Atkins suggested people on his diet would no longer need to monitor their blood sugar or take 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.
What are the specific rules of the Atkins diet? It consists of four steps or phases which are induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. Here are more details of Induction which is the most crucial of the phases.
The first phase of the Atkins diet, Induction, is like the boot camp for the diet. It lasts for about 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. During this phase weight loss can reach as much as 10 pounds per 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. The diet lost popularity after Dr. Atkins died, but it's still popular. - 15995
About the Author:
Visit weight-loss guru Linda Miller's website for completely free South Beach Diet Information, and for other information such as the safety of the South Beach Diet
