Atkins Diet - Carbs Are the Bad Guys
The Atkins Diet is tried and tested - one of the longest standing weight loss programs on the planet.
Millions of people around the world have dieted using this low carb program.
The diet promises weight loss of at least 15 pounds in the first two weeks.
Its key focus is a dramatic decrease in carbohydrates.
Its mantra is count carbs not calories.
Dr Robert Coleman Atkins (1930-2003) set out the scientific foundation for his diet in his first book which was published in 1972.
He argued the human body becomes overweight due to excessive intake of carbs.
To fuel itself, a body burns carbs and stored fat.
Critically, it burns carbs first.
By lowering the intake of carbs, and eating more proteins and fat, the dieter will burn stored fat and lose weight naturally.
Carbohydrates enter the body and, after digestion, enter the bloodstream as a form of sugar.
To prevent an unwarranted increase in the blood's sugar content, the body produces insulin.
This substance converts sugar to glycogen and stores it in the body's muscle tissue and liver.
Sadly, these two areas gave limited storage capacity.
Once they are full, insulin switches to converting any residual sugar to fat.
The diet seeks to cause a body to consume, not add, fat through a process known as ketosis.
In this fat-burning ketosis mode, the body fuels itself from ketones, small carbon fragments created by the body for energy by burning fat.
During its initial fourteen days, called phase 1, the diet's restriction on carbohydrates is particularly severe to kick-start the necessary bio-chemical activity within the body.
During this period, all fruit are totally eliminated and only a few leafy green vegetables are permitted as part of the eating plan.
The remaining 3 phases of the diet are less restrictive, but still focued on decreased carbohydrate intake.
At least two aspects of the Atkins diet are considered controversial by some nutritionists.
It does not limit the intake.
And it ignores calories; in fact, dieters might even end-up increasing their calorie intake under the diet.
Dr.
Atkins was a prolific promoter of his diet.
He wrote several books and cookbooks which were published from 1972 to 2003.
He founded the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in Manhattan during the 1990s, which according to reports in the New York Times had 87 employees and treated over 50,000 patients.
In 1998, he founded Atkins Nutritionals, which grew to have annual revenue of $100 million.
Dr.
Atkins died in 2003, but the diet he created continues to remain extremely popular.
Millions of people around the world have dieted using this low carb program.
The diet promises weight loss of at least 15 pounds in the first two weeks.
Its key focus is a dramatic decrease in carbohydrates.
Its mantra is count carbs not calories.
Dr Robert Coleman Atkins (1930-2003) set out the scientific foundation for his diet in his first book which was published in 1972.
He argued the human body becomes overweight due to excessive intake of carbs.
To fuel itself, a body burns carbs and stored fat.
Critically, it burns carbs first.
By lowering the intake of carbs, and eating more proteins and fat, the dieter will burn stored fat and lose weight naturally.
Carbohydrates enter the body and, after digestion, enter the bloodstream as a form of sugar.
To prevent an unwarranted increase in the blood's sugar content, the body produces insulin.
This substance converts sugar to glycogen and stores it in the body's muscle tissue and liver.
Sadly, these two areas gave limited storage capacity.
Once they are full, insulin switches to converting any residual sugar to fat.
The diet seeks to cause a body to consume, not add, fat through a process known as ketosis.
In this fat-burning ketosis mode, the body fuels itself from ketones, small carbon fragments created by the body for energy by burning fat.
During its initial fourteen days, called phase 1, the diet's restriction on carbohydrates is particularly severe to kick-start the necessary bio-chemical activity within the body.
During this period, all fruit are totally eliminated and only a few leafy green vegetables are permitted as part of the eating plan.
The remaining 3 phases of the diet are less restrictive, but still focued on decreased carbohydrate intake.
At least two aspects of the Atkins diet are considered controversial by some nutritionists.
It does not limit the intake.
And it ignores calories; in fact, dieters might even end-up increasing their calorie intake under the diet.
Dr.
Atkins was a prolific promoter of his diet.
He wrote several books and cookbooks which were published from 1972 to 2003.
He founded the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in Manhattan during the 1990s, which according to reports in the New York Times had 87 employees and treated over 50,000 patients.
In 1998, he founded Atkins Nutritionals, which grew to have annual revenue of $100 million.
Dr.
Atkins died in 2003, but the diet he created continues to remain extremely popular.
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