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The Second Half Of The Atkins Diet

If you have personally experienced the Atkins diet or even read about the low-carbohydrate diet plan, you will know that the program contains several phases. These phases are designed to jump start the first time dieter's fat-loss stage while identifying the individual's natural carbohydrate intake limit in order to reach the desired level of weight loss. All of this takes place very quickly during the first two phases which last for a period of four weeks or longer depending on the individual and their body type. This article explains the second half of the regimen, the maintenance portion.

The first two phases take a person from the initial weight loss phase up to the point at which they determine how many carbohydrates that person can consume while still losing weight. On average, 40 to 60 grams of carbs are acceptable amount to ingest. Dr. Atkins calls Phase 3 the Pre-Maintenance phase. By this stage of the program a dieter is now more comfortable and more knowledable about the foods he or she can and cannot eat. During this stage the dieter can increase their carbohydrate consumption by 10 grams of net carbs a day each week, potentially up to 20 to 30 grams twice a week, as long as they are still losing weight. When the weight loss stops, the daily carb intake is decreased by up to 10 grams until weight loss resumes.

Phase 4, the final phase is the Lifetime Maintenance Phase. It is at this stage that a dieter has finally reached his or hera ideal weight and is able to eat a wider selection of food. Although at this point a person still needs to to be contientious about their carbohydrate consumption and maintain an active lifestyle, they should be able to ingest up to 100 grams of net carbs per day without weight gain.

By the time he or she has attained this final phase of the Atkins program, the dieter is finally in a position to know the exact number of carbohydrates he or she can have and exactly what kinds of other foods they can eat while continuing to maintain a steady weight while enjoying the benefits of healthy eating.

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