How the Atkins Diet Plan Works

The Atkins Diet Plan has had its share of controversy.  When it came out in the early 1970s, it was a diet that many nutritionists scoffed at because of the high fat content and high protein content of the diet.  People wondered how large amounts of red meat, eggs, cheese, butter and bacon would actually result in weight loss.  Nevertheless, it did seem to cause weight loss in many who tried it.  How does such a diet actually work? 

According to the late Dr. Atkins, the Atkins Diet Plan is all about limiting carbohydrates.  He felt we ate too many carbohydrates in the form of white flour, refined sugar, packaged foods liked pasta, store-bought bread and cereals.  All are very carbohydrate-rich foods.  According to the core principle of the Atkins Diet Plan, by limiting carbohydrates as part of a four-phase process, the body must resort to burning its stored fat instead of carbohydrates. 

The Atkins Diet Plan suggested a whole new way of dieting.  It limited the number of calories consumed in a day but the idea was to limit the number of carbohydrates along with it.  Carbohydrates provide the body with basic fuel through eating many of the foods mentioned above.  The simplest carbohydrate is glucose or “blood sugar” and the cells in the body use it to transfer the glucose into energy.  There are five other simple sugars called, fructose, galactose, lactose, sucrose and maltose.  Complex carbohydrates include the starches which are made up of many chains of glucose molecules.

According to the Atkins diet plan, our body also uses proteins and fats as fuel.  Protein is found in meats, fish and cheese.  Fats occur in butter and cream, as well as in mayonnaise and oils.  When you restrict carbohydrates and increase fat and protein, your metabolism must use and burn the fat in your body.

There are four phases in the Atkins Diet Plan. The first phase is called the Induction Phase.  You must eat very little in the way of carbohydrates (less than 20 grams per day) and must consist of salad and non-starchy vegetables.  The second phase involves ongoing weight loss, in which you add a few extra carbohydrates to your diet.  You are allowed to increase the number of carbohydrates by 5 grams per week until your body stops losing weight.  At that point, you subtract five grams per day, which is what you stick with.  In the Pre-Maintenance Phase, you can increase your carbohydrate by ten grams per week until you maintain your weight.  During the lifetime maintenance phase, you can eat a variety of foods while still keeping your carbohydrate count low.

Now, the Atkins Diet Plan does not agree very well with the USDA Food Pyramid, which recommends a diet rich in carbohydrates.  The Atkins food pyramid looks almost upside down from the one we are used to.  At the top of the pyramid are whole grains and vegetables.  In addition, the Atkins diet plan doesn’t set limits on the amount of food you eat—only the type of food you eat.  Many people on the Atkins plan consume more calories on this diet than they can on another plan.  And yet, over the short term, weight is lost.  Lypolysis or “fat breakdown” occurs when the body needs something to use for food but can’t use carbohydrates from the diet.  This is how, in theory, the diet works to help you lose weight.