• Recently Written
  • What Are The Risks Of Fad Diets?
  • What Not To Eat On A No-Carb Diet?
  • Atkins Diet Plan - Are Low Carbs Diets Doomed?
  • Atkins Diet Phase Two - Ongoing Weight Loss
  • Atkins Diet - Is it as Effective as they say?
  • What are the risks of the Atkins Diet!
  • Are you the right person to follow the Atkins Diet?
  • What Percentage of the Atkins Diet is Fat?
  Atkins Diet Products
  Atkins Diet - Atkins Answer Enjoy a nutritious, refreshing and convenient breakfast with four satisfying options from Atkins Morning StartTM! Available in new light, crispy and fruity flavors. With only 2g Net Carbs per bar, you can now have a delightful breakfast or snack all-in-one! What do I ge...
  
  Carbo-Hoodia - 60 Capsules Carb Block... Do you find it difficult to cut down on delicious foods filled with carbohydrates such as pasta, cakes, breads, potato chips and ice cream? If you said yes then you are not alone. Now with Carbo-HoodiaTM, we offer a 100% safe and stimulant free natural product that will a...
  
  Carb-Block Diet - 60 Capsules Carb Bl... Carb-Block DietTM is the answer for carb lovers who want to continue to enjoy their favorite foods without obsessing about the extra weight gain the starch in carbohydrates causes. This means you can eat your favorite foods such as pizza, pastas, rice, corn, potatoes, bre...
  
  BK Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolut Diet revolution book based on the Atkins diet.
  
  Atkin's Diet Dr. Atkins\' Answer Videos: Share the secrets of this medical doctor\'s famous weight loss program. Learn how to drop body fat faster than you ever dreamed possible, Eat the foods you love and burn fat for fuel. Dr. Atkins explains how his program will help you lose weigh...
  
  ATKINS 14-DAY DIET KIT 3PC
  
  
  Atkins Diet Phase Two - Ongoing Weight Loss
  If you have made it past the initial induction phase of the Atkins Diet, congratulations on accomplishing the first stage of your weight loss goal. The Ongoing Weight Loss program you are entering into now is where you will being to customize......
  
  Is the Atkins Diet Safe?
  Copyright 2005 Adam Waxler The Atkins diet is a weight loss diet based on the principle that the body burns both carbohydrates and fat for calories. Therefore, according to the Atkins diet, if you reduce the amounts of carbohydrates in your......
  
  The Atkins Diet...what is it?
  The Atkins Diet...what is it? You're probably wondering how a diet like this could actually lead to weight loss. According to the late Dr. Atkins, it's all about limiting carbohydrates. As Americans, we eat a large amount of carbohydrates.......
  
  
• Categories
  • Atkins
  • Diets
  • Healthy Diets
  • How To's
  • Low Carb Diet
  • Low carb foods
  • Main Content
  • Weight Loss
  • Weight Loss Motivation
• Archives
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • February 2007
  • October 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
• Search

One of the common questions about a diet is how long should I stay on the plan? Some diets, especially some of the more radical “fad” diets do have time limits on them. They are drastic changes to the diet designed to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. Is Atkins one of those plans?

No, it isn’t. the Atkins Diet is intended to be a lifelong change in eating habits and not just a short-term weight loss plan. Certainly most people focus on the weight loss aspect of the diet, and that is no doubt a major factor in its wide popularity.

But if you examine the full plan, you find it is designed as a permanent eating program and not just a way to lose weight. The Atkins Diet is designed to help you lose the weight and keep it off for the rest of your life. In effect, you can (and according to true Atkins devotees should) stick to the plan for the rest of your life.

Now, this isn’t to say that the various phases of the diet don’t have time limits on them. The Induction phase is designed to last two weeks. It could last even less, or be skipped altogether if your weight loss needs are very modest.

The Atkins plan recommends that induction not last more than two weeks, as it is designed to help bring about a rapid change in the way your body reacts to food. The indication phase is too low in carbohydrates to make for a healthy long-term dietary plan.

The ongoing weight loss phase (often called the OWL phase) is designed to last as long as it takes for you to reach your desired weight. At an average loss of 2 pounds per week, it could take most of a year to lose a large amount of weight on this phase of the plan.

There is no real time limit on this phase of the plan, but it is designed to end. It ends as you get within 5 pounds of your desired weight, no matter how long it takes you to get to that point.

The “pre-maintenance” phase will take 5-6 weeks. This is how long it will take you to raise your carb levels to the maintenance level, then lower them again just a bit to shed those last few pounds.

Then comes the lifelong phase of the diet, maintenance. This is the one part of the Atkins plan that is intended to last the rest of your life. Here, you are eating a diet that will help keep off the weight that you have lost while still maintaining a healthy overall eating plan.

So overall, the real answer to the question “how long do I stay on the Atkins Diet” is “for the rest of your life.” Of course, all but the last phase of the diet actually are designed to end after a certain period of time.

Like most people who are going on a diet, your first goal is weight loss. The basic answer to that question is “as much as you want.” But there are many things behind that answer that affect the results for each person. Because of this, every person will have somewhat different results.

First of all, there are multiple phases to the Atkins diet and each phase has different rates of weight loss.

During the induction phase, you will lose weight much faster than in the rest of the diet. Because of the severe limit on net carbs, your body will burn stored fat at a much higher rate than normal.

The Atkins diet book says that you can expect to lose between 6 and 15 pounds during this first two weeks of the diet.

After the first two weeks, the rate of weight loss slows down a bit over time. In the ongoing weight loss (OWL) phase you add carbs to your daily diet until your weight loss slows to a more modest 1-2 pounds per week. Some weeks may be a little lower and some weeks a little higher, but if you stick to the plan as published you should see a nice, steady and healthy loss rate.

Once you are within 5 to 10 pounds of your goal weight you switch to the pre-maintenance phase, and your weight loss rate will drop again. During this phase, you are experimenting to find the carb level that will help you maintain your current weight, so there will be a time when you may feel like you are barely losing any weight, but if you follow the plan you should lose around 1 pound a week.

So, to lose significant amounts of weight, over 50 pounds, should you stay on the induction phase longer than the 2 weeks? The answer is no. Staying on that phase too long can be unhealthy, and it is not intended as a long term plan for losing significant amounts of weight.

You can lose all the weight you want on the Atkins diet, it just may take some time to lose a lot. Of course, that is true of any healthy weight loss plan.

Diet alone will sometimes result in slower weight loss, or even a plateau where you lose no weight. To maximize your results, exercise should be combined with diet. This will help increase both the total amount of weight you lose and the rate at which you lose it.

How much total weight you lose depends on how well you follow the plan and how long you stay in each phase. Some people report losses of 100 pounds or more. Those results may be atypical, but there are many people that report losses of 25 to 35 pounds. The Atkins diet has been shown to be an effective way to lose as much weight as desired for people who follow the plan over time.

As with any diet plan, sticking to the Atkins plan can be difficult at times. Here are some essential tips to sticking to the plan, some of which apply to any diet and some which are specific to the Atkins diet.

First off, prepare to be on the diet in advance. Clear the items out of your pantry and refrigerator that don’t fit in to the low-carb diet’s plan. Give your pasta, white flour and other high-carb foods away, or throw them in the trash. If they aren’t in the house, you won’t be tempted to eat them, even in small quantities.

After you get rid of all your “bad” foods, makes sure you go re-stock your home with the foods that are on the plan. Not only will you not be tempted to eat foods that aren’t on the plan, but having all the approved foods available will make it that much easier to plan and prepare meals that will be part of your diet.

The key to sticking to any diet is enjoying the foods you eat, and having all the materials around to prepare tasty foods that are Atkins friendly will be invaluable.

Next, keep snacks handy. If you are going to be away from home during the day, either at work or somewhere else, prepare snacks in advance to take with you. Fresh vegetables, cut and put in plastic bags are good snacks.

Cheese and a few hard-boiled eggs also make good snacks that are not only approved on the diet but are easy to take with. There are also a variety of low-carb snack bars available that fit easily in a pocket, purse or briefcase. Some of those bars are sold under the Atkins brand(Atkins Advantage bars), but there are others that are also acceptable on the plan.

One often overlooked tip is to make sure you use vitamin supplements. Even a mild deficiency of some vitamins can make you feel tired, a feeling some people attribute to the diet as a whole. Those people often quit the diet to avoid feeling tired when taking a single vitamin pill each day would prevent feeling so tired.

Diet with a family member or a friend. Having the support of someone close to you makes any diet easier. If that person is someone living with you (such as a spouse) it becomes even easier to stick to the plan.

If that person doesn’t need to lose weight, they can still help by eating from the maintenance phase while you are in either the induction or the weight-loss phases.

Lastly, if you dine out, make sure you ask to have meals altered so they are Atkins friendly. Ask to have bread and potatoes substituted with vegetables, or at the very least simply left off of your plate. Don’t be embarrassed to ask to have items changed or substituted. Not having the temptation right in front of you will make it that much easier not to eat the foods you are supposed to be avoiding.

There is the old adage that “you are what you eat.”  Although the phrase may be cliché, it really is true, especially when you investigate how the body uses its food energy.  The key to having more energy, feeling better about yourself, and having high stamina, all relates back to the type and quality of food that you are ingesting.

Your body process food to be used as fuel.  Think of it the way that you would think about oil or gasoline an automobile.  You know that if you put good quality oil in your car that it is going to run better than if you use the cheap stuff.  The same thing applies to the way that your body uses food for energy.  If you eat healthy, nutritious high energy foods, you body will perform better than if you feeding it junk food.

Read the full article at BistroMD.com

Many people have heard of the Atkins diet and know that it can be an effective mechanism to lose weight. As with many diets, sticking to the plan can be quite difficult at times. Here are some ideas for helping you stick to the diet.

The first thing to get is a list of approved foods. You can get one in many bookstores that carry diet books, and there are plenty of resources online. The Atkins diet is based on “net carbs” which are not always easy to figure out from the nutritional guides included on food packaging. Having a list of foods with their net carb counts will help you stick to the diet in all it’s phases.

Along with that list, keep a diary of the foods you eat during a day and their net carbs. Many people are surprise how fast they hit their daily carb limit. Having that list of what you have eaten and where you stand each day makes keeping to the plan so much easier.

Be sure to check the labels of things like chewing gum and over-the-counter medications. You would be surprised how many of them contain sugar that will affect your progress on the diet. Search for sugar free alternatives.

Hunger pangs and cravings are the most common reason that people fail to stick to low-carb diets. Beyond following the list of approved, low carb foods the easiest way to follow the plan is to have a couple of small, approved snacks during the day.

In the induction phase, you are allowed to have almost all meats, poultry and seafood while eliminating most fruit and all bread, rice, potatoes and other starches. Low-carb, high fiber green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and salad greens are also permitted. Having snacks of approved foods like nuts, vegetables and hard-boiled eggs will make it easier to follow this phase and keep hunger cravings down.

Things get a little easier in the ongoing weight loss (OWL) phase. You still have to watch the net carb numbers, but you do get to start adding foods back in to your diet. Again, a couple of small snacks of foods on the approved list is one key way to curb hunger and stay on plan. This time, some fruits (especially many berries) are allowed as are certain snack bars such as those marketed under the Atkins brand name.

Lastly, exercise is a component of the Atkins diet, just as it is any other diet designed to reduce weight and improve health. Even a small amount of exercise will keep your metabolism up, and that will help maintain your weight loss.

For more details on the various phases of the diet and the approved foods for it, consult the Atkins diet plan book or the Atkins website. That information, combined with some of the tips listed above will help keep you on track and successful on the Atkins diet.

Next Page →

Subscribe
• Subscribe
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• Admin
  • Log in
  Atkins News
  'New' Atkins diet review from two experts - Ale...
  About.com: Health
  'New' Atkins diet review from two experts
  Alexandria Town Talk
  I wouldn't put kids on the Atkins diet." Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia and the ...
  Dieting by DNA? Popular diets work...
  
  Digesting the facts on the 'New Atkins' low-car...
  The Jacksonville Observer
  Digesting the facts on the 'New Atkins' low-carb diet
  USA Today
  By Sara D. Davis for USA TODAY By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY The Atkins diet has changed little since 1972, slashing carbohydrates such as pasta and potatoes ...
  Switch to 'New Atkins' Lo...
  
  Dietary Fat and Prostate Cancer Risk - Renal an...
  Renal and Urology News
  Dietary Fat and Prostate Cancer Risk
  Renal and Urology News
  People have actually gone on [high-fat] Atkins diets and don't raise their cholesterol levels at all. If anything, they tend to lower their bad cholesterol ...
  
  and more »
  
  
• Blogroll
  • 10 Day Weight Loss
  • WebMD