The final phase of the Atkins diet plan is lifetime maintenance. This is the time to continue your new eating plan at a maintenance level and keep yourself at your goal weight. The habits you have created will now become a permanent way of life. During the third phase, pre-maintenance, you learned exactly how many carbohydrate grams your body can tolerate and still maintain your ideal weight. In this phase, youll put this approach into practice and learn to live with your ideal carb count on a daily basis.

During lifetime maintenance you will continue to expand your food selections and eat more carbohydrate grams than you did previously. Depending on your specific metabolic needs, you can eat some of the foods that you enjoyed prior to starting your weight loss program. If you do choose to eat these foods, they must be moderated and used sparingly.

Keeping your daily carb count right around your ideal carb count is the easiest way to maintain your weight loss. You weight may fluctuate by two or three pounds from time to time, but this is perfectly normal. This weight fluctuation is due to hormonal changes in your body.

During maintenance youll also learn how to overcome your previous bad habits. Losing weight and keeping it off means dealing with real-world situations. Youll develop coping strategies for stress eating, emotional eating and holiday eating. Youll also develop plans for dealing with eating out in restaurants. The challenges during the maintenance phase are many, but they can be overcome.

Its all about preparation. When youve followed the Atkins diet plan for a long time, youve learned exactly how many carbohydrate grams you can handle. Youve also learned what foods trigger carbohydrate cravings and which foods lead to binges. Youve developed coping strategies over the course of your OWL and pre-maintenance phases that you will have to use in lifetime maintenance.

To prepare yourself for lifetime maintenance, make a promise to yourself never to go back to your previous weight. Make the commitment by donating all of your fat clothes. This way, if you do start to gain more than five pounds, youll know that you have to buckle down and eat better. Also, write down in a journal or in a list format all of the benefits of being at your new, thinner size. Write about how much better you feel and how healthy you are. This will cement your new way of life into your mind and your heart.

Choose your lifetime maintenance weight goal range. This is a range of weight that is acceptable to you. For example, if your initial weight loss goal was to be 165 lbs, your lifetime maintenance goal will be 160 to 170 pounds. If your weight starts to creep up toward 170 pounds, then you know that you are being too lenient with your carbohydrate grams. Never let your weight vary more than 3 to 5 pounds in either direction.

Make a commitment to weigh yourself at least once a week. This once-a-week weigh in will give you a good idea of how you are doing on your maintenance program. Use that weekly weight as a guideline for your approach in eating for the following week.
In addition to these guidelines, make sure to continue an exercise program. Your metabolism depends entirely upon the amount of exercise that you are getting. Making the commitment to exercise goes hand in hand with the commitment to keep eating correctly.

By following these guidelines, you can make lifetime maintenance simple and easy.

Tags: Atkins, Atkins Diet, Atkins Diet Plan, Bad Habits, Binges, Carb Count, Carbohydrate Cravings, Carbohydrate Grams, Coping Strategies For Stress, Daily Basis, Eating Habits, Emotional Eating, Final Phase, food selections;, Goal Weight, Healthy Diet, Ideal Weight, Losing Weight, Maintenance Level, Maintenance Phase, Owl, Way Of Life, Weight Fluctuation, World Situations —

Sugar is everywhere you look and it might pop up in some surprising places. Did you know that most whole grain breads have at least one form of sugar in them? We have a national sweet tooth epidemic. Even if you dont eat a lot of sugary treats you may experience intense sugar cravings in the first few weeks of the Atkins diet. So many healthy carbohydrate foods have hidden sugars in them, your body may be experiencing withdrawal.

The problem with sugar is that your blood sugar is tied into your energy levels and your overall health. When your blood sugar is too low, you will experience intense cravings. High blood sugar is a result of eating high-sugar meals. When you eat concentrated sugar, your blood sugar will raise to high levels. Your pancreas thinks there is something wrong and then it secretes insulin to lower the blood sugar. As this happens more, you can create pre-diabetic conditions in your body as your pancreas becomes worn out and eventually cannot secrete insulin.

Fortunately, getting started on the Atkins diet plan can put a stop to this cycle. However, this doesnt mean that sugar cravings go away automatically. Sugar products are everywhere and temptation is sometimes hard to fight.

The best way to approach sugar cravings is with planning. If you maintain a balance of protein, fat and fiber in your daily diet you will prevent blood sugar drops that lead to sugar cravings. Also, do not go too long between meals without eating. Snacks are an important part of keeping your blood sugar stable. Have some handy snacks like cheese, nuts, seeds and boiled eggs on hand with you so you can quickly stabilize your blood sugar without turning to sweet treats.

Sugar cravings can also be a sign of a nutritional deficiency. When you are low on magnesium, you will crave chocolate and other sweets. Zinc and chromium can also stave off sugar cravings. If you arent taking a good multivitamin supplement with these minerals, start immediately. If you are and you are still experiencing cravings, consider trying additional supplements of these nutrients.

Another tactic is to brush your teeth. Many Atkins dieters find that brushing their teeth or using Listerine breath strips can help with cravings. Both methods will numb your mouth and prevent you from wanting to eat. Drinking two large glasses of water can also help eliminate cravings. If your stomach is full, then youll be less likely to reach for a sugary treat.

Sometimes out of sight, out of mind is the best approach. If you find yourself overcome with cravings while you are at home, get outside and take a walk. The distraction will have you forgetting your sugar craving in no time. Calling a friend for support or logging into an Atkins support forum can also go a long way toward preventing you from succumbing to sugar cravings.

Having a low-carb version of your favorite treat is another good idea. You are less likely to feel deprived if you can have a satisfying low carb treat. There are a wide variety of low-carb products available on the market that can beat your sweet tooth. Low-carb yogurt, chocolate, ice cream and candy can all help you stay on the Atkins plan and still get something sweet to eat.

Sugar cravings are a reality of following the Atkins plan, but the previous tips will help you overcome them and stay committed to your weight loss efforts.

Tags: Atkins Diet, Atkins Diet Plan, Boiled Eggs, Carbohydrate Foods, Chromium, Diabetic Conditions, energy levels;, Epidemic, High Blood Sugar, Insulin, Losing Weight, low-carb products;, Magnesium, Multivitamin, Multivitamin Supplement, nutritional deficiency;, Pancreas, Snacks, Sugar Cravings, sugar products;, Sweet Tooth, sweet tooth epidemic, Sweet Treats, Whole Grain, Zinc —

There is a lot of attention paid in the Atkins diet plan towards food and cooking. Its true that your food choices on the diet are of utmost importance. But a lot of people make the mistake of ignoring exercise. The newly released Atkins food pyramid shows the importance of exercise. It shows an increase in food options with increased activity. Exercise is important on the Atkins diet, and important for everyones overall health.

Exercise is beneficial to body, mind and soul. It has many major benefits, even at limited levels. It not only burns fat but it boosts your metabolism and increases circulation. Daily exercise helps your body eliminate toxins through sweat glands and lymph systems. It is especially important to all low-carb weight loss programs because it regulates blood sugar levels.

Physical exercise is essential for Atkins diet success. Without exercise, your body isnt configured to process carbohydrates successfully. Research has shown that sedentary individuals have extreme insulin reactions to even moderate amounts of carbohydrates. This means that exercise doesnt only help you lose weight, it will help you keep it off too. Exercise will teach your body how to process the carbohydrates in your diet. When you exercise regularly, youll be able to eat more carbohydrates over time because your body will use them efficiently.

There are two basic types of exercise: aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise. The best regimen combines these two forms each week.

Aerobic exercises primary goal is to increase your heart rate. This causes your body to consume more oxygen and it gives all of your cells a fresh supply of oxygen. If youve been without physical activity for a while, many of those cells have been deprived. Aerobic exercise will regenerate them and help you feel better in times when you arent exercising.

If youve been inactive for a while, it may take some time to get used to your new aerobic workouts. You may want to get some advice from your primary care doctor or a professional aerobics instructor. Make sure to start slowly to give yourself time to adjust to your new movements. Its essential that you learn how to stretch and warm up correctly in order to avoid muscle strain. Some good beginning aerobic activities include walking, golf, tennis and dancing. These activities wont cause a lot of strain on your body, but they will get your heart moving. Start slowly and set small goals for yourself. For example, if you are starting a walking program begin by walking four blocks. Then increase your training to five blocks, then six. Your body will respond well to the exerciseafter all your body was meant to move!

Anaerobic exercise includes any activity that isnt technically aerobic. Most of the exercises in this category build muscle mass. Weightlifting and strength training are examples of anaerobic exercises. Working out with weights is an important part of losing weight. As you lose fat, youll need to replace it with muscle in order to stay lean. Dont be afraid of working out with weights. You wont need to become a bodybuilder. Weight bearing exercises like isometrics and resistance training will help improve your bone density, your posture and your fat burning potential.

If an exercise program is not part of your weight loss efforts, you are setting yourself up for failure. Make a commitment to incorporating exercise into your weight loss efforts and youll see the results immediately.

Tags: Aerobic Exercise, Aerobic Exercises, Aerobic Workouts, Anaerobic Exercise, Atkins Diet, Atkins Diet Plan, Atkins Food, Atkins food pyramid;, Blood Sugar Levels, Diet Exercise, Diet Success, food choices;, food options;, food pyramid;, food;, golf;, Health Exercise, Heart Rate, Importance Of Exercise, Insulin Reactions, lymph systems;, Moderate Amounts, muscle strain, Physical Exercise, Sedentary Individuals, Sweat Glands, tennis;, Weightlifting; —

If you are interested in losing weight the Atkins Diet plan may be just what you are looking for. The theory behind this plan is to significantly lower your carb intake. When you lower your carb intake the body does not have that immediate energy to burn or store. What happens then is the body will naturally go to it’s next available source to get that energy, which is your stored fat.

The first step in the Atkins diet plan is called the induction phase. For the first two weeks your daily carb intake should be less than 20 grams per day. And no bad carbs at all. In addition, you get to eat all the protein you can handle. Lean meat, fish, shrimp, milk, cheese, and yogurt, just to name a few.

The only carbs you can eat will come from vegetables like sprouts, celery, cabbage, cucumbers and mushrooms. You get the idea, fresh vegetables taste the best. You can cook them, steam them, or eat them raw, it is all the same. This is the phase of the diet that you will see the most significant weight loss.

The second step in the diet plan is called the OWL, or the ongoing weight loss, phase. Your weight loss will slow down somewhat with this step because you will be slowly starting to increase your carb intake. Continue to stick with the good carbs, though, you do not want to mess things up now.

Adding 5 grams of carbs back in per week while you monitor your weight closely. When you reach the point when you are no longer losing 1-2 pounds per week back off the carbs a bit. This step should bring you within 10-15 pounds of your goal weight, so naturally it will take the longest.

The nest step is the pre-maintenance phase. This is the time you begin to increase your carb intake by 10 grams each week. When you hit the plateau, continue eating the exact same number of carbs for one month. Hopefully, you have decided to add some daily exercise in with this diet, too.

When the month is up add 10 more grams of carbs, if you begin to gain weight then decrease the carbs again by 10 grams per week until you begin to lose weight again. You should still be losing 1 pound per week during this phase. Make sure you are staying hydrated throughout this plan, as well. Stay away from pop, drink water or green tea.

When your reach you goal weight and enter into the maintenance phase you should be pretty well schooled on how many grams of carbs you can safely take in in one day. This is the amount you should stick with and not go over if you want to maintain your current weight. By the time you get to this point you should be at your goal weight and you can call yourself a success at using the Atkins diet plan.

Tags: Atkins, Atkins Diet Plan, Bad Carbs, Celery Cabbage, Cucumbers, Eating Habits, Fish, Fruits And Vegetables, Goal Weight, Good Carbs, Healthy Diet, Induction Phase, Lean Meat, Losing Weight, Maintenance Phase, Milk Cheese, Mushrooms, Owl, Plateau, Protein, Shrimp, Steam, Vegetables, Weight Loss —