Atkins Diet 101

Who does not desire to have a fit and shaped up body? Perhaps we all do. Overweight is the biggest enemy of our health. But factors such as sedentary work, lack of time to exercise and the availability of delectable fast food have made it extremely difficult to have stabilized weight.

It is not only a person’s appearance that is badly affected by being overweight but also his fitness. Usually obese people keep on confronting one or the other health problem. There are times when excess of weight becomes a mental torture and leads to depression.

It is quite an easy task to gain weight but immensely difficult to reduce it. Though there are various remedies prescribed to shed weight, all can’t to followed or trusted. One old and quite effective way to become light is the use of Atkin’s Diet.

Dr. Robert Atkins (1930-2003) was the father of Atkin’s Diet. In 1972 he popularized the diet in his famous series of books. In practical application also the diet turned out to be quiet successful. Thus it became more and more popular with time.

Dr. Atkin believed that carbohydrate is the primary reason behind gaining weight. This is because carbohydrates are composed of energy providing items such as sugar, starch, cellulose and gums. So if a person reduces the intake of carbohydrates (carbs) he or she can greatly get rid of many pounds. Thus people should avoid potatoes and other starchy vegetables along with sugar, grains, pastas and fruits for these are the major sources of carbs. In the opinion of Dr. Atkins doing this will translate a carbohydrate-burning metabolism to a fat burning one. Atkin’s diet is critical of carbs related but not of fatty and protein rich stuff. In fact it recommends its users to eat food that provides them fats and proteins. In the case of proteins it particularly emphasizes the consumption of animal protein.

Though atkin’s diet has done wonders in many cases, it has many shortcomings. If this diet is quite popular with one set of people, some others are enormously critical of it. this is because of several reasons. Firstly Atkins meals are not only low in carbs but contain negligible amount of essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients. Secondly atkin’s diet is flourishing with cholesterol boosting fats that can be very troublesome. Thirdly since atkin’s diet promulgates animal protein, vegetarians find it difficult to adopt it. In the fourth place according to the American Heart Association (AHA), a high protein diet is not adequate to lose weight. So diets such as Atkin’s can cause nutritional deficiency and other cholesterol related problems (cardiac arrests) in the long run. Finally critics believe that eating meat and other high protein products can lead to osteoporosis, colon cancer, heart diseases and renal diseases.    

However the best way to reduce weight is to avoid excess as well as complete elimination of anything. A person should take a diet rich in essential nutrients (vitamins, minerals, proteins, fibers etc.), stay away from fatty foods as much as possible. Also carbs such as sugar should be consumed in a regulated manner.

Atkins Bankrupt

Over the past few weeks, ever since Atkins went belly up our company has been bombarded with questions about the possible harmful effects that their ‘Atkins days’ might have caused.

It seems like everyone tried that system at one time or another.

Well to help alleviate some of the fear that’s out there, let me answer just a few of the basic questions here:

Q: “Could I have caused permanent damage by following a high protein diet?”
A: If you haven’t yet experienced any major health problems, then it’s not too late to reverse many, if not all of the negative side effects that usually follow a program like that.

Q: “I think I’ve damaged myself internally by following this type of diet … help!“
A: First, relax! Then simply stop doing the things that you know are killing you, and start doing things that have been proven to make you healthier, leaner, and more energetic.

For example…every meal should have it’s foundation in fresh, preferably raw vegetables, then you should add a small portion of lean protein such as egg white, fish, chicken, or turkey. That’s it. That simple change will help you reverse many of the toxic effects of an unhealthy diet – and re-start the fat-burning process getting you back into a tight, lean body.

Q: “I’m afraid to stop this way of eating, for fear of gaining it (my fat) back, what do you suggest?”
A: It’s time to make a change. It’s time to re-train your body, and begin triggering the correct chemicals within your body to help you automatically burn body-fat naturally. By following a healthy diet like the one laid out in The Living Health Weight Loss Program, or any other healthy program that’s proven to get you healthy and lean fast – by using a healthy program like that your body WILL transform from unhealthy to healthy, from unfit to fit, and from ordinary to extraordinary.