The Atkins Diet and You: How Much Carbs Should You Consume?

A low carb diet has been ever getting popular with many dieters today. It seems that a lot of them thinks that it is fairly easy to start going on and maintaining a low carb diet than following a low calorie diet program. Except maybe for the first few days where one will be experiencing some tiredness and occasional headaches because of the body getting used to the changes taking place, that’s as far as the difficulty that they are going to face while on a low carb diet. This feeling of tiredness is due to the fact that the body is experiencing a dwindling supply of carbohydrates, the body’s primary energy source.

As you might well know, the low carb diet works by restricting the intake of carbohydrates while replacing it with a high protein, high fat diet. Under normal conditions, carbohydrates are the main energy source that the body uses for its day to day functions. It is the primary substance that the body will burn in order to convert it into energy being used by the body in order to perform its daily tasks.

But once it gets scarce, the body will turn to burning body fat as the energy source next in line. Burning fat for fuel in the body will trigger the weight loss experienced by low carb dieters. As you might also know that excess weight in the body comes in the form of body fat, it is understood that getting rid of it will make one lose a substantial amount of weight.

In order to get the most out of a low carb diet like the Atkins Diet, consuming the least number of carbs allowable daily. And that number of carbs in a low carb diet has been safely put at 20 grams or less daily. This is especially very important in the induction or starting phase of the low carb Atkins Diet. It is this time that will prove vital into the success of the diet regimen. One must try to stick to it in the first 2 days even though the dieter may feel something unpleasant in that first 2 days. It is during this time that the dieter may feel tiredness along with some headaches. This is happening because the body thinks that it is being starved of its energy source.

It is the body’s reaction to having its primary energy source depleting little by little. Some cravings for sugar, a form of carbohydrate, will also be felt. This is just normal because the body has grown accustomed to eating loads and loads of carbs and sugar daily. All these will happen for about 2 days. In those 2 days, one is just trying to use up the remaining amount of carbs naturally stored in the body. That is the maximum amount that a human body can store without any replenishment.

As the body is faced with a depleted carbohydrate supply, the body will turn into using the next available fuel as its energy source, body fat. As the body has switched gears to burning fat as energy, cravings for carbohydrates as well as sugar will vanish. So will the headaches and the tiredness felt in those first 2 days. As the body continues to burn fat as energy, excess weight in the form of body fat is slowly dissolving and one begins to lose weight.

As the dieter continues to maintain his 20 gram consumption of carbs for 2 weeks while eating high protein and high fat foods, he will continue to lose some weight. In these 2 weeks, it is normal for one to achieve weight loss form about 5 to 14 pounds. And the weight loss can still be achieved as long as the fat burning process is ongoing and carb intake is being kept to a minimum.