The Atkins Diet is easily one of the most popular and well-known weight loss programs out there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should take it up. Now that you’ve gotten quite an in-depth look into the ins and outs of the Atkins Diet, you come to a very crucial question. Is the Atkins Diet worth following?

As with most other questions, the answer will depend on you.

The Atkins Diet promises quick weight loss, yes, but you have to undergo a major shift in your diet. You’ll have to drastically reduce your intake of carbohydrates, a group of food that’s considered a staple in every meal. Unless you’re fine with making that big change, the Atkins Diet probably isn’t for you, especially if you’re trying to raise cereal-hungry kids at home.

You also have to be ready for the risk of the more unpleasant side effects of the Atkins Diet. For example, bad breath is a common complaint for the Atkins Diet. All that bad breath comes from the extra ketones produced by ketosis, which harvests energy from proteins instead of carbohydrates. Constipation is also a frequently heard complaint, so you have to be ready to deal with all that on a daily basis.

On the other hand, the essential parts of the Atkins Diet are actually ‘tastier’ than the programs of other companies because the former contain fats. It’s also fairly simple to follow, especially on a long-term basis. If you’re a veteran of several unsuccessful diet programs, you might want to try the Atkins Diet, simply because it’s a bit unique in terms of what you’re allowed to eat.

At the end of the day, taking on the Atkins Diet is still your choice. No matter what you end up picking, your choice had better be well-informed and reasonable so that you’re sure that you made the right one.

The most controversial part of the Atkins Diet is that fact that it promises quick weight loss by restricting carbohydrate consumption to an extreme extent. Dr. Atkins himself pointed out that carbs are one of the primary culprits for making people fat. This is true, to some extent.

Carbohydrates are nutritionally your biggest source of energy. When you eat carbs like bread or pasta, your body breaks the food down into simpler sugars like glucose and glycogen (right). Glycogen, in turn, is the primary source of energy for your brain and muscle cells. The only problem is that the reservoirs for glycogen stores are quickly filled up, and anything that isn’t used immediately has to be stored as fat.

By following the Atkins Diet, you minimize the amount of available carbohydrates, thus minimizing their risk of getting converted into fat. Once your body realizes that it’s out of carbohydrates, it’ll begin harvesting energy from proteins (found in foodstuff like meat and milk) through a process known as ketosis. It’s this process that produces the ketones which cause chronic bad breath in dieters.

Pros of the Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet is unlike most other programs because it promises fast results and quick weight loss without your having to give up fats and meats – two things that other diets would require you to abstain from. It doesn’t give much more variety than other diets, but it’ll end up a lot tastier.

Quite a number of people are also willing to endorse the diet as effective. Countless have seen good weight loss results, while some even say that they owe their long-term weight loss to adherence to the program.

Cons of the Atkins Diet

Many doctors and medical professionals have already declared negative effects and risks associated with following the Atkins Diet. First and foremost, you have to be really fit and healthy if you’re going to try the program. Because it forces you to switch energy sources, it triggers biochemical processes that could be deadly to people with long-term conditions like heart problems or diabetes.

Unpleasant or uncomfortable side effects such as bad breath and constipation have also been reported by some dieters. These results are most likely due to the nutritional imbalance that the program creates by restricting your intake of important things like the fiber in carbohydrates.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the possible side effects of the Atkins Diet. It’s just a sample of the kind of things you’ll have to consider if you’re planning to take on the program.

Most of the controversy surrounding the Atkins Diet comes from the weight loss program’s requirement of lower carbohydrate consumption. Many health experts denounced the program because of that requirement, saying that a good amount of carbohydrates are required to properly keep body functions running. Is the Atkins Diet really dangerous to your health?

Over three decades after the first publication of Dr Atkins’ diet, most physicians and experts remain skeptical, saying that the program requires more testing in order to be officially seen as an effective diet. Some are saying that the amount of carbohydrates allowed by the diet – as little as 40 g – is potentially harmful because the human body needs about 150 g for all functions to work properly.

The amount of protein that the diet contains also worries some scientists. Under the Atkins Diet, you’ll be taking out one entire dietary chunk and replacing it with proteins and fats. Some see this as increasing the risk factors for conditions like heart disease and stroke. Others see a risk for people with kidney or liver problems because they’ll be the organs that will handle all the additional protein.

Even mental ability is believed to be affected by the Atkins Diet. Glucose is a kind of sugar that the brain uses for fuel when it’s working. Although glucose can be had from meats and other proteins, it takes a lot longer to harvest glucose from them than it is from carbohydrates.

It’s true that the Atkins Diet can give you some pretty amazing and quick weight loss. However, most health experts would advise you to be wary about the diets you start, and to consult your physician before starting on any diet.

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.

Water is easily one of the most underrated substances in the world. As a substance, it’s known as the universal solvent and can destroy anything given enough time. For you, however, it could be the easiest solution for quick weight loss that you’ve ever seen.

Doctors all around agree that, for one reason or another, you don’t get enough water in the modern lifestyle. The recommended amount is at least 10 8-oz glasses of H2O every day, but you probably get only about four to six. Water is important for maintaining a delicate balance of fluids in your body, as well as for supporting most of the critical body processes. Not only is that deficit detrimental to your health, but you’re depriving yourself of a really good diet method – getting enough water.

One of the lesser known facts about dieting is that the sensation of thirst is often mistaken as hunger pangs. That feeling which prompts you to down a 300-calorie sandwich could have easily been solved by a 0-calorie glass of water. But it doesn’t end there. Drinking that 10-glass requirement throughout the day helps you regulate your eating because even water does make you feel temporarily full. If you need to hold off your hunger pangs, drive it away for now with a cold glass of water.

Although you do get water in carbonated drinks, coffee and the like, pure water is still the best for achieving natural weight loss. The additives add flavor, but they also add calories and fat – the very things you want to avoid – to your beverage. Other substances like caffeine are also diuretics, which prompt your body to flush water out, exacerbating that water deficit.

You’ve got absolutely nothing (but weight) to lose and everything (but weight) to gain. Give water a try, and you should see results within a couple of weeks or so.

How Much is Too Much?

The common idea is that you should aim to have absolutely no fat in everything you eat. Nada. Zero. Zilch. In reality, though, you can afford to reach for just a little bit of fat when you go to the supermarket. After all, your body does need a certain amount of fat, and most food would taste downright bland without fat.

Although the ‘safe’ amount of fat will vary because of your metabolism and your level of activity, a good rule of thumb is to have a maximum of 5 grams fat per 100 grams of product. It’s a pretty good number, and is low enough not to result in drastic weight gain.

Reduced Fat vs. Low Fat

A lot of people still think that the two labels are the same or, at least, interchangeable. To make things less confusing, you should always just reach for the low fat variant of any food.

When something is branded as ‘low fat,’ it means that that product has no more than 3 grams of fat per serving. ‘Reduced fat,’ on the other hand, simply means that the product has at least 25% less fat per serving than the regular variant. When you’re talking about something that’s high-fat to begin with – chips, for example – you’ll still end up eating a lot of fat in ‘reduced fat’ products.

Why Tennis?

First of all, tennis is a great cardiovascular activity. A match against an average tennis player should have you running all over your side of the court, and that’s no mean feat. Considering that you have to defend a space that’s 39 feet by 27 feet in size, you’re going to do a fair amount of running for a single match.

Even better is that tennis matches or a proper game between two evenly matched players will take at least half an hour. That’s about the amount of time it takes for your body to reach that optimum fat-burning phase during cardiovascular exercise. And because your physical exertion will definitely last more than half an hour, you’ll get the added benefit of the after-burn effect, or that window of time after exercise wherein you enjoy an enhanced metabolism.

While it’s true that dieting is effective for losing weight, sports can be just as effective a means for natural weight loss. With sports, you also have the advantage of toning your body and building up muscle while losing all that unsightly fat.

Nowadays, you’re bound to see all sorts of fad diets that claim to help you achieve quick weight loss. Though there’s nothing really wrong with making a diet part of your weight loss program, the health value of such ‘quick weight loss’ diets is very dubious. When it comes to losing weight, there’s really no better way than incorporating sports into your lifestyle. Here are a couple of choices you might want to try. 

Cycling

If you’re tired of plain ol’ jogging, cycling’s another great activity that’s sure to burn those calories right up. You won’t have to literally pound the pavement anymore, and you’re working out roughly the same muscles that you would when jogging. Besides, it’s also a great and economical way to travel if you just want to head someplace a couple of blocks away. Just think of the gas you’ll save in the process!

 Swimming

Don’t think that it’s just a summer activity for the kids. Swimming gives you a great low-impact cardio workout, and it’s actually a favorite prescription for fitness buffs who are recovering from injuries. Not only do you exercise in more or less moderated pool conditions, but you also save your knees and joints from the repetitive shock of other activities like jogging. If you’ve got knee or back problems, this is definitely your best exercise for fast weight loss.

Getting into sports not only helps you burn away all the unnecessary calories, but also builds up your cardiovascular endurance and muscle strength. It’s the best kind of weight loss program if you want overall fitness instead of just better readings on the bathroom scale.

If you’re one of the millions of people in the country who have a regular 9-to-5 job, you most likely have a weight loss program that’s executed ‘weekend warrior’ style. Sure, you might be using all the known techniques for quick weight loss between Friday and Monday, but you can take your program one step further. Here are a few handy ways to integrate your program into your Monday to Friday routine.

Supplement with a Good Diet

There’s really nothing you can do if you don’t have the hour to spare for exercise during weekdays. However, you can help maintain your exercise gains by keeping a good, healthy diet when you’re on employee mode.

Fast food fare and packaged, pre-processed lunches are part of the standard workday menu because they’re a convenient way to eat. However, they’re also the biggest sources of fats and unnecessary calories because of the way they’re made. Keep off all the weight that you lost during the weekend by eating a healthier workday meal, such as a salads or lean meats. Pack homemade food if you can’t find healthy fare near your workplace.

Don’t Forget Breakfast!

When you’re frantic and rushing in the morning, it’s very tempting to just skip breakfast just to make it to work in time. Grab a quick sandwich or pack a serving of cereal to just eat on the way instead of skipping breakfast altogether. Not only does breakfast give you that initial jolt of energy to start your day, but it also sets the pace of all your metabolic processes. Once that’s out of whack, you’re likelier to overeat and at the same time fail to burn all the extra calories.