Two of the most popular low-carb diets out there are the Atkins Diet and the Ketogenic Diet, often called Keto for short. But what exactly is the difference between Keto diet vs atkins diet? Is there one?
Both the keto and Atkins diets are low-carb, high-fat diets that aim to help you burn fat and lose weight by forcing your body to burn fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. Both have their pros and cons, but which one should you choose? Let’s take a look at how they compare.
The Atkins Diet: A Quick Overview
The Atkins diet is an example of a low-carbohydrate eating plan. You might hear it referred to as a ketogenic diet, but many people often use keto interchangeably with Atkins. Like other low-carb diets, atkins can help you shed pounds quickly—and it may even be better for some people than going keto. That said, there are pros and cons to both kinds of eating plans.
Before you start, you may want to consult your doctor to be sure that a ketogenic diet is safe for you. The Atkins plan starts with a fast induction phase that lasts two weeks. During these two weeks, individuals will consume less than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day in order to induce ketosis. Once ketosis is induced, however, dieters transition into a maintenance phase where they slowly increase their carbohydrate intake to approximately 50 grams per day. The goal of these first 14 days is to help your body enter ketosis as quickly as possible and begin using fat as an energy source.
The Ketogenic Diet: A Quick Overview
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet that helps you burn fat. It forces your body to rely on fat for energy. The amount of protein consumed is moderate, while carbohydrates are very low. This combination of macronutrients makes it possible to run your body in a state called ketosis where most cells utilize ketones instead of glucose as their primary source of fuel.
Fatty acids are broken down into ketone bodies, which your body then uses for energy. Put simply: You eat fat to burn fat. People on a keto diet often use natural fats like butter or coconut oil in place of processed foods that come in boxes or cans. The focus is usually on whole foods like meats, seafood, eggs, vegetables (including leafy greens), nuts/seeds, cheeses and healthy fats like olive oil or avocado—and you might be surprised at how easy it can be to swap out unhealthy ingredients for better ones.
Comparing The Atkins Diet To The Ketogenic Diet
The Atkins diet is a low-carb diet, but keto goes one step further by removing even more carbs. This difference makes it easier to attain ketosis, a state in which your body produces ketones that it burns for energy instead of carbohydrates. In other words, you can burn fat for fuel on both diets. So, what sets these two low-carbohydrate diets apart? One major distinction is that while Atkins includes an induction phase (in which dieters consume 20 grams of net carbs per day), many people find they can’t stick with it long term due to excessive carb cravings.
Which Low-Carb Diet Is Safer, According To Dietitians?
You can start to tell how popular a diet is by how many names people call it. The ketogenic diet, also known as keto, is currently sweeping Instagram feeds around the world, but what exactly is it? The basic idea of a keto diet is that you eat mostly fat with only moderate amounts of protein while cutting out carbohydrates entirely. It’s said to accelerate weight loss because it forces your body into a metabolic state called ketosis—where your body burns fat instead of carbs for energy.
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