Blog Layout

Keto Vs Atkins: What's The Difference?

Jan 28, 2020
Your body craves protein and fat. When the two are combined, they are the building blocks of a rockin' physique that is bursting with energy. Since the days of the cavemen, hunters have conquered beasts because they understood the important role that protein and fat have in making you feel full longer and giving you energy to go about your day. 

Carbohydrates are body figure killers and should be avoided if you are trying to lose weight. When carbs are present in your system, your body will burn them for energy instead of fat, which is counterproductive when you are trying so hard to shed a few pounds. Both the Keto Diet and Atkins Diet focus on reducing carbs and changing the way you eat so that your body will start to burn off all of the excess fat it has stored in your body. Curious to learn more about the Keto Diet and Atkins Diet? Read on as we take a deeper look at each.

What is the Keto Diet?

Developed as a special diet to treat kids with epilepsy in the 1920s, the Keto Diet blasts body fat by restricting carbs to 5% or less of your daily food intake. The Keto Diet restricts foods like beans, most fruits, grains, and processed foods due to their sugar and starch contents. It is a diet that actually calls for you to incorporate more fat into your meals - think cheese, meats, nuts, avocados, eggs, and other foods that contain healthy amounts of good fat. 

Instead of burning carbs for energy, which deplete quickly and make you hungry again soon after eating, your body gets trained to burn fat; this puts you into a state of nutritional ketosis. The Keto Diet focuses on consuming protein and fat rich foods as well as vegetables so you do not need to worry about feeling like you are starving all of the time like some other diets make you feel.

While on the Keto Diet, your body will produce ketones which will be used by your body in place of glucose. For many people the effect of ketones on your brain brings about and enhanced mental sharpness. You may feel like you are better able to concentrate and remember things while on this diet. 

What is the Atkins Diet?

The Atkins Diet is a relatively newer diet making its grand appearance in 1972. Like with the Keto Diet, the Atkins diet calls for you to focus on eating fat and protein as opposed to carbohydrates. Within the Atkins Diet, there are two variations - the Atkins 20 Diet and the Atkins 40 Diet. The Atkins 20 diet is the original plan and breaks up the diet plan into four stages. The first stage greatly limits the foods you can eat and then introduces more foods into plan as you progress through the stages. With the Atkins 40 plan, you are able to eat many more foods while you diet as long as you keep your daily carbs intake to less than 40 grams.

While on the Atkins Diet, the goal is to keep your carbs to a minimum so that your body can't use them to give you quick energy. When your body is burning sugars from carbs, it is not burning the fat in your body that gives you a bigger waistline. Like with the Keto Diet, you are training your body to burn fat instead of sugars. 

Differences Between Keto and Atkins

Both the Keto Diet and Atkins Diet rely heavily on you consuming fat and protein as a way to burn more fat and lose weight. One of the main differences between the two diets is that the Keto Diet limits carbohydrates to 20-25 grams per day to keep your body in a state of ketosis to burn fat. The initial state of the Atkins diet has this similar feature also. The Final Atkins Stage allows for up to 100 grams of carbs to be consumed per day, which will limit the amount of time a person is in ketosis. It should be noted that many keto dieters carefully measure their caloric intake from fat, protein, and carbs. Ideally they try to consume 75-80% of their daily consumption as fat. The Atkins diet does not put as heavy of an emphasis on this.  

Why Should I Choose Keto?

Not only will the Keto Diet help you get rid of fat and keep it off, but it also has many other health benefits. The Keto Diet may help prevent cancer and may compliment any treatment you may be receiving if you have cancer. It is also a good diet for those with diabetes as processed sugars are all but cut out of the diet entirely. Studies have shown The Keto Diet may help balance out the negative hormonal effects of Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) as well as possibly reducing seizure episodes in people with epilepsy.
Unlike with other diets out there, the Keto Diet keeps your appetite under control so that you are not tempted to "cheat" throughout the day. It is perfect for people with busy schedules who do not have time to read the ingredients on every food label or keep track of every calorie they consume.

If you are looking to burn fat and lose weight once and for all, try the Keto Diet. This diet is not designed to restrict your caloric intake, but to train your body to burn fat instead of sugars so that the weight naturally melts away as you go about your day. The Keto Diet offers many health benefits and it keeps your blood sugar steady. Unlike the latter phase of the Atkins Diet that keeps carbohydrates in your life, the Keto Diet says goodbye to unhealthy carbs so you can start burning your body’s natural, stored energy source which is fat.  

At The Casual Keto Doctor, our goal is to help you lose weight and live your healthiest lifestyle ever! We are the go-to source for all of your Keto related questions and resources and would love the opportunity to help you reach your potential. Listen to our podcast for more Keto tips and advice.

The words
26 Feb, 2020
A look back on the week: Work, Concert and Dining Out, Product Review: Alexia Cauliflower Risotto, Questions: Carb Cravings, Why You Get Them & How To Stop Them
Foods rich in protein, including cheese, eggs, fish, lamb, beef and chicken
25 Feb, 2020
On this week's podcast: A look back on the week: Getting back on track: carnivore diet, Product Review: Catalina Crunch Cereal and Questions: Why do I recommend 30 grams or more protein per meal?
A pill capsule opening and releasing a variety of healthy foods including salmon, coconut, greens.
17 Feb, 2020
In theory, if you follow a well-balanced, varied diet eating the keto way, you should be able to get all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs from your food. In reality, with hectic schedules, social and family commitments, and society's fast-paced lifestyles, you may not be able to get everything you need from the food you eat simply due to lack of time to shop and prepare the right foods. We are going to take a look at a comprehensive list of supplements that people who follow the keto lifestyle may find helpful to balance their diet to ensure they are getting all the nutrients their bodies need to stay healthy and strong. We will break down each supplement and discuss what benefits there are to taking them regularly and what they do for the body. Please take note that although we are listing 13 different supplements, not everyone needs all of them. It is not necessary to run out and stock up on a dozen different supplements. You may only need one or two. We suggest you evaluate the list and determine which ones address health concerns you have for yourself and which ones may help with physical issues you are currently experiencing.
post-it note with
03 Feb, 2020
We are going to look at the top 10 mistakes that people make when they are attempting to lose weight on the Keto diet.
woman holding tomatoes and peppers
22 Jan, 2020
It is very possible to follow a keto diet if you are a vegetarian and here's how you do it.
spoon full of creamy peanut butter
21 Jan, 2020
Peanut butter is a food that many keto followers want to know whether or not it is keto-approved. This post will answer all of your questions.
Keto low-carb cookie dough fat bombs
10 Jan, 2020
The keto diet is a very popular lifestyle that is well-known for helping followers lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It has also gained a reputation for its very strict dietary requirements. This leaves many concerned that they will no longer be able to indulge their sweet tooth or enjoy a treat from time-to-time. This is not the case. You've probably seen or even had fat bombs, yet many people may not really understand what they are. However, for those on the keto diet, they are an excellent way to maintain your lifestyle while treating yourself at the same time! This is your guide to fat bombs, the keto diet, and common pitfalls to avoid!
pantry shelf with jars of various foods including olives, cashews and seeds
08 Jan, 2020
Having the correct ingredients on hand to cook any delicious Keto meal is essential for staying with and enjoying your Keto diet. The following are low-carb essentials to keep in your pantry.
movie cinema
08 Jan, 2020
There is a common misconception that adopting the keto diet means giving up your favorite activities that involve junk foods. This is your ultimate guide to enjoying keto-friendly snacks at the movies!
More Posts
Share by: