Showing posts with label Atkins Diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Atkins Diet. Show all posts

Kim Kardashian had always been famous for her impressive figure and it has been something she has managed to maintain through her celebrity lifestyle. So when she became a mother there was some talk about whether she would be able to return to her trim body shape of the past or whether she would hold on to the pregnancy weight for a long time. But we didn’t have to wonder long, as it was revealed not long after she had given birth that she had been able to drop 25 pounds thanks to the Atkins Diet.


 


It seems that she has been able to drop the weight by following this high protein diet that puts an emphasis on eating vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, as well as lean meats like chicken and turkey and getting important nutritional fats from sources such as avocado and nuts. The Atkins diet is one of the more famous methods of weight loss and it has been popular for a long time. It emphasises eating virtually no carbohydrates and filling up instead on foodstuffs that are very high in protein. But is this a safe way to lose weight, and has Kim Kardashian done the right thing in her plan for weight loss?


 


There was a certain level of controversy surrounding her use of the Atkins diet because she was sponsored to use the Atkins diet for her weight loss. This might suggest that she had foregone alternative, and perhaps healthier, ways to losing weight in order to receive the money for the sponsorship of Atkins. This seemed like a worrying step for people to be taking as it promotes putting money before the good of your health. However, Kardashian did indeed manage to lose the weight and supposedly was very happy with the results of the Atkins diet, so if it was effective and did the job she wanted, perhaps there does not need to be such criticism.


 


According to the experts at Atkins Nutrionals, Kardashian would have been generally eating a breakfast of either an omelette or Greek yoghurt. This would be followed by a snack of either fresh vegetables and a dip or an ounce or two of nuts. Lunch and dinner would be similar meals – generally full of lean meats, vegetables and a dressing. It was the object of the exercise to pace the weight loss and not to try to lose too much too quickly. She was on a diet of around 1,800 to 2,000 calories per day including a small amount of carbohydrates.


 


Many people criticise the Atkins diet because it places such an emphasis on meat. This means that it is both very high in fat and protein. The problem is that these are known to make you more likely to have problems with your heart or other issues. However, the people at Atkins contend that there are problems with any diet and that if you can ensure that you mainly eat lean meats and healthy proteins this can reduce a lot of the risks.


 


The diet may have helped Kim Kardashian lose the weight, but she had the help of specific doctors and well regarded nutritionists. Most people cannot afford or would not know how to get this kind of help with their weight loss. While the Atkins diet clearly can be a healthy and effective way of losing weight, it should not be relied upon as there are clearly certain risks that come with it. It might be best to stick with more traditional and standard ways of weight loss.

Wellness enthusiasts and dieters worldwide have a certain level of disdain for carbs, but do carbs really deserve his bad reputation? Many people believe that it’s better for your weight loss, as well as your wellbeing, to eat foods that are low in carbs and high in protein, but sometimes this isn’t always the right solution. Before you clear out your bread bin, you need to understand a little more about the benefits and the side effects of low-carb, high-protein diets.


 


When you’re eating foods that are low in carbs and high in protein, you aim to get up to 40% of your daily calorie needs from proteins alone. This is the case with weight loss plans such as the Atkins Diet, but even though this eating programme has been a dieting craze for years, the Atkins Diet has come a lot under scrutiny. Those opposed to the diet argue that the main focus of the diet is mainly on the intake of very few carbohydrates, rather that the consumption of plenty of protein. Moreover, while a diet such as this one poses no serious threat to your wellness when consumed over a short period of time, if you follow the Atkins Diet for too long, you could suffer from mild to severe health risks. The severity of the impact on your health will depend on how strictly you follow the low-carb, high-protein diet, as well as how long you plan to continue it.


 


If you eat a diet that’s low in carbohydrates for even a short period, you could realistically be looking at:


  • Constipation, due to a lack of fibre

  • Nausea

  • Lethargy

  • Dehydration

  • Loss of appetite

 


Unfortunately, the wellness risks don’t end there. If you follow such a diet for a long period of time, you can experience some serious repercussions to your health. These include:


 


Kidney failure: When your diet contains high levels of protein, you put a lot of strain on your kidneys


 


High cholesterol: If your diet is high in protein, this probably means you’re consuming a lot of meat, and red meat in particular. Not only does this raise the levels of cholesterol in your body, but is also increases your risk of strokes and heart diseases.


 


Osteoporosis: When your protein levels are high, your body excretes too much calcium. This can cause you to develop osteoporosis or even kidney stones


 


Nutrition deficiency: High protein diets cause you to eat far fewer fruits and vegetables than is advised to stay healthy. You need to eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day, otherwise you could experience nutritional deficiencies. This can lower immunity in your body, and even heighten your risk of fatal diseases like cancer.


 


Ketosis: Initially, Ketosis burns off your body’s fat reserves, meaning that many dieters appreciate a bit of this process. However, by staying the state of ketosis for too long – which high-protein, low-carb diets promote – you expose your body to many dangers. The proper functioning of your organs could fail, especially in your kidneys.


 


To avoid these side effects, you need to eat a minimum of 100 grams of carbohydrates every day. Your body requires a steady source of carbohydrate every day in order for your organs to function in a healthy way. Carbs are necessary as they metabolise fats, you just have to make sure you eat the right ones. Stick to unrefined, complex carbs with a low glycaemic index and high content of fibre. Good examples include fruits, vegetables, oats and whole grain breads, which should be eaten in moderation.

There are an awful lot of diets out there. Just think about all the people who want to lose weight – that’s a huge marketplace, so it’s no surprise that so many different forms of dieting have appeared. The problem is that not ever dieted is suited to every person, and that means that you can spend your whole life trying different diets without every finding the one that is right for you and will allow you to lose weight and get the body that you desire. So given that is so hard to find the diet that will help you to shed the pounds we’ve analysed five of the best diets so you can compare them and see which the right one for you is.


 


The Atkins Nutritional Plan


You have probably already heard of the Atkins Diet, which is the informal name for the Atkins Nutritional Plan. It is undoubtedly one of the most famous diets in the world and it has done wonders for the waist line of many people. But is it right for you? The Atkins Diet is a meat-lovers dream and on the diet you’re encouraged to have bacon and eggs for breakfast and steak for dinner – you can pretty much enjoy any meat that you like. That’s because the main thing for you to cut out in your diet is carbohydrates. You must eliminate all breads, rice and potato from your diet. If this sounds like something that might be good for you, it’s worth giving it a try.


 


The Dukan Diet


If the Dukan Diet sounds familiar, it’s probably because you recall the mother of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, explaining how useful the diet had been for her after getting in shape for the royal wedding. The diet itself is slightly similar to the Atkins Diet in that it is a diet based around the idea of getting more protein and fewer carbohydrates. However, the Dukan Diet is quite complicated in the sense that it has a fairly prescriptive plan for what you’re allowed to eat. So if you’re a fussy eater, it might not be for you.


 


Gluten-free diet


You know who is a subscriber to the gluten-free diet? Tennis super Novak Djokovic. And he is well known as one of the tennis players in best shape in the world. The fact that you’re cutting out gluten from your diet means you are seriously reducing the amount of junk food that you can eat. It can have you slimmed down very quickly and eating more healthily. It’s great for weight loss and staying in great shape. The diet can be difficult to follow because of the lack of foods that are gluten-free, but nevertheless if you can stick to it, it can really be a massive benefit to you.


 


Mediterranean Diet


People from the Mediterranean are well-known for having an excellent constitution and having very low levels of obesity. So it’s no surprise that the diet commonly eaten there has been exported as a way to lose weight. The diet is heavy on fruits, vegetables, olives and olive oil, as well as eggs, poultry and fish.


 


Raw food diet


The raw food diet promotes the concept of eating raw food as a way to shed the pounds. By avoiding cooking the food we don’t get rid of any of the natural goodness so we get all of the vitamins and minerals that nature allows. It also avoids the fats that cooking food usually brings so it can be healthy for you in that sense too.

You get a lot of wellness experts who disagree with the Atkins diet, arguing that you need carbohydrates to ensure your wellbeing and stick with a long-term weight loss plan. However, according to nutritionist Colette Heimowitz, this nay-saying behaviour is based on a belief in five myths, which need to be debunked:


 


1. The Atkins Diet contains too much saturated fats, which can lead to host of health problems.


Heimowitz argues, ‘Saturated fats, which are typically solid at room temperature and are found in meat, poultry, dairy products and palm and coconut oils, may be beneficial when consumed as part of a balanced intake of natural fats. When you restrict your carbs, your body makes less saturated fat while burning more of it.’ She adds that, on the Atkins diet, the only fat you truly need to avoid are trans fats, as these can increase your body’s level of inflammation as well as your risk of heart attacks.


 


2. As Atkins is high in protein, it can lead to kidney problems.


When you eat an ideal level of protein, it should make you full (but not completely stuffed) after a meal and hungry in time for your next one. ‘Atkins’ typical intake of 12 to 18 ounces of protein a day is not considered a high-protein diet,’ Heimowitz explains. ‘And most concerns about eating too much protein are unfounded in that they are based on limited or flawed research. For example, the myth that a high protein intake can damage kidneys probably arose from the fact that people who already have advanced kidney disease can’t clear away the waste from even moderate protein intake. There’s absolutely no evidence that any healthy person has experienced kidney damage from eating the amount of protein consumed on Atkins.’


 


3) You don’t eat any vegetables on Atkins.


‘In addition to protein and healthy natural fats, certain vegetables are the foundation of the Atkins way of eating,’ Heimowitz asserts. ‘Vegetables do contain carbohydrates but, in most cases, these are exactly the kinds of carbs you should be consuming. But the key word is “most.” Rather than promoting the standard dietary fiction that all vegetables are equally healthful and should be consumed in unlimited servings, the Atkins way draws distinctions: A serving of spinach is better than a serving of peas; broccoli is more health-protective than potatoes.’


 


4. It is better to maintain a low-fat diet than a low-carb diet like Atkins.


Research has shown that, after the one- and two-year mark, a low-carb diet like Atkins is more effective for long-term weight loss than a conventional low-fat diet, and is beneficial and safe if you’re highly resistant to insulin or carbohydrates. Heimowitz enthuses, ‘This is great news, because these are the people who need to keep carb consumption low for the long term to control the insulin resistance and carb intolerance.’ She adds that science continues to show how Atkins is a viable solution for reversing obesity and the risk factors associated with heart disease.


 


5) You only lose water weight – and not fat – on the Atkins diet.


Heimowitz allows, ‘Typically on any weight loss plan, including Phase 1 of Atkins, the weight you lose is primarily water (diuresis) during the first few days or even the first week. However, on a controlled carbohydrate plan with adequate dietary fat, after diuresis, your body switches from burning carbohydrates to primarily burning stored body fat—along with dietary fat—for energy, which results in weight loss. Moreover, the weight lost is mainly fat, not lean body mass.’

A popular diet for many years now, the Atkins diet consists of using already-stored fat deposits in the body as energy to create a fat burning machine out of your own metabolism. It does this by removing carbohydrates from your diet so that you don’t use them as an energy source – once they have been removed, you body can use fat instead to burn off calories and help you to lose weight. Initially, those following this diet remove all carbs from their food intake and survive of protein instead, then gradually re-introduce carbohydrates back into the diet after some time has passed.


 


The process of shifting your metabolism from using glucose as energy to using fat is known as ketosis, which means you can eat fat-rich foods and still lose weight. Because the production of glucose in the body is kept to a minimum, and your body doesn’t release insulin, it can even help to prevent diabetes. This form of diet is still extremely popular, and it’s status as an effective diet doesn’t appear to be fading any time soon. What makes it so appealing to people is that they don’t have to cut out the usual sins of a diet, which are high-fat foods. Naturally, given the inclusion of so much fat, it has been under scrutiny by many experts as being bad for your health. This hasn’t stopped millions of people from following its practices and rules though. It remains one of the most popular diets ever to have been devised, despite the risk it poses to people’s health over time.


 


The Atkins diet is easy to follow an follows a pyramid scheme of foods that you can include – you can have a lot of protein sources, such as meat and eggs, but whole grains are kept to a minimum at the top of the grid. To keep you from getting bored, and to introduce a little variety as you go along, you can begin to include low-carb foods once you’ve been on the programme a while – eventually you can begin to eat a few carbohydrate foods as well. This type of diet that enables flexibility is great for dieters as it stops them from getting bored and giving up – the main cause of so many diet failures. The Atkins diet relies heavily on the body’s natural functions, so it alters the way our bodies work by causing it to metabolise fat and use the very thing we’re trying to lose as energy. This means you’ll see both short-term and long-term effects. In the short-term, your body will lose the weight by burning the fat you already have stored, meaning you’ll see results quickly. In the long-term, your body is being prepared for metabolising differently so that you can include the right amount of carbs without gaining weight again.


 


There are risks attached, such as potential risks to your heart due to the inclusion of so much fat in your diet that may clog up your arteries or cause blood clots, as well as the risk of developing kidney stones. Because you are cutting out certain food groups, you’re also risking other areas of your health such as your bones. As with any diet shift, you should seek the advice of your GP before drastically changing your diet. There may be pre-diagnosed health risks that may make this unsuitable for you. However, maintaining a healthy weight is important, so if you are obese then you should seek out a way to return to a normal weight to avoid any undesirable health concerns.