Atkins Diet - Why it Works and Why it Doesn't

Another interesting fact is that many men have turned to the Atkins diet as this allows them to eat as much meat and fatty foods that they want. Thanks to this huge difference with normal diets men are having a much easier time following the diet and don’t necessarily feel like they have to be eating rabbit food everyday just to slim down. The “man” factor about eating lots of meat and fat is still there in this diet which makes those that are sensitive about their “image” embrace this diet with open arms.

Verdict

From the results that we have seen on those that have taken to the Atkins diet and continued with it we can certainly see that the results are quite convincing. It is convincing for two reasons. Firstly there are an unusually low amount of people that have abandoned this diet; many of the dieters have managed to keep to this diet even through its severe induction stage. Secondly, sheer slimming effect of this diet. People have lost substantial amounts of fat and fast too. The amount of pounds that participants lost within the first two weeks was greatest with the Atkins diet.

Although the prospect of eating bacon and eggs everyday for breakfast is very appealing at first most people do not understand that with a severe restriction on carbohydrates that the variety of foods that are available to you are greatly reduced. In many cases the sheer reduction in the variety of foods means that there will be a caloric deficit as experienced with other diets too. The restriction on calories isn’t talked about or even mentioned but is simply there because the range of foods that are available have been reduced substantially. People will also start to develop sugar and carbohydrate cravings after a couple of days on the diet. This is your body telling you to look for carbohydrates as the burning of you body fat is too fast and unsustainable in the long-run.

Although the benefits of the diet are very obvious (very fast weight loss) the potential high fat content of the diet does make me a bit uneasy. The Atkins diet guide does confront this issue in stating that fat in diet consumed when you are in the state of ketosis doesn’t form cholesterol in your blood system. The guide presents the case of Inuit’s living mainly on this type of diet who still enjoy a long and healthy life but my doubts are still the same. The though of eating oily food day in and day out doesn’t seem very healthy to me.

Ultimately a proper judgment call about the safety and how good the diet is can’t be made unless we know the full affect of this high fat high protein diet. There simply hasn’t been enough research and studies into the long term affect of the diet to warrant any recommendation or not. We suggest that those who want to try this diet only do it for a few weeks at a time and have a break to clear your system of any fat or cholesterol that might have built up. Until further information is known about the way your body treats the fats that you eat in the Atkins Diet, it isn’t advised to use the Atkins diet for the long term.

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