1 of 4

Write now Article Tools

Atkins diet? Are you insane? How can that be good for you? You'll get heart disease! You'll get kidney failure!

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Horror stories are much more juicy to report than success stories so everyone will delight in telling you them.

A year ago when I first started the diet I heard them all but I shrugged them off because I got my facts straight before I started. I read the whole book. I scanned the net for official reports and info.

As a taster, here's a little summary.

The Atkins diet put simply is about teaching your body to burn off fat, by not providing it with the ready fuel of carbohydrates.

It is harsh for the first two weeks known as 'induction' when you are strictly limited to a teeny 20 grams of carbs per day. The average adults carb intake can be around 300 grams a day so from the off you can see it's a huge change. It becomes important to consume fat in the first stages as well as protein in order for the process to work.

Weight loss is usually rapid during this very low carb stage and for those wishing to lose a lot they can stay on it for longer. Sticking to the rules is vital. It takes 48 hours to clear the carbs so a quick cheat with a slice of pizza will set you back. Diet drinks with 0 carbs that are sweetened with aspartame need to go, it meddles with blood sugar and it's just bad in general (go google it), as does caffeine. Drinking water has to become a big habit. Without it the whole thing will fail as your body breaks down that fat it needs water to get rid of the waste. You can also cause yourself problems by not flushing out the excess of uric acid that you will be producing (hence the kidney scares) everybody should drink more water but it is especially important here.

The next stage 'ongoing weight loss' is exactly what is says with an increased carb allowance and a wider variety of foods being allowed including fruit. Garlic roasted peppers in olive oil topped with grilled goats cheese then followed up with Strawberries and cream for dessert, now that's my kind of diet!

The next stage of the diet is steadily building up your carb intake to find your tolerance point for carbs, the point at which your body stops burning off the fat and runs on carbs instead. This varies from person to person depending on your metabolism so attention and careful following of the process which leads to working out your own 'critical carb level' is vital for long term success. It's a shame that so many people neglect this

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about What is the Atkins Diet??
We want to hear your view. Write now!