How Can The Atkins Diet Help You Lose Weight?

To lose weight in a regular manner one needs to watch what is being eaten. A low carbohydrate diet can be an effective weight loss program. This type of diet induces fat loss and protects the body from becoming obese. However, a low carb diet needs to be followed properly. The weight loss in a low carb diet can stop after some time but one should not quit. Loss of weight usually begins again after a gap.

The Atkins Low Carb Diet helps one to lose over 15 pounds in two weeks. This diet was created by Dr Robert Atkins from a diet he was using to reduce his own obesity. Dr Atkins was of the belief that the main cause of obesity is eating refined carbohydrates, like sugar, flour and high-fructose syrups. The Atkins diet restricts carbohydrates to change the body’s metabolism so that the stored body fat can be burned in place of glucose.

The Atkins diet is divided into four phases: induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. The first phase or induction is the most restrictive part of the whole diet. This phase continues for two weeks. The intake of carbohydrate is limited to about 20 grams per day. Out of this, 12 to 15 grams is to be consumed in the form of salads and vegetables like broccoli, spinach, pumpkin, cauliflower, turnips, tomatoes and asparagus. All meats, poultry, fish, shellfish, fowl and eggs can be consumed. Though calorific restrictions are not there in the consumption of proteins and fats, the intake should be limited.

Soft or semi-soft cheese, salad vegetables, other low carbohydrate vegetables, butter, olive oil and vegetable oils can also be taken. Eight glasses of water needs to be consumed every day during the induction phase. No alcoholic beverages are permitted and caffeine is allowed in moderation. One must also take a multivitamin with minerals daily. The first phase helps in most weight loss. When combined with daily exercise, one can even lose up to 10 pounds every week

The second phase or the ongoing weight loss increases the carbohydrate intake. This phase lasts until your weight is within 10 pounds of the target weight. In the first week of this phase, one should add more vegetables to one’s daily diet. In the second week the carbohydrate ladder created by Dr Atkins should be followed. The nine rungs in the ladder include induction-acceptable vegetables in larger quantities, fresh cheese, nuts and seeds, berries, alcohol, legumes, other fruits, starchy vegetables and whole grains. The alcohol rung can be left out.

In the third or pre-maintenance phase carbohydrate intake is again increased. The key goal here is to find out the maximum number of carbohydrates one can eat each day without gaining weight. The last or lifetime maintenance phase needs to carry on with the habits that have been acquired in the previous phases. One has to avoid returning to the previous eating habits. One can always drop back to an earlier phase when weight gain occurs. When a person has a lot of pounds to lose, he or she can safely continue with the induction phase for several months.