Atkins Diet

Written by Diet Plans Digest on 4th April, 2008

Quick Glance

The Atkins Diet is the grand-daddy of “low carb diets”. Despite the controversy surrounding it for decades, it remains a very popular diet plan. The theory behind this diet plan is that we eat too many carbohydrates, which are burned before the fat that we eat is burned. If, however, we eat more meat and fat, and very few carbs, our bodies will burn the fat instead, thereby causing us to lose weight. This process of the body burning its own fat for fuel is known as ketosis. A beneficial effect of ketosis is that we feel less hungry, so we tend to eat less as well.

The plan itself is designed to drastically cut the amount of carbs in the beginning to jump-start your body into burning the fat. This means you can eat above-normal amounts of fish, meats, cheeses and fats (including butter and mayo), but you’ll be completely removing refined sugar, milk, white rice, and white flour from your diet (forever). For the first two weeks, you’ll also be extremely limited in the amount of fruits and vegetables that you can eat. This first stage is designed to make sure your body gets the jump-start into ketosis that it needs. Eventually, you will add fruits, vegetables and whole-grain foods back into your diet.

Costs

Less than $10 for the book and no significant changes in how much you spend on groceries. You may, however, wish to purchase Atkins’ line of packaged diet bars and shakes, but they are optional.

Sample Foods

Meats
Cheeses
Fats
Butter
Mayonnaise
Fish
Shellfish

Online Diet Plans

When classifying a diet plan as "online", we mean that all of the program's detailed information, the meal plans and recipes, and all tools and support are accessed online via that program's web site. Of course, many will also supplement the online version with hard copy printed materials such as books and magazines, and may also include phone support. But the primary means of managing the plan on a day to day basis is via their web site. Check this area for both paid and free online diet plans.

Real World Support Groups

Real world diet support groups generally involve signing up with a program in which you attend meetings with people in your area, or visit a diet center near you on a recurring basis. These in-person, face to face types of plans are especially useful for those who are motivated by interacting with others directly, rather than virtually as in the online world.

DIY Weight Loss Plans

We classify plans as DIY (Do It Yourself) when they only involve the dieter and some materials, such as books, etc. If you don't want any kind of social interaction, support or a strict plan, you probably will do best by winging it on your own. DIY diet plans will focus mostly on obtaining plan material from books, cds and dvds, and are often what people are seeking when searching for the top 10 diets.