In spite of the popularity of the Atkins Diet, it is often greatly misrepresented! Popular, but slightly exaggerated depictions of the plan portray dieters devouring nothing but vast amounts of meat and fat. Although the diet is not quite this simple, many people have used it to successfully lose weight and improve their health.
On this plan, dieters follow a very specific regimen based on restricted carbohydrate intake. The nutritional aspects of the diet are emphasized over exercise and other factors, although getting physical activity is also important to weight loss. There are 4 phases to the Atkins diet:
Induction: For the duration of this two-week stage at the beginning of the diet program, dieters can only have up to 20 grams of carbohydrates each day. Dieters can ingest high protein foods such as meat and poultry, fats such as oils and butter, and other food with little to no carbs. Many foods containing carbohydrates are not permitted at all, including alcoholic beverages.
This initial phase is intended to help the body switch from burning carbohydrates for energy, as it normally does, into burning stored up fat (the state called ketosis). Most dieters start to lose pounds during this stage.
Ongoing Weight Loss: During this stage, dieters gradually increase their intake of carbs by adding 5 grams of carbohydrates into their diet every week. Dieters fine-tune their diet, losing weight to put themselves within 5-10 pounds of their goal weight, before transitioning into the Pre-maintenance phase.
Pre-maintenance: Dieters use this stage to find out the maximum amount of carbohydrates they can ingest without experiencing weight gain. During this stage, dieters increase carb intake by 10 grams a week. Once dieters reach their target weight and can keep it stable for a month, they move into the Lifetime Maintenance stage.
Lifetime Maintenance: For lasting results, the Atkins program is supposed to be maintained throughout the dieter’s lifetime. Using the techniques that helped the dieter reach their goal weight, the dieter maintains an eating and exercise program to stay at their goal weight. Individuals can revert to previous stages if they ever start to regain weight.
Dieters who can stick to the Atkins diet are usually successful in losing weight; however, many people cannot follow the program and end up quitting early on in the initial induction stage. In general, most diets fail simply because dieters cannot stay on the plan.
Many people struggle to stay on diets because they experience strong food cravings, have problems with compulsive overeating, can’t regulate their appetites, or simply are not motivated to lose weight. Getting over these mental obstacles is the most challenging aspect of losing weight.
One reason why many people struggle to control their eating is because they are emotional eaters. Such people eat in response to their feelings, such as when they are bored or upset. However, this practice programs a “conditioned response” into the unconscious mind. This means that when individuals experience the same feelings that made them initially overeat, they will feel compelled to overeat once again.
Hypnotherapy works by helping our unconscious minds disassociate our emotions from our eating habits. To eliminate the conditioned response to overeat, a hypnosis weight loss program is used to break the bond in the unconscious mind between overeating and specific “trigger” situations.
For example, if you tend to overeat when you feel bored, hypnosis can disassociate boredom from eating in your unconscious mind. Hypnotherapy techniques can then be used to replace the urge to overeat with another activity, such as exercising. This way, the next time you suffer from boredom, instead of overeating, you will feel motivated to exercise, resulting in natural weight loss.
Hypnosis is an excellent stress relieving tool as well, helping us deal with our stressful emotions and relieve tension without eating. As a relaxation tool, it calms the mind, helps you develop strategies to manage stress, and boosts your self confidence to motivate you to lose weight.
Hypnosis can also be used to end the emotional anxieties that keep you from losing weight. Many overweight people hide behind their weight for emotional protection. For example, after ending a relationship, people often find themselves becoming overweight so they can avoid new relationships and avoid experiencing emotional pain again. Through hypnosis, we can think more positively and focus on having better health instead of becoming overwhelmed by our emotions.
Not only is hypnosis an ideal motivation tool, it relieves tension, extinguishes conditioned responses that cause overeating, and can be used to overcome many mental obstacles that prevent weight loss. Hypnosis is very effective at helping people stay on a diet plan, such as the Atkins plan, and naturally lose weight.
Alan B. Densky, CH is certified by the NGH. Visit the self-hypnosis website for Free NLP newsletters, videos, and downloads. He offers several ways to lose weight, including hypnotism to lose weight DVDs and weight loss hypnosis CDs.
– Alan Densky