Your body will use almost anything you give it for energy, but if you give it nothing it will begin breaking down the protein in your muscles for sustenance. The Atkins Diet greatly reduces the amount of carbohydrates in your diet and forces your metabolism to resort to burning fat instead. For many, this results in successful weight loss. If you switch back to a "regular" diet and begin eating carbs again, your body will automatically revert to using them for energy first.
Carbohydrates as an Energy Source
Carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source, according to Erika Gebel, Ph.D., in an article in "Diabetes Forecast." They're easiest for your body to convert to glucose and glucose is an immediate energy-booster, but weight problems can occur when you eat too many of them. Your body can store only enough carbohydrates to supply energy for up to two days. If you eat more than that, your metabolism converts the extra carbs into fat for later use. It's your body's natural defense against starvation: If you stop eating, it can fall back on those fat stores to keep itself going.
How the Atkins Diet Works
The Atkins Diet forces your body to use your fat for energy instead of carbohydrates because you're not giving it enough carbs to power itself. When your body converts carbs to glucose, this raises the insulin levels in your blood. In turn, insulin sends the glucose to your bloodstream for use as energy. If you don't eat carbs, or you eat such a minimal amount of them that they're not sufficient to increase your insulin levels, your body will begin looking for another energy source to keep going. Its next option is fat, which prompts weight loss. However, MayoClinic.com indicates that weight loss associated with the Atkins Diet probably does not link to insulin or blood sugar. When you cut carbs, you often necessarily cut calories as well. If you consume less calories than you burn each day, you will lose weight.
Atkins Risks
Low-carb diets limit your intake of fruits, high-glycemic vegetables and whole grains, and increase your consumption of fats. This is in direct opposition to recommendations proposed by the American Cancer Society for cancer prevention, according to Kathleen Goodwin in an article for the Diet Channel. And some of your body's cells, such as brain cells, can't run on fat alone. Their needs prompt your body to produce ketones for energy when you don't supply them with enough glucose. If you go back to regular eating after being on the Atkins Diet, you give these cells the energy they prefer for optimal functioning. You also might be taking steps toward cancer prevention, provided your regular diet includes healthy fruits, vegetables and whole grains, not the simple carbohydrates found in sugar, white bread and white pasta.
Recommendations
If you go back to eating far more carbohydrates than your body can store for two days' worth of energy, you're likely to begin gaining weight. The Atkins Diet recommends that if you've met your weight loss goals, add healthy, complex carbohydrates back into your diet gradually. Resuming a regular eating plan that includes refined sugars isn't healthy, no matter what diet you've been on. If you gain 5 lbs. or more after going off the Atkins Diet, take a careful look at what you've been eating. Identify foods with unnecessary "bad" carbs and eliminate them.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Low-Carb Diet; Mayo Clinic Staff; May 2010
- The Diet Channel; Atkins Diet -- A Comprehensive Analysis; Kathleen Goodwin, RD; October 2006
- Atkins.com: How Weight Loss Becomes a Lifestyle
- "Diabetes Forecast"; How the Body Uses Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats; Erika Gebel, PhD; March 2011
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