Atkins Diet Plan

Atkins Diet Plan – The New Ultimate Beginner’s Guide and Step by Step Simpler Way to Lose Weight. Everything You Need to Know about Atkins Diet Plan.

Atkins Diet plan is like most other diet plans, in that staying on any diet is really frustrating; this is because it means adopting something that you are not normally used to. There are different kinds of diets out there, each offering a specific thing. One thing that stands out in all these diets is that you are supposed to watch the amount of calories that you take. In addition to that, these diets require one to eat food lower in fat content. However, there is one diet that is different from the rest; it permits one to eat cheese, red meat, eggs, bacon and even large amounts of butter. Because of these features, this diet has caused controversy among many people. This is the Atkins Diet plan.

The Atkins Diet plan also referred to as ‘Atkins Nutritional Approach,’ which is a diet that has caused quite a stir in the media. While many people who are on this diet are thrilled because of its unconventional ways, the doctors are a bit divided on how this diet can affect somebody in the long run. Many people wonder how exactly, the Atkins Diet plan helps one lose weight. According to the inventor, the late Dr. Atkins argued that losing weight is dependent on the amount of carbohydrates that you take. He further argued that if you limit the amount of carbohydrate that you take, you will lose weight.

Carbohydrates are foods that contain refined sugar and wheat flour; they are mostly packaged foods such as bread, pasta, cereal and rice. According to the late Dr. Atkins, reducing carbohydrate in your body forces the body to burn the fats rather than the carbohydrates.

In the past 12 or so years, over 20 studies have shown that low-carb diets without the need for calorie counting are effective for weight loss and can lead to various health improvements.

The Atkins diet was originally promoted by the physician Dr. Robert C. Atkins, who wrote a best-selling book about it in 1972. Since then, the Atkins diet has been popular all over the world with many more books having been written.The diet was originally considered unhealthy and demonized by the mainstream health authorities, mostly due to its high saturated fat content. However, new studies suggest that saturated fat is harmless.

Since then, the diet has been studied thoroughly and shown to lead to more weight loss and greater improvements in blood sugar, “good” HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and other health markers than low-fat diets

Despite being high in fat, it does not raise “bad” LDL cholesterol on average, though this does happen in a subset of individuals. The main reason why low-carb diets are so effective for weight loss is that a reduction in carbs and increased protein intake lead to reduced appetite, making you eat fewer calories without having to think about it.

The Atkins Diet Plan Is a 4-Phase

The Atkins diet is split into 4 different phases:

• Phase 1 (induction): Under 20 grams of carbs per day for 2 weeks. Eat high-fat, high-protein, with low-carb vegetables like leafy greens. This kick-starts the weight loss.
• Phase 2 (balancing): Slowly add more nuts, low-carb vegetables and small amounts of fruit back to your diet.
• Phase 3 (fine-tuning): When you’re very close to your goal weight, add more carbs to your diet until weight loss slows down.
• Phase 4 (maintenance): Here you can eat as many healthy carbs as your body can tolerate without regaining weight.

However, these phases are a bit complicated and may not be necessary. You should be able to lose weight and keep it off as long as you stick to the meal plan below.

Some people choose to skip the induction phase altogether and include plenty of vegetables and fruit from the start. This approach can be very effective as well.

Others prefer to just stay in the induction phase indefinitely. This is also known as a very low-carb ketogenic diet (keto).

Foods to Avoid

You should avoid these foods on the Atkins diet:

• Sugar: Soft drinks, fruit juices, cakes, candy, ice cream, etc.
• Grains: Wheat, spelt, rye, barley, rice.
• Vegetable oils: Soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil and a few others.
• Trans fats: Usually found in processed foods with the word “hydrogenated” on the ingredients list.
• “Diet” and “low-fat” foods: These are usually very high in sugar.
• High-carb vegetables: Carrots, turnips, etc (induction only).
• High-carb fruits: Bananas, apples, oranges, pears, grapes (induction only).
• Starches: Potatoes, sweet potatoes (induction only).
• Legumes: Lentils, beans, chickpeas, etc. (induction only).

Foods to Eat

You should base your diet around these healthy foods.

• Meats: Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, bacon and others.
• Fatty fish and seafood: Salmon, trout, sardines, etc.
• Eggs: The healthiest eggs are omega-3 enriched or pastured.
• Low-carb vegetables: Kale, spinach, broccoli, asparagus and others.
• Full-fat dairy: Butter, cheese, cream, full-fat yogurt.
• Nuts and seeds: Almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.
• Healthy fats: Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocados and avocado oil.

As long as you base your meals around a fatty protein source with vegetables or nuts and some healthy fats, you will lose weight. It’s that simple.

Beverages

Here are some drinks that are acceptable on the Atkins diet.

• Water: As always, water should be your go-to beverage.
• Coffee: Many studies show that coffee is high in antioxidants and quite healthy.
• Green tea: A very healthy beverage.

Alcohol is also fine in small amounts. Stick to dry wines with no added sugars and avoid high-carb drinks like beer.

Maybe Eat

There are many delicious foods you can eat on the Atkins diet. This includes foods like bacon, heavy cream, cheese and dark chocolate. Many of these are generally considered fattening because of the high fat and calorie content.

However, when you’re on a low-carb diet, your body increases its use of fat as an energy source and suppresses your appetite, reducing the risk of overeating and weight gain.