Atkins Diet and Atkins Diet Plans

The Atkins Diet is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate weight loss diet developed by Robert Atkins, M.D., during the 1960s. The Atkins Diet severely restricts the consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods and encourages the consumption of protein and fat.

The Atkins Diet consists of four stages:Stages of Atkins Diet Plan

Stage 1: Induction

Stage 2: Ongoing weight loss

Stage 3: Pre-maintenance

Stage 4: Maintenance

Induction is the first stage of the plan. It lasts 14 days or more. This rapidweight loss is due to limiting your carbohydrates to 20 grams a day. The only carbohydrates you can have are low-carbohydrate vegetables like lettuce, broccoli and tomatoes. The purpose of induction is to induce a change in your body chemistry that leads to lipolysis (burning fat for energy) and a secondary process known as ketosis.

Ongoing weight loss phase where you add carbohydrate, in the form of nutrient-dense and fibre-rich foods, by increasing to 25 grams daily the first week, 30 grams daily the next week and so on until your weight loss stops.

During the Premaintenance and Maintenance phases, dieters determine the level of carbohydrate consumption that allows them to maintain their weight. To prevent weight regain, dieters are told to maintain this level of carbohydrate consumption, perhaps for the rest of their lives.

Some Cons of Atkins Diet:

• Once you are committed to atkins diet plan, you have to be committed to follow it for life. After you have lost weight, you can't go back to eating.
• People who suffer from gout, kidney conditions should not go on Atkins. You should check with your doctor before you go into any diet plan.
• Some participants in Atkins Diet report losing clumps of hair. They complained having no energy to exercise. Some reported going into a slump of depression.
• High amounts of dietary protein increase calcium loss, which can contribute to osteoporosis.
• Some research has indicated that this type of diet may endanger the kidneys, result in dehydration, or lead to other health problems.

South Beach Diet has a major advantage over Atkins — it promotes healthy foods — healthy unsaturated fats that have the effect of lowering bad cholesterol, complex, low GI carbs, that help insulin level regulation.

Another major difference between the two diets is that theSouth Beach Diet recommends moderation (implying lower caloric intake) while Atkins does not even suggest it.

The only advantage that Atkins has over South Beach would be that in Atkins the weight loss is bigger and faster. But this "advantage" can be dangerous for health, as rapid and massive weight loss cannot be healthy when occurring in a very short time and with the cost of depriving the body of valuable vital nutrients — vitamins, minerals etc.

Atkins has been very successful for many people and has resulted in not only significant weight loss – but also health improvement. Many people do find the diet demanding at first and need to make significant behavior modification to get the best out of Atkins.