25 October 2009

The Atkins Diet, A Quick Review

South Beach Diet : The Atkins Diet, A Quick Review by Ricardo d Argence

Whichever way you turn, someone is hyping a new diet that will make you reach all of your weight loss goals. Some have been established to be beneficial and others have ended up being harmful for your health. This brings us to the Atkins diet, what is it and can it work for you?
Dr. Robert Atkins finished medical at Cornell University in 1955. Some years later, he found himself overweight and looking for answers. He based his currently popular diet program on a diet something like what he saw in the Journal of American Medical Association. He first published Dr Atkins Diet Revolution in 1970.

He has changed his diet a little over time, but has never changed from the central ideals of the plan. The diets focus is on eliminating carbohydrates from the western diet.
This diet will restrict the consumption of carbs, as you no doubt imagine. The central tenet of this diet is that carbs are what cause you to be heavy. There are 4 phases of the diet with each phase building onto the next.
Induction. The most restrictive is the first phase. It is advised to do this stage for two weeks, however, Atkins maintains that you can continue this particular stage for months. Carbohydrates are limited to 15-20 grams per day of which 12-15 must come from leafy vegetables. Small amounts of cheese and generous amounts of meats and essential oils are allowed by this diet. The objective of this stage is to render the system into ketosis and add healthy portions of fiber into your meals.
Ongoing Weight Loss. In phase 2, the carbohydrate count will gradually increase until weight loss occurs at a reasonable pace of about 1 or 2 pound each week. While it is acceptable to increase the amount of carbohydrates ingested per day by five grams, vegetables are the first to be increased so as to help determine how much of an adjustment can be made before you start to put on weight. Dieters should stay within this stage until 5 to 10 pounds away from their goal.
Pre Maintenance. This is when the pounds don't fall off as quickly, Atkins says that the last 10 lbs or so should take 1-3 months to disappear. Dieters should use the method in phase 2 and add carbohydrates in at as much as ten grams per day again to the point that they are able without gaining weight,during this phase.
Maintenance. Consider everything that you learned from the past phases and be consistent with a healthy program to stay at your best weight. Make sure you don't return to your bad dietary habits when you reach the end of your diet.
But, you must be warned about ketosis. This condition happens when the blood levels of ketone are elevated. The liver's normal response to a low carbohydrate diet is to convert fat into fatty acids; expect this to happen. Usually the body relies on glucose taken from the carbohydrates that you eat, but when there are no carbohydrates the body starts to use stored fat in place of this. Your will be aware of ketosis in your body when your have a metallic taste on your tongue and your breath smells foul.

Medical professionals are divided in their opinion on ketosis. There is still some controversy, but there are those who believe that it needlessly stresses the liver and can destroy muscle tissue.
For many people the diet does work. Just in the first phase, people can net a ten to fifteen pound loss in as little as a week. Just like any diet, the outcome will be much better if you exercise because it raises the metabolism and helps you to avoid cardiovascular disease.

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