Home | Health | Diet & Nutrition | Atkins Diet | Atkins Diet Plan Information

Atkins Diet Plan Information

by Brent Sandmeyer

Overview

The Atkins diet, officially called the Atkins Nutritional Approach, is a four-phase process that involves dramatically reducing your carbohydrate consumption, then gradually reintroducing carbohydrates into your diet. To decide whether to try the Atkins Diet, take a more in-depth look at each phase below.

Many people rely on the Atkins diet to lose weight
Induction

The first phase of the Atkins Diet, called "induction," is the hardest. You reduce your carbohydrate intake to 20 net carbs a day -- virtually none, considering that the bread alone in a six inch Subway sandwich has twice that. To replace the carbohydrates that form the basis of a typical American diet, on the Atkins diet you will eat more protein and fat, in the form of lean meats, fish, and eggs. You can also eat leafy greens and other non-starchy or sweet vegetables. The induction stage typically lasts two weeks, and is designed to make your body burn fat supplies rather than the carbohydrates you eat. Atkins dieters report losing the most weight during this phase.

Ongoing Weight Loss

After the induction phase of the Atkins diet, you start adding some variety back into your diet. In the second phase, called "ongoing weight joss," each week you add in some previously prohibited foods such as nuts and berries, equivalent to five net carbs a week. Once your weight loss slows down, you are supposedly at your "critical carbohydrate level for losing," and should not add any more carbohydrates to your diet.
Pre-Maintenance

When you have determined your "critical carbohydrate level for losing" in the second phase of the Atkins diet and have about 10 pounds left to lose, you can move on to the third, "pre-maintenance" phase. In this phase, you will continue adding carbs to your diet until you are at your ideal weight, and are no longer losing or gaining weight. At this point you have reached your "Atkins carbohydrate equilibrium," and should not add any more carbs to your diet. Some whole grains are acceptable in this penultimate stage, but lean protein still forms your caloric base.
Lifetime Maintenance

After a month at your target weight, you graduate from the "pre-maintenance" phase and move on to "lifetime maintenance," the fourth and final part of the Atkins diet. For the rest of your life, you try and maintain your "Atkins carbohydrate equilibrium" and keep eating a high-protein, high-fiber, low-carb diet.
Warnings

As with any major dietary shift, check with your doctor before starting the Atkins diet. Make sure to stick with lean meats and not add too much saturated fat to your diet, as it has been linked with increased risk of heart disease. When starting Atkins, you will cut out the major food groups of fruit and whole grains -- key sources of nutrients -- so take a good multivitamin to stay healthy.