Popular Diets Reviewed: The New Atkins Revolution

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The Atkins diet has been around since the 1970’s but it was the re-release of the Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution over 10 years ago that generated the low-carb craze that is pervasive in our society today. According to the New Atkins Diet, people are overweight because they eat too many carbohydrate-rich foods. By restricting carbohydrates, the body will burn fat, including fat stores, for energy.

During metabolism, the body burns carbohydrates first and then moves onto fat. With the Atkins diet, there are very few carbohydrates to burn and so the body mainly burns fat and fat stores for energy. The metabolism of fat releases ketones into the body. A build up of this by-product will put the body into a ketogenic state or ketosis resulting in a decreased appetite and therefore a decrease in food intake.

A ketogenic state also occurs in people with uncontrolled diabetes and during starvation. A build up of ketones over time can disturb the body’s acid-base balance resulting in ketoacidosis, a state that has many negative side effects including muscle breakdown, nausea and headaches. It can also be fatal.

I am not going to lie; I am not a fan of the idea behind the Atkins Diet. In fact, my family refers to it as the “A word”. As a clinician who has spent countless hours teaching people with diabetes how to stay out of a ketogenic state, I can’t imagine recommending that someone do the exact opposite. While people who follow the Atkins Diet have been very successful in losing weight, in my opinion the risks far outweigh the benefits of a short-term weight loss. It is important to note that research shows that while people who follow the Atkins Diet experience weight loss, long term weight maintenance on this program is not better than any other popular diet. Despite the fact that questions about long-term safety and efficacy still exist, this one continues to be hugely popular and widely followed.

The New Atkins Diet consists of four phases, during which participants gradually increase their carbohydrate intake. However, even at it’s most liberal, the carbohydrate intake on this diet falls below the recommended amounts.

Induction
In this initial phase, which lasts 14 days, participants are limited to 20 grams of carbohydrates per day - most of these should come from salad and other non-starchy vegetables. The diet promises that this phase will jumpstart your weight loss though it warns that you may experience hunger and irritability. You are allowed to consume fish, fowl, shellfish, meat, eggs and non-starchy vegetables in unlimited quantities during this phase. Cheese and condiments are allowed in limited amounts. While transfat is not encouraged during this phase, other fat is not limited.

Ongoing Weight Loss
In this second phase you are allowed to add 5 grams of carbohydrate to your daily limit. The diet recommends staying at this level until you are within 10 pounds of your weight goal at which point you will move on to pre-maintenance.