What Is the Atkins Diet?
Obesity has become a global issue and people are finding several ways to overcome this dangerous disease. Different types of diet plans have been introduced but among all, the Atkins diet had a huge rate of popularity. Its full name is “Atkins Nutritional Approach.” It is a low carbohydrate, high protein diet contrived by the late Dr. Robert Atkins. It is said that the Atkins diet converts your body into a fat burning device. This type of diet entails a reduced consumption of carbohydrates which changes the metabolism of the body. It encourages the dieters to eat high amounts of protein and fewer carbohydrates.
What Is a Low Carbohydrate Diet?
A low carbohydrate diet is a nutritional program that restricts the intake of carbohydrates. The diet is usually used to overcome obesity or for weight control. It is used to avoid different diseases like blood pressure, cardiovascular ailment, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome. This diet is exceedingly popular nowadays but it also has some drawbacks that cannot be disregarded. There is an erroneous belief that low-carbohydrate diets result in huge amount of weight loss. It lacks the basic nutrients needed by the body and the scarcity of these nutrients may cause headaches, fatigue and pain in different parts of the body.
Phases Of The Atkins Diet
The Atkins diet is recommended to lose that extra weight in your body. The Atkins diet is primarily divided into four main phases. The first phase is known as the induction phase. At this phase, your body starts burning fat instead of the carbohydrates. At this phase, you only consume about 40 grams of carbohydrates and large amounts of vitamins, antioxidants and fiber are recommended. The second phase is the weight loss stage. At this phase you are again consuming carbohydrates in the form of fruits and veggies. This is done to help you understand your carbohydrate-level and it help you lose weight. The third phase is like a maintenance phase, where you are given carbohydrates and also check on your level to see that you are not losing weight excessively and you are able to maintain the weight you aimed for. The fourth phase is the phase that requires continuous effort to follow a limited carbohydrate diet to maintain a steady weight. This is the phase where you finally know how much carbohydrate level is best for you. This helps you to avoid weight gain again.
Advantages Of Atkins Diet
A low- carbohydrate diet has numerous benefits. A few of the most commonly reported advantages are:
- It helps in increasing the energy and capacity to do more work.
- The yearning for sweets becomes less.
- It helps in improving mental concentration.
- It helps in improving mood and emotions.
- It improves the dental hygiene i.e. improvement in gum health and fewer dental plaques.
Apart from the regular advantages of the Atkins diet, it also has some positive benefits on people which are:
- It curtail the headaches
- It also lessen the muscles fatigue and pain
- Low carbohydrate diets improve gastrointestinal symptoms
- Improves skin and reduces the pigmentation and dark spots.
Disadvantages Of Atkins Diet
The drawbacks of this dietary program cannot be neglected. Dieters have to face several challenges during utilization of this program some of the drawbacks of this diet are as follows:-
- It results in excessive amount of hair loss.
- Some dieters have also complained about the bad breath during the utilization of this dietary program.
- In some cases it does not lessen the headache but make it more vigorous for the dieter to tolerate it.
- Due to this diet people face rapid weight loss which is lethal in some cases.
- It may lead the dieters to osteoporosis.
- Atkins diet increases loss of calcium in body that can be fatal.
Conclusion
Every diet has its pros and cons and you should look at both sides of the coins so that you can use everything staying in prescribed boundaries because “excess of everything is bad”. Atkins diet plan also helps the body to regulate the sugar levels in the body and your body produces the right amount of insulin thus helping you to fight against diabetes too. So consult your dietician about Atkins diet today.
Jeremy Morris writes about dieting for the Somanabolic Muscle Maximizer website. Read more of his material by visiting his site.
