The Atkins Diet is a quite popular diet developed by Robert Atkins during 1960s. This is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet aimed in weight loss. In the early 1990s, Dr. Atkins brought his diet back having published his best-selling book Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution.
The main principle of Atkins Diet is a severe restriction of the carbohydrate-rich foods consumption and encouraging of protein and fat consumption.
The diet is divided into four main stages:
- Induction
- Ongoing Weight Loss
- Premaintenance
- Maintenance
During the first phase named Induction (these are the first 14 days of the diet), carbohydrate intake is to be limited to no more than 20 grams per day. The person on a diet should not eat bread, fruit, grains, starchy vegetables, or dairy products (although you can have cheese, cream, and butter) during this stage.
During the second stage named Ongoing Weight Loss phase, people have to experiment with different levels of carbohydrate consumption till they define the most appropriate level of carbohydrate intake that still let them continue losing weight. They have to keep the level of carbohydrate intake until they reach the weight they need.
During the last two stages named Premaintenance and Maintenance, people on a diet are to define the level of carbohydrate consumption which allows to keep the target weight the same. In order to keep the target weight stable and to avoid regain of the weight the people on a diet will probably have to keep the level of carbohydrate consumption the same for the rest of their. According to Dr. Atkins, most people must limit their carbohydrate intake to no more than 60 grams per day to keep lost weight off.
In addition to the dietary restrictions discussed above, Dr. Atkins’ weight loss program recommends regular exercise and nutritional supplementation.