The Atkins Diet and Appetite Suppression
One of the most common, and surprising effects of following the Atkins diet is appetite suppression. A lot of the followers of the regimen state that the inter meal hunger pangs they used to have just fade away and very rapidly too. This factor makes it easier to stay on the diet and keep losing weight. While other diets leave their followers starving between meals, the Atkins diet offers relief from constant hunger. The Atkins diet, with its specific recommendation of foods and ingredients, has powerful appetite suppressing effects.
The main factor is the amount of protein in the Atkins diet. Protein, much more so than carbohydrates, has the capability to assuage hunger pangs. If you have ever eaten a carbohydrate dense meal and then felt hungry again a few hours later, 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 long periods of time.
One of the most powerful appetite suppressant foods on the Atkins diet are eggs. Eggs are a great form of quick and easy protein. A recent study showed that eating eggs for breakfast would actually keep hunger pangs at bay throughout the remainder of the day. The study concerned two groups of women. One group ate eggs for breakfast and the other had a breakfast of buns and cream cheese.
The calorie count for both breakfasts was precisely the same. The participants kept track of what they ate for the rest of the day and answered questions about their hunger levels and satisfaction levels 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 those women who were in the buns group.
Eggs contain about 6 grammes of protein each, which helps to regulate 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 proven to have incredible 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 added benefit to the appetite suppressant qualities.
Broccoli and cauliflower, two of the most suitable vegetables on the Atkins programme, also have appetite-suppressing effects. These vegetables are very bulky and they help make your stomach feel full. When your stomach feels full, it will actually create a chemical signal in your body. Your body will reduce its appetite because it assumes that your stomach is full of high calorie foods. This will happen regardless of what is in your stomach. You can achieve the same results with water and psyllium husk fiber. Both broccoli and cauliflower provide bulk in your diet and are essential vegetables on the Atkins diet.
The Atkins diet focuses on eating small, protein packed meals a few times a day. This will help maintain your blood sugar level in a stabilized state and avoid carbohydrate-induced cravings. With high carbohydrate diets, you are riding a roller-coaster of carbohydrate highs. After you have eaten, you feel great and full. Then after a few hours, you come crashing down and are hungrier than you were previous to eating the carbohydrates. This cycle continues ad infinitum and, over time, you will eat more and more and eventually put on weight.
The protein, fat and vegetable meals provided by the Atkins plan put your blood sugar back in balance. They give you just enough of each type 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 suppresses your appetite effectively throughout the day.
The Atkins diet is actually a craving control diet that helps suppress your appetite. If you’ve had a problem with carbohydrate cravings before, this new way of eating will help control 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. Really, the longer you follow the plan, the more it works and the easier following the diet gets.
If you would like to read our personal experience of the Atkins diet, just visit Appetite Suppression of if you want to read a lot more about the The Atkins Diet click the blue link.
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