One of the most common, but nevertheless astonishing effects of ‘doing’ the Atkins diet is appetite suppression. Many followers of the regimen report that the inter meal hunger pangs they used to experience just fade away and quite quickly too. This factor makes it a lot easier to remain on the diet and keep losing weight. While other diets have their followers hungry between meals, the Atkins dieters obtain relief from constant hunger. The Atkins diet, with its specific recommendation of foods and ingredients, has powerful appetite suppressing qualities.
The main factor is the amount of protein in the Atkins diet. Protein, more so than carbohydrates, has the capability to satiate 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 satisfied for much longer periods of time.
One of the most powerful appetite suppressing foods in the Atkins diet is the simple egg. Eggs are a marvellous form of quick and easy protein. A recent report showed that having eggs for breakfast would actually keep hunger pangs at bay throughout the remainder of the day. The research concerned two groups of women. One group ate only eggs for breakfast and the other had a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese.
The calorie count for both breakfasts was exactly 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 bagels group.
Eggs contain about 6 grams of protein each, which helps to regulate blood sugar 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. 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 additional benefit to the appetite suppressant qualities.
Broccoli and cauliflower, two of the most suitable vegetables on the Atkins diet, 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 brain. Your body will reduce its call for food because it believes that your stomach is full of high calorie foods. This occurs regardless of what is actually in your stomach. You can achieve the same results with water and psyllium husk fibre. Both broccoli and cauliflower provide bulk in your diet and are essential vegetables for the Atkins plan.
The Atkins diet focuses on eating small, protein packed meals a few times per 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 before 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 provide just enough of each type of food, with the correct 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.
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