Atkins Diet: the essence, stages, effectiveness of losing weight

According to psychologists, each diet is perceived by a person not so much from a practical as from an emotional point of view. Most of us are pleased to imitate Hollywood stars or use the example of a specific person, even if not familiar, but so similar to me.

Perhaps this is the reason for the popularity that has gained in the worlddiet Atkins. Developed by Robert Atkins, an American cardiologist, it has turned millions of people over the years on how to eat properly to lose weight.

Features of Atkins Weight Loss

Robert Atkins himself is a "guy from the people." His family lived in Ohio (USA), where the boy's father owned a restaurant. At twenty-one, Robert graduated from the Medical University, and four years later received a doctorate in medicine. A promising cardiologist was invited to work by leading medical institutions in the state. Atkins worked in clinics that worked closely with Columbia and Rochester Universities, using new and innovative methods of treating heart disease.

Perhaps the career of Dr. Atkinson would have continued to develop further, if not for one “but.” From his youth, he suffered from overweight. With age, being overweight has caused health problems. Robert decided to lose weight, but in such a way as to support the work of the heart.

Diet History

In the late sixties, Robert Atkins caught the eye of an article published in the journal of the American Medical Academy. Its authors Gordon Hazard and Walter Bloom proposed a new concept of nutrition with a limited amount of carbohydrates. Atkins used the presented method, somewhat “modernized” it and developed its own nutrition scheme. On this diet, he lost twenty-eight kilograms in a few years.

Deciding to share his own experience, the doctor wrote the book “Dietary Revolution of Dr. Atkins.” It was released in a small print run in 1972, and at that time almost no one noticed it. To popularize his own nutrition system, Robert left the work of a cardiologist and founded the Center for Alternative Medicine. The institution opened in the late eighties in Manhattan.

The business has actively developed and flourished. In the early nineties, the number of employees of the Center exceeded eighty people. By this time, Atkins claimed to have cured more than fifty thousand people from obesity and problems with the cardiovascular system.

At about the same time, he decided to repeat the experiment with the publication of a book on diet. In 1992, its somewhat improved “version” was released, entitled “Dr. Atkins' New Revolutionary Diet.”

The doctor did not offer anything fundamentally new in the second edition, but he very accurately guessed with the time of its publication. Atkins was the first American nutritionist to use the power of the Internet, which at that time was at its peak.The popularization of the book on the Internet has done its job: millions of people have learned about losing weight without fasting, with the use of satisfying and favorite foods. And they accepted the concept recommended by the cardiologist.

The popularity of the Atkins diet in America in the late nineties can be judged by these facts.

• 100 million dollars. It was this kind of income that Robert Atkins received in 1998 from the sale of the book and the activities of the Atkins Nutritionals Center, which promoted the concept to the masses.
• 15 million copies. So many books have been sold in America and Europe since 1992. For six years, the publication has maintained its bestseller position in the ranking of the most popular books of The New York Times.
• 3 million people. So many UK residents tested the weight loss scheme in 2003. And in the United States, at the beginning of the 2000s, every eleventh American "sat" on this diet.
• Hollywood diet. This name was given to the food system for the love of it from the stars of Hollywood. Katherine Zeta-Jones, Demi Moore, Jennifer Aniston did not hide the fact that they are losing weight with the help of the diet of Dr. Atkins.
• Special products. In response to consumer interest, manufacturers have begun production of products with reduced carbohydrate content. So on the American market appeared low-carb beer, bread and even pasta.
• Changing the diet of Americans. Social studies have shown a general decrease in potato and wheat consumption in the United States with an increase in meat consumption.

Robert Atkins himself adhered to his diet throughout his life. According to doctors, this is exactly what played a “cruel joke” with him. In 2002, he had a cardiac arrest, which his personal physician Patrick Fratallon announced with surprise, since his patient had everything in order with the cardiovascular system.

In April 2003, Robert Atkins passed away in his seventy-third year of life. His death was recognized as an accident: an elderly doctor walked along the slippery sidewalk, fell and hit the back of his head on asphalt. Why the fall actually happened remains a mystery.

Principles

Why is losing weight with the Atkins diet called revolutionary? The fact is that the author promoted ideas that had not been used before in dietetics.

• Metabolic advantage. At the heart of the concept is a reduction in carbohydrate intake, which makes the body work in a new way. According to the author of the diet, with this approach to nutrition, the body spends significantly more energy on burning fat. Thus, thanks only to the digestion of food, much more calories are burned than on a diet rich in carbohydrates.
• It burns its own fat. Carbohydrates are the energy fuel of our body. They are converted to glucose, which nourishes the muscles with energy, and provides food to the brain. But if carbohydrates cease to come from outside, the body has no choice but to use its own reserves to provide the body with energy. And adipose tissue becomes such a reserve. This process is called ketosis.
• Decreased appetite. When carbohydrates are consumed, our body produces insulin. This hormone is necessary for the absorption of glucose. If a person eats something sweet, there is an instant release of insulin into the blood. With a sharp decrease in the volume of insulin, an attack of hunger occurs, so after eating sweet or starchy, mealy dishes, you quickly feel hungry. There are no carbohydrates in food - there is no feeling of hunger, appetite is reduced naturally.

Fundamental rules

Dr. Atkins' revolutionary new diet does not limit the amount of kilograms you can lose by eating its diet. It is easy to apply, observing the basic rules.

• Reduce carbohydrate intake. “Carbohydrates are bad guys,” the author of the diet called them. They force the body to produce insulin, and its overabundance causes an insulin shock, which is why the body stores glucose and the person feels hungry.
• There is an appetite. On diet food you can not starve, but also overeating is also harmful. Food should be consumed in exactly the amount that you need to feel full.
• Take multivitamins. A complete Atkins diet table offers an unbalanced diet. It has few vegetables and fruits, which are important sources of vitamins, trace elements. In order to prevent the negative consequences of vitamin deficiency, multivitamin complexes should be taken from the first days of a new diet.
• Practice physical activity. Physical activity helps the body get rid of body fat. It should not be excessive, but regular jogging, periodic visits to the gym, walking or daily morning exercises will allow you to quickly return to normal weight and maintain body tone.
• Drink enough water. The body needs fluid to maintain a high metabolic rate. Without drinking one and a half liters of pure water per day, losing weight is impossible.

Diet refers to long-term nutritional concepts that shape eating habits. Its results are not immediately apparent, but persist for a long time while maintaining the recommended diet.

Products

A detailed description of the diet on the official website includes a list of prohibited and permitted products. They are depicted in the form of a pyramid as in the photo, on the lower stage of which are the recommended products, and on the upper ones, which are available in limited quantities. Here is the program and the exact calculation.

• Sources of protein. They are at the base of the food pyramid. These include fish, eggs, poultry, beef and pork, soy products. They should form the basis of the diet.
• Vegetables. Their use in recipes is allowed, but it is recommended to eat certain non-starchy types of vegetables. These include cauliflower, green salad, broccoli, spinach, asparagus. With increased physical activity, beans can be added to this list.
• Fruits. The base diet may include pears, avocados, raspberries and blueberries. If your physical activity is high, include green apples and cherries on the menu.
• Dairy products, vegetable oil, legumes. They are standing on the penultimate step of the pyramid. In small quantities, you can eat vegetable oils, hard cheese, cashews. With high physical activity and maintaining a tendency to weight loss, it is occasionally allowed to include milk, almonds, and peanuts in the diet.
• Whole grain products, flour. Included in the list of prohibited food system products. A limited amount of pasta from durum wheat is allowed. It is not allowed to eat bread, muffins, other pastries, cereals, as sources of carbohydrates.

The Atkins diet menu for each day should include only permitted low-carb foods. You can specify the amount of carbohydrates in the most popular products in the table.

Atkins Diet Phases

The power scheme implies the observance of four phases. Moving from one to another, you will observe how the proportions of the body change. The phases are based on the launch and maintenance of the ketosis process - the breakdown of adipose tissue and its conversion into energy.

Induction

The first phase allows you to start the ketosis process. She is the toughest in relation to the choice of products. The menu should include only those products that are located on the first and second steps of the Atkins food pyramid.

Here are some rules for the Induction phase.

• Duration - 14 days. It is during this period that the body adapts to new conditions. There is a restructuring of the metabolism. There is no glucose-insulin reaction in the blood, due to which the metabolic processes connect the accumulated fat cells for energy. The glucose level drops to 3.58 mmol, which is typical for a pathological state of hypoglycemia. In this state, the body triggers growth hormones and adrenaline, which break down fat cells into fatty acids. They are processed by the liver, and the rest of the processing - ketones are excreted by the kidneys with urine.
• The amount of carbohydrates is not more than 20 grams per day. Such an amount is contained, for example, in one hundred grams of celery, rucola and green beans.
• Fractional diet. Form it from five meals throughout the day. In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner, include snacks in it: lunch and afternoon snack. It is not allowed to take breaks between meals for more than six hours.

Your menu for the week may look like this.

In the second week, the diet is duplicated first. Recipes take into account the following cooking techniques.

• The eggs. It is allowed to boil, fry and bake in the form of an omelet without milk.
• Meat, fish in the form of chops and steaks. Quickly fry in a small amount of vegetable oil over high heat. It is recommended to stew the pork additionally under the lid.
• Bird. Steamed or fried skinless in a hot pan.
• Vegetables. Leafy are consumed fresh, green stewed in a small amount of water or boiled in boiling water.

Products are allowed to slightly add. The 14-day Atkins menu allows tea and coffee, but the number of cups of coffee per day must be reduced to two.

According to reviews, with such a diet for fourteen days, the weight leaves for two to five kilograms.

Weight loss

The second phase continues throughout the entire period of weight loss, until the desired result is achieved. Its duration is individual. The minimum is fourteen days, the maximum is not determined. Leaving the phase of weight loss should be when your weight is one kilogram higher than necessary.

The basic principles of the second phase.

• Individual selection of carbohydrates. Atkins recommends gradually increasing the amount of carbohydrates in your diet. Thus, it can include all the products of the second stage of the food pyramid and some products of the third stage. The amount of carbohydrates should be from twenty per day. With good weight loss and high physical activity, it can be brought up to one hundred and fifty grams per day. To calculate the individual carbohydrate rate, you need to weigh yourself daily for a week. If you increase their consumption, you continue to lose weight, then the rate has been reached or may be increased even more. If weight loss has stopped, you are consuming too many carbohydrates. Based on this principle, losing weight is an individual menu with portion sizes.
• Ketone control bodies. Ketosis, launched in the first stage, goes into the phase of attack on fat masses. Right now, the breakdown of fats is particularly active. It is necessary to monitor the safe level of ketone bodies in the urine daily using test strips.If the level exceeds 110 mmol per liter, increase your carbohydrate intake.
• No drastic menu changes. It is not allowed to finish the first phase and dramatically increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in the diet to 150 grams of carbohydrates per day. The transition to a new stage should be neat, gradual, with the addition of one product, weight control.

The diet remains fractional, includes five meals with three main and two snacks.

Transition period

During this phase, losing weight should consolidate the result and develop your own menu of individual diet. The task is to understand at what amount of carbohydrates per day the weight will remain stable.

For this, products from the upper steps of the pyramid should be gradually introduced into the diet, adding ten grams of carbohydrates per day. If your body weight does not increase, you can add another ten grams of carbohydrates. If you observe weight gain, temporarily limit their use to a safe norm.

Features of the "transition period" according to Atkins.

• Duration - up to three months. That is how much time, according to Robert Atkins, it takes to understand the individual need for carbohydrates in the diet. A faster estimate of this volume is not possible, as weight gain occurs gradually. And you can identify the dynamics by periodic weighings once every three days.
• The choice of products. Identify those foods that you enjoy eating, and their use does not provoke excess weight. As a rule, at this stage all foods from the Atkins food pyramid may be included in the diet. But using the table of carbohydrate amounts in food, you can add other products to your menu.

It is important to adhere to the drinking regimen and once a week to control the level of ketone bodies in the urine.

Weight saving

According to the reviews of those who have lost weight, it is easiest to follow a diet at this phase. Within a few months, eating habits and preferences are formed. And overweight, "lost" with such difficulty, serves as an incentive to eat without the risk of weight gain.

The phase of maintaining weight is no longer a diet, but a way of life, a conscious choice of an individual diet, which can include a variety of foods. But losing weight should always remember the maximum amount of carbohydrates in your menu, which was identified during the third phase.

Features of the stage of maintaining weight.

• Duration is not limited. It can be decades.
• Weight control. Weigh in once a week.
• Accounting for changes in activity. With age, weight gain is easier, as the physical activity of a person decreases. Perhaps in the coming years, the diet will need to be reviewed and removed from it a certain amount of carbohydrates.

Protein products from the lower stage of the Atkins pyramid continue to be the basis of nutrition. It is recommended to use the usual volume of water and control the level of ketone bodies in the urine. At this stage, they should not be, as the body gradually leaves the stage of ketosis.

The opinion of nutritionists about the Atkins diet

Dr. Atkins was a cardiologist, and in developing his diet relied on the basic principles of support for the heart and blood vessels. The basics of its nutrition formed the concept of therapeutic diets for hypertensive patients, people suffering from heart diseases.

However, nutritionists do not welcome the fashion for this low-carb diet. And they warn about the dangers that await losing weight. According to doctors, the body can respond with unexpected and unpleasant consequences.

Metabolic slowdown

“I do not welcome any diets that severely restrict the use of proteins, carbohydrates or fats,” says nutritionist Kristina Lobanovskaya. “They are harmful because the human body cannot function fully without any of these elements.”

The most important drawback of the Atkins diet, according to Kristina Lobanovskaya, is the formation of irreversible changes in the chains of interactions between proteins and carbohydrates, which leads to a slowdown in metabolism. “Unfortunately, after the diet is over, it is often impossible to maintain weight at the achieved level,” the doctor notes.

Worsening well-being

“The Atkins diet cannot suit everyone,” says dietician Rimma Moisenko. “When it is followed, the body practically does not receive carbohydrates, which is why it is stressed.”

The adrenal glands begin to produce the stress hormone - adrenaline, which breaks down fats. But at the same time, a person may feel weakness, problems with the work of the gastrointestinal tract, joint pain. "If you experience such manifestations, stop the diet," Rimma Moisenko advises.

Lack of appetite

Arne Astrup, a professor at the University of Copenhagen, believes that the effectiveness of a diet is not at all in the features of its effect on metabolism, but in the monotony of the diet. For a long time, a person is forced to eat the same thing, which is really capable of reducing appetite and causing apathy for food.

At the same time, dangerous processes occur in the intestines of a losing weight. Excessive intake of protein destroys the intestinal microflora, which does not receive glucose from the current diet. A high probability of developing putrefactive microflora is the cause of dysbiosis and related digestive disorders.

Risk of developing dangerous diseases

The increased content of ketone bodies in the urine, which the diet seeks, is a dangerous signal. He talks about the violation of metabolic processes in the body. Ketones are aggressive compounds that can damage the cells of our body. Ketones are especially active against liver and brain cells, but due to the fact that they are excreted from the body with urine, they damage the kidneys to a greater extent.

“The Atkins protein diet can have other consequences,” says nutritionist Lyudmila Denisenko.

• Low activity. It is determined by the absence of glucose - the only food for the brain and muscles. A person does not have the strength to perform any kind of work, the brain “turns off”, and it is impossible to engage in mental work.
• Increased risk of cancer. It is provoked by the removal of vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains from the diet.
• The development of gout. The disease provokes uric acid, which occurs in the body as a result of the breakdown of a large number of proteins.
• The formation of kidney stones. Another unpleasant consequence of the abundance of protein products in the diet.
• The formation of osteoporosis. A saturated protein diet over time causes the leaching of calcium from the bones, which leads to the destruction of bone tissue, bone fragility.
• Diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Eating fatty foods in large quantities increases cholesterol and contributes to the formation of atherosclerosis, clogging of blood vessels.

To reduce the negative effects of a protein diet, Lyudmila Denisenko recommends adhering to the following rules.

• Reduce carbohydrates gradually. Do not allow a sharp restriction of carbohydrates, reduce them to 30-40 grams per day.
• Eat foods with a low glycemic index. These include cereals: oats, barley, brown rice; whole grain breads.
• Avoid critical reduction of carbohydrates. Their daily intake should be at least two hundred grams. This amount is enough to nourish the brain and maintain muscle tone. In this case, the body can continue to lose fat masses.
• Do not cross the absolute minimum. It is 80 grams of carbohydrates per day. This is a critical amount that you should not reduce for more than two to three days.Otherwise, the diet poses a real health hazard.
• Return the usual diet. From time to time it is necessary to arrange "fasting days", returning the level of carbohydrates familiar to you.

Also, the diet should include the right fats, in particular polyunsaturated, monounsaturated from legumes, fish, flax seeds, and sunflower.

Reviews on the Atkins diet from dietitians make you think about the correctness of its principles. A negative effect on the health of long-term consumption of protein-saturated foods without an adequate level of carbohydrates was noted. It can help in weight loss in the short term, but in the long term leads to significant disorders and a high risk of returning excess body weight.

Other diets