The Basic Principles of Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet has made its first appearance in the late 1970s and since then had become one of the more popular diet plans. One reason of its great popularity is that it doesn't force you to eat only low-fat and low-calorie foods. Low-fat diets are very difficult on many people, and so people have turned to search for a good diet that does not have these restrictions. Dr. Atkins' book New Diet Revolution has suggested a solution to this problem.

What are the basic principles of the Atkins diet?

According to Dr. Atkins, the root of our over-weight problem is the over-consumption of carbohydrates and simple sugar. Our body does not need the excessive quantities of carbs and sugars that exist in a normal Western diet. Our over-weightiness has more to do with the carbohydrates and sugars we consume than the fats and calories in our diet.

In his book, Dr. Atkins outlines a phenomenon called "insulin resistance". His theory is that many overweight people have this phenomenon. What happens for these people is that when they eat an excess amount of carbonates, their body notices the elevated sugar levels, and releases insulin from the pancreas in order to store the sugar as glycogen in the liver and muscle cells for extra energy later on. However, our body can only store so much glycogen at once. As soon as the body reaches its limit for glycogen storage, the excess carbohydrates are stored as fat. This happens to everyone who eats too many carbohydrates.

However, what happens further to these overweight people is that their body is "insulin resistant". Their body has an even harder time using and storing these excess carbohydrates. When their body is exposed to too much insulin, it becomes even more insulin resistant. The cells are trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin. They create less glycogen and more fat.

As a result, insulin resistant individuals gain extra weight. The carbohydrates get converted into fat instead of energy. Other side effects include fatigue, brain “fog” (the inability to focus, poor memory, loss of creativity), low blood sugar (which can leads to hypoglycemia), intestinal bloating, sleepiness, depression and increased blood sugar. There is much more than weight at stake when you are insulin resistant.

If you are one of these people, what you should be doing is change to a diet which restricts your carbohydrates input, in all of its forms. The main principle of the Atkins diet is limiting carbohydrates. The foods restricted on the Atkins plan include simple sugars (like cookies, sodas and sweets) and complex carbohydrates (like bread, rice and grains). Even carbohydrates that are considered healthy, such as oatmeal, brown rice and whole wheat bread, are restricted on the program.

The diet has you restrict your carbohydrate intake to less than 40 grams a day, at least for the beginning stages . This will put your body in a state of ketosis. While in ketosis, your body will burn fat as fuel. According to Dr. Atkins’ research, the ketosis state will also affect insulin production and it will prevent more fat from being formed. Your body will begin using your stored fat as an efficient form of fuel, and you’ll lose weight.

Another benefit of the Atkins plan is that ketosis will end your cravings for carbohydrates. If you’ve been living on a carb-heavy diet, you may have found that you simply cannot get enough carbohydrates. You constantly crave for sugars (like chocolate?), cookies, etc. With carbohydrate restriction and ketosis comes a reduction in carbohydrate cravings. People who have been on the Atkins diet for some time report that they do not crave carbohydrates as they once did.

Although the initial phases of the Atkins diet are rather strict, the program teaches you to restore balance to your diet in the long run. People who use the diet slowly reintroduce minimal amounts of carbohydrate into their eating until they find a comfortable balance between their health and carbohydrate use.

The basic principles of the Atkins diet have been adapted to many other low-carb diet plans. However, Atkins popularity still remains strong as one of the most effective low-carbohydrate solutions for those who are insulin resistant.