Atkins Diet a Way of Life

Since my daughter was born, I have struggled with my weight. No matter how much I exercised and cut back on calories, it just wasn't working. Gaining weight isn’t just about calories. It is how our bodies burn calories. Every body is different. Factors like hypothyroidism, certain medications and hereditary all play a part in weight gain. Those who don’t believe in slow metabolisms are those you have never had a weight problem, (in my opinion). The fact is not all overweight people are big eaters. I know several thin people who eat constantly and complain that they can’t keep the weight on. A few years ago I went on the Atkins Diet. I was determined to lose weight. Within a month I lost 20 pounds. I stayed on this plan for a few more months. It was a great feeling of being thin. People were treating me different and I felt better with myself. My feet didn’t hurt like they did before and I had a buy a new set of clothes. But I did the one mistake that the Atkins Diet says not to do. In order for this plan to work, it needs to become a way of your everyday life. The motto is, "Atkins isn’t a diet, it is a way of life." Actually, I did two mistakes. The second one being that I stayed on the Induction Phase the entire time. If I had to do it all over again, I would follow the four phases according to how they are laid out.

Phase 1- Induction:

The induction phase is where your body goes into the state of ketosis and begins to burn fat for energy. This part should only go for a two week period. Though it does say in the book to continue it for another week, if necessary. Ketosis is when our bodies breakdown fat to replace glucose as a fuel source. Limiting the carbohydrate intake low enough ill produce the ketosis state.

Phase 2-Ongoing Weight Loss:

During this phase, you increase your intake of carbohydrates by 5 grams. The amount of carbohydrate on the Atkins diet is counted as “net carbs” which deducts grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate. Fiber is a good carbohydrate and works with weight loss. So, if the label on a breakfast bar states it has 12 grams of carbs, with 6 coming from fiber and 6 from sugar. Only the 6 from the sugar is counted against the carb intake.

Phase 3- pre maintenance:

You can only enter this phase of the diet when no more than 10 pounds need to be lost. Otherwise the other phases need to be repeated. The critical carbohydrate level for maintenance (CCLM) is used in the third phase. The CCLM is maximum the number of daily grams of carbohydrate intake above which weight is gained.

Phase 4- Lifetime maintenance:

The last phase of the Atkins diets restricts carbohydrate content to maintain weight at a certain level, reached in previous phases. This varies per person.

Myth #1: You only lose water weight.

Fact is the first part of all diets is losing water weight. Atkins is no exception. After the first few days, or even the first week the body gradually shifts to burning fat.

Myth #2: You can't eat vegetables.

Fact is you can still eat vegetable. But some vegetables are restricted due to high carbohydrate levels. The Atkins Diet will explain which vegetables can be included.

Myth #3: Low-carb diets are unbalanced.

After the Induction Phase, vegetables and later fruits are re-introduced into the diet. Along with the Atkins Diet the right amount of certain vitamins and minerals adds to a balanced diet.

Myth #4: Low-carb diets raise cholesterol and blood pressure readings.

On going research continues to prove it false. The low carb plan reduce your insulin level in a matter of days and see an almost immediate reduction of blood pressure, a significant reduction in your cholesterol or triglyceride levels in a few weeks, and a steady loss of excess stored body fat.

Myth #5: Once you go off a low-carb diet, the weight comes back.

Yes the weight will go back on, if you go back to your bad eating habits. Kept in mind that this is your new lifestyle and you must adopt it as your way of eating for life.

Additional note: You can do Atkins as a vegetarian. But look for protein alternatives such as tofu, beans, Nuts, Seeds, brown rice and gluten meat substitutes.

The copyright to this article is owned by Sandy Mertens (sandyspider). Permission to republish this article in print or online must be granted by the author in writing. (You can, however, freely use the opening introduction and photo with a link to the article here on HubPages to read the remainder of the article.)