The main idea behind the Atkins diet is that being in a state of ketosis helps you to burn your body fat stores for energy. Many people, including those who are on low carb diets, don’t quite understand ketosis and why it works.
Many diet plans are low calorie diets. They usually will help you to lose some weight, but some of the weight is from body fat and some of it is from lean muscle tissue. While you may look lighter on the scale, your metabolism is actually slowing down. The more muscle you lose the slower your metabolism will be. This makes losing weight even more difficult and gaining weight back even easier. Not exactly the result you are after!
The Atkins diet, on the other hand, is very low carbohydrate. It puts the body into a a state of ketosis whereby your body burns only fat, and not muscle. The main source of your energy for your body will come from body fat in the form of ketones. Your liver will convert the fat into ketones and it cannot be converted back. It will then be excreted from the body through natural means.
Ketones are actually a normal and efficient source of fuel for your body. Ketones are created in the liver from the fatty acids that result from the breakdown of your body fat. These only appear when there is an absence of glucose and sugar in your body. Following the Atkins diet, you reduce your carbohydrate intake therefore reducing the amount of glucose and sugar that is in the bloodstream. As a result, your body produces ketones for fuel. When your body is creating ketones it is called ketosis.
There is a common misconception that following a ketogenic diet like Atkins is dangerous. The truth is that being in ketosis is a completely natural state. Simply put, the body makes ketones to use as fuel in the absence of glucose. In his book, Dr. Atkins suggests using ketone-testing strips to determine your state of ketosis during dieting. These small plastic strips are held in the urine stream and contain a special chemically treated absorptive pad. The pad will change color if ketones are present in the urine. With the presence of ketones, the strip will change varying shades of pink to purple. There is a color scale on the label of the bottle that will help you determine the level of ketosis your body is in. Ketone strips also known as Ketostix are available in most pharmacies. Ketone strips will enable you to know if you are progressing correctly on the Atkins diet plan.
If you are following the Induction plan to the letter and aren’t seeing purple, don’t worry. Some people never show trace amounts of ketones or they may show just above the minimum line. As long as you are losing weight and inches then you are successfully using ketones. Another thing to remember is that if you’ve just exercised a few hours before using the strips, you may not see purple on the strip. Some Atkins followers mistakenly believe that a dark purple result on the strip means that they are losing weight faster. Actually, the darkest purple color is a sign of dehydration. It means that your urine is too concentrated and you need to drink water. Ketones come from fat in the bloodstream, whether it is fat that you eat or fat that you burn. If you eat a meal that is heavy in fat and then immediately use a testing strip, then you’ll see a dark purple result.
Use the strips as a guide, but don’t get too obsessed by the color. By reaching a state of ketosis you should succeed on Atkins. Simply put the Atkins Diet is as simple as eliminating carbohydrates from the diet. Make sure to follow the eating plan correctly and use the ketone testing strips as needed.
