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The Atkins Diet is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate weight loss diet developed by Robert Atkins, M.D., during the 1960s. The Atkins Diet severely restricts the consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods and encourages the consumption of protein and fat.

Stages of Atkins Diet Plan

The Atkins Diet consists of four stages:

Stage 1: Induction

Stage 2: Ongoing weight loss

Stage 3: Pre-maintenance

Stage 4: Maintenance

Induction is the first stage of the plan. It lasts 14 days or more. This rapid weight loss is due to limiting your carbohydrates to 20 grams a day. The only carbohydrates you can have are low-carbohydrate vegetables like lettuce, broccoli and tomatoes. The purpose of induction is to induce a change in your body chemistry that leads to lipolysis (burning fat for energy) and a secondary process known as ketosis.

Ongoing weight loss phase where you add carbohydrate, in the form of nutrient-dense and fibre-rich foods, by increasing to 25 grams daily the first week, 30 grams daily the next week and so on until your weight loss stops.

During the Premaintenance and Maintenance phases, dieters determine the level of carbohydrate consumption that allows them to maintain their weight. To prevent weight regain, dieters are told to maintain this level of carbohydrate consumption, perhaps for the rest of their lives.

Some Cons of Atkins Diet:

• Once you are committed to atkins diet plan, you have to be committed to follow it for life. After you have lost weight, you can’t go back to eating.
• People who suffer from gout, kidney conditions should not go on Atkins. You should check with your doctor before you go into any diet plan.
• Some participants in Atkins Diet report losing clumps of hair. They complained having no energy to exercise. Some reported going into a slump of depression.
• High amounts of dietary protein increase calcium loss, which can contribute to osteoporosis.
• Some research has indicated that this type of diet may endanger the kidneys, result in dehydration, or lead to other health problems.

South Beach Diet has a major advantage over Atkins — it promotes healthy foods — healthy unsaturated fats that have the effect of lowering bad cholesterol, complex, low GI carbs, that help insulin level regulation.

Another major difference between the two diets is that the South Beach Diet recommends moderation (implying lower caloric intake) while Atkins does not even suggest it.

The only advantage that Atkins has over South Beach would be that in Atkins the weight loss is bigger and faster. But this “advantage” can be dangerous for health, as rapid and massive weight loss cannot be healthy when occurring in a very short time and with the cost of depriving the body of valuable vital nutrients — vitamins, minerals etc.

Atkins has been very successful for many people and has resulted in not only significant weight loss – but also health improvement. Many people do find the diet demanding at first and need to make significant behavior modification to get the best out of Atkins.

By: New Diet
Posted:

Every time I eat one of these I end up weighing less the next day. Probably because every time I eat one of these I work about twice as hard on the elliptical beforehand.

Date Taken: 2009-06-16 21:09:16
Owner: somegeekintn

diet plan

Most Type 2 diabetics need to either take pills or insulin. So one of the first things you need to do is to pace your eating because this will help your medicine keep your blood sugar in control.

To keep your blood sugar under control you need to:

* Healthy eating diets food
* Eat the right amounts of food
* Eat your meals and healthy snack food at the right time.

As a diabetic, your goal has to be to balance your carbohydrate, fat and protein intake. Since carbohydrates produce energy, half your daily energy needs should come from carbohydrate such as vegetables and whole grains. In this article we present you with vital healthy eating information with diabetes.

Vital Tips:

Healthy eating with Diabetes Tip 1: The easiest way to control sugar

The best, safest and easiest way to control your blood sugar is to include adequate serving of high fiber food in your daily healthy diet plan. Also, high fiber food makes you feel full, and so helps you control the quantity of food you eat.

Foods typically rich in fiber are fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain cereals and breads, beans, lentils, legumes and peas, brown rice, par boiled rice, barley, healthy salad dressing and oats.

Healthy eating with Diabetes Tip 2: Optimize on nutrients not calories

Junk food is ultra high on calories and ultra low in nutrients hence although tasty it is a poor food choice. Instead, select the opposite i.e. foods rich in nutrients but low on calories such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Keeping your calorie intake within recommended limits will also help you control your weight loss programs which are very important for any diabetic.

Healthy eating with Diabetes Tip 3: Throw out bad fats, bring in good fats

Butter your toast with peanut butter, switch over to vegetable oils, and shun margarine, veggie salad recipes and sour creams. When shopping at your favorite store for meats, go for white meats such as chicken and fish and always remove the skin before cooking. Also, switch over to low fat milk and yogurt. Avoid deep frying anything.

Eating Out Healthy with Diabetes Tip 4: Keep the salt shaker away

Avoid or if not possible, reduce by half the amount of salt you use while cooking and seasoning. Remove salt from the dining table. Instead of using salt for seasoning, try garlic powder, onions, hot pepper, spices and herbs.

Healthy eating with Diabetes Tip 5: Portion control

Switch over to portion control plates and Portion Control Scooper. Portion control plates and scoopers are vital tools for not only measuring how much we eat but ensuring we include all the foods required in our daily healthy eating plans. Quality Portion control plates have demarcations on them for vegetables, whole grain foods, meat and so on. When the correct food is placed in each segment, you know you are eating the right food in the right quantities.

Healthy eating with Diabetes Tip 6: Read the labels

If you must buy processed foods, read the nutrition details carefully. If the total percentage of Fats, Cholesterol and Sodium exceed 25% of the total nutrition or 25% of daily requirements, try an alternate product or brand.

Healthy Eating Ideas with Diabetes Tip 7: Alcohol

If your doctor has permitted you to drink alcohol, avoid more than one drink a day and always check your blood sugar after drinking. Ideally, if alcohol is permitted, you should drink it along with your meals or immediately after and drink it slowly.

Introducing Precise Portions, a dietitian-designed portion control dinnerware system that makes it easy to eat well. Our products take the guesswork out of healthier eating; retraining you to eat the right amounts of the right foods, in the right proportion. And, our product line is made of porcelain which is microwave-friendly, perfect for the today’s busy lifestyle. Our gorgeous designs also allow you to entertain guests in style while maintaining focus on your diet.

By: Ed Stephens
Posted:

Project 365 – day 237

Difficult to resist eating healthily after looking at this gorgeous shop next to the market in Ciutadella

Date Taken: 2010-05-28 16:25:30
Owner: atache

healthy eating

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