Obesity is a growing menace in the recent times and the only effective means of countering it is by securing considerable weight loss. Otherwise one is greatly at risk of contracting various ailments like heart diseases and cancer and diabetes. While a huge number of weight loss supplements are available in the market, one of the most prevalent means of losing weight is by adopting an effective dieting regimen. It has been preached by experts that carbohydrates and fats are the major causes of excess fat accumulation within the body and therefore one’s diet should comprise of moderate proportions of carbohydrates, proteins and low on fats. However, while this is a general view, over the years different practitioners have conducted different experiments in order to reveal newer channels of dealing with obesity. The Atkins diet was formulated by Dr. Robert Atkins and it has emerged as one of the most popular and famous of the various diet programs and is a low-carbohydrate diet program. The idea of the diet was conceived by Dr. Atkins upon his reading of the Journal of the American Medical Association in the 1960s. This was followed by huge popularity of the Atkins diet program and in 1972 Dr. Atkins published a book based on his unique and effective diet program named Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution.
The Atkins diet refers to low carbohydrate diet and according to Dr. Atkins one of the major causes of obesity among the western population was due to the intake of refined carbohydrates like flour, sugar etc and he was also instrumental in pointing out that not all saturated fats were responsible for obesity; rather he suggested that trans fats which are obtained form hydrogenated oil sources are the ones which need to be avoided. He formulated the curbing of carbohydrate intake and thereby aiding the body’s metabolism to indulge in the burning of stored body fat rather than the burning of glucose. This is known as lipolysis which follows the process of ketosis. As a result of this process it was possible to burn pout much more fat and this according to Dr. Atkins provided the body with a ‘metabolic advantage’. He also prevented the consumption of ‘net carbs’ which are believed to effect blood sugar. The Atkins diet comprises of four phases inducing weight loss. These are induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. While the Atkins diet has achieved much popularity, it has also been plagued by controversies but that has not reduced its fame by any means.
Exercise and a reasonable diet is a great way to reach your weight loss goals.
