The Atkins Diet

The Atkins Diet has been a highly popular weight loss diet in the United States and around the world. While it has had its ups and downs in terms of both popularity with the public and expert opinion, it would be fair to say that the Atkins Diet is the world's model of a low-carb diet. Several years ago this diet peaked in popularity. So many Americans were following the Atkins or similar low-carb diets that sales of carbohydrate-rich foods such as rice and pasta underwent documented declines. Subsequently the popularity of this diet has decreased. Dr Atkins himself died in 2003 after falling on an icy surface and sustaining a head injury. There was a storm of controversy surrounding his death, with rumors of his having suffered from heart disease. Sales of Atkins brand diet products declined dramatically, culminating in the bankruptcy of the company in 2005. However, the company was reestablished in 2006 and continues to sell a range of diet-related products under the Atkins brand name.

The Atkins Diet was the brainchild of Dr Robert Atkins. After reading about a low-carb approach in a medical journal in the nineteen sixties, Dr Atkins applied the principles he thus learned to his own weight loss challenges. He found this experience to be confirmatory of his positive opinion about the low-carb approach. The next stage in the evolution of the Atkins Diet involved Dr Atkins working with thousands of his own patients, using the nutritional principles he had learned. Having thus gained not only personal experience but also extensive clinical experience with this diet, he felt ready to share his experience and understandings with the public at large. He did this by means of his original book, published in 1972, entitled Dr Atkins' Diet Revolution. This volume was followed by a number of subsequent works, with updated information. However the core principle remained the same.

The central thesis of the Atkins Diet was indeed revolutionary for its time. The prevailing wisdom at that time was that weight loss was basically a matter of reducing one's dietary fat intake. Dr Atkins' paradigm-shifting suggestion was that obesity and overweight in society were mainly attributable to the excessive intake of various forms of carbohydrate. The basic metabolic aim of the carbohydrate restriction practiced in the Atkins diet is to bring about a metabolic state known as ketosis. In this state, the body is burning fat to supply its energy needs. This change of biochemical functioning happens automatically in the body when there is a lack of supply of carbohydrate in the individual's dietary intake. Dr Atkins also claimed that in this metabolic state the body uses up more calories per day than in its usual state.

The first stage of the diet, as recommended by Dr Atkins, is the most intensive. This initial stage is named "Induction." It involves radical reduction of carbohydrate intake. Alcohol is not allowed. High protein foods such as meat, chicken, fish and eggs are freely allowed. Vitamin supplements are encouraged. During this initial phase of the Atkins diet, significant and rapid loss of weight is often reported by participants. Dr Atkins recommends ways by which the individual can confirm the onset of a state of ketosis. Symptoms suggesting ketosis include halitosis (bad breath) or a bad taste in the mouth. A more scientific indicator is a commercially available urine test strip known as Ketostix. This will give biochemical confirmation of ketosis.

The second stage of the Atkins diet is known as the Ongoing Weight Loss stage. This stage of the diet allows the participant to consume slightly more carbohydrate than the first stage. However this level is raised slowly and incrementally. The aim is to determine the level of increased carbohydrate intake where weight loss still takes place. This second stage continues until the dieter is within 10 lbs of his or her goal or desired weight.

The third stage of the diet is the Pre-Maintenance stage. The aim here is to once again increase the carbohydrate intake level. Once again this is to be done in a gradual and incremental way, until the individual reaches a level of carbohydrate intake where his or her weight remains stable. Since weight is no longer being lost, the dieter no longer needs to be in a state of ketosis.

The fourth and final stage of the Atkins diet is referred to as the Lifetime Maintenance stage. The aim in this final stage is to consolidate the experience gained in the first three phases. Most importantly, one is encouraged to avoid falling back into old habits which would only lead to a regaining of lost weight. Instead, the focus is placed upon healthy eating, maintenance of a healthy weight, and self monitoring. If there is any indication of regained weight, the advice is to resume one of the preceding stages of the diet in order to bring the weight back down, and then re-establish the Lifetime Maintenance stage.

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