How the Atkins Diet Works!

Just how the Atkins diet works is actually a simple process. By following the four easy steps to the diet you will quickly see how well it works and answer the question on most peoples' minds: Does the Dr Atkins diet work?

During the first stage of the diet (Induction) dieting is exciting as you have visions of beautiful slices of prime rib, and bacon cheeseburgers (hold the bun). The key is eating foods from the prescribed list only.

By staying under 20 grams of carbohydrates per day you will experience the most rapid weight loss on the plan. This phase of the diet must last at least two weeks, but many dieters stay in this stage much longer because that is when they see the most rapid weight loss.

Losing Weight So Fast You Need To Slow It Down

Phase Two is ongoing weight loss, though at a slower pace. Many doctors prefer patients to have more gradual weight loss and phase 2 provides just that.

In Phase One you had a list of items you can eat in unlimited quantities. Phase Two requires you to begin counting your grams of carbohydrate because this phase allows more carbohydrates to be consumed.

Each week you will add 5 grams of carbohydrates to your diet (usually from vegetables). As you monitor your weight loss you will see at what carbohydrate intake level your weight loss decreases or stops entirely. That becomes your CCLL (Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing).

You stay at stage 2 (still losing weight) until you are getting very close to your goal weight then you slow it down even more and go to stage 3. Stage 3 and stage 4 are where most people make errors which either set them back or make them crash and burn where dieting may seem to feel.

On Dr Atkins diet, during Phase 3 you are training yourself and your body for how to eat properly for your life maintenance stage (phase 4). You want to slow down your weight loss to no more than 1 pound per week and diversify your menu to make it more realistic for lifetime maintenance. Now, for those of you who have been battling the bulge for years, possibly decades this may sound like sacrilege, but alas, it is not.

Once you have reached your goal weight you begin Phase 4 of lifetime maintenance. When you find yourself putting a little weight back on you can lower your carbohydrate intake, but the goal of phase four is to stay at your CCLL each and every day, by doing that you will keep your weight off.

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