7 Atkins diet misconceptions
My post yesterday got me thinking about some of the things I have heard about the Atkins diet.
I’ll address 7 of the most common misconceptions that are still around today.
1) Atkins is ultra low carb. No one can live their entire life on less than 20 grams of carbs per day.
Saying nobody can live their entire live on 20g of carbs per day is probably right. But doing that would not be the same as doing Atkins. Atkins only restricts you to 20 grams of carbs per day during the first phase of the Atkins Diet, Induction. After that you start to add more carbs again. Aside from that Atkins only counts what he called ‘net carbs’. If your food is rich in fiber than the carbs from fiber are not counted.
2) Atkins is all about eating fat food.
Atkins is all about eating good food. Fat food is part of that but not the main staple. During induction, the most strict phase of the diet you are recommended to eat 250g (9oz) of salad greens or 170g (6oz) of salad greens and 80g (3oz) of other vegetables. There is not exactly much fat in that. And at that point you are not even close to your carb limit for the day so you can have even more vegetables. Atkins actually recommended that peoplere restrict the amount of certain fat foods, like bacon and sausage, they eat.
3) On Atkins you have steak and burgers every night.
No, on Atkins steak and burgers are permitted. However, just because something is permitted does not mean you should eat it every night. Atkins also stressed the importance of vegetables and fish.
4) You’re not allowed to have fruit on Atkins
Fruit is not forbidden. It is actually recommended. Especially berries. Fruit is only forbidden during the induction phase. The first and most strict phase of the plan.
5) You can eat unlimited amounts of burgers and cheese.
No you can not. Both burgers and cheese are permitted but Atkins stressed repeatedly that this does not give you a “license to gorge”.
6) You will always be tired on the Atkins diet.
You may experience some tiredness during the first couple of days as your body switches from glucose to ketones. This is a pretty significant change and therefor requires a lot from your body. After the switch you will actually find that your energy levels stabilize and you don’t suffer from the ups and downs that you normally experience.
7) It’s a diet so like any diet you’ll gain the weight again when you stop.
Let’s have a look at the dictionary definition for diet:
di·et1 Audio Help /ˈdaɪɪt/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[dahy-it] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, -et·ed, -et·ing, adjective
–noun
1. food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health
Your diet is what you eat, every day of your life. Atkins is not meant to shed some weight and then be forgotten about. It’s meant to change your eating habits, making your diet healthier.
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