Atkins and Ketosis

The Atkins diet aims for the state of ketosis.

The basic principle of the Atkins diet is that a state of ketosis will help you burn your fat stores as energy. Many people, even those who are on low carbohydrate diets, don’t quite understand ketosis and why it works.

Most diets are calorie-reduction diets. 

They help you lose weight, but some of the weight is from fat and some of it is from lean muscle tissue. While you may look smaller on the scale, your metabolism is actually slowing down. The more muscle you lose the slower your metabolism will be. This makes losing weight more difficult and gaining weight back even simpler.

The Atkins diet, on the other hand, is carbohydrate restrictive. 

It creates a state of ketosis in your body that burns only fat, and not muscle. The primary source of your energy for your body will be fat in the form of ketones. Your liver will convert fat into ketones and it cannot be converted back. It will be excreted naturally.

Ketones are actual a normally and efficient source of fuel for the human body. They are created in the liver from the fatty acids that result from the breakdown of body fat. These only appear when there is an absence of glucose and sugar. In the Atkins diet, you reduce the amount of glucose and sugar that is in the bloodstream. As a result, your body produces ketones for fuel. When your body is creating ketones it is called ketosis.

Ketosis is a natural state and not dangerous.

There is a common misconception that following a ketogenic diet like Atkins is dangerous. The truth is that being in ketosis is a completely naturally state. The human body creates ketones to use as fuel in the absence of glucose.

In the Atkins diet book, Dr. Atkins suggests using ketone-testing strips to determine your state of ketosis during dieting. These small plastic strips are held in the urine stream and contain a special chemically treated absorptive pad. This pad will change color if ketones are present in the urine. With the presence of ketones, the strip will change varying shades of pink to purple. There is a color scale on the label of the bottle that will help you determine your ketone levels.

Ketone strips are available in any pharmacy and can be found among the diabetic supplies. In some stores, they are kept behind the counter so you may have to ask for them. You won’t need a prescription to buy them though. Once you open a package of ketosis strips they have a shelf life of 6 months. It may be helpful to mark the opening date on the box.

Ketone strips will let you know if you are progressing correctly on the Atkins diet. If you are following the Induction plan to the letter and aren’t seeing purple, don’t worry. Some people never show trace amounts of ketones or they may show just above the minimum line. As long as you are losing weight and inches then you are successfully using ketones. Also, if you’ve just exercised a few hours before using the strips, you may not see purple.

Some dieters may mistakenly believe that a dark purple result on the testing strips means that they are losing weight faster. Actually, the darkest purple color is a sign of dehydration. It means that your urine is too concentrated and you need to drink water.

Ketones come from fat in the bloodstream, whether it is fat that you eat or fat that you burn. So if you eat a meal heavy in fat and then immediately use a testing strip, then you’ll see a dark purple result. Use the strips as a guide, but don’t get hung up on the color.

Reaching a state of ketosis is key to success on the Atkins diet and it as simple as eliminating carbohydrates from the diet. Make sure to follow the eating plan correctly and use the ketone testing strips as needed.



Click Here!

Is Atkins Right for You?

The Atkins diet is very popular, but is it right for you? 

Before you start down the low carb road, you should take some time to decide whether low carb is the right way for you to lose weight. Just because it has been effective for others doesn’t mean it will be right for you. Not every diet works for everyone, and you may even find that one type of low carb diet works better for you than another. There are many things to consider before you start the Atkins diet.

First, evaluate your past dieting history.

If you’ve been trying to lose weight for a long period of time, you’ve no doubt tried a wide variety of diets. Take note of the different diets you’ve tried over the years. Write down the basics of each diet, what worked and what didn’t. Also, write down why you didn’t stay on the particular diet. Evaluate your experience with high carbohydrate diets. These types of diets include most low-fat and calorie controlled diets. How did you feel while on these types of diets? Were you hungry, obsessed with food or experiencing negative reactions? Or did you feel full of energy and generally good?

If you’ve had experience with low carb diets, write that down as well. Past the negative effects of the first week, how did eating low carb make you feel? Why did you stop using the low carb diet?

The answers to these questions will help you decide whether Atkins is right for you or not. If you’ve had good experiences with low-fat diets and bad experiences with other low carb diets, then Atkins is probably not for you. If other low-carb diets have worked but not without difficulty, then you may have been on the wrong type of low-carb diet and Atkins might work better. If you’ve had bad experiences with both types of diets, then you may have better success with a modified Atkins diet.

Second, evaluate the food your eat and eating behaviors.

Your food and eating behaviors can also give you a clue to whether or not Atkins is a good choice for your weight loss efforts. Carb sensitivities are indicated by a certain set of behaviors. You may be carb sensitive if you feel like eating right after you’ve finished a meal. You will also feel strong urges to eat throughout the day. You may feel dizzy, fuzzyheaded and fatigued without getting a boost from sugar or another carbohydrate. Carb sensitivity is also shown when you feel sluggish after eating. This occurs especially after you eat a meal rich in sugars and carbohydrates. If you experience these symptoms frequently, you may have carb sensitivities. Try paying close attention to how carbohydrates affect you and if you continue to experience these symptoms, try doing a low carb diet.

Your success on the Atkins diet can also be determined by your medical and family history. 

If you have any pre-diabetic symptoms, or diabetes itself, a reduced carb diet like Atkins may be right for you. Significant weight gain can also be helped by the Atkins diet. Normally, the more overweight you are, the more likely you are to have high blood pressure, high triglycerides and high blood glucose.

If any member of your family has diabetes or is significantly overweight, this can also put you at risk for these conditions. Your tendency toward these conditions on a genetic level can mark a necessity for a low carbohydrate diet like Atkins. The Atkins plan has been shown to improve weight and control blood sugar issues. If these are problems in your family history, then you may want to consider the Atkins diet.

There are a lot of good reasons to try the Atkins diet. Whether you have responded well to other low carb diets in the past or you have a medical history that warrants a controlled carbohydrate diet, the Atkins diet can meet your needs.

Permanently Master Your Weight Loss!

How to Master Your Weight Loss Permanently

Losing weight can be simple for some yet extremely difficult for others. Basically to lose your extra weight you will need to eat fewer calories than you burn. This can be done by increasing your activity level and reducing the amount of calories you eat. By doing this consistently you will lose weight. But let’s look at why weight loss is so hard for some people.

Habits Need to Be Changed.

Losing weight requires us to change our habits, and we need to accept this is a long term change of lifestyle if we want it to be successful and keep that weight off permanently. Initially you need to decide whether reaching your weight loss goals is something you can do on your own or maybe you would find it easier with the help of a support group. There are many such support groups available and you can find one in your area by looking through your local newspaper or on the internet.

The Diet Is Key, but Dieting Can Be Unappealing.

One of the problems with dieting is that many diets are unappealing which makes them hard to sustain. But there are a lot of diets around offering lots of choices and you can vary your meals enough to make them appetizing for you. Another useful tip is to eat 5 or 6 small but frequent meals during the day instead of 3 large ones.

Did you know that eating slowly can help you lose weight?  By eating slowly your brain has time to register that you are full and sends your body a message to stop before you get carried away with overeating. Remember the objective of the exercise is to be satisfied, not bursting at the seams. You can also replace some of your meals with protein shakes, but don't do this for all meals as you still need the nutrition that only whole foods can provide.

Exercise is Important, but Don't Dive in Head First.

The other component of the weight loss regime apart from diet is of course exercise. It's a common mistake when you first start a weight loss plan to jump into exercise routines like there is no tomorrow. That is not going to solve your problem. Mainly because you will burn out and give up, unless you are extremely fit to start with.

You need to work out an exercise plan that you can follow and stick with. If you are not an exercise person try starting off with something you enjoy such as walking, dancing or swimming. These are known as cardio exercises and are good for fat burning, To develop an overall plan you should consider factoring in some weight lifting routines as these replace fat with muscle.

Final Tips

Last but not least it is important to drink lots of water, and get plenty of sleep. Put these two things together with a good healthy eating and exercise plan and you are well on the way to getting rid of those unhealthy pounds.

On a final note try to remember everyone is different, and that means they will lose weight at different rates, even though they may follow exactly the same process. Don't compare yourself to someone else just continue to follow your own weight loss goals it will happen for you if you are persistent and stay focused.