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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.
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