The Atkins nutritional approach has been used nationally since the 1960s. Long before Dr. Robert Atkins published his popular low-carb diet plan, his patients were reaping the benefits of the Atkins diet.
Dr. Atkins divided his eating plan into four phases. The “induction,” phase one, is designed to force the body into ketosis, a physical condition that occurs in response to starvation. The “ketogenic” diet is widely used in medicine not only to treat obesity, but also to treat conditions such as epilepsy and diabetes. During this particular two-week period, no alcohol or caffeine may be consumed.
The second phase, “Continuous Weight Loss,” is geared toward finding the “Critical Carbohydrate Level to Lose.” This process involves increasing carbohydrate intake by five grams per week until the person is within 10 pounds of their goal weight.
“Pre-maintenance” is the next step. Like phase two, this phase requires an increase in carbohydrate intake, the difference between the two phases is that this phase is designed to find the “Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance”.
Step four is “Lifetime Maintenance,” a phase intended to reinforce the habits learned through the diet plan so as not to regain weight lost while dieting. Dr. Atkins also emphasizes making use of the option to return to any of the other phases if the weight begins to come back.
While there have been many testimonials of success on record, the Atkins diet has come under fire in recent years as more and more testing has been done. Recent studies compared Atkins to other diet plans and found that it scores among the highest for short-term weight loss, but ranks lowest for long-term weight loss. And after Atkins Nutritionals launched its line of Atkins diet bars and meals, Forbes magazine analyzed various diets and found that the average consumer would pay up to 80% more in food costs than people not following the diet. Even when faced with these facts, many still sing the praises of the Atkins diet.
Both the New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Medicine confirmed that Atkins remains the most effective published diet plan for short-term weight loss. However, they acknowledge that there is an increased risk of coronary heart disease. As far as weighing the pros and cons to determine exactly how much more risk those on the Atkins diet are at, all of the reports found that there is still no documented evidence to prove that the risks outweigh the benefits.
Nearly forty years later, the late Dr. Atkins is still renowned for his approach to weight loss. Thanks to the innovation of the internet, Atkins meal plans, Atkins diet bars, Atkins recipes, magazine articles and research on Atkins and pretty much anything else associated with the Atkins diet has never been easier. to access.