The Atkins Low Carb Diet: Still Very Popular After All This Time!

The Atkins low carb diet has been around since the mid-1970's and really took off in popularity during the 1990's and 2000's. After all that time it has certainly proven its ability to help people lose weight and keep the weight off.

The Atkins Low Carb Diet Difference

What has made the Atkins diet program continue to be so popular over the years when other diet plans have come and gone? What is so different about the Atkins diet guidelines that have allowed followers to be so successful with their weight loss?

The difference is in the attitude that the Atkins low carb diet fosters. It is not just a temporary pattern of eating, nor is it a huge cutback in calories that cannot be maintained over time. Instead, the Atkins diet program is really a lifestyle, not just a diet program. It focuses on changing habits for long term effect, not just short term cutting calories and then a return to old eating patterns.

Making it Easy to do Atkins

Most people find it easy to follow the Atkins low carb diet for two reasons:

• The food is delicious - no bland or boring meals
• The food is easy to find - at the grocery store, at convenience stores, at restaurants, and more

The taste of food in the Atkins diet meal plans is really different from other diet plans. You do not have to deprive yourself of the foods and flavors that you really enjoy. In fact, you are practically required to eat the foods and flavors that you most enjoy. What a deal!

With other diet plans, it can be tough to find the food that you are supposed to eat each day. Some plans require you to buy their own food, which is okay if you have easy access to it and do not ever eat a meal out. With Atkins, though, you know which foods are okay and which ones are not, and you use that information to select what you eat no matter where you may be.

Atkins Diet Foods - Make it Yourself or Buy it Pre-Made

The Atkins low carb diet lets you have the best of both worlds when it comes to selecting food. You can make meals yourself by selecting from the huge list of allowed foods, or if you are in a hurry, you can choose pre-made meals from the Atkins group themselves.

Some of the most popular pre-made foods include:

• Breakfast bars
• Snack bars
• Meal replacement bars
• Liquid shakes
• Candy
• Ice cream

Pre-made foods are really convenient and easy when you are on the go and do not have time to eat a regular meal, or just to carry along in your purse or briefcase for those times when you need a little boost. Many people keep a box of snack bars in their office drawer or a few liquid shakes in the office refrigerator just to have on hand.

How does Atkins Compare to Other Low Carb Diet Plans?

When the Atkins low carb diet first came out in the 1970's it was unique; there was nothing comparable in widespread use. During the resurgence in the 1990's and 2000's, though, a whole host of imitators and similar versions began to appear.

Most of those other low carb diet plans were similar to the Atkins diet guidelines, but they lacked two important components for success:

• A proven nutritional approach
• Ongoing support and motivation to stay with a low carb lifestyle

The Atkins diet program is a proven nutritional approach. When you feed your body a diet high in carbohydrates that is what it burns mostly for fuel, leaving fats to build up and get stored away. Reducing the carbohydrate intake, though, forces the body's metabolism to "switch gears" so to speak, and start burning stored fats instead.

When you adopt an Atkins-based low carb lifestyle, you are not left alone to muddle through entirely by yourself. There are many Atkins books, articles and other publications available to encourage you and motivate you to truly change your lifestyle. There are carb counters, calendars, food journals, cookbooks, recipe collections and more - just about any kind of support or helpful tool you could possibly want.

The Atkins web site is also a tremendous source of information and support. There are free online classes, discussion groups, informational articles, and a free e-mail newsletter. All of these items are designed specifically to help you adopt and maintain a low carb lifestyle so that you can enjoy dramatic and lasting weight loss success.

Atkins Controversy

Of course, no diet plan is without at least some controversy along the way, and Atkins is no exception. Some people are very concerned about the high levels of fats allowed on the diet, especially during the induction and weight loss phases.

What most naysayers do not fully appreciate, though, is that as your body becomes accustomed to a low carbohydrate lifestyle you can gradually increase carbs. Over time, your diet gradually starts to include many more varieties of nutrients, offering you a good solid nutritional base to keep you active and healthy.

Another reason to appreciate the unique Atkins low carb diet is that it cuts down on harmful sugars and other sweets without leaving you with uncontrollable cravings that cause you to have episodes of binging on cookies, candy and other sweets. Atkins is a satisfying collection of foods, allowing you a taste of sweets now and then but generally keeping you satiated and satisfied thanks to the variety of other foods that are allowed.

Getting Started

Before starting any diet or nutritional regimen, you should consult with your doctor and have a thorough check up. He or she will then have a baseline of information about your health, making it easier to track your progress and really see how much your health improves over time.

I encourage you to work with your doctor and connect with others who are following a low carb lifestyle in order to gain the maximum benefit and effectiveness from the Atkins low carb diet.

Atkins Diet Foods - A Guide To Low Carb Food Products

Atkins diet foods are many and varied, so much so that many people are surprised at just how many different kinds of foods are allowed on the Atkins diet food plan. You still have the responsibility to select appropriately and double check the actual carb content of different foods, but you will quickly learn just how varied and interesting a low carb lifestyle can be.

The Basics of the Atkins Diet Plan

The basic philosophy behind the Atkins diet plan is that if you switch to a low carb diet your body's metabolism will adjust and start to burn stores of fat. The process starts during the induction phase when you change your eating habits substantially so that you only consume 20 grams of net carbohydrates per day. Net carbs are determined by taking the total grams of carbs in a food and subtracting the amount of fiber grams.

Once you are past the 14 day induction phase you then start to increase your daily net carb intake a little bit each week - starting at 25 grams per day, then the next week going to 30 grams per day, and so forth. As you raise your intake gradually, you pay attention to how much weight you continue to lose, until you find a level at which weight loss slows significantly or stops altogether. When you get close to your goal weight, you move into pre-maintenance and maintenance phases so that low carb choices become part of your everyday lifestyle.

Defining Low Carb Foods

Low carb foods are those that have low enough levels of carbohydrates that they are considered Atkins diet foods. In general, meats, poultry, fish, leafy green vegetables, eggs and butter form the core assortment of your low carb food choices. Some cheeses and other dairy products are relatively low carb but typically are not allowed in huge quantities while on the Atkins low carb diet plan.

Remember, though, a food which is high in carbs but also high in fiber can be eaten as part of a low carb lifestyle because the goal is to keep net carbs low, not just carbs as a whole. Make sure you read the labels of the foods you buy to determine the net carbs, and consider carrying a pocket sized carb counter with you to double check the net carb counts in fresh foods.

As the Atkins diet plan exploded in popularity over the last few years, many food producers have tried to get in on the phenomenon by promoting their products as low carb. The problem is, though, that many of these foods are not really low carb. With the exceptions of certified Atkins diet foods, you should never just believe the large print on the front that says low carb. Always, always read the nutrition label and confirm for yourself whether or not the food is really low carb.

Finding Low Carb Foods

Finding low carb foods is as easy as going to the grocery store, dropping into the convenience store located at your neighborhood gas station, or going to your favorite restaurant. Of course, some places will have a better selection of Atkins diet foods than others will, and some will also have more high carb temptations, but there is no reason for you to visit a specialty store in order to get the low carb foods you need.

Atkins Diet Foods from the Grocery Store

In the grocery store you have a huge selection of foods, ranging from fresh to processed, all of which you can check for net carb count. Processed foods will have nutrition information printed on the outside box or label, making it easy to determine net carbs. Fresh foods are a bit more difficult because that information is not printed on the food item and usually not on the shelf label. You can certainly remember a few core fresh foods that are allowable, but a really good tool is to carry a carb counter in your purse or pocket so that you can check it if you have any questions.

Convenience Store

In a convenience store, you have to search a bit more for the low carb Atkins diet plan foods. The big display of chips, candy, cookies and more is not a place you are likely find low carb choices, but if you go a little further in you can usually find official Atkins snack bars, liquid shakes or even some fresh foods that are low carb.

Restaurants

Restaurants can be a bit tricky because you do not always know what is in that great tasting gravy or sauce, but most eating establishments now offer designated low carb choices. If in doubt, order your meal without sauces and other add-ons that may have hidden carbs. When you find a restaurant that serves a good selection of low carb foods that you enjoy, be sure to give the manager or owner positive feedback and make that establishment a primary choice whenever you want to dine out.

Atkins Diet Plan Meals

Atkins diet foods are much more than individual foods. They can be combined in many ways to create tasty and interesting meals, but even the most dedicated low carb follower can get tired of the same old thing. The best way to keep your low carb meals interesting is to seek out a variety of Atkins diet plan meals.

There are many cookbooks and recipe books available that are filled with low carb meal choices using approved Atkins diet foods. All you have to do is mix and match each day or each week to keep a variety of meals on the table. Another reason to have a good cookbook or recipe book on hand is for those times when you are tired, running late or otherwise need to come up with something low carb to eat when maybe you do not feel like putting a lot of effort into it. These are the times when you will be most tempted to grab something that is not low carb, so having a collection of Atkins diet food recipes close by can help get rid of that temptation.