There are many diets that people go on and off each day. Personally, I feel that it’s really just a matter of eating healthy food and exercising. In actuality I despise the word diet used in any form other than its original meaning of what people consume daily through their daily diet. That being said, I am starting an ongoing post that explores the specifics of each diet so that at the very least people can have a somewhat comprehensive understanding of whatever diet they are currently considering.

The Atkins diet is set up with four phases that each dieter progresses through. The amounts of net carbs are increased with each phase and the type of carbs eaten will also become more diverse with each phase. This diet has a high number of both bad and good opinions, facts and reviews.

Phase One

Phase is the most difficult of the phases, it allows you to eat  no more than 20 net carbs each day. Most of the carbs during this phase should come from foundation carbs, basically healthy vegetables. This phase doesn’t allow fruits, seeds or nuts. This phase has to last two weeks though can last longer if needed.

Phase Two

Phase two allows you to add 5 more net carbs. Throughout this phase you continue to add 5 net carbs at a time until you reach a point where you quite losing weight. If you quit losing weight or are suddenly losing weight to slowly, the Atkins Diet recommends that you drop your net carbs back down by 5 net carbs.

Phase Three

Phase three takes place when you’re down to your last 10 pounds. Carbohydrates are increased so that you’re only losing less than a pound per week. This phase is said to prepare you for your final phase and teach you how to eat for the rest of your life.

Phase Four

Phase four is the final phase of the Atkins Diet and the one you’ll never come off. It’s considered to be an approach to healthy eating. All of the phases up to this phase were meant to retrain your mind and your body.

The Good

If you followed the Atkins Diet thoroughly without secretly cheating then there is in fact a good chance that you’ve learned how to eat. You have certainly lost weight at this point and have gained good health. Your diet should by now be rich in fruits, vegetables and lean meats. Congratulations you have made and have changed your eating lifestyle.

The Bad

This diet is by default designed to allow cheaters. Many people never increase their vegetable intake and get there 20 net carbs through empty calories. Their protein choices tend to be hamburger, pepperoni and yes even hotdogs. A diet like this is extremely unhealthy and set for failure, even with the lower carb intake the body eventually stops loosing due mainly to the incredibly high caloric intake. Its mere common sense, it doesn’t matter if people are only consuming 20 net carbs if they never change their eating habits and have increased their caloric intake by 1000 calories or more.

Someone who does this is cheating, any way that you look at it this is cheating. The sad part is that overall, the end result of this diet isn’t too far off from the way that I eat every day and I’m pretty healthy. Unfortunately, as with anything, some people are going to ruin a good thing, this diet has an extremely bad rep and I’m willing to bet it resulted from hundreds even thousands of cheaters.