The Atkins Diet is a low-carbohydrate diet for weight loss and maintenance. According to MayoClinic.com, the objectives of induction are to start using fat instead of carbohydrates for fuel to start losing weight. To help you stay within the 12 to 15g net carbs that you should have each day during this phase, Atkins.com lists the foods that you can eat.
Meat and Fish
Atkins diet induction foods include fresh meat, fish and poultry because they do not contain carbohydrates. Fat cuts of meat and poultry with skin may be high in saturated fats, which the American Heart Association says can raise blood levels of "bad," low-density lipoprotein, cholesterol. Trim off visible fat and skin from meat and poultry before cooking. When possible, choose lean meats, white meat poultry and seafood that is low in fat or high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Some shellfish naturally have carbohydrates and processed meats, such as cold cuts, hot dogs and ham, may have sugar, which adds carbohydrates. If you want to eat these meats while on the Atkins diet, add their carbohydrates to your daily total. Atkins.com suggests avoiding processed meats because of their nitrate content.
Vegetables
Vegetables have some carbohydrates, but you can eat some non-starchy vegetables during Phase 1 of Atkins. Some possibilities are salad vegetables, such as lettuce, radishes and cucumber. You can also eat cooked vegetables including broccoli, eggplant and mushrooms. According to Atkins.com, you should eat 12 to 15g net carbs each day during induction. Net carbs indicate only the carbohydrates that raise your blood sugar and do not count fiber. To calculate net carbs in a food, subtract the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbohydrates in that food. The system of using net carbs encourages you to choose vegetables that are higher in fiber so that they have fewer net carbs.
Eggs and Cheese
Eggs do not have carbohydrates, and the Atkins diet does not limit them. Atkins.com suggests eggs for breakfast and you can cook them however you want including boiling, poaching or deviling them. Since pure fats do not have carbohydrates, you can also make fried eggs in butter or margarine during induction. Full-fat cheese has about 1g carbohydrates in 1 oz. and Atkins.com states that each day you can eat 3 to 3 oz. of cheese such as Swiss, blue or goat. The American Heart Association describes full-fat cheese as being high in saturated fat and 4 oz. of cheddar cheese would provide you with 24g saturated fat or 120 percent of the daily value.
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