Phases of the Atkins diet
The Atkins diet is done gradually over a long period of time. It generally goes through four phases as follows:
- Induction: You are supposed to consume from 20-25 grams of carbs per day for two weeks,but for no later than when you lose 15 pounds from your goal weight. In this phase you can have as much fat and protein as you wish to start the weight losing process. So you can start switching your metabolism more towards fat burning and using fat as the main source of fuel and not carbs. You can have foundation vegetables, proteins ,healthy fats and cheeses.
- Balancing : then you can gradually increase the carb content to 25-50 grams per day and add more fruits and vegetables that are low in carbs and consume more nuts that have high fat content.You can have the same sorts of food as in induction with added berries , cherries , legumes , tomato juice and dairy products.
- Fine tuning :you are close to reaching your goal weight you can then start adding more carbs back into the diet to stop losing weight you are allowed about 50_80 grams of carbs per day. You can have the same food as in induction and maintenance with the addition of starchy veggies and fruits and slowly more whole grains.
- Maintenance:you are free to eat what you wish as you will not regain any of the weight back as long as your daily carbs content does not exceed 100 grams per day.
And throughout the phases you will be able to find your own personal carbohydrate balance that maintains your weight and prevents you gaining more pounds. It will also help you distinguish hunger from habit and make it easier for you to feel full earlier in the meal. You also learn the right types of snacks to have and when to cut back on your carb intake which will help you decrease your risk for chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases.
