Atkins Diet Pros and Cons

There are a lot of fad diets that hit the market every year, but standing out amongst these imitators is the Atkins Diet. It has many unique factors that help to make it the ideal diet for some folks to follow, both men and women, so that everyone can get the weight off and then keep it off. As with any diet, the Atkins eating plan has some definite pros and cons to it that may affect your decision in utilizing it for your weight loss plans. Let’s take a look at both.

The Pros of the Atkins Diet

The primary benefit of using the Atkins Diet is that you get to eat a lot of the heavier, tastier foods that are loved. Steaks, hamburgers, and other meaty favorites are a staple of this diet and encourage people to stay on it because it includes foods they love. It provides immediate results in the first week, often 10 pounds or more, because it works to eliminate all of the refined carbohydrates that are in the standard American diet. No white bread or cake or baked goods, but the trade-off is immediate results and high protein items.

As an extra bonus, you’re also staying away from many fruits and vegetables in the Atkins Diet that aren’t loved much anyway. This gives people the excuse they need to stay away from foods they don’t like. Because the diet tends to be more of a high protein option, people on the diet also tend to stay fuller longer, feeling more fulfilled.

The Cons of the Atkins Diet

The primary issue with the Atkins Diet is that it requires people to take supplements to get the nutrients that the body needs. Because you’re avoiding whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, there is a high risk of developing a vitamin deficiency over time if these vitamins aren’t added in a different way. This diet also greatly affects the levels of calcium in the body and forces people into a stage called “ketosis,” which is where the body burns fat for fuel and this can affect the kidneys negatively.

The other problem is that people on this diet really crave carbs and even though they are reintroduced later on in the diet, the cravings can be hard to control. Because the body has been so deprived of this energy maker, people who return to eating carbs tend to gain more weight back after going off of the diet. That means the Atkins lifestyle requires high levels of willpower… or means a permanent change in eating habits.

With the chance to lose over 80 pounds rather quickly, people are always looking at Atkins as a way to get the weight off and keep it off. Could the Atkins Diet be the right lifestyle choice to help you achieve your weight loss goals? Weigh the pros and cons for yourself to see if it could be the right choice to make for you.