The Atkins diet and the ketogenic diet are low-carbohydrate diets.
Thus, both are low-carb diets.
In that case, they are types of LCHF diets that have set restrictions on the amount of carbohydrates you can consume per day.
For example, the standard ketogenic diet usually contains 75% fat, 20% protein and only 5% carbohydrates.
Its main goal is to induce ketosis in its practitioners.
Ketosis is a metabolic state in which the body burns fats instead of carbohydrates.
Already in the Atkins diet, in order to begin weight loss, there is a phase called induction.
This phase, which lasts two weeks, allows the intake of only 20 grams of liquid carbohydrates a day.
After this phase, your practitioners can add more carbohydrates to the diet.
And experiment until you find an intake that works for you.
Although these diets are more restrictive, anyone can use the principles of LCHF without necessarily following specific guidelines.
Being that this flexibility to follow the LCHF style without predetermined rules is very interesting.
Because it allows different people, who react differently to these constraints, to follow approaches that are also slightly different from each other.
For example, some people only succeed when they reduce their carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams per day.
While others may consume 100 grams or more and still show good results.
The LCHF lifestyle promotes the reduction of the amount of carbohydrates you consume, replacing them with fats. The ketogenic diet and the Atkins diet are types of LCHF diets.
The LCHF Diet Can Help You Lose Weight
Several studies have demonstrated that low-carbohydrate and high-fat diets are an effective way to promote weight loss.
Being that the main factors why an LCHF diet helps people to lose weight are:
- increased satiety,
- improvement of insulin sensitivity , and
- possible increase in protein intake, and
- acceleration of fat burning.
Studies show that LCHF diets also promote the burning of abdominal fat – which is one of the most dangerous.
Because the accumulation of fat in the belly – especially around organs called visceral fat – can increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.
For example, one study compared obese adults following an LCHF diet against others who followed a low-fat diet.
After 16 weeks, the group that consumed a low-carbohydrate diet lost more body fat and more abdominal fat as well.
The LCHF diet not only increases fat loss in the short term, but also helps keep weight off.
And science proves it.
A review of studies showed that people who followed very low-carb diets (with less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day) had significantly greater weight reductions than those on low-fat diets.
Another study showed that 88% of participants who followed a ketogenic diet lost more than 10% of their initial weight.
And, a year later, they had not recovered their eliminated weight.
The LCHF diet can be a particularly useful tool for those whose weight loss goals are sabotaged by strong cravings for sweets and other carbohydrates.
One study found that participants who followed a very low-carbohydrate and high-fat diet had far less cravings for sugars and other types of carbohydrates.
When compared to participants who followed a low-fat diet.
In addition, participants who followed the diet very poor in carbohydrates and fats reported feeling less hungry overall.
Following an LCHF diet is an effective way to lose body fat, reduce carbohydrate cravings and reduce total hunger.