What Is The Atkins Diet And How Does It Work?

The idea behind the Atkins Weight Loss Diet is to limit carbohydrate consumption.  Carbohydrates are in most foods except meat, fats and plain vegetables.  Carbs are especially found in sweet-tasting foods (including plain fruit) and starchy foods (like potatoes, bread, rice or pasta).

The idea is that by limiting carboyhydrates, you force the body to burn its stores of fat.  The chemistry is complicated, and has to do with how carbohydrates are metabolised by the liver.  The funny thing about Atkins is that on this diet you can eat as much fat as you like, but somehow (in theory) your body won't absorb it and will actually burn your fat up instead.

At least some researchers are sceptical about the whole idea.  Close observations of low-carb dieters suggests that not only do they usually cut down on carbs, they cut down on all  food intake.  Why this happens is unclear.  But effectively, they might have lost weight anyway because their calorie intake has gone down so much anyway.