Low Carb Diet Review - Understanding The Atkins Diet

Probably the best known, yet most misunderstood
low carb diet plan is the Atkins Diet.

Read below for a short review of the Atkins Diet.

Low Carb Diet Review - Understanding The
Atkins Diet

Perhaps the most widely known of all low carb diets is
the Atkins diet. Created by Dr. Robert Atkins in the 1970s
the Atkins diet is considered by some to be the most
extreme low carb diet plan.

Dr. Atkins believed that nearly all obesity is caused by
overactive insulin production and not by overeating. He
believed that overeating could be caused by carbohydrate
addiction and that most overweight people actually ate
less than their slim counterparts. However, they crave
and eat carbohydrate, which raises their insulin levels
and suppresses fat burning.

Dr. Atkins is a proponent of ketogenic fat burning, which
is achieved by eating fewer than 40 grams of carbohydrate
each day. He advises his followers to buy testing strips so
that they can measure the amount of ketones in their urine
daily to confirm that they are in a constant state of ketosis.
He also recommends the use of dietary supplements to help
balance nutrition and the bodies systems.

The Atkins Diet is divided into four stages: the Induction
diet, the Ongoing Weight Loss diet, the Pre-Maintenance
diet, and finally the Lifetime Maintenance diet.

The Induction diet is very strict as far as carb elimination
(20 grams or less per day), but generous in the allowance of
fat and protein. It should be noted that low starch vegetables
are the recommended source of carbs. This phase of the diet
lasts 14 days and is followed by the Ongoing Weight Loss diet
(OWL).

The OWL phase allows for the reintroduction of certain good
carbs but the levels are kept below 40 grams a day. Dieters
stay on OWL until they reach their ideal weight. Once the
ideal weight is reached dieters transition into the Pre-Maintenance
diet, where they experiment with reintroducing certain good
carbs until they discover their carb tolerance level (the total
carb grams they can consume in a day and not gain weight).

When dieters understand how much carb they can consume
and they maintain their ideal weight, they will enter Lifetime
Maintenance. Here they will continue to avoid sugar, processed
foods, white flour and hydrogenated fat/oils.



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