Did you know that the dieting industry reached $71 billion in value?
Anyone who has ever dieted can tell you how frustrating starting a new diet can be and getting lukewarm results. Saying that it’s disappointing would be the understatement of the century.
However, in all of the white noise, two diets have emerged victorious. Those are the most well-known low-carb diets, the Atkins and the keto diet. But, how do Keto vs Atkins fair against each other?
Both ask for high-carb foods, such as sweets, sugary beverages, bread, cereals, fruits, legumes, and potatoes, to be drastically reduced. Yet, while these diets are similar, yet they also have variances. Keep on reading for our full breakdown of the difference between Keto and Atkins.
What Is the Atkins Diet?
Let’s start with the basics. We’ll begin by explaining both the Atkins and Keto diets, and this way, we can properly highlight their similarities and differences.
The Atkins diet is one of the most well-known diets globally, and it’s a high-fat, low-carb, moderate-protein diet.
Even though Atkins has expanded to include several diet regimens, the original version (now known as Atkins 20) remains the most popular. It’s divided into four stages depending on your daily net carb intake (total carbohydrates minus fiber and sugar alcohols):
- Induction/Phase 1: Until you’re 15 pounds (7 kg) away from your target weight, you may eat 20–25 grams of net carbohydrates per day in this period.
- Phase 2: You should eat 25–50 grams of net carbohydrates per day throughout this phase until you’ve lost 10 pounds (5 kg) from your target weight.
- Phase 3:Your daily net carb intake increases to 50–80 grams until you’ve reached your target weight and maintained it for a month.
- Phase 4: You eat 80–100 grams of net carbohydrates per day throughout the final period to maintain your weight.
Your daily carb allowance rises as you get closer to your target weight and go through these stages, enabling you to consume a wider range of foods.
Even when you’re in Phase 4, which allows for up to 100 grams of net carbohydrates per day, you’re still eating a lot fewer carbs than most people.
Carbohydrates account for approximately half of most Americans’ daily calories, or around 250 grams if they consume 2,000 calories per day.
What Is the Keto Diet?
The keto diet, often known as the ketogenic diet, is a low-carb, moderate-protein, high-fat eating plan.
It was originally developed to help children with seizures, but researchers found it might also help other individuals.
The keto diet aims to put your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, in which it burns fat for energy rather than sugar from carbohydrates.
Your body operates on ketones in ketosis, chemicals produced when fat in your diet or fat stored in your body is broken down.
To achieve and sustain ketosis, most individuals need to restrict their overall carb consumption to 20–50 grams per day. Carbohydrates provide less than 5% of calories on the keto diet, whereas protein accounts for 10-30% and fat for 65-90%.
Some individuals use blood, urine, or breath tests to track their ketone levels. You can learn more here about the Keto diet and all its rules.
Keto vs Atkins: The Differences
Even in the last phase of the Atkins diet, both the keto and Atkins diets need carb restriction. There are, nevertheless, significant variances.
Let’s take them one factor at a time.
Restriction
The Atkins diet allows for a modest amount of protein consumption, and the keto diet is considerably more restricted than the Atkins diet in general.
Because the body may break down proteins into glucose for energy, the keto diet puts a greater focus on carb removal and limits protein sources. Fat provides the bulk of the calories in the keto diet.
At initially, the Atkins diet restricts carbohydrate intake severely, but it allows for moderate protein consumption. The Atkins diet gets more flexible as a person progresses through the phases, allowing for more carbohydrates and a wider range of foods.
Ketosis
Both the keto and Atkins diets may put you in ketosis.
Only the Atkins diet’s first — and occasionally second — phases include the carb restriction needed to sustain ketosis.
The keto diet results in continual ketosis if followed to the letter.
Long Term Viability
There are no solid, long-term studies showing that restricted, low-carb diets are healthy for lengthy periods. In reality, the reverse may be true.
Carbohydrates are found in many plant sources, including nut butters, whole grains, and legumes. As a consequence, they are severely limited in low-carbohydrate diets.
Some individuals find the Atkins diet to be a long-term viable choice. Though it begins off restricted, additional foods and carbohydrates are included as a person approaches their target weight.
The Atkins diet’s last step, or maintenance stage, may seem more bearable than the permanently restricted keto diet.
It is, however, hazardous to stay in ketosis for long periods of time. Furthermore, most individuals cannot sustain a high-fat consumption or a tight carbohydrate restriction for an extended period of time.
The Similarities of Low Carb Diets
The Atkins and keto diets both limit carbs, and the results may be comparable. The most important consequence is weight reduction.
For weight reduction, many individuals adopt the keto or Atkins diets.
Many studies have indicated that these diets may help people lose weight because the body burns fat efficiently in ketosis.
The majority of relevant research shows that a low-carb diet loses weight faster than a low-fat diet in the short term, but both diets lose weight in the long run.
Ready to Shake Up Your Diet?
We know how overwhelming it can be to start researching new diet plans and nutrition systems. One of the proven ways to make you feel more confident about your decisions is doing research.
We hope that our guide into the Keto vs Atkins debate has given you new information and helped you make better dieting decisions. And, if you’re still on the hunt for additional tips and tricks, you’ll find those all available to you in our lifestyle section.
