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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.
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.
------------------
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President
of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical
Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for
more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including
"Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've
Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!"
and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available
at (http://www.fitness-ebooks.com).
He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
