Diet Ups & Downs series: Atkins diet “low carb diet”

The Atkins diet is a low carb, high protein and high fat diet, which makes it one of the best diets for rapid weight loss while eating a lot of foods without counting calories.

Overview

The Atkins Diet has been in existence for over 30 years and has enjoyed a surge in popularity over the last few years.

The Pioneer of this diet is Dr. Robert Atkins and the theory behind the Atkins Diet is simple: Your body prefers to utilize carbohydrates (such as in grains, cereals, breads, etc.) for energy and will burn them first prior to body fat.

By cutting down dramatically on carbohydrates in your diet, you force your body to burn fat for energy in the absence of carbs (the main source of energy).

Another reason low-carb diets are so effective for weight loss, is that when people reduce their carbohydrate intake and eat more protein, their appetite goes down and they automatically end up eating less calories without having to think about it.

On the other hand, The Atkins diet was originally considered unhealthy and criticized by many nutritionists mostly due to the high saturated fat content.

However, new studies (which I will link to at the end of the article) have shown that saturated fat is harmless and it’s acceptable to have some saturated fats in your diet. (1, 2).

How Atkins diet works?

To follow the Atkins diet, there are 4 steps to need take:

1-Induction: eat High protein, High fats and low carb (below 20g of carbs) every day for 2 weeks.

2-balancing: keep on eating high protein and fats, but start slowly adding small amounts of low carb vegetables and fruits to your diet

3-fine-tuning: When you are very close to your goal weight, start slowly adding high-carb vegetables and fruits to your diet until the weight loss slows down.

4-maintenance: in this last step, you can eat as many healthy carbs as your body can tolerate without regaining weight.

Long story short, eat high protein and high fat foods without carbs for 2 weeks and after those 2 weeks start adding carbs, but begin slowly with low-carb vegetables and fruits then add the healthy rich carb foods.

Just keep in mind If you start eating the same old foods again in the same amounts as before, you will gain back the weight and This is true of any weight loss diet.

Atkins food list

There are allowed and not allowed foods on the Atkins diet, including:

Allowed foods

1-Meats: Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, bacon and others.

2-seafoods: Salmon, trout, sardines, etc.

3-Eggs

4-Full-fat dairy: Butter, cheese, cream, full-fat yoghurt.

5-Nuts and seeds: Almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.

6-Healthy fats: Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocados and avocado oil.

Not allowed foods

At each step of this diet, you need to avoid some foods, including:

1-Sugar: Soft drinks, fruit juices, cakes, candy, ice cream, etc.

2-Grains: Wheat, spelt, rye, barley, rice.

3-Vegetable oils: Soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil and a few others.

4-Trans fats: Usually found in processed foods with the word “hydrogenated” on the ingredients list.

5-Low fat “diet” foods:

6-High-carb vegetables: Carrots, turnips, etc (first 2 steps only).

7-High-carb fruits: Bananas, apples, oranges, pears, grapes (first 2 steps only).

8-Starches: Potatoes, sweet potatoes (first 2 steps only).

9-Legumes: Lentils, beans, chickpeas, etc (first 2 steps only).

UPS

The Atkins Diet has many positives and negatives that have been associated with it. Some of the positives include:

1-Rapid Weight Loss

Studies show that people on low-carb diets lose more weight, faster, than people on low-fat diets… even when the low-fat dieters are in a caloric deficit (the intake of calories is less than the burned calories throughout the day).

That was proven In studies comparing low-carb and low-fat diets, the low-carb dieters sometimes lose 2-3 times as much weight.

The first couple of days the majority of weight lost is water Though the low carb diet, your body does become more efficient at fat burning and you do lose fat faster than the low-fat diets.

Related: A Weight loss supplement that actually works!! (Proven By Science)

2-less hunger

Hunger is the single worst side effect of dieting that makes people slip off and go back to their bad eating habits.

One of the best things about eating low-carb is that it leads to an automatic reduction in appetite which may due to the high intake of protein and rich-fiber foods.

3-Reduce Energy Swings

Eating carbohydrates (especially sugary ones) can lead to energy swings (rapid, short increase followed by a rapid, long decrease in energy).

This is often seen when you eat a high sugary meal before a workout, then you feel tired in the middle of your workout session.

When you eliminate the carbs, you eliminate the source of this problem which this the high intake of simple sugars that cause insulin spike (a rapid increase in insulin hormone that cause a rapid decrease in blood sugar levels).

4-Treatment of diabetes

When we eat carbs, they are broken down into simple sugars (mostly glucose) in the digestive tract, then they enter the bloodstream and elevate blood sugar levels.

And as the high blood sugars are toxic, the body responds with a hormone called insulin, which transport the glucose into the cells and convert the excessive sugars into fat to be stored as body fat.

For people who are healthy, this process is unaffected and your body can absorb and balance any amounts of sugar.

But, If you are a diabetic person, your insulin release or sensitivity is lowered, so your body can’t balance the elevated blood glucose on its own.

By limiting and replacing the intake of high-carb and sugary foods with high protein and high fat foods in the Atkins diet, Your body don’t have to release a lot of insulin as your blood sugar isn’t that high anyway.

This was proven In one study done on type 2 diabetics and the results were: 95.2% had managed to reduce or eliminate their glucose-lowering medication within 6 months following a low-carb diet.

5- decrease (LDL) and increase (HDL) levels.

There are 2 common types of cholesterol:

1-High-density lipoprotein (HDL), aka “the good cholesterol”

2- Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), aka “the bad cholesterol”

HDL and LDL refer to the lipoproteins that carry cholesterol around in the blood.

LDL carries cholesterol from the liver and to the rest of the body.

HDL carries cholesterol away from the body and to the liver, where it can be reused or excreted.

It is known that people who have high LDL are much more likely to have heart diseases and the opposite for HDL, the higher the HDL the lower the risk for heart diseases.

So, high HDL is good, high LDL is bad, got it?

Now, one of the best ways to increase HDL levels is to eat healthy fats… and low-carb diets include a lot fatty proteins and healthy fat sources.

Also, a study showed that low-carb diets actually turn the LDL to HDL while reducing the number of HDL floating around in the bloodstream.

Therefore, it is not surprising to see that HDL levels increase dramatically on low-carb diets, while they tend to increase only moderately or even go down on low-fat diets.

DOWNS

1-Regaining more weight

This can happen when a person back to his old habits of eating or over eat in the Atkins maintenance step.

He regains all the weight he have lost or even more.

One of the major reasons for this is that when you eliminate the carbs from your diet for a long period of time, your body becomes more sensitive to them.

So, when you go back to your regular eating habits (which may not have been great to begin with), your body reacts more strongly to the sugar and carbs in foods, leading to weight gain.

This weight gain can be reduced by easing off the Atkins Diet gradually rather than by feasting on carbohydrates.

It is much more appropriate to think of Atkin diet “low-carb diet” as a lifestyle, NOT a diet. This is the only way to succeed in the long-term and keep off the weight you have lost with it.

2-Lack of Food Choices

It can be difficult to find things to eat that are low carb. Most grocery stores are primarily stocked with carbohydrate-laden foods and it can get boring eating the same things over and over again.

Luckily, with the popularity of the Atkins diet and other low carb diets, there are many delicious recipes available to help alleviate this boredom.

3-Decreased energy

With the low intake of carbohydrate, you may feel tired and unable to lift as heavy as you could before, especially in the first 2 weeks (the induction).

This due to the sudden decrease in the carbs which considered the main fuel to your high intensity workouts.

Myths

The low-carb diet is a great and effective diet, but There are a lot of misconceptions around it and here’s a couple of them:

First myth

The Atkins Diet is actually a “Low-Carb” diet, not a “No-Carb” diet.

What should be cut out are breads, rice and potatoes. Fresh fruits and vegetables should not be cut back and many should be somewhat increased.

Finally, after you reach your goal weight, you can “safely” add the starchy foods like bread, rice and potatoes (in limited quantities) to your diet.

Second myth

Mention the Atkins Diet and most people’s reaction is “Oh, yes, the ‘high protein’ diet.” Not true at all — it’s a “Low Carb” diet – protein intake remains unchanged.

Some carbs only, not all, are restricted (versus eliminated completely); fats, particularly in older people, need to be limited to small amounts; protein should be kept to 4-6 ounce portions per meal, the lower values for breakfast and lunch.

What you need to increase is your intake of high-fiber foods such as celery, etc.

The Atkins Diet can help you lose a lot of weight faster than almost any other diet but if it’s not for you, you may try to incorporate some of the principles of it, such as lowering your carbohydrate intake and eating more natural-state foods.

Y ou may find that you can achieve great results without ever having to restrict yourself, It may take a little longer, but the results will be more permanent as it is more of a lifestyle change than a diet.