The Atkins Personalized Diet – The Healthy Choice

You need to lose weight. Your clothes are tight: they’ve either been shrinking, or you’re growing -- and not vertically. The long, cold winter is ending (one of these days), and shorts season is close at hand (bathing suits are not far behind). You need to get into shape! What is the best program for you? The one that works without compromising your health!

Is Your “Diet” Temporary?

I’m a stickler for grammar. My mother was an English teacher, and I was brought up learning the correct usage and tense: I had to mind my P’s and Q’s. I recall my mother’s favorite expression, “look it up.” So, when I punish the sentence and say, “all diets work, and no diet works,” I’m really saying that the only “diet” that works is the one that you can stay on permanently. Use the word “diet” as it appears in the dictionary; as meaning “the way you eat,” and not the way it is commonly used -- as in, “going on a diet.” If you can change what you eat and how you live, then you can change what you weigh -- and make the change permanent. If you only change in order to lose weight and then go back to eating what you used to eat before you went on the diet -- you will return to what you looked like before.

When you restrict your calories and increase your exercise, you will lose weight. But, you’re different from me, and what works for you may not work for me. I may be someone, who cannot live without my cereal and fruit in the morning, and you may feel deprived if you can’t have your bacon and eggs. For many people, diets mean deprivation, and that’s why they don’t succeed on diets. It’s the rebound theory of weight loss. If you feel deprived because you gave up your favorite foods to lose weight, your liberation means burgers and/or bagels every day until you gain the weight back.

Two Popular Programs: Atkins and Zone

Two diets that are especially popular are the Atkins diet and the Zone diet. In nutrition circles, the Atkins diet was formerly censored as being unhealthy and unbalanced. But, recent research shows that the diet is effective in both lowering weight and blood lipids, especially lowered triglycerides. Today’s Atkins approach is away from the “diet as a verb” mentality -- and toward a program that can be maintained for life. But, lifetime maintenance means staying away from simple carbohydrates forever. Returning to eating simple carbohydrates and sugar is a recipe for regaining the weight that’s been lost.

The Atkins diet has received bad press, because, as often happens, one part of the program is emphasized, and the entire program not examined thoroughly. First of all, you are not eating just protein, which would be an unbalanced, unhealthy diet. Nor should you be avoiding all carbohydrates. The Atkins program controls carbohydrate intake significantly in the first phase, known as Induction, but even then you will be eating three cups of salad or other vegetables each day. During the first phase, you do eat a lot of both protein and healthy natural fats. The point of doing Atkins is to help people eliminate carbs that are without much nutritional value and to conquer "carb cravings." Many Americans eat too much sugar, white flour and highly processed foods and could benefit from a controlled meal plan like Atkins to get them started limiting their intake of such foods. As you progress through the four phases of Atkins, you add healthy, carbohydrate foods back a little at a time, until you discover how much nutrient-dense carbohydrate you can eat and continue to lose weight--and ultimately maintain your goal weight. As you do so, you reduce the amount of fat and protein proportionally. You don't have to eat meat on the eDiets program. You can instead choose fish and chicken.

On the Atkins program you add back small increments of healthy carbohydrate foods weekly, until you reach a level at which you are not losing at all. This helps you focus on the best carbohydrate foods: first, salad vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains, and some starchy vegetables -- then, grains, dairy and fruit. Avoiding simple sugars, white flour and fruit juices is not a bad thing, since they are the type of foods that have contributed to the drastic rise in American and world obesity.

The Zone diet focuses on healthy carbohydrate foods, eaten in combination with protein and healthy fats. The balance of fat, protein and carbohydrate is very specifically defined, as are the types and sources of each nutrient. The Zone’s author calls it a “hormonal control” program. Controlling insulin levels is the key to good health, but more important is controlling the hormones called eicosanoids, says Barry Sears, Zone diet guru. Do this by perfecting the balance of protein, carbohydrate and fat in your diet.

The Zone suggests that each meal contain 30 percent protein, 30 percent fat and 40 percent carbohydrates. The Zone is very specific about the type of carbohydrates you should eat. Like Atkins, they tell you to avoid simple carbs. For the Zone people, the glycemic index governs the type of carbohydrate and portion size recommended. Zone recommends eating small meals fairly frequently, suggesting a minimum of three meals and two snacks daily. Each meal and snack must contain a balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate. The nutrients are divided into blocks. Each block contains about 100 calories. Your diet should consist of 40 percent carbohydrate (9 grams per block), 30 percent protein (7 grams per block) and 30 percent fat (3 grams per blockThe Zone substitutions are easy to accomplish: substitute whole grains for refined and whole grain breads and cereals instead of instant and sugary ones. Try soy flour and protein powder in place of white flour and enjoy turkey, chicken or fish instead of bacon and bologna. Portion size counts in the Zone. You need to eat the right block size for your height and weight, and that should be adjusted as your needs change.

Everyone take notice: eDiets weight loss plans (as well as Zone and Atkins) recommend drinking at least eight glasses of water (8 oz. each) daily and exercise. (Drink more water if you’re exercising vigorously.) Remember, the American Diabetic Association (ADA) states that the best predictor of long-term weight loss maintenance is activity.

Did You Know

Everyone should have an annual physical. At a minimum, your physician can look into your eye, check your skin, test your reflexes and check your blood pressure in the office. Your physician can order blood tests too. If you have a family history of diabetes, have your blood sugar checked. You may request your blood cholesterol and lipids, hormone function and other blood tests. Men should have their prostate checked. Women should have an annual gynecological review. Pap smears are important for early detection of cervical cancer. You should consult with your physician or health care provider before undertaking any new diet or exercise plan -- especially if you have any pre-existing conditions, including: heart disease, kidney or renal disease or diabetes.

For more information, see how the Atkins diet works.

About The Author:

Mark Harris is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.atkins-diet-plan-n-recipes.com. Information about the Atkins diet plan and low carb cooking for long term weight loss.