eMedex Weight Loss Guide

It’s that diet that got people all over the world swearing off bread and pasta by the millions. Although its most recent popularity surge happened between 2003 and 2004 when almost a tenth of the United States was on the weight loss program, the Atkins Diet has actually been around since the 1970’s.

Ever since Dr. Robert Atkins published his book in 1972, there’s been a love-it-or-hate-it response from the public. There were those who claimed that Atkins’ diet was the best that they’d ever seen, while there were also those who went as far as saying that it was potentially fatal. Because the weight loss diet uses a low-carbohydrate nutritional plan, there’s still a lot of heated debate about its effects, both good and bad.

The short explanation of the Atkins Diet is that you should refrain from eating almost all kinds of carbohydrates, while at the same time satisfying your hunger primarily with proteins like meats. This low-carbohydrate principle was the source of much of the Atkins Diet’s controversy, especially since Dr. Atkins promised that it would be more effective than low-fat diets for quick weight loss.

The weight loss program itself is done in four phases: induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. Each stage is less restrictive in terms of allowed food items than the one before it. The program also recommends that you return to an earlier phase should you begin regaining weight. Adherents say that the Atkins Diet is like marriage – it’s a lifelong commitment if you want it to work.

Are you interested in trying the Atkins Diet? Stay tuned here for more details on the science, the controversy and the myths behind this weight loss program.