The Atkins’ diet has been a craze for a couple of decades. Here’s how you can gain from it.

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All of you who are reading this article right now have definitely been on a diet at some point or the other of your lives. The battle of the bulge is an ongoing problem and we are always on the lookout for various means to win this war.

Along with exercise, our diet and nutrition also plays an important role in reducing our weight. Hence, this obsession persists in all of us to undertake some form of dieting. But going on a diet is definitely not an easy thing. What to eat and what to stay away from is always a perennial problem.

One of my friends told me that she ate the normal menu which she cooked for the family, but her weight loss recipe is “portion control.” This is a really simple diet plan. In this plan, you cut down on the portion of food you consume. For example, if you usually have two pieces of toast for breakfast, you should eat only one piece. If you normally eat two cups of rice for lunch, cut it down to one cup. In this way, you are automatically reducing your calorie intake by half.

Another popular method of dieting is to stop all intake of fatty foods and sugar. In this diet, you cut down on your oil, butter and ghee intake which automatically reduces your fat deposits.

While I was leafing through a magazine, I read about one of our Hollywood celebrities following the Atkins’ diet. This immediately aroused my curiosity about the diet. Though I have heard about the diet many times, I had no inside knowledge about it. So, I immediately set to work on it and found out certain basic facts’ about the Atkins diet which I want to share with my readers.

The Atkins’ diet made its first appearance in 1972 and was invented by its namesake, Dr Atkins. According to him, this method enables us to lose weight by inducing a change in metabolism. Our body burns both fat and carbohydrates to provide energy. If we reduce the intake of carbohydrates significantly, our body starts burning only fat to provide energy. This method is called “lipolysis”, which in turn induces ketosis. In ketosis, our body burns fat as fuel. Atkins also felt that ketosis will affect insulin production which will result in less fat being formed. And, once your body enters ketosis, your cravings for carbohydrates will reduce significantly which, in turn, will reduce your body weight.

The major difference between Atkins’ diet and other types of diet is that, while most diets restrict calorie, intake, the Atkins’ plan encourages us to eat more. While most of the diets recommend low fat, high carbohydrate intake, Atkins’ does just the opposite. Instead of carbohydrate and sugar, this diet wants us to consume plenty of fat and protein.

The core principle of the Atkins’ diet is that, by limiting carbohydrates, our body is forced to burn its stored fat, rather than carbs for fuel.

The Atkins’ diet has a four carbohydrates stage plan induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. With the help of these four stages, you can reduce as well as maintain your weight throughout your life.

Induction – phase 1: This phase lasts for two weeks, by the end of which you can obtain significant results. Another point is that, in this diet plan you can begin at any of the phase. But it is recommended to start with induction. As you cut back on your carbohydrates significantly in this phase, you will jump start your weight loss programme. In this phase, only 20 gm of carbohydrates are allowed and hence your weight loss is significant. As you drastically cut down on carbohydrates your body shifts into high gear and starts burning fat. This takes about 48 hours to occur and you may feel hungry and irritated for the first three-four days. But don’t worry, as soon as your fat starts getting converted to fuel, you will feel fit as a fiddle. Induction will strengthen your immune system and also improve our long-term health.

Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase 2: In this phase, the weight loss pace slows down as you add nutrient-rich carbohydrates to your diet. During this period, you will boost your body’s ability to burn fats as well as understand your body better. You will find the right amount of carbohydrates which you can consume and still lose weight. Your body will also prepare itself for permanent weight management. The amount of carbohydrates which you can eat is increased to 25 gm per day for the first week and increased in five gm instalment for the next few weeks. If your weight loss is significant, you can increase your carbohydrate intake. A person has to be on OWL till he or she is within three-five kg of their goal weight.

Pre-maintenance – (phase 3): Pre-maintenance is a practice run for lifetime maintenance. In this phase, you are fast approaching your target. As long as you continue to lose weight, you can increase your weekly allotment of carbohydrates by another 10 gm. You will be in this phase till you reach your goal and stay on it for one month. The ultimate goal here is to achieve a state of balance called Atkins’ Carbohydrate Equilibrium (ACE). The ACE is your individual level of carbohydrate intake wherein you neither gain nor lose weight.

Lifetime maintenance phase 4: In this phase, you have to focus on your individual ACE and strive to stay within two kg of your ideal weight for the rest of your life. By following a sensible eating plan, you gain energy, better health and confidence in yourself.

By following these four phases, you not only achieve your dream weight but are also able to maintain it throughout your life. You can learn more about this diet by reading the book, Dr Atkins’ New Diet Revolution. But, as with any other diet, this plan also has its pros and cons. The good point is that this diet recommends exercise as a vital part of the weight loss programme. Another point to be noted is that you cannot start on carbohydrates after you lose weight as this will result in your gaining back all that you have lost.

Medical experts advise that people who have gout, kidney problems, diabetes or are pregnant women should not follow this diet plan. As this diet is very stringent, do consult your doctor/dietician for proper advice.

Your dietician will provide you with a proper menu chart as to what should be eaten, in what quantities, etc, based on your eating habits and general lifestyle.

Happy dieting and hoping to see slimmer and fitter readers.

Are you sick and tired of dieting? Do you take off 2 lbs. and gain back 5? Do you get your hopes up whenever a “miracle” diet comes along, only to find out that you still cannot beat your cravings and urges?

What you need is a diet that lets you take the weight off by sitting in front of the television. Think it’s a dream? Go on and keep reading.

You have read and probably heard the information: We are getting fatter than ever before. From young child to old adult, the stats tell the tale: Obesity is a plague. Why?

There are numerous explanations, but here is one that I do not think you’ve heard: We have been programmed, hypnotized–if you will–to buy and eat more and larger portions of everything, mainly junk food, sugary soft drinks and fast food.

How did this come to pass? What could possibly have such a powerful, insidious outcome on so many millions of people? The answer is sitting in your living room. It’s your TV.

Yes, advertisers have slowly and intentionally hypnotized you. They sell their empty calories using the most powerful and effective marketing medium ever invented: television commercials.

Commercials are carefully crafted to entice and motivate. They can actually make your mouth water as you watch a sizzling steak being delivered to a table or a delectable candy bar being devoured by an overly happy, and athletic actor.

What is happening to you during these commercials? You are being hypnotized! Your mind is being programmed to want…even NEED…a candy bar of your own, right NOW!

The image on the screen is zoomed in on the candy bar so it dominates the entire television screen. You see practically every grain of processed sugar, they get so close!

And guess what? You are probably salivating right now, at this very moment, just from this description? Your mind has conjured up images that were stored deep in your unconscious when you watched television commercials long ago. Can you see how controlling the video images on television can be? Yes, they can control even your physical reactions!

If you are familiar with hypnosis, then you know that it is the alpha level of consciousness. You pass through this dream like state of mind as you fall asleep at night. And you pass through dream like state again as you awaken in the morning. Research has established that if you watch much TV, you are in this alpha state for two-thirds of your viewing time. What can you do to overcome this indoctrination?

First, of course, you could stop watching television commercials. But what about the programming that advertisers have already embedded in your unconscious? How do you eliminate it and reprogram your thoughts? Video hypnosis made you put pounds on, and video weight loss hypnosis will present your solution.

If you have read this far and you still think that I am joking, I promise you that I am not! Video lose weight hypnosis is for real and a US Patent was granted on the methodology! Here is a semi-technical explanation of why and how it works:

The average person feels cravings and oral urges for two main reasons:

A. When a man feels tense, he feels compelled to put something into his mouth because it provides relaxation and pleasure.

B. When a person pairs eating with any other behavior, the other behavior will trigger cravings and a compulsion to eat.

Let us talk about Part “B” first. Over seventy percent of the population learns much more quickly and easily by seeing, rather then by hearing. Think about it for a moment: If you experience an urge to eat or smoke when watching TV, it is because your unconscious mind recorded the video image of either food in your hand, or a cigarette in your hand, and then associated that mental picture, with the mental picture of the television. From that point on, every time that you watch TV, your unconscious mind flashes the mental image of the cigarette or food in your hand, and you experience cravings and urges.

So you have actually “programmed” your subconscious to make you feel cravings and urges as a “conditioned response” to watching television. The same thing happens when you eat when you watch a movie, or when you talk on the phone, etc.

Video weight loss hypnosis will erase the conditioned responses. It will reprogram your subconscious to have the television (or whatever) trigger unconscious images of you watching the television without eating.

When the video weight loss hypnosis makes you lose your unconscious image of food, then you will lose your cravings. When you see yourself in a behavior, you get a compulsion to generate that behavior. So with video lose weight hypnosis, you actually get a compulsion to reject food when you watch television.

But what about Part “A”? Our feelings of tension are created by our thoughts. If you think offensive thoughts, you experience tension and upset. If you think cheerful thoughts, you feel happy and pleasant.

If you think an unpleasant thought while you are doing work on your computer, your mind can associate that thought with the computer. And thereafter, when you sit down at your computer, you have a conditioned response, your mind flashes to that offensive thought and you experience the feeling of tension.

The methodologies used in video weight loss hypnosis are based on Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). This technology works based on the utilization of a person’s existing thought processes instead of post-hypnotic suggestion. With Neuro-Linguistic Programming, we use the thought processes that are creating your tension and cravings, to eliminate your tension and cravings.

Video lose weight hypnosis can program your subconscious to use offensive thoughts as a trigger for relaxing thoughts. So if you start to think of something that is offensive, your unconscious will automatically change to a relaxing thought in a millisecond. You become relaxed, so there are no feelings of tension to cause you to feel oral cravings or urges. And without an appetite to overeat, it is easy to lose weight and keep it off permanently. Medical research has proven that all of the popular diets work well. But it has also proven that most people fail with these diets because they cannot stick to them because their appetite is out of control!

(c) 2007 By Alan B. Densky. This document may be re-printed as long as it is not altered and the author’s name and clickable links are retained.

This article gives pertinent information about Dukan Diet and its side-effects

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Pierre Dukan, a French doctor and nutritionist, challenged with the case of obesity started to look for alternative ways in curing the illness. After 20 years of thorough research he published in the year 2000, a book called, “Je ne sais pas maigrir” or translated as, “I don’t know how to get slimmer.” It gained the best-seller in France after a year it has been published.
It was made a hit in UK when Kate Middleton, now the duchess of Cambridge, tried the Dukan Diet before her marriage to the beloved Prince William, she reportedly claimed a loss of two dress sizes. It also allegedly claimed to help five million French. The book is also gaining fame in the US in the year 2011 when actress/singer, Jennifer Lopez, lost pounds after her pregnancy by following this diet.
Dukan Diet: What is it? How does this work?
Dukan Diet is similar to the famous Atkins diet. Atkins and Dukan are much alike in terms of non-intake of carbs initially and do not require portion control or counting calorie consumptions. In Atkins, it requires net carbohydrate intakes and unlike Dukan, it suggests a daily intake of oats, increase water consumption and 20 minutes of everyday brisk walking. Dukan Diet adopts four phases namely: Attack, Cruise, Consolidation and Stabilization.
Four Phases of the Dukan Diet
Attack: In this starter phase, the dieter is only allowed take protein rich foods that are exquisitely low in fat. Dr. Dukan provided 72-item list of foods to be eaten, it excludes pork, lamb, poultry products and cheeses. Food should always be cooked but without adding any fat to it, it best to cook in grilling or roasting. It also requires you to eat 1 ½ tbsp. oat bran & 1.5 liters of water per day. This phase should be followed around 2-7 days or more. Results from this initial phase within 5 days may result in 4-7 lbs. loss. This phase promotes quick loss of weight since it is strictly based on a protein-only diet.
Cruise: Cruise, the second to the fourth phase of the Dukan diet scheme. During this phase dieters who were only allowed to eat protein-only foods can now alternate a 28-items of non-starchy vegetables. They may take attack phase diet for today and take non-starchy veggie diet for tomorrow, and so this phase must go on by alternating these two types of diet each day. This phase may last long enough as much as you want by reaching your desired weight and assuring 2 pounds per week loss.
Consolidation: As one achieves the desired weight, one has to go the next phase called Consolidation, this is the maintenance phase of this diet scheme where you have to prevent putting back excess pounds. The plan in this phase is less strict compared to the first two phases. During this phase you are permitted to eat protein-only and veggie diet along with a piece of low-sugar fruit, 2 slices of whole grain bread and a portion of hard cheese. In this phase you are allowed to have 1-2 serving of starchy foods and one celebration meal per week. The phase of consolidation does not expect to loss off pounds but rather it is steadily the maintenance process.
Stabilization: Stabilization is the final phase and a life-long phase of the diet scheme. In here maintenance of the life-changing diet may be a challenging and tempting. During this portion of the scheme, one is already permitted to allow any food intake that a person wants and by also sticking to the diet rule in the consolidation phase. As Pierre Dukan suggest, that staying on the phase 1 rule once a week and eat whatever you like for the rest of the week lowers the chances of regaining weight.
Pros and Cons of Dukan Diet
Pros: The fast results of this diet scheme is beneficially rewarding and motivating. It allows you to have protein and veggie meal plan diets and does not require you to count off your calorie intakes.
Cons: It is highly restrictive and can exclude healthy foods. Dieters can experience side-effects such as symptoms of headaches, nausea, lethargy, irritable and loss of concentration. Dieters may acquire halitosis (bad breath), metallic tasting mouth and strong smell in their urines. For those people who have problems with their kidneys and liver are not advised to follow this diet plan. It is not also recommended for pregnant and nursing mothers.

Views and Opinions by Health Experts on the Dukan Diet
There are lots of critics in this diet plan. Due to the restrictive type scheme of this diet, some fruits, grains and nuts which are healthy and have high amounts of vitamins and minerals that are vital to the nutrition of the body are eliminated. Keri Gans of American Dietetic Association, said that the lost amount of multivitamins that should be acquired from those restricted foods are not compensated in the Dukan diet. Experts have also criticized that experiencing such side-effects may not be healthy at all.