The Atkins Diet And How It Works

The Atkins Diet is a very popular "low carbohydrate" weight reduction system, but it is often greatly misunderstood! Popular, yet slightly exaggerated depictions of the program portray dieters wolfing down nothing but huge portions of meat and fat. Although the diet itself may not be quite this simple, many dieters under the program have successfully lost weight and improved their health.

On this program, dieters follow a highly specific regimen based on cutting carbohydrate intake. The nutritional aspects of the plan are emphasized over exercise and other factors, although exercise is encouraged. There are 4 phases to the Atkins plan:

Induction: For the duration of this two-week phase at the beginning of the diet program, dieters can only consume up to 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. Dieters can ingest high protein foods such as meat and eggs, fats such as butter and oils, and other food with little to no carbs. Many foods containing carbohydrates are not permitted at all, including alcoholic drinks.

This initial phase is intended to help the body switch from burning carbohydrates for energy, as it usually does, into burning fat stored in the body (the state called ketosis). Most dieters begin to shed pounds during this phase.

Ongoing Weight Loss: During this stage, dieters gradually increase their carbohydrate consumption by adding 5 grams of carbohydrates into their diet each week. Dieters adjust their diet, continuing their weight loss to put themselves within 5-10 pounds of their target weight, before moving into the Pre-maintenance phase.

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

Lifetime Maintenance: For lasting results, the Atkins program is supposed to be maintained throughout the dieter's life. Using the strategies 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 starts to rise again.

Dieters who can stick to the Atkins diet are often successful in losing weight; unfortunately, many people cannot maintain the program and end up quitting early on in the initial induction phase. In general, most diets fail because dieters cannot stay committed to the plan.

Many people are unable to stay on diets because they experience strong food cravings, have problems with compulsive overeating, cannot regulate their appetites, or simply don't have motivation to lose weight. Overcoming these mental obstacles is the hardest part of losing weight.

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

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

For example, if you tend to overeat when you get bored, hypnosis can disassociate boredom from eating in your unconscious mind. Hypnosis techniques 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 eat, you will feel motivated to exercise.

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

Hypnosis can also be used to eliminate the emotional stresses that keep you from losing weight. Many overweight people hide behind their weight for emotional protection. For example, after ending a relationship, people might find themselves becoming overweight so they can avoid new relationships and avoid having to endure emotional pain again. Through hypnosis, we can turn our negative thoughts into positive ones and focus on having better health instead of becoming overwhelmed by our anxieties.

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

 

Alan B. Densky, CH is certified by the NGH. Visit the hypnotherapy website for Free hypnotherapy videos, newsletters, and downloads. He offers several ways to lose weight, including hypnosis to lose weight DVDs and weight loss hypnosis CDs.