Reducing fatigue is one of the primary goals of the Atkins Diet, according to "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution." The late Dr. Robert Atkins, the creator of the Atkins Diet, believed that foods' carbohydrates cause body fat by raising the amount of sugar in your blood. Eating fewer carbohydrates "switches" your body from getting its energy from carbohydrates to getting its energy from fat, and burning fat spurs "dramatic increases in energy," he wrote.
Features
You are allowed to eat only 20 g of carbohydrates daily during the first two weeks of the Atkins Diet, because your body needs to eat as few carbs as possible to expedite its transformation from relying on carbs to relying on fats. Consequently, dieters can eat "absolutely no" fruit, bread, pasta, rice, starchy vegetables and dairy products other than butter, cheese and cream. Eating high-fat foods such as eggs, fish, poultry and red meat is encouraged.
Calories
The Atkins Diet causes less fatigue than other diets because it doesn't limit calories or fat, Atkins wrote. Calories and fat aren't limited because Atkins believed that only excess carbohydrates cause weight gains. Calories are a measurement of energy. The average man needs 2,300 to 2,900 calories daily, and the average woman needs 1,900 to 2,200, according to "An Invitation to Health." A gram of fat has nine calories, while a gram of carbohydrates and protein each have four.
Comparison
Atkins admitted in "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" that most diet and exercise experts disagree with his view that fats provide more energy than carbohydrates. He called the prevailing view "the myth of carb-loading." The book "Swim, Bike, Run" reports that carbohydrates are the "fuel of choice" for intense exercises that last less than one hour, carbohydrates and fats are needed for moderately intense exercises that last one to two hours, and proteins are needed to supplement carbs and fat for longer exercises.
Time Frame
Eating and burning fat instead of carbohydrates has three primary effects -- reducing fatigue, reducing your craving for the sugar that causes body fat and decreasing your appetite. Atkins blamed your pre-Atkins diet for your fatigue and wrote that you should be more energetic by the third or fourth day of the Atkins Diet. If you're still fatigued, you're losing weight too fast and should slow down your weight loss by eating more low-carb vegetables such as salads, Atkins wrote. Drinking more water is also important.
Consideration
"Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" has a chapter on exercise because it's a "nonnegotiable" part of the Atkins Diet. Exercise increases your energy level and reduces fatigue in many ways. First, it increases your body's muscle mass, which is a better source of energy than your body's fat. Secondly, it improves your cardiovascular fitness. Exercise also reduces fatigue by improving your stamina, boosting your mood and helping your body use the energy from the calories you've eaten more efficiently.
References
- "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution"; Dr. Robert Atkins; 2002
- "An Invitation to Health"; Dianne Hales; 2003
- "Swim, Bike, Run"; Glenn Town and Todd Kearney; 1994
- "Atkins Diabetes Revolution"; Dr. Robert Atkins, Mary Vernon and Jacqueline Eberstein; 2004
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