Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Wanting to Eat Less on the Atkins Diet

By Gail Jones

A very common, but nevertheless astonishing results of 'doing' the Atkins diet is appetite suppression. A lot of the followers of the plan state that the inter meal hunger pangs they used to experience just fade away and very rapidly too. This factor makes it easier to stay on the diet and keep to lose weight. While other diets leave their followers hungry between meals, the Atkins dieters receive relief from constant hunger. The Atkins diet, with its specific recommendation of foods and ingredients, has powerful appetite suppressing qualities.

The first key factor is the amount of protein in the Atkins diet. Protein, a lot so than carbohydrates, has the capability to assuage hunger pangs. If you have ever eaten a carbohydrate dense meal and then felt hungry again shortly afterwards, you know that carbohydrates don't have much lasting effect as a hunger satisfier. Protein, on the other hand, when it is combined with a small amount of healthy fats, can keep you feeling full for much longer periods of time.

One of the most sustained appetite suppressing foods in the Atkins diet is the simple egg. Eggs are a marvellous sort of quick and easy protein. A recent report revealed that having eggs for breakfast would actually keep hunger pangs at bay throughout the remainder of the day. The research concerned two groups of women. One group ate only eggs for breakfast and the other had a breakfast of bread and cream cheese.

The calorie count for both breakfasts was precisely the same. The participants kept track of what they ate the rest of the day and answered questions about their levels of hunger and satisfaction throughout the day. The results of the study showed that the women who ate the eggs for breakfast felt more satisfied throughout the entire day and they ate less at each meal than the women who were in the bread group.

Eggs contain about 6 grammes of protein each, which helps to even out blood sugar levels and produces a feeling of satisfaction. Both of these factors help to control cravings. Egg yolks also contain lutein and xenazanthin. These nutrients have been shown to have amazing effects on eye health. Therefore, it is important to consume the whole egg, and not just the white. Eggs contain choline which is important for maintaining brain function and memory. These nutrients are just an additional benefit to the appetite suppressing qualities.

Broccoli and cauliflower, two of the most recommended vegetables on the Atkins program, also have appetite-suppressing effects. These vegetables are very bulky and they help make your stomach feel full. When your stomach is full, it will actually create a chemical response in your brain. Your body will reduce its call for food because it assumes that your stomach is full of high calorie foods. This occurs regardless of what is actually in your stomach. You can achieve the same results with water and psyllium husk fibre. Both broccoli and cauliflower provide bulk in your diet and are essential vegetables for the Atkins diet.

The Atkins diet focuses on eating small, protein balanced meals a few times a day. This will help maintain your blood sugar in a stabilized state and avoid carbohydrate-induced cravings. With high carbohydrate diets, you are riding the wave of carbohydrate highs. After you have eaten, you feel great and full. Then a few hours later, you come crashing down and are hungrier than you were previous to eating the carbohydrates. This cycle continues and, over time, you will eat more and gain weight.

The protein, fat and vegetable meals of the Atkins diet put your blood sugar back in balance. They give you just enough of each sort of food, with a proper amount of carbohydrates (from the vegetables). The vegetables provide quick carbohydrate energy, and the protein gives the meal its staying power. This combination helps suppress your appetite throughout the day.

The Atkins diet is really a craving control plan that helps suppress your appetite - your desire for food or calories. If you've had a problem with carbohydrate cravings before, this new way of eating ie dieting will help regulate those cravings. The more you eat on the plan, the better your cravings will be controlled and the easier it will be to follow the diet - the more you practice the diet the easier it gets, because you won't want to eat carbohydrates all the time.

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