A typical breakfast consists of 3 or 4 strips of bacon, two or
more eggs and coffee. A snack would maybe be chunks of cheese
and a cup of coffee with cream. Dinner might be a huge steak
fried in butter. Sounds really good right? It sounds so tempting
but there is a trade-off. You will have to give up carbs such as
breads, potatoes, pasta, rice, and other things like chocolate,
cake, some fruits, veggies, and milk at least in the beginning.
The theory is that when you cut out carbs your body are forced
into burning fat that your body has stored to give it energy.
Your body burns more calories when burning fat than when it is
burning carbohydrates and you will lose weight more quickly.
Your blood sugars stabilize which prevents overeating. The first
phase of the Atkins Diet Plan is the Introduction Phase and must
be followed for at least two weeks. You are only allowed to
consume 20 grams of carbs a day. You can load up on as much red
meat, chicken, fish, cheese, eggs, mayo, cream, and butter. It
is during this phase that your body switches from the burning
fat to burning carbs. The second phase is the ongoing weight
loss phase. During this phase you increase your carb intake by
about 5 grams daily until you find your critical carbohydrate
level for losing weight. The most carbs that you can eat and
still lose between 1 and 3 pounds a week. Breads, pasta,
potatoes, and rice are still off limits. The third phase is the
pre-maintenance phase that you enter when you have only five to
ten pounds to go to meet your goal weight. Your carb intake
increases by ten grams each day for a week in order to help your
body adjust to the addition of carbs and the final phase of
maintenance. The fourth phase is called lifetime maintenance and
intended to help you keep your motivation. Carbs are limited to
less than 90 grams a day. Get used to it though because you will
be on a low carb diet for the rest of your life. There are some
concerns about the long-term effects of the Atkins Diet Plan and
other low carb plans. There is such a high consumption of fat,
particularly saturated fats and this can cause an increase risk
of heart disease. The Atkins diet eliminates some nutrients and
this could cause deficiencies and other health problems in the
future. Since there is a limited intake of bone building calcium
you could be at increased risk of Osteoporosis. A very limited
intake of antioxidant nutrients could cause problems such as
heart disease, cancer, and premature aging. One drawback of the
Atkins Diet is that it can become boring. Vegetarians have
difficulty with this diet because veggies, seeds, and nuts are
off limits in the first stages. The diet does present a view of
healthy eater, which keeps us healthy and free from disease.
Other concerns are that the initial weight loss comes back
quickly when you go off the Atkins plan and a lot of people drop
out in the induction phase. The carbs are very low and ketosis
can result which is dangerous for a diabetic or anyone else for
that matter. This diet is high in cholesterol and you can
develop constipation and/or heart disease because of the high
fat content. Since the diet is low in fruits and vegetables, it
also lacks cancer-fighting antioxidants. The most serious
drawbacks to the Atkins plan are that it is not intended for
long term use and there are unsafe if not downright dangerous
side effects. A few positive notes about the Atkins Plan are
that it works! You lose a lot of weight quickly and you can eat
as much as you want of certain foods especially protein and fat.
The Atkins Diet eliminates to a great degree carbs from rice,
pasta, potatoes, breads, some fruits and veggies. It also
eliminates cancer-fighting antioxidants. It is a high fat and
high protein diet that can increase the risk for certain
diseases like high cholesterol and heart disease. On the upside,
this is one diet that actually works but it is not a diet that
you can be on for an indefinite period of time. Once you go off
the program and resume more ?normal? eating the initial weight
loss will come back. Also, as with any diet plan check with your
doctor to be sure you can safely do it. To conclude let me give
you a reminder. The Atkins diet is not for long term use and it
has inherent health risks. If you need to lose weight you may
already be at risk for heart disease and high cholesterol, the
Atkins plan has the potential of actually increasing those
risks. (c)
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About the author:
Martin Smith is a successful writer providing advice on a
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