Fasting all day doesn’t necessarily mean a free pass to overindulge come sunset.
As we are half way through the Holy Month, if you’ve overdone it on the dates here’s how to get back on track with your healthy diet for the last two weeks of Ramadan.
The experts behind the New Atkins Lifestyle diet have come up with an easy-to follow guide on how to keep up with a low carb, low sugar diet throughout Iftar and Suhour.
Read: Best Iftars And Suhours To Try In The UAE
Compared to the old Atkins Lifestyle, the New Atkins Lifestyle allows you to enjoy a wider variety of foods while gradually working in healthy carbs and Atkins snacks to stop those annoying hunger cravings.
The New Atkins Lifestyle programme offers a Ramadan twist
The New Atkins Lifestyle programme consists of four phases.
Those looking to achieve rapid initial weight loss start at Phase 1, which plans out your entire daily diet and exercise routine with the goal of switching your body from burning primarily carbs to burning primarily fat for energy.
Phase 2 consists of gradually upping your net carb intake, while slowly and safely increasing the variety in your diet. The New Atkins Lifestyle helps you to find your carb level for losing weight, and helps you to decide when to move onto Phase 3.
By Phase 3, you’ll have already learned how to take control of your appetite and your diet – so it’s time to tackle those final pounds of excess fat through testing your carb tolerance, testing your tolerance for adding additional foods, then finding your personal carb balance.
Phase 4 is all about maintenance. Now that you’ve lost the weight, it’s time to turn that diet into a lifestyle. What you learned about your body in Phase 3 carries through into Phase 4.
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How To Make Your Breaking The Fast Atkins Friendly
Atkins have also come up with a number of Ramadan specific favourites with an Atkins twist, including Parmesan crusted chicken thighs, stuffed courgettes and Atkins lasagne – the recipes of which can be found here.
Unfortunately Ramadan-wise, Atkins aren’t too fond on dates, since a date contains 5g of carbs from sugar. Alternatively, Atkins recommend a lower glycaemic fruit, such as a strawberry with a bit of cream, since the fat content of the cream will slow down the body’s insulin response.
When breaking fast, try to avoid starchy carbs like noodles, pasta, bread and foods containing white flour. The bulk of your meal should seek to involve foods containing fats such as oils, butter, avocado and olives and protein from salmon, lamb, beef, chicken, eggs and cheese.
To aid with digestion, vegetable soups are good, followed by vegetables and a protein source with a drizzle of olive oil.
Remember to take breaks between courses and to not overwhelm your digestive system.
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New Atkins Lifestyle’s meal suggestions for Iftar and Suhour include:
- Lamb stew with various vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower and green beans.
- Salmon with mixed veg.
- Vegetable soup with a side of salad drizzled with oil.
- Omelette with mushrooms, cheese and red pepper.
- Baked chicken thighs with roasted vegetables.
When breaking fast consider strawberries and cream over sugar-laden dates
Atkins Snacks:
- Smoothies including green vegetables.
- Atkins shakes.
- Full fat Greek yoghurt.
- Atkins crispbread with full fat cream cheese.
- Peanut butter.
- Avocado mashed into guacamole with crispbread.
- Hard boiled eggs.
Check Out Three New Atkins Lifestyle Diet Recipes
