Weight Loss Information

The Atkins Diet - Separating Fact From Fiction


Have you ever wished for a diet where you ate bacon, eggs, red meat, butter and sausage all day? Surprise! It's not the Atkins Diet.

The Atkins Diet has been in existence for over 30 years and has enjoyed a surge in popularity over the last few years.

Pioneered by Dr. Robert Atkins, the theory behind the Atkins Diet is simple. Your body prefers to utilize carbohydrates (such as in grains, cereals, breads, etc.) for energy and will burn them first prior to body fat. By cutting down dramatically on carbohydrates in your diet, you force your body to burn fat for energy.

Reducing the carbohydrates in your diet puts your body into a state called "ketosis." This word is derived from the "ketones" that are used by your body for energy when sugars/carbs aren't available. When you are in this state of ketosis, your body is producing ketones from your fat that is being burned for energy. Ketones are essentially the leftovers from this process and are used in place of sugar in the body.

For more information on ketosis, go to

http://www.ketosis-ketoacidosis-difference.com/

One of the major misconceptions about the Atkins Diet that has been widely reported is that you can or should eat extremely unhealthy, fatty foods all the time. This is not actually true. Dr. Atkins recommends that you limit your intake of these types of foods (e.g. butter, sausage, bacon, etc.) and instead focus on healthy fats such as olive oil, fish oil, nuts, etc.

The Atkins Diet has many positives and negatives that have been associated with it. Some of the positives include:

Rapid Weight Loss - though the first couple of days the majority of weight lost is water, your body does become more efficient at fat burning and you do lose fat.

Reduced Mood or Energy Swings - eating carbohydrates (especially sugary ones) can lead to mood and energy swings. This is often seen as the post-lunchtime or afternoon energy crash. When you eliminate the carbs, you eliminate the source of this problem.

Reduced Consumption of Refined Foods - highly refined foods are the source of many health problems. The more processed a food is, the less nutrients are generally in it. The Atkins Diet encourages a focus on the consumption of more natural state foods such as vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs and healthy oils.

Some of the negatives that have been associated with the Atkins Diet include:

Rapid Regaining of Lost Weight - this can happen when a person comes off the Atkins Diet. They regain all the weight they lost. One of the major reasons for this is that when you eliminate the carbs from your diet for a long period of time, your body becomes more sensitive to them. When you go back to your regular eating habits (which may not have been great to begin with), your body reacts more strongly to the sugar and carbs in foods, leading to weight gain. This weight gain can be reduced by easing off the Atkins Diet gradually rather than by feasting on carbohydrates.

Lack of Food Choices - it can be difficult to find things to eat that are low carb. Most grocery stores are primarily stocked with carbohydrate-laden foods and it can get boring eating the same things over and over again. Luckily, with the popularity of the Atkins diet and other low carb diets, there are many delicious recipes available to help alleviate this boredom.

The Atkins Diet may not be for you but by incorporating some of the principles in it, such as lowering your carbohydrate intake and eating more natural-state foods, you may find that you can achieve great results without ever having to restrict yourself. It may take a little longer but the results will be more permanent as it is more of a lifestyle change than a diet.

About The Author

Nick Nilsson is Vice President of BetterU, Inc., an online exercise, fitness, and personal training company. Check out his latest eBook "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of" at http://www.thebestexercises.com or visit http://www.fitstep.com. You can contact him at betteru@fitstep.com or subscribe to BetterU News, his fitness newsletter at betterunews@fitstep.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

Winning at Weight Loss Takes Team Effort
WSET, VA - 19 hours ago
When people joined a group based weight-loss program with friends and family, they lost more weight and kept it off better than those who joined the same ...
Experts Weigh in on Low-calorie Sweeteners and Weight Gain WSET
all 2 news articles


Examiner.com

Weight Loss Examiner
Examiner.com - 11 hours ago
These websites were picked by the Weight Loss Examiner as useful resources. The weight-loss drug Alli has been running a new batch of TV ads showing ...


Fars News Agency

High-Protein Breakfast Helps Weight Loss
Fars News Agency, Iran - 6 hours ago
According to the study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, a high-protein breakfast creates a greater sense of sustained fullness throughout the ...


Best Syndication

Discover the 6 Benefits Bananas Provide to Help You Achieve ...
Best Syndication, CA - 19 hours ago
Eating too much of any one food is not the best way to achieve a healthy weight loss, we all know that. But some foods eaten on a regular basis can provide ...


Weight Loss Improves Urinary Incontinence in Overweight and Obese ...
DG News - 19 hours ago
By Laura Gater CHICAGO -- September 5, 2008 – Initiation of weight loss should be considered a first-line approach to the treatment of overweight and/or ...


Hawaiian trip may be won for weight loss
Valencia County News Bulletin, NM - 16 hours ago
After losing 57.4 pounds in the nationally run Weight Loss Challenge, Segura is in the running for a free vacation trip to Hawaii. "I am excited about being ...


Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating Seeks Weight Loss Clients for New ...
MarketWatch - Sep 4, 2008
Those who are selected will appear in the new commercial totaling their weight loss results and celebrating their combined success. ...


Safe, Simple and Scientific Secrets to Successful Weight Loss
WSET, VA - 19 hours ago
But what if you applied the concept of sustainability to your weight-loss and health-improvement efforts? The results would be life altering, ...


Weight loss
Planet Thrive, NY - 22 hours ago
I understand that unexplained weight loss is one of the symptoms of lyme borreliosis. I'm trying to understand why the weight loss. ...


Painless Weight Loss Tips!
Mom Logic, CA - 23 hours ago
Watch your portions--calories are still at the core of weight loss and weight gain. 8. Exercise at least 30 minutes (cardiovascular and resistance training) ...

Weight-Loss - Google News

home | site map
© 2006