Atkins Diet - Misconceptions About The Diet

Misconceptions About The Diet

Many people believe that the Atkins Diet promotes eating unlimited amounts of fatty meats and cheeses. This was allowed and promoted in early editions of the book. In the newest revision, not written by the now deceased Dr. Atkins, this is not promoted. The Atkins Diet does not impose caloric restriction, or definite limits on proteins, with Atkins saying in his book that this plan is "not a license to gorge," but rather that eating protein until satiated is promoted. The director of research and education for Atkins Nutritionals, Collette Heimowitz, has said, "The media and opponents of Atkins often sensationalise and simplify the diet as the all-the-steak-you-can-eat diet. This has never been true". However, this new approach by Atkins Nutritionals is often at odds with the earlier writings of Dr. Atkins.

A common misconception arises from confusion between the Induction Phase and rest of the diet. The rules for the induction phase have changed since the first printing of Atkin's Diet Revolution, in which all carbohydrates were counted the same. Today's version of the diet differentiates between carbohydrates, and counts only "net carbs" toward the daily total. The first two weeks of the Atkins Diet are strict, with only 20g of 'net' carbohydrates permitted per day. The Net Carbs number reflects the grams of carbohydrate that are said to significantly impact blood sugar level, and therefore, sugar alcohol carbs are not counted and neither are those in fiber when doing the newer version of the Atkins plan.

Atkins states that a dieter can safely stay at the Induction Phase for several months if the person has a lot of weight to lose. Induction, however, is merely a stage to get the body used to fat, and cure cravings for high carbohydrate foods. Gradually, through the stages of the eating plan, carbohydrate levels are raised, though carbs are still significantly below USDA norms. Once the weight-loss goal is reached, carbohydrate levels are raised again to a state of equilibrium where no weight is lost or gained, which may or may not be below USDA norms, depending on the individual's metabolism, age, and their exercise level.

Dr. Eric Westman, director of the Duke University's Lifestyle Medicine Clinic and co-author of "The New Atkins for a New You," believes low-carb or Atkins should be viable options among diets.

"The Atkins diet was labeled as a high-fat diet," Westman said in an interview with The New York Times. "We've been told over the past 40 years that fat in the diet is bad. Now we know that fat is not bad. What's happened is that there is a paradigm shift in thinking about carbohydrates, fat and protein and health."