The Atkins diet has to be one of the most well known, highly publicised weight loss programs out there - with many high-profile celebrities such as Hallie Berrie and Jennifer Anniston notably claiming weight loss and health benefits from this diet.
But in the main, the Atkins illusion is one that quickly falls apart once you get started.
Let's start by taking a closer look at the premise behind this program.
The main theory in Atkins is that you restrict your carb intake to almost zero, and boost your protein intake.
This forces your body to change its chemistry so that, instead of burning carbs for energy, it instead uses "ketosis" - burning protein to generate energy.
In the process, the "easy" energy stored in your body's fat reserves is quickly consumed and with this new metabolism in place, any future addition weight gain will also be eliminated, as long as you maintain the high protein, low carb regime.
Sounds great - and I certainly went for it when I first heard about it! After all - I like nothing better than a good steak - I'd rather have fries with it, but the steak's the main thing, so what could be hard about a diet based on protein?? The truth is - a LOT is hard about this diet, which is part of the reason the Atkins illusion fades so quickly.
First off - it is HARD to force your body into ketosis - you effectively have to starve your body of carbs for several days before your metabolism becomes effective at burning protein instead.
During those few days, you feel faint - VERY faint at times - as this is a massive shock to your system.
Then, once you DO finally get ketosis going, it is a fragile state - one slip back into "carb-land" and you have to start all over again.
Next - if you do maintain this strict diet - and I recommend employing a full time, imaginative chef to keep you interested in a high protein diet like this - even the finest steak gets old after a while, and I still can't look at eggs in the same way, even 4 years after my Atkins run! But if you DO stick with this diet - there are several studies out there suggesting that there are long term health issues, such as bone damage from calcium loss and LDL cholesterol issues from high meat consumption.
Finally - this is a REALLY tough diet to stick to! Assuming our celebrity friends are being truthful, the feeling once you get into the zone is quite incredible, but the journey to get there is a brutal one.
I already mentioned the faintness - there is also nausea and the infamous "keto-breath" - all of which last long enough for you to cheat.
And once you cheat, you are back to square one with getting that ketosis established.
You have got to be very strong-willed to make this one work! This is the biggest problem with the Atkins illusion - it is NOT as easy as you might think! Maybe it's that "strong-willed" thing that kept me from being successful, but the more I read about the Atkins diet and the tendency of the body to go back to carbs at the slightest excuse, the more I am convinced that ketosis is NOT a natural process! Sure - your body may well be able to operate in ketosis for long periods of time in order to survive - the body is a marvellous machine! But you can run your Ferrari on low grade gasoline for quite a long time too - just don't be surprised if it falls apart on you...
Maybe that's not a fair comparison, but the fact remains that Atkins is an extreme diet plan - the Atkins illusion of superb health cannot be realised with an extreme diet - your body needs a balanced diet to operate at its best, and that includes the dreaded carbs! If you want to have a healthy, sustainable weight loss, then you need a program that balances everything - your calorie intake, your calorie burn AND the amount of protein, vitamins, fiber and so on that you take each day!