Sunday, January 22, 2012

Atkins Diet Foods

Atkins diet foods are simple to find and available all over the place. There's lots of varieties to select from, whether you pick prepackaged low-carb diet foods or make your own meals. No matter the way you require to do the Atkins plan, there is a solution out there for you.

The third tier is made up of berries and avocado. Fruits ought to be used on an occasional basis after the preliminary stages of the Atkins diet. Vegetable and seed oils, cheese, dairy, nuts and legumes are used sparingly and in appropriate portions. While the FDA pyramid has oils and fats at the top peak, the Atkins pyramid places whole grain foods in this spot. Whole grain foods ought to be used occasionally and donít make up the mainstay of the Atkins diet.

You alll require to keep the Atkins food pyramid in mind when you make food choices. The Atkins pyramid looks much different than the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. The base of the pyramid consists of protein sources such as eggs, fish, beef, chicken and tofu. On a every day basis, your diet ought to consist primarily of these foods. The second tier has low glycemic vegetables like salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and spinach.

When you start the Atkins plan, youíll require to make sure you understand which foods are acceptable for your stage of the program. The Induction phase is the most restrictive, but it only lasts weeks.

You owe it to your dieting success to stay within the acceptable foods list. of the best ways to do this is to follow the Atkins menu designs that are printed within the New Diet Revolution book. There's also Atkins cookbooks and cookbooks that are geared toward other low carb diets that are helpful in formulating meal designs.

Another lovely resource for keeping track of the appropriate Atkins foods is an online diet program. There's several available. Some are free and some have a little every month fee. The programs need you to register and then they offer you personal every week menu designs based on your needs and your carbohydrate gram level. There's normally printable every week shopping lists that make picking up your Atkins diet foods from the grocery store simple and fast.

Itís a helpful idea to make use of a cheat sheet of acceptable Atkins foods wherever you go. In case you are out and about and hungry, the last thing you require to do is to try to think back in your memory to figure out what you can and cannot eat. Carrying a list of acceptable foods with you will make finding a snack or meal while out on the run simple. You canít always depend on Alow carb labels to tell you whether or not something is diet friendly. Ever since low carb became the new diet craze, manufacturers have been leaping on the bandwagon to attract Atkins dieters. They label items low carb to sell products and donít have your health in mind. Relying on foods from your own personal list is the best way to stay on the plan.

Atkins diet food is simple to find one time you know what you are looking for. The books, food pyramid and online resources can help you make better food choices and stay on the diet for the long term.

Monday, January 16, 2012

What is the Atkins' Diet?

The Atkins' diet is not a new phenomenon. The diet first appeared in the late 1970s and has grown popularity in recent years in response to the low-fat diet craze. As dieters had trouble with low-fat plans, they searched for a new solution and Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution book found a new audience. In short, the Atkins' Diet=Low Carb Diet.

A lot of people have jumped on the Atkins bandwagon and there has been a lot of hype as a result. But what are the basic principles of the Atkins diet?

The Atkins diet is based on a theory of why we get fat. According to Dr. Atkins, the over-consumption of carbohydrates and simple sugars leads to weight gain. The way your body processes the carbohydrates you eat have more to do with your waistline than the amount of fat or calories that you consume. In his book, Atkins outlines a phenomenon called ìnsulin resistance.î He theorizes that many overweight people have cells that do not work correctly.

When you eat excess simple carbohydrates and like sugar, your body notices that sugar levels are elevated. Insulin is released from the pancreas in order to store sugar as glycogen in the liver and muscle cells for extra energy later on. However, your body can only store so much glycogen at once. As soon as your body reaches its limit for glycogen storage, the excess carbohydrates are stored as fat. This happens to everyone who eats too many carbohydrates.

However, insulin resistant individuals have an even harder time of using and storing excess carbohydrates. The more insulin that your body is exposed to, the more resistant it becomes. Overtime, the pancreas releases more insulin and cells become insulin resistant. The cells are trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin. They create less glycogen and more fat.

As a result, insulin resistant individuals gain extra weight. The carbohydrates get converted into fat instead of energy. Other side effects include fatigue, brain fog (the inability to focus, poor memory, loss of creativity), low blood sugar (which can leads to hypoglycemia), intestinal bloating, sleepiness, depression and increased blood sugar. There is much more than weight at stake when you are insulin resistant.

The remedy for people who are insulin resistant is a diet restricted in carbohydrates. The crux of the Atkins diet is a limitation of carbohydrates in all of its forms. The foods restricted on the Atkins plan include simple sugars (like cookies, sodas and sweets) and complex carbohydrates (like bread, rice and grains). Even carbohydrates that are considered healthy, such as oatmeal, brown rice and whole wheat bread, are restricted on the program.

The diet has you restrict your carbohydrate intake to less than 40 grams a day. This will put your body in a state of ketosis. While in ketosis, your body will burn fat as fuel. According to Dr. Atkins' research, the ketosis state will also affect insulin production and it will prevent more fat from being formed. Your body will begin using your stored fat as an efficient form of fuel, and you'll lose weight.

Another benefit of the Atkins plan is that ketosis will end your cravings for carbohydrates. If you've been living on a carb-heavy diet, you may have found that you simply cannot get enough carbohydrates. With carbohydrate restriction and ketosis comes a reduction in carbohydrate cravings. People who have been on the Atkins diet for some time report that they do not crave carbohydrates as they once did.

Although the initial phases of the Atkins diet are rather strict, the program teaches you to restore balance to your diet in the long run. People who use the diet slowly reintroduce minimal amounts of carbohydrate into their eating until they find a comfortable balance between their health and carbohydrate use.

Some find the addition of apple cider vinegar aids the body to reaching the ketogenic state. It's recommended taking a tablespoon 2-3/day mixed with water or another beverage.

The basic principles of the Atkins diet have been adapted to many other low-carb diet plans. However, Atkins popularity still remains strong as one of the most effective low-carbohydrate solutions for those who are insulin resistant.

Congratulations! You're making an important first step by educating yourselves about better ways of eating. It really is true. You are what you eat.