The Atkins diet emphasizes protein over starches such as bread and potatoes, which makes it a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. If you're following the Atkins diet, you'll be able to enjoy many foods such as steak and bacon that a low-fat diet would restrict. Although the American Heart Association doesn't recommend the Atkins high-protein diet, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that it can help people lose weight.
Function
The Atkins diet, by basing your nutritional needs on protein and fat while de-emphasizing carbohydrates, aims to encourage your body to burn fat, according to the Atkins diet official website. Initially, you'll be able to eat all the protein you want, but you'll be consuming no fruit and very few vegetables. Once you've started losing some weight, the diet lets you add back in some vegetables and other starches.
Induction
Many people find the induction phase of the Atkins diet to be the hardest part, according to the Atkins diet website (ref#2). In the induction phase, you can eat protein in the form of all types of fish, poultry, shellfish and meat, and the diet encourages you to eat eggs, cheese and other dairy, all of which are protein-based foods. However, you'll be allowed to eat only a small handful of vegetables each day, and no fruit.
Middle Phases
As you lose weight and progress through the Atkins diet, you'll gradually add in more grams of carbohydrates, according to Atkins.com. First, the diet allows you to consume berries, and then starchier fruits such as apples, bananas and pears. Eventually, you can eat small amounts of oatmeal and pasta. But you can always enjoy as much protein as you wish. The Atkins diet website recommends trying different types of meat and fish, such as cornish game hens and sardines.
Maintenance
Once you've reached the point where you've lost almost all the weight you wanted to lose and you need to maintain your weight loss, the Atkins website recommends that you continue to rely on protein and fat for your main sources of calories, while moderately restricting carbohydrates. If your main treats consist of berries and nuts, you still can enjoy the occasional slice of triple-layered cake and not regain the weight you've lost.
Considerations
High-protein diets do appear to help people lose weight, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which reviewed the Atkins high-protein diet. However, many people appear to regain at least some of the weight after a year. And the American Heart Association warns that consuming too much protein and fat can raise your risk of heart disease, along with kidney and liver disorders.
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