What is the Atkins Diet?
Within the last five years, the Atkins diet has gained tremendous growth throughout the industrialized world, becoming a household name and one of the most popular diets to ever hit mainstream culture.
It is a weight loss program that, in essence, cuts out carbs altogether. Remember, carbs = energy. So, in turn, your body’s natural response is to use fat as energy when it cannot find it through its food supply.
Foods commonly associated with the diet
The diet is famous for its protein-heavy menu. If you like bread, pasta, rice, or other starch-heavy foods, you will have more difficulty adjusting to the diet initially. However, you will be one of the candidates who will see almost instant results since you are radically changing your dietary habits. Foods commonly associated with the diet include:
- Red meat
- White lean meats
- Fish
- Eggs
- Cheese
- Fats
How does the Atkins diet work?
The diet helps to increase your metabolism and change the way your body responds to energy use. It’s a program based purely on science in that it uses your body’s natural chemistry to help burn fat and optimize your body to use stored fat as consumable energy. Hunger is minimized since you get to eat regularly—you’re not forced to starve your body.
The diet consists of four unique phases that allow your body to adjust to the change of pace. This ensures you develop healthy eating habits along the way and promotes overall weight loss in the interim and healthy body weight for life.
Benefits include:
- Activated body metabolism
- Promotes stored fat to burn off first
- Increases energy level
- Improves overall health
- Changes your body’s dependence on carbs
- Helps sustain permanent weight loss