As soon as your body’s glucose reserves are exhausted, it must burn fat since carbohydrates readily convert to glucose.
You might assume the keto diet and Atkins are very similar because both diets place a strong emphasis on limiting carbohydrates. However, there are significant distinctions between the two. If you’re thinking about switching to a low-carb diet, here are some things to know about each one.
How the Atkins Diet Works: An Overview
Robert Atkins, a cardiologist, established the Atkins diet in 1972, and it has since gained and lost popularity. There are four phases to the original diet (now known as Atkins 20). The diet begins with its strictest set of guidelines during its first phase.
On the Atkins diet, protein and fat are permitted, however, the first phase strictly prohibits carbs over 20 to 25 grams (g) of net carbs (total carbs minus fiber). These carbohydrates come from cheese, nuts, seeds, and vegetables. This change in carb intake will cause your body to respond swiftly.
According to Armstrong, you will probably enter ketosis during the first phase of the diet if you limit your daily carb intake to between 20 and 25 g and don’t consume too much protein. However, a high protein diet can hinder ketosis. You will remain in this stage until you are approximately 15 pounds (lb) from your target weight.
Phase two doubles the daily carbohydrate allowance from 25 to 50 g and includes extras such yogurt, cottage cheese, and blueberries. You’ll remain in this position until you’re around 10 lbs from your target.
In the third phase, you’ll climb to between 50 and 80 g of net carbs while you search for the ideal carbohydrate intake range that won’t cause your weight reduction to plateau. To determine the number of carbohydrates that may be ingested again without causing weight gain, Michelle Jaelin, RD, a nutritionist located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, writes for NutritionArtist.com. “It is done carefully, realistically, with some trial and error,” she says.
Phase four, lifelong maintenance, will be necessary when you have figured that out and have kept it up for a month. The goal of this portion of the diet is to maintain the routines established during phase three. Up to 100 g of carbohydrates per day are permitted as long as the weight doesn’t start to creep back up.
How the Ketogenic Diet Works: An Overview
The ketogenic diet, sometimes known as the “keto” diet, advocates one type of eating throughout the entire diet, in contrast to the Atkins diet’s multiphase strategy. You should reduce your daily consumption of carbohydrates to roughly 5%; for example, 100 of your daily 2,000 calories should come from carbohydrates.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, since carbohydrates provide around 4 calories per gram, you should keep your daily carbohydrate intake to no more than 25 grams, or about the amount in 34 cups of cooked white rice (USDA). Your remaining calories will be composed primarily of fat (75%) and protein (20%).
You will enter ketosis after eating this way for a few days, which you can observe with keto pee strips if you like.
According to Armstrong, this form of glucose fasting was initially created in the 1920s as a strategy to treat epileptic youngsters. An increasing corpus of research indicates that the keto diet may also be beneficial for adults with epilepsy.
According to one meta-analysis, the keto diet reduced the frequency of seizures for roughly 53% of patients with intractable epilepsy (epilepsy that is uncontrollable by medication). Before making any dietary changes if you have epilepsy, be sure to consult your doctor.
But when it was connected to weight loss, the keto diet truly took off. Many individuals without a history of seizures started experimenting with the keto diet, and evidence suggests that, initially, it can be helpful for weight loss. According to a study in Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, people who followed the ketogenic diet for 10 weeks saw significant improvements in their body mass index, body fat percentage, and weight (BMI). But it can be hard to keep off the weight loss. While the keto diet does result in more weight reduction than a low-fat diet, previous studies have shown that weight loss typically peaks at five months and isn’t maintained after that.
The ketogenic diet also has some well-known negative effects. Because so much water is lost during the first few days to a week of ketosis, Armstrong notes that headaches, lethargy, and nausea are frequently mentioned as adverse effects. These are collectively referred to as “the keto flu.”
Similar to other restrictive diets, keto can result in vitamin and mineral shortages. According to a review that was published in July 2021 in Frontiers in Nutrition, those who follow the ketogenic diet are still at risk of deficiency in fiber, vitamin K, linolenic acid, and water-soluble vitamins unless they take supplements.
The same review also discovered a link between persistent ketosis and an elevated risk of heart disease. This could be a result of the keto diet’s focus on saturated fats, which have long been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
A comprehensive review and meta-analysis published in June 2021 in Diseases discovered additional studies linking keto to an elevated risk of kidney stones.
Similarities Between the Keto and Atkins Diets
Both the keto and Atkins diets are low-carb diets, and weight reduction will probably result if they are rigorously adhered to. Armstrong believes that in the beginning, you will primarily lose water weight since carbohydrates hold onto water. Once you resume eating properly, you might regain a lot of that. Fat burning slows down and water weight is acquired if ketosis is not maintained, according to Armstrong. According to prior studies, those who followed the Atkins diet lost a modest amount of weight (4.6 to 10.3 lbs) after a year, albeit some of the weight was recovered by the end of the second year.
Neither diet necessitates calorie counting, but you must keep track of the number of carbohydrates you consume. You must also adhere to the proper ratios of calories from protein and fat when on the ketogenic diet.
These diets also have the traits of being fairly restricted and challenging to follow. The Atkins diet receives a score of 2 out of 5 for “easily followed,” whereas the ketogenic diet receives a score of 1.9.
How Keto Diet and the Atkins Diet Differ
The amount of protein you are permitted to consume differs significantly between the keto diet and the Atkins diet. Atkins has no upper limit, however, the ketogenic diet restricts protein to around 20% of daily calories.
The body must remain in ketosis during the whole ketogenic diet, whereas ketosis only matters during phases one and maybe two of the Atkins diet and isn’t always guaranteed depending on how much protein you consume. Carbs are gradually reintroduced on the Atkins diet, but they are strictly controlled on the keto diet.
Because Atkins is less stringent and doesn’t need you to make sure your body stays in ketosis, it may be more maintainable in the long run. Additionally, according to the Atkins website, you can ultimately reintroduce healthy meals like quinoa, oats, and fruit.
Which Low-Carb Diet Is Safer, According to Dietitians?
According to Jaelin, those with diabetes, heart disease, or kidney illness shouldn’t follow either of these diets. However, she claims that both diets can be safe if followed for a brief length of time without any of those chronic problems. A1C and triglyceride levels can both be decreased and “good” HDL cholesterol levels can be increased with a low-carb diet, according to a prior study.
Low-carb diets’ long-term safety is somewhat debatable. Jaelin believes that’s because trials with low-carb diets had significant dropout rates. Up to 84 percent of people who try the ketogenic diet quit, according to prior research.
Atkins allows you to gradually add carbohydrates back into your diet and has been associated to less negative effects than the keto diet, making it potentially easier to follow for the long term. The keto diet is more stringent and less nutritionally balanced because it was not designed as a weight-loss program.
Jaelin and Armstrong advise consulting a doctor or dietician first if you’re thinking about trying one of these diets.
