Diets In The News – Atkins, Low G.I.

The types of food and the quantities consumed are both prevalent factors in people’s diets and in an age where health and size are primary concerns, it’s no surprise to see new types of diets like Atkins and Low G.I. continually pop up in the news.

Low GI

The latter of the two refers to the Glycaemic Index which is a method of rating carbohydrate foods in order to measure the affect they have on our body’s blood sugar levels. Foods with a low G.I. should help you sustain your energy, leaving it far less likely you’ll turn to snacking. This diet, contrary to normal fads, is actually one that is endorsed by many dieticians and nutritionists.

Atkins

The Atkins diet is another which rose in popularity of late. The basic premise is that you are allowed to eat as much of any food you like, as long as it does not contain carbohydrates. The idea is that by eating foods high in protein and fat like meat, cheese and eggs, while at the same time avoiding bread, pasta and other foods high in carbohydrates, you should be able to more easily lose weight due to a change of metabolism.

Four Phases

There are four phases of which the first is ‘Induction’, where you stringently limit your carb intake and you body changes to burning fat. The second, ‘Ongoing weight loss’, is a process of gradually increasing your intake until you’ve identified the maximum you can eat to enable you to achieve your target weight. The last two phases, ‘Pre-maintenance’ and ‘Lifetime Maintenance’ gradually allow you to increase your carbohydrate intake until you reach a sustainable amount which you can, in principal, follow for life.