The Atkins High Protein Weight Loss Diet And How It Works

The Atkins Diet is a popular "low carbohydrate" weight loss plan, but it is often greatly misrepresented! Popular, if slightly exaggerated depictions of the plan portray dieters eating nothing but huge portions of meat and fat. Although the diet itself may not be quite this simple, many people have used it to lose weight and improve their health.

On this program, dieters follow a very specific regimen based on restricted carbohydrate intake. Emphasis is placed on the nutritional aspects of the diet over exercise and other factors, although exercise is recommended. There are 4 phases to the Atkins program:

Induction: For the duration of this two-week stage at the start of the diet program, dieters can only consume up to 20 grams of carbs each day. Dieters can ingest high protein foods such as meat and poultry, fats such as oils and butter, and other foods with little to no carbs. Many foods with carbs are not allowed at all, including alcoholic beverages.

This initial phase is intended to help the body switch from burning carbs for energy, as it normally does, into burning stored fat (the state called ketosis). Most dieters begin to see natural weight loss during this stage.

Ongoing Weight Loss: During the Ongoing Weight Loss phase, dieters gradually increase their carbohydrate intake by adding 5 grams of carbs into their diet every week. Dieters adjust their diet, continuing their weight loss to put themselves within 5-10 pounds of their target weight, before transitioning into the Pre-maintenance phase.

Pre-maintenance: Dieters use this phase to find out the maximum amount of carbs they can ingest without experiencing weight gain. During this stage, dieters increase carbohydrate intake by 10 grams a week. Once dieters reach their target weight and can keep it stable for a month, they move into the Lifetime Maintenance stage.

Lifetime Maintenance: For lasting results, the Atkins program is designed to be maintained throughout the dieter's life. Using the techniques that helped the dieter reach their target weight, the dieter keeps up an eating and exercise program to stay at their goal weight. Individuals can revert to previous stages if their weight begins to rise again.

Dieters who can stick to the Atkins diet are often successful in losing weight; unfortunately, many people are unable to keep following the program and end up quitting early on in the induction stage. In general, most diet plans fail simply because dieters cannot stay committed to the plan.

Many people struggle to stay on diets because they experience strong food cravings, have problems with compulsive overeating, can't regulate their appetites, or simply do not have the motivation to lose weight. Getting over these mental obstacles is the hardest part of losing weight.

One reason why many people struggle to control their eating is because they are emotional eaters. Such people eat in response to their feelings, such as when they are bored or upset. However, this eating style programs a "conditioned response" into the unconscious mind. This means that when people experience the same emotion that made them initially overeat, they will feel compelled to overeat again and again.

Hypnosis works by helping our unconscious minds disassociate our eating habits from our emotions. To extinguish the conditioned response to overeat, a hypnosis weight loss program is used to break the link in the unconscious mind between overeating and certain "trigger" behaviors.

For instance, if you tend to overeat when you feel bored, hypnosis can disassociate boredom from eating in your unconscious mind. Hypnosis can then be used to replace the compulsion to overeat with another activity, such as exercising. That way, the next time you experience boredom, instead of having an urge to overeat, you will feel motivated to exercise.

Hypnosis is a powerful stress relieving tool as well, helping us deal with our stressful feelings and relieve tension without eating. As a relaxation tool, it calms the mind, helps you use new strategies to manage stress, and boosts your self-confidence to promote natural weight loss.

Hypnotherapy can also be used to eliminate the emotional stressors that keep you from losing weight. Many overweight people hide behind their weight for emotional protection. For instance, after a painful end to a relationship, people often find themselves becoming overweight so they can avoid relationships and avoid having to endure emotional pain again. Through hypnosis, we can think more positively and focus on improving our health instead of becoming overwhelmed by our worries.

Not only is hypnosis an ideal motivation tool, it relieves stress, extinguishes the conditioned responses that cause overeating, and can be used to overcome the mental obstacles that prevent weight loss. Hypnosis is tremendously effective at helping people stick to a diet program, such as the Atkins diet, and lose weight.

In spite of the popularity of the Atkins Diet, it is often greatly misrepresented! There are 4 phases in the Atkins plan. This article will help you decide if you would make a good candidate for this proven diet plan.

Alan B. Densky, CH is an NGH Certified Hypnotherapist. Visit his hypnosis website for Free NLP videos, newsletters, and downloads. He offers several ways to lose weight, including hypnosis for weight loss DVDs and weight loss hypnosis CDs.

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