Home > The Atkins Nutritional Principles

The Atkins Nutritional Principles

^{BACK TO ATKINS APPROACH MAIN ARTICLES MENU}

By permanently adopting the Atkins Nutritional ApproachTM, you will achieve four things that will change your life.

Four Atkins Nutritional PrinciplesTM drive our efforts to help individuals achieve their health goals. These principles form the core of the Atkins Nutritional ApproachTM and are supported by a solid foundation of medical and nutritional scientific research.

1. Weight Loss

Your body burns both carbohydrates and fat as fuel for its energy needs. Carbohydrate is the first fuel to be metabolized. However, when you cut down sufficiently on your intake of carbohydrates, your body converts from the metabolic pathway of burning carbohydrate to burning fat as the primary energy source. This results in weight loss.

2. Weight Maintenance

For each individual there is a tightly regulated carbohydrate threshold below which fat burning and weight loss occurs. This is called your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing (CCLL). However, your carbohydrate intake exceeds this threshold, carbohydrate burning predominates, allowing fat to be accumulated resulting in weight gain. Each individual also has a level of carbohydrate intake at which he/she will neither gain nor lose weight. This is known as your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance (CCLM).

3. Good Health

People following an individualized controlled carbohydrate nutritional approach that includes nutrient-dense foods are more likely to meet their nutritional needs and promote good health than people following low-fat, calorie-restricted diets.

By adhering to an individualized controlled carbohydrate nutritional approach that combines food sources with vitamin and mineral supplementation as needed, you can safely achieve a nutritionally complete diet. Regular exercise is also essential for controlling weight, toning muscles and maintaining a sense of well-being.

4. Disease Prevention

By following an individualized controlled carbohydrate nutritional approach that both lowers carbohydrate intake and insulin production, people who are at high risk for or diagnosed with chronic diseases can see improvement in clinical parameters.

Our thanks to the Atkins Center for the information contained on these pages. These articles give you a basic overview of the Atkins Approach for Weight Loss and Good Health, but they are not a substitute for reading the books for the details of this plan (or the book for whatever low carb plan you choose to follow.)