It was known as a low carb diet and it was founded by diet guru Robert Atkins. The basic concept of the diet was to first show people that obesity was caused by eating refund sugars, flowers and high fructose corn syrup. He wanted to debunk the myth that saturated fat was a bad thing to have in your diet. Trans fats that come from oils such as hydrogenated oils need to be avoided at all costs.
The traditional food pyramid was a joke to Dr Atkins who believed that the amount of carbs that the pyramid said we should consume was actually the cause of most metabolic disorders. Dr. Atkins believed that nutritional supplements and exercise were a very big part of the elements to a great diet. The diet is broken down in stages. The first stage was called Induction. During this stage, dieters were limited to a carb intake of 20 net grams per day and 12 to 15 grams had to come from salad greens and other different types of vegetables.
You could have as many meats, fishes, shellfish, poultry and eggs. But only 4 ounces of hard cheeses, salad vegetables and low carb vegetables and butter and oils. During the induction, you are not allowed to consume alcohol. You could have some caffeine. The Induction Phase was when dieters saw the most amount of weight loss, some people took it so seriously that reports of weight loss were recorded at 5 to 10 pounds per week.
Once you completed Induction, the diet would then include what they called Ongoing Weight Loss. The carb intake was increased by 2 net grams and the goal was for the dieter to control the food they were eating. Dr.Atkins incorporated rungs into the diet, each rung was a carb ladder. The rungs were vegetables, fresh dairy, nuts berries, alcohol, legumes, fruits, starchy vegetables and grains.
They then went to pre-maintenance which increases the carbs by 10 each week as the ladder is grouped. The lifetime maintenance is the next phase, which is how to learn to eat this way for a lifetime. This diet was at the height of its popularity was in 2003 and 2004. At the height of popularity, it was said that many companies suffered losses. Pasta and Rice companies took a hit and companies like Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts suffered as well. But some companies made money, like Coke and Pepsi, they came out with their versions of a carb-free soda.
The reason why so many people went on this diet was to drop weight fast and to learn a better way to live. They wanted to eat healthy but eating foods like fruits and vegetables were healthy and leaving out pasta and rice.
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