Abstract
There are many different approaches to weight loss available in this country today, with varying approaches, from low-carbohydrate to low-fat or low-calorie. The Atkins diet plan is a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet which first became popular in the 1970’s, and continues to be available today. The Atkins diet focuses on the reduction of carbohydrates in the diet, with dieters being able to consume as much protein and fat as they wish, and promises an initial weight loss of one-and-a-half to three pounds per week during the initial phase of the diet. Following this phase, the Atkins diet claims that its followers will continue to lose approximately one pound per week. Low-carbohydrate diets have long been used for persons who suffer from Type II Diabetes, and studies have shown that a low-carbohydrate program such as Atkins can indeed lead to weight-loss success.
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The Atkins plan is a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet which limits the number of refined carbohydrates which a dieter consumes while allowing them to eat as much protein and fat as they desire (Gunnars, 2017). While the unlimited consumption of high-fat foods such as bacon, eggs, and cheese might seem counterintuitive to many weight-loss experts, a low-carbohydrate diet has been shown to be effective in promoting weight loss in many studies. One of the reasons that this plan and others like it are successful is that a high-protein diet has been shown to reduce the level of insulin in a dieter’s system, which is associated with promoting a feeling of satiation and fewer feelings of hunger (Eberstein, 2006; McVeigh, 2005). In other words, when a dieter consumes a large number of protein and fat calories, they are more likely to feel full than if their diet was made up primarily of complex or refined carbohydrates (Soenen, Bonomi, Lemmens, Scholte, Thijssen, van Berkum, & Westerterp-Plantenga, 2012).
The Physiological Aspects of Atkins
The Atkins plan makes the promise that as participants are allowed to eat as much high-protein and high-fat foods as they desire, they feel full and are not tempted to eat the forbidden carbohydrate-filled foods which this plan attempts to reduce in the diet (Atkins, 2017). There are no portion-size restrictions which are common in other diet plans, such as Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem; the premise behind Atkins is that the focus should be not on portion size but on food choice (Atkins, 2017). While carbohydrates seem to be filling initially, they are quickly converted to sugar in the system after being consumed, and thus a person who eats mainly carbohydrates will feel hungry again soon after eating (Atkins, 2017). In addition, the focus on eating primarily protein-rich foods in this plan leads to the majority of calories being stored in dieters’ muscles, and a reduction in calories being stored in fat (Atkins, 2017). This, according to the literature promoting the Atkins plan, helps dieters to lose most of her weight in fat, while retaining muscle mass, which is obviously the goal of most people participating in a weight-loss program.
Critique of Atkins
The benefits of a low-carbohydrate diet have been shown to be accurate in studies conducted on hospitalized Type II Diabetes suffers, who when placed on a low-carbohydrate but otherwise unrestricted diet ultimately reduced their caloric intake from approximately 3,100 calories per day to approximately 2,600 calories per day (Soenin et al., 2012). This could be because the patients were able to remain full by eating high-protein and high-fat choices, and also because besides the limitation of carbohydrates, their diets were not otherwise controlled, which helped to reduce potential psychological feelings of deprivation (Gunnars, 2017). When dieters feel that their eating options are being reduced or restricted, they might have a tendency to overeat, even if they do not experience a physical feeling of hunger (Soenin et al., 2012). Being able to eat as many calories from high-protein and high-fat foods as the dieter wishes seems to help to alleviate the feelings of deprivation which lead to this type of emotional eating (Gunnars, 2017). While initially there were some concerns that eating a large amount of high-fat foods might lead to other health problems such as heart disease and certain cancers, it was later determined that the reduction of obesity-related issues more than counter-balanced these effects (Soenin et al., 2012).
Evaluation of Atkins
Based on the existing literature concerning low-carbohydrate diets, including the Atkins plan, Atkins seems to be a legitimate weight-loss strategy for anyone who needs or wants to lose weight, whether they desire to lose 10 pounds or 100 pounds (Atkins, 2017). The initial concerns about consuming large amounts of high-fat foods seem to have been disputed by researchers, and it has also been shown that people who are allowed to consume as many of these calories as they want will naturally regulate the number of calories that they take in by reducing their overall caloric intake. Also, while people in the beginning stages of the Atkins plan are allowed almost no carbohydrates at all (<25 grams), when they have achieved their weight-loss goal, “good” carbohydrates in the form of unrefined and unprocessed carbohydrates are gradually reintroduced into their diets, which makes the program more well-balanced (Atkins, 2017). The fact that Atkins does not rely on portion control makes it easier to maintain, both at home and while eating out at restaurants. A person on this plan needs only to avoid the intake of carbohydrates, and can eat any portion of protein or fatty foods they desire, which makes decision-making about portion size unnecessary. Programs that rely on portion control are much more difficult to follow, especially when eating away from home, where a food scale is not readily available. Also, many dieters grow quickly tired of the process of weighing and measuring every portion of food that they eat, which makes the Atkins plan easier to follow and to stick to over a longer period of time (Atkins, 2017).
Based on the available evidence, it would seem that the Atkins plan would be an easy and effective way to lose weight, and the fact that Atkins now offers prepackaged meals in grocery stores makes meal choices even easier. I would both recommend this program to a client and use it myself if I desired to lose weight.
- Atkins. (2017). Retrieved from: https://www.atkins.com/
- Eberstein, J. A. (Mar 2006). Low fat, low carb or low cal? Diabetes Health, 15(3), 26-28.
- Gunnars, K. (2017). The Atkins diet: Everything you need to know (literally). Authority Nutrition. Retrieved from: https://authoritynutrition.com/atkins-diet-101/
- McVeigh, G. (Sep 2005). Why low-carb diets work. Prevention, 57(9), 73-73.
- Soenen, S., Bonomi, A. G., Lemmens, S. G. T., Scholte, J., Thijssen, M., van Berkum, F., & Westerterp-Plantenga, M. S. (Oct 2012). Relatively high-protein or ‘low-carb’ energy-restricted diets for body weight loss and body weight maintenance? Physiology & Behavior, 107(3), 374-380.
