How to Follow Dr. Atkins' Four-Part Program

Video Transcript

"My name's Christine Marquette and I'm a registered dietitian with the Austin Regional Clinic and I'm going to talk to you about how to follow Dr. Atkins four-part plan. The traditional way of following Atkins diet, the first phase, is called a fourteen day induction phase and this is limiting your carbohydrates to only twenty grams per day. The second phase is actually increasing the carbohydrates, slightly, the third phase is what is referred to a pre-maintenance phase and you're adding in even more carbohydrates, and the fourth phase is what's referred to as the maintenance phase. Now a couple of notes, the first phase, twenty grams of carbohydrates, is well under what is recommended for a normal bodily function, remember, your brain actually needs carbohydrate to function. It can only use glucose as an energy source so, for most people, that means they need at least a hundred and thirty grams of carbohydrates on a daily basis. Because the induction phase restricts you to only twenty grams, your body is going to go into a state of ketosis, meaning that it's going to start breaking down fat and trying to use fat for energy. When it does this to too large of an extent, ketone body's are formed. Ketone bodies are basically waste products that result from fat being broken down, and in very high amounts, it could cause problems. A minor problem is bad breath, you may have kind of a fruity acetoned scent to your breath, you may have a metallic taste in your mouth. Long term, it could end up causing you problems with your kidney function and with your liver function. It can also cause problems with your appearance, your hair could become very dry and brittle, and may actually start falling out. So, phase one of Atkins is, generally, not recommended, it's best not to put your body into a state of ketosis. Phase two is still very low carbohydrate and is also not generally recommended. Basically, the third and fourth phases, these are a bit healthier phases, this is where you are including some more carbohydrates, focusing on things like fruits, complex carbs, whether that be brown rice or a whole grain bread or something like that. Again, you really should avoid phases one and two of the Atkins plan because it will put your body into a state of ketosis and it's not the healthiest thing for you. It also, in those two phases, you're eating a lot of saturated fat because you don't have any restrictions on meats and because you can't eat any carbohydrates, you have to eat something so it can be very bad for your healthy, over long term, so best not to follow those first two phases of the Atkins plan."