Wanting to Eat Less on the Atkins Diet

One of the most common, and unexpected effects of ‘doing’ the Atkins diet is appetite suppression. A lot of the followers of the plan report that the inter meal hunger pangs they used to experience just fade away and very rapidly too. This factor makes it a lot easier to stay on the diet and keep losing weight. While other diets leave their followers hungry between meals, the Atkins dieters receive relief from constant hunger. The Atkins diet, with its specific recommendation of foods and ingredients, has powerful appetite suppressing effects.

The first key factor is the amount of protein in the Atkins diet. Protein, more so than carbohydrates, has the capability to assuage hunger. If you’ve ever eaten a carbohydrate heavy meal and then felt hungry afterwards, you know that carbohydrates don’t have much staying power as a satisfier. Protein, on the other hand, when combined with a small amount of healthy fats, can keep you feeling full for much longer periods of time.

One of the most sustained appetite suppressant foods in the Atkins diet are eggs. Eggs are a great sort of quick and easy protein. A recent report showed that eating eggs for breakfast would actually keep hunger pangs at bay throughout the rest of the day. The research concerned two groups of women. One group ate eggs for breakfast and the other had a breakfast of bread and cream cheese.

The calorie count for both types of breakfasts was precisely the same. The subjects kept track of what they ate for the remainder of the day and answered questions about their hunger and satisfaction levels throughout the day. The results of the study revealed 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 even out blood sugar and produces a feeling of satisfaction. Both of these factors help to curb cravings. Egg yolks also contain lutein and xenazanthin. These nutrients have been shown to have incredible effects on eye health. So it’s important to eat 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 program, also have appetite-suppressing effects. These vegetables are very bulky and they help make your stomach feel full. When your stomach is full, it will actually create a chemical response in your body. Your body will reduce its call for food because it believes 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 plan.

The Atkins diet focuses on eating small, protein balanced meals a few times per day. This will help maintain your blood sugar in a stabilized state and avoid carbohydrate-induced cravings. With high carbohydrate diets, you are riding the wave of carbohydrate highs. After you have eaten, you feel great and full. Then a few hours later, you come crashing down and are hungrier than you were prior to eating the carbohydrates. This cycle continues and, over time, you will eat more and put on weight.

The protein, fat and vegetable meals of the Atkins diet put your blood sugar back in balance. They provide just enough of each sort of food, with a proper amount of carbohydrates (from the vegetables). The vegetables provide quick carbohydrate energy, and the protein gives the meal its sustainability. This combination suppresses your appetite effectively throughout the day.

The Atkins diet is really a craving control plan that helps suppress your appetite – your desire for food or calories. If you’ve had a problem with carbohydrate cravings before, this new way of eating ie dieting will help control those desires. The more you eat on the plan, the better your cravings will be controlled and the easier it will be to follow the diet – the more you practice the diet the easier it gets, because you won’t want to eat carbohydrates all the time.