The Atkins Diet food list depends on what phase of the diet you're in. The induction phase is restrictive because dieters are instructed to eat so few carbohydrates that their bodies are transformed into relying on fatty foods for energy. The diet's theory is that you will no longer crave fat-causing carbohydrates after the transformation and, thus, you can gradually add limited amounts of them back onto your food list during the ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance phases.
Induction
The first phase of the Atkins Diet, the induction phase, lasts two weeks for most dieters, but should be extended if "you have a lot of weight to lose or have difficulty losing weight," according to "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution." The late Dr. Robert Atkins wrote that carbohydrate-laden foods cause body fat because they raise your blood sugar, but fat- and protein-laden foods don't cause fat. High-fat foods dominate this phase's food list.
The "foods you may eat liberally" during the induction phase include "all" fish, fowl, meat, shellfish and eggs. Atkins recommends flounder, salmon, trout, tuna, chicken, duck, turkey, bacon, ham, lamb, pork, veal, clams, crabs, lobster, oysters and shrimp. You can also eat 20 g of carbs daily, but they have to be salad vegetables such as celery, lettuce and mushrooms; non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and tomatoes; or cheeses such as cheddar, cream and Swiss.
Ongoing Weight Loss
The Atkins Diet food list expands each week during its second phase, the ongoing weight loss phase. This phase lasts until you are 5 to 10 lbs. overweight. All the foods on the induction phase list are on this phase's lists, but each week you can add a group of carbohydrates and eat an additional 5 g of carbs daily.
During the ongoing weight loss phase's first two weeks, you can eat more vegetables and cheeses. Seeds and nuts become part of the food list during the third week. Berries are added a week later. Alcohol low in carbs, beans, fruits other than berries and melons, starchy vegetables and whole grains are added to the list in subsequent weeks.
Pre-maintenance
No specific foods are added to the Atkins Diet food list during the pre-maintenance phase, but you can increase your daily carb intake by 10 g each week. This can mean adding foods you didn't eat during the first two phases, but you should only add one food "at a time" and eliminate any new food that "provokes weight gain," according to "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution." The pre-maintenance phase lasts until you're at your ideal weight.
The diet recommends lots of nuts, including almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans and walnuts. It also recommends carrots, squash, black and navy beans, apples, cherries, oatmeal and whole-wheat bread.
Lifetime Maintenance
The lifetime maintenance phase's primary feature is figuring out how many carbohydrates you can consume weekly without gaining any weight. Thus, your lifetime Atkins Diet food list depends on how your body reacts to carbohydrates.
The Atkins "typical lifetime maintenance menu" includes a ricotta cheese omelet for breakfast, vegetable soup and crab salad for lunch, and roast chicken with wild rice, mushrooms and salad for dinner.
References
- "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution"; Dr. Robert Atkins; 2002
- "Atkins Diabetes Revolution"; Dr. Robert Atkins, Dr. Mary Vernon and Jacqueline Eberstein, R.N.; 2004
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