The key difference between Keto and Atkins is that the Keto diet (or ketogenic diet) has a limit on the protein intake whereas the Atkins doesn’t have a limit on the protein intake.
Keto and Atkins diets are two popular low-carb diets, which restrict the intake of carbohydrates. Furthermore, the Atkin diet has four phases whereas the Keto diet has no phases. Moreover, the first phase of Atkin is quite similar to a Keto diet.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Keto
3. What is Atkins
4. Similarities Between Keto and Atkins
5. Side by Side Comparison – Keto vs Atkins in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is a Keto Diet?
A keto diet or ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrates, high-fat diet that helps you to lose weight. It is based on consuming a specific percentage of macronutrients. This diet consists of high fats, moderate proteins and low carbohydrates.
High fats: 70-80%
Moderate protein: 20-25%
Low carbohydrates: 5-10%
The main aim of a keto diet is to get your body to burn fats as fuels, instead of carbohydrates. Our bodies usually convert carbohydrates in the food into glucose, which functions as an energy source. However, if our diet does not contain enough carbohydrates, the liver can convert fat into fatty acids and ketones. These ketones can replace glucose as an energy source. An elevated level of ketones in the body is known as ketosis.
What to Eat on a Keto Diet?
- Fish, meat and seafood
- Eggs
- Natural fat, high-fat sauces (ex: butter, coconut oil, olive oil, etc.)
- Vegetables that grow above the ground
- High-fat dairy (ex: butter, high-fat cheese and yoghurt)
Figure 01: Keto Diet
You should always avoid food that contains a lot of sugar and starch. This includes starchy food like bread, pasta, noodles, rice, and potatoes. You should also try to avoid fruits as they contain carbs. But, you can eat berries and nuts during a keto diet.
What is an Atkins Diet?
Atkins diet is a diet approach first proposed by Robert Atkins. This is also a low-carbohydrate diet based on the idea that you can lose weight while eating as much protein and fat as you want, as long as you avoid foods high in carbohydrates. This diet has four phases:
Phase 1: This phase includes extremely low carbs, preferably 20-25g carbs/daily for about 2 weeks. This kick-starts the weight loss
Phase 2: This includes moderate carbs (25-50g carbs). You can slowly reintroduce more low-carb vegetables and a small amount of fruits and nuts to the diet.
Phase 3: This includes taking in 50-80g carbs daily. This liberal intake of cabs slows down weight loss as you are reaching your goal weight.
Phase 4: This is a maintenance phase. In this phase, you can take in as many healthy carbs as your body can tolerate without regaining weight.
Figure 02: There is no limit to protein intake in an Atkins diet
During the first two phases of the diet, you have to avoid all starchy and sugary food. But in the latter phases, you can go back to eating healthy carbs.
What are the Similarities Between Keto and Atkins?
- Keto and Atkins diets are low-carb, high-fat
- The first phase of the Atkins diet is very similar to a keto diet.
- In both diets, you have to track the number of carbohydrates you take in daily.
What is the Difference Between Keto and Atkins?
Keto diet is a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet while Atkins diet is a high-protein, high-fat diet consisting of four phases. The main difference between Keto and Atkins is the limit on protein intake; in keto diet, you should limit your protein consumption to 20-25% calories, but there is no such limit in Atkins diet. In fact, you can eat as much protein and fat as you want in an Atkins diet as long as you avoid carbs.
Most importantly, Atkins diet has four phases whereas Atkins diet has none. Moreover, you have to always limit your carbs intake when you are on a Keto diet. However, in Atkins diet, carbs are slowly introduced back into the diet when you are closer to your ideal weight. Therefore, your body is not in ketosis when you are on an Atkins diet. But in Keto diet, your body is always in ketosis.
Summary – Keto vs Atkins
Keto and Atkins are two types of low carb diets that help you to reduce your weight. The difference between Keto and Atkin is that the Keto diet has a limit on protein intake whereas the Atkins diet doesn’t.
Image Courtesy:
1.”3223286″ by zuzyusa (CC0) via Pixabay
2.”Duck breast, smoked and panfried”By FotoosVanRobin from Netherlands – Duck breast, (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia