The Energy Drink Blog

Creating a culture of its own, the Atkins Diet is based on the concepts of low carbohydrate intake. When the Atkins Diet’s popularity spiked at the beginning of the millennia, approximately one in eleven adults in America were participating in the latest weight loss craze. With the population so fascinated with Atkins, many companies scrambled to market to this new weight loss craze.  

Misconceptions about the diet have put a skewed picture of the diet in the eyes of the public. To begin with some background information, the Atkins diet was formulated based on an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Dr. Robert Atkins. This diet was a response by Atkins to control the weight he gained during medical school and medical training. The diet is broken down into a four step plan that participants flow through when certain weight loss goals are met.

The Atkins Diet is broken down into a four step plan: induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance.  While the diet drastically restricts the carbohydrate intake in the induction phase, it is often overlooked that once weight loss is achieved, carbohydrate intake is gradually introduced back into the diet, thus opponents of the diet have labeled it as the “all-you-can-eat” steak” diet.

How Atkins Really Works

As previously mentioned, Atkins is a four step process. Step one, the induction phase limits carbohydrate intake to 20 net grams per day.  During this phase, unlimited amounts of shellfish, meat and eggs are allowed.  It is important to note that 15 grams of carbohydrates must come from green vegetables. With such a presence of protein and lack of carbohydrates, the appetite is also suppressed, much similar to how the appetite is suppressed with Hoodia Gordonii.

The second phase of Atkins begins once a desirable amount of weight has been lost. Ongoing weight loss, as it is know as, involves the reintroduction of foods into the diet at a slow pace. Food groups that one does not intend to eat can be eliminated altogether.

Moving along to the third stage is pre-maintenance. This is the stage where the maximum number of carbohydrates that can be consumed without gaining weight is determined. This is done by adding 5 net carbohydrates per week.

Finally the fourth stage of Atkins is maintenance. This is the stage where healthy eating has become a lifestyle. This can be done by having someenergy drinks for breakfast, and sensible dinners and snack.

While Atkins may not be the optimal solution for everyone, others have found it to be the best way to lose weight.