Body for Life vs. Atkins: Which Weight Loss Plan is Best?

In this day and age one of the biggest influences people follow is diets. How are we to know though, which diets are best for us to follow and which should be left as fad diets? Here is an overview of two different diets to help you better choose which ways might be better for you and your lifestyle.

Body for Life vs. Atkins:

Both Body for Life and Atkins are based on certain types of beginning diets and purposes, both of which are very similar but on the other hand very different in some aspects. Body for Life leans towards six healthy meals leaning on the side of healthy proteins with a varied amounts of veggies to keep your body as healthy as possible while transforming your body by the use of aerobic and weight lifting exercise. From the very beginning you are expected to follow a regimented exercise program working yourself up to what 'your' max muscle exhaustion would be. It is suggest that you use protein powder supplements and protein bars to help in your weight loss aid. It is also suggested that one would keep stock in certain types of foods, such as eggs, chicken breast, fresh veggies (or frozen if that is all you can get) and oatmeal, all essential to diet part of this program. Diet is not a word though that Body for Lifers likes to use. A new permanent change of lifestyle and eating habits is what is preferred, leading one to a healthier body, for life. Many people have found themselves losing enormous amounts of weight, up to a hundred and more and transforming their bodies into sculpt, beautiful pieces of art, both muscular and slimly trim, however you want to see your body transform. It is mostly up to you on how much you lift and how often once you get into the program. Several of those who have followed this program have gone on to win national fitness and muscle championships.

Atkins on the other side of the diet spectrum leans its health aspect of its program to eating mostly proteins. At the beginning cutting all or almost all of the proteins one would eat in a day is cut out of a person's daily meals. Breads, flours, fruits and most veggies are eliminated from the beginning stages of the weight loss journey. Slowly but surely carbohydrates, breads and vegetables mostly, are introduced to one's diet after ten days to two weeks. Usually within this time a normal weight loss would be expected from five to twenty or more pounds lost during this time but many believe that a big part of this 'loss' is from water weight. Even though this type of diet is very restricted during its beginning phases and some find that it is too hard to endure such restriction all at once, those who can make it through the trial period find themselves allowing themselves more vegetables or a piece of bread to tide over their 'carbohydrate cravings'. Many people have found themselves losing a lot of weight on the Atkins diet, similar to the Body for Life, up to 100 pounds or more.

The only downfall I have seen is that if you choose to not follow this program and start adding a lot more carbohydrates to their diet, much of the weight lost can come back quickly, plus some. Although exercise is not something that is emphasized at first with the Atkins diet, it is suggested that once the beginning phase is over, for the dieter to start some type of program, even if it is only a walking regiment, to aid in the weight loss goals. Some people have been following this program for a very long time and if followed RIGHT then it can be fairly safe and if nothing else can help, then this one can. Fair warning though; if you eat a lot of bread and potatoes and drink a lot of soda before going on the Atkins program, this program will be very hard for you to stick with. Carbohydrate addiction is a very strong addiction and unless you have a will power of steel, you may struggle and /or fall.