Creating Body Fat
When you eat carbohydrates, your body converts those carbohydrates into glucose, or sugar, which it uses for immediate energy. Any unused "energy" is converted into glycogen or fatty acids and stored in the body as fat.
When your body registers the presence of glucose in your blood, or blood sugar, your body releases insulin from the pancreas where it is made. Insulin is the key that opens the door to the body's fat storage cells. If your cells do not respond to insulin as they should, they are called insulin resistant. When you are insulin resistant, your body produces higher levels of insulin than normal in an attempt to overcome the problem. High levels of insulin in blood can be damaging to the body, and constant increased insulin production can wear out the pancreas, leading to diabetes. Insulin resistance is often classified as a pre-diabetic condition.
Atkins Diet
The Atkins Diet helps you lose weight by limiting the amount and type of carbohydrates you can eat. You eat carbohydrates that do not raise the blood sugar and do not trigger an insulin response, which means much less fat is stored by your body. Energy to meet your immediate needs is drawn from your stored energy/fat reserves, causing weight loss.
Diet Phases
The Atkins Diet has four phases that allow you to respond to your body's individual metabolism and needs. This puts you in control of your weight loss and allows you to control the rate at which you lose.
Phase one of the Atkins Diet, known as induction, lasts two weeks and is the most strict. You will eat lean proteins, healthy fats and 20 grams of carbohydrates chosen from a specific list of vegetables. Most people experience a substantive weight loss during induction, although it can be very difficult. During Induction you begin to burn body fat by having lower amounts of insulin and carbohydrates, and you begin to break your cravings for carbohydrates.
Phase two of the diet is ongoing weight loss, or OWL. During OWL you will increase the amount of carbohydrates you eat each week, choosing from an expanded but still limited list of vegetables, fruits and nuts. You will increase your carbohydrate intake by 5 grams per week until you find your Critical Carbohydrate Level, the point at which you stop losing weight. You then reduce your carbohydrates back to the level at which you were eating. This allows you to eat an amount of carbohydrate determined by your individual metabolism.
Phase three of the diet is Pre-Maintenance, and phase four is Maintenance. In phase three you increase your food choices to begin to learn to maintain your weight while eating a broad range of healthy foods including lean protein, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, dairy and healthy fats. In phase four you maintain your healthy weight.
Carbohydrates
It is important to note that the Atkins Diet is not a no-carbohydrate diet. Eliminating all carbohydrates from your diet will not help you lose weight faster. You need healthy carbohydrates as part of a complete diet. They are a good source of nutrition and fiber.
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