The Atkins diet is a strict low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet developed by Dr. Robert Atkins. Many people lose weight rapidly while following the diet plan. It is thought to work because when the body has no carbohydrates available, it releases less insulin, a hormone that stores sugars as fat. The body, needing fuel, then begins burning stored fat instead.
History
Atkins, a New York City cardiologist, developed the Atkins Diet in 1963 after reading a series of articles in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" that suggested that low-carb diets cause the body to burn fat. He published his first book, "Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution," in 1972.
How It Works
The Atkins Diet is what is called a ketogenic diet. According to Atkins, if the body does not have enough sugar to incite an insulin response, glycogen stores in the liver become depleted, and hormonal changes cause the body to begin burning stored fat for energy. When this occurs, stored fat is converted into free fatty acids and ketone bodies---hence the term "ketogenic."
Diet Phases
The Atkins diet is comprised of four phases: Induction, Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL), Pre-Maintenance and Maintenance.
The first phase, Induction, lasts for two weeks and involves eating no more than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day.
The second phase, Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL), follows the "Power of Five" plan. Each week, you add five additional grams of net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) to your diet as you monitor your weight loss. When you get to the point in which you are no longer losing weight, you have found your Carbohydrate Level for Losing, or CLL. You should continue eating the maximum number of healthy carbs per week that you can while still losing weight. This phase ends when you are within 10 lbs. of your target weight.
Pre-Maintenance is the third phase of the Atkins Diet; during it, you add 10 grams of net carbs to your diet each week according to the "Power of 10" idea. When you stop losing weight, the phase ends.
Maintenance is just as it sounds: you have reached your target weight and simply eat the maximum number of healthy carbs you can to maintain your weight.
Food Choices
The staple of the Atkins Diet is protein: fish, shellfish, poultry, eggs, beef and pork. You should get your net carbs mostly from low-carb vegetables, which include lettuces, mushrooms, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus. You can eat a limited number of nuts, seeds, legumes and fruits during the later stages of the diet. Beverages such as alcohol, regular soft drinks, fruit juices and milk are forbidden; the best drinks to consume are water, club soda, diet soft drinks, coffee and tea (with cream, but not sugar) and broths.
Potential Risks
One side effect of the Atkins Diet is dehydration. Glycogen in the liver contains a lot of water, but these stores become depleted when the body goes into ketosis.
There has been some concern that the high levels of dietary fats consumed by Atkins dieters may increase "bad" LDL cholesterol levels and put people at an increased risk for developing heart disease. However, a 2006 study performed in women who were on low-carbohydrate diets and published in the New England Journal of Medicine by Thomas Halton and colleagues found that such diets do not, in fact, increase the risk of heart disease.
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