The Atkins Diet and Hunger Reduction

Posted by: HealthyGirl  /  Category: Weight Loss

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One of the most common, and unexpected, side effects of adhering to the Atkins diet is hunger suppression. Many followers of the diet report that the inter-meal hunger pangs they used to go through fade away very swiftly. This makes it easier to stick with the diet and keep getting slimmer. While other slimming methods have their supporters going hungry between meals, the Atkins diet offers a reduction in hunger. The Atkins diet , has potent hunger controlling effects. this is the most significant aspect of Atkins when compared to other no carb diet plans.

The main component is the level of protein in the Atkins diet. Protein, much more than carbohydrates, has the power to satisfy food cravings. If you’ve ever eaten a carb heavy meal and then felt hungry later, you know that carbohydrates dont have much staying power. Protein, , can keep you feeling full for relatively long periods of time.

One of the most effective hunger reducing foods on the Atkins diet are eggs. Eggs are a great form of fast protein. A recent study demonstarted that eating eggs for breakfast might in fact help to avoid hunger cravings throughout the rest of the day. The research involved two groups of women. The first group ate eggs for breakfast and the other had a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. The amount of calories for both breakfasts was exactly the same. The subjects mponitored what they consumed for the rest of the day and answered questions about their levels of hunger and satisfaction during the day. The results demonstrated that the women who ate the eggs for breakfast felt satisfied throughout the complete day. They had less at each following meal than the women who were in the bagel group.

Eggs have approximatley 6 grams of protein each. This helps to even out blood sugar and produces a feeling of satisfaction. Both of these factors help to curb cravings. Egg yolks also have lutein and xenazanthin. These nutrients have been shown to have impressive benefits on eye health. So its immensely important to eat the entire egg, and not just the egg white. Eggs contain choline that is important to brain functioning and memory. These nutrients are an added advantage to the appetite suppressing qualities. Its always worth including eggs in any low carb diet menus.

Broccoli and cauliflower, two of the acceptable greens on the Atkins diet, also have hunger-controlling effects. These vegetables are very filling and they help make your stomach feel full. When your stomach feels full, it will actually create a chemical response in your body. Your body will reduce its appetite because it feels that your stomach is full of high calorie foods. This will occur irrespective of what is inside your stomach. You can accomplish the same results with water and psyllium husk fiber. Both broccoli and cauliflower provide bulk in your diet and are central vegetables on the Atkins plan.

The Atkins diet concentrates on eating small protein balanced meals a couple of times per day. This will help keep your blood sugar level and avert carbohydrate cravings. With high carbohydrate diets, you are suffering the wave of carbohydrate peaks. After you eat, you feel fine and full. Then a couple of hours later, you come rapidly down and are even hungrier than you were previous to eating the carbohydrate. This cycle carries on and, over time, you end up eating more and gain weight. This is the difference between diet plans that work and those that don’t. The protein, fat and vegetable meals of the Atkins plan put your blood sugar back in balance. They provide just enough of each type of food, with a correct amount of carbohydrates (from the vegetables). The veggies offer quick carb energy, and the protein gives the meal some staying power. This combination helps to suppress your appetite.

The Atkins diet is in actual fact a craving control diet that can help suppress your appetite. If you’ve had a problem with carbohydrate cravings before, this way of eating will help control those cravings. The more you eat on the plan, the better your hunger will be managed and the less difficult it will be to stick to the diet.

How Do I Control Cravings For Food When On A Diet?

Posted by: HealthyGirl  /  Category: Weight Loss

 One of the hardest things to control when you are on a diet are food cravings. Because you are already denying yourself some foods you automatically start longing for them. And the food types we crave are always the ones that will not help you lose weight like bread, cheese, chocolate, ice cream and peanuts. So how do I control cravings for these foods when I am on a diet.

The initial tactic is to avoid contact with the wrong foods and only have good food in the house. I clear the food cupboard and fridge of anything that is going to tempt me into a food binge. This makes it difficult for the family person but the diet will be a team effort anyway so they will understand.

The second thing to do is surround yourself with permitted foods that you can freely snack. For a low GI diet you can stop your cravings with fruit and fresh vegetables. On a low carb diet like Atkins you can have small pieces of sliced ham in the fridge to munch.

The issue will be that you will not your bad cravings for the wrong food. You might be eating a fresh carrot to stop your craving but you mind is thinking about a bar of chocolate. What you have to do is train your mind to crave the good foods instead of the bad ones.

The way to do this is first of all choose your favourite fruit. Take the humble apple. Many fruits seem humdrum and ordinary like the eating apple. What I do is say to myself that It is not just an apple. I picture it as a crunchy fresh apple with a glossy red skin that has a bright sweet tangy flavour. Can you taste that apple. By envisioning your food like this repeatedly you will begin to desire and crave good foods.

To try this with another fruit imagine a mandarin. But look at it this way. This mandarin just falls out of its peel and smells of the juice that it contains. When you bite into it the mandarin juice floods your taste buds with fantastic flavour. If you really cannot stop eating the wrong food you should start training your mind in this way.