NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES

THE AUSTRALIAN DIETARY GUIDELINES

Guideline 1: “to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and choose amounts of nutritious food and drinks to meet your energy needs” (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2013, p. 6).

Atkins dieters, be mindful of consuming nutritious food to meet your energy requirements. Remember to exercise too! 

Guideline 2: “enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from these five food groups every day: vegetables, fruit, grain foods, leans meats and alternatives, and dairy. Drink plenty of water” (NHMRC, 2013). 

Dieters, your meal plans contain the five food groups; “vegetables; fruit; grain (cereal) foods; lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans; and milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives” (NHMRC, 2013). However, not following the proportion recommendations could leave you in debt of the required nutrients and you wont met the ADG (Castello, 2015). 19-50 year old’s should consume 5-6 serves of vegetables, 2 serves of fruit, and 3-5 serves of carbohydrates daily (NHMRC, 2013)- see the handy serving guide below!

Guideline 3: “limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol” (NHMRC, 2013).

The Atkins diet discourages consumption of the bad fats (trans and saturated), sugar, and refined grain (Castello, 2015). However, dieter’s saturated fat intake can increase up to triple the recommended amount (Atkins, n.d.-d). Saturated fat increases blood-cholesterol and risk of heart disease (Eat For Health, 2015).

Handy Serving Tool

(Loose It, 2019)

Introduction of Food Groups on Atkins Diet

(Atkins, n.d-e)

45–65% of total energy should come from carbohydrate, 20-35% from fat and 15-25% from protein according to the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDR) (NHMRC, 2013, p. 29). However, on the Atkins diet, participants receive 30% protein, 65% fat and 5-20% carbohydrate according to Segal-Isaacson, Johnson, Tomuta, Cowell, and Stein (2004). Therefore, completing this 'Crazy Carb Cut' increases risk of cardiovascular disease and does not meet the AMDRs - does this sound worth it to you?

Recommended Intake 

(Ggewow.com, 2018)