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The Atkins diet is the most common low carb diet, it was created in the 1970’s by Dr Robert C Atkins, the basic principle of this is to cut out most of the carbohydrate you eat while eating as much fat and protein as you want and still lose weight.
To begin on this diet almost all carbohydrates are eliminated from diet, this leads the body into a state of what is known as ketosis. Ketosis is when the body is fooled into thinking the body is starving and therefore the body burns the stored fat to provide energy, as you burn more calories when your body burns fat compared with carbohydrate, you'll lose weight much quicker. Also by removing carbohydrates you maintain a more stable blood sugar level which prevents overeating.
There are four different phases of the Atkins diet, Induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance .
Induction
This phase needs to be done for at least two weeks however if you can do longer that is fine. Usually people tend to eat around 200g a day in the induction stage this needs to be reduced to 20g per day which is pretty much elimination, things like sweets, crisps, chocolate, biscuits, fizzy drinks and pastries are to be avoided and main carbs like bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, milk, veg and fruit as to be cut out during this stage. Also alcohol needs to be eliminated in the induction stage. During this stage the things you may eat are chicken, red meat, eggs, cheese, fish, cream butter and mayonnaise. It is during this stage that your body will burn fat rather than burning carbs. It is expected that in first two weeks you could lose 6-10lbs.
Ongoing weight loss
This stage allows you to increase your carbohydrate intake by an extra 5g per day on a week by week basis until you find your critical carbohydrate level for losing weight. This is the maximum amount of carbohydrate you can eat each day to lose between 1 and 3lb a week. This differs for everyone some people may be able to consume 50g a day while others only 25g. It however is still considerably less than usual and really only means the introduction of a bit of fruit and vegetables, however bread, potatoes, pasta and rice etc are still a no go.
Pre-maintenance
You would start this phase when you only have small amount of weight left to lose maybe 5 to 10 lbs. This is to prepare the body for the final phase. You may increase your carbohydrate intake by 10g per day for a week at a time, this is so the weight loss can slow to around 1 lb per week you may now introduce tiny amounts of bread, pasta, rice, cereals etc however 10 g of carbs is about 30 g of pasta or 40 g of brown rice.
Lifetime maintenance
This is the final phase of the diet aimed at maintaining your weight loss, you will need to follow a low carb diet for life. You will be able to have a more varied carbohydrate intake but mustn’t exceed 90 g per day which is around a third of what the average person consumes. This must be followed otherwise the weight would creep back on.
How much weight will I lose?
During the induction stage you will lose around 6-10 lbs, during the ongoing weight loss stage this will slow to 1-3 lbs per week, as mentioned earlier during pre maintenance you would lose no more than 1 lb per week, results therefore can vary depending how long you follow the diet for and how much weight you have to lose.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It does work if done correctly
- Initial weight loss is substantial which is excellent for will power as you are more likely to stick to the diet if its working.
- It is well known as it been around for a long time and therefore there is a lot of information and help out there, join an online forum for tips and support.
- You can eat as much fat and protein as you want, so those who love their red meat etc. won’t need to sacrifice these.
- As people following the Atkins need to cut out alcohol this brings with it certain health benefits.
Cons
- It has a high rate of drop out after initial weight loss
- Side effects including tiredness, dizziness, nausea, constipation and bad breath are bad sides to the diet however the side effects may vary from person to person.
- Initial weight loss is mainly water so if you were to stop the diet the weight returns vey quickly
- Lack of essential foods groups especially those high in fibre.
- High cholesterol due to high fat content also contributing to heart disease
- Not suitable for vegetarians as nuts, seeds, beans and many vegetables are banned in the early stages
- Ketosis puts strain on the liver
- Doesn’t allow a person to learn about or follow a healthy balance diet
Summary
This diet does work and is ideal for someone wanting to lose a small amount of weight in a short space of time, however the associated risks would suggest that this would not be suitable as a long term diet until research proves it to be risk free.
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