What is the Dr. Atkins diet plan?

Dr. Robert Atkins wrote his first book in 1972 called "The Atkins Diet Revolution." In this book, he tells you how you can eat what you want of all types of protein and give up the bad things in your diet you have become use to. The Atkins Diet plan limits carbohydrates to 20 grams and forbids sugar, milk, white rice and white flour.

What is the Atkins diet?

Dr. Robert Atkins believed that the obese were overweight due to high consumption of carbohydrates. He felt that by eliminating or greatly reducing the carbohydrates in your diet that your body would go into ketosis and you would lose weight. Ketosis means that your body would use stored fat for energy, instead of the carbohydrates. This state of ketosis would cause you to have energy and lose weight. Originally, the Atkins diet did not emphasise on exercise. However, now the new diets encourages exercise to get to a state of ketosis easier causing weight loss, management and reduction of the risk of diabetes. The diet also claims to help you reduce your cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL levels.

Foods allowed on the Atkins diet

The Atkins diet is very liberal with the meats and proteins it allows with certain restrictions on processed or cured meats, organ meats and oysters. You can eat all the meat you want with no limitation on calories. You are allowed to have no more than four ounces of mussels, organ meats and oysters. You should also stay away from any meat which is cured with nitrates, as they are cancer causing. Some meats are processed with sugar and will cause you to have too many carbohydrates, so these should be avoided. Fresh, organic and local meat is the best. On phase I of the diet for Atkins, you can have 20 carbohydrates. This easy diet would allow around two cups of salad. You can garnish your salad with crispy bacon, cheese, boiled eggs and spices, not containing sugar. You can use all the butter, oil and mayonnaise you like to cook or dress your food with. You can have three to four ounces of full fat cheese such as: goat, Swiss, cream cheese, cheddar, Gouda, mozzarella, and blue cheese.

Atkins diet foods online

Atkins food diet centre has now some diet foods to help you maintain your diet easier. They now carry a diet bar called the Atkins Advantage Bar which comes in 15 flavours, here are three popular ones: - Caramel chocolate nut roll
- Caramel chocolate peanut nougat bar
- Caramel double chocolate crunch bar In addition, they also carry the Atkins Advantage shakes which comes in six flavours. You can choose from caramel, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and more.