According to the Mayo Clinic, the Atkins Nutritional Approach is the real Atkins diet, and it may be the first popular low-carbohydrate diet. The diet can help you lose weight, but it may be risky because it drastically restricts many healthy foods, and it may lead you to eating a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet. Talk to your doctor or nutritionist if you are considering Atkins or any other weight-loss diet.
Net Carbs
According to the Mayo Clinic, when you eat a regular diet, your body gets most of its energy from carbohydrates in food. The theory behind Atkins is that if you limit your carbohydrate intake enough, you will burn stored body fat for fuel instead of dietary carbohydrates, and you will lose weight. The Atkins diet restricts your intake of net carbs, or effective carbs, which you can calculate by subtracting the dietary fiber in a food from the total carbohydrates.
Phases
You start Atkins in the induction phase, which is supposed to jump-start your metabolism and start your weight loss. This phase lasts at least two weeks, and this is the period of fastest weight loss and the fewest net carbs. Then you progress to phase 2, ongoing weight loss, which allows you to gradually increase your net carbs. Phase 3, pre-maintenance, begins when you are within about 10 pounds of your goal weight, and during phase 4, lifetime maintenance, you find your carbohydrate level that allows you to maintain a steady weight.
Protein and Fats
Every meal on Atkins should include at least 4 ounces of a protein food, or more if you are a bigger individual. You can have carbohydrate-free proteins such as eggs, chicken, fish or beef, or low-carbohydrate foods such as oysters or ham. Leave the visible fat on your meat, or add some additional fat to your meal from sources such as olive oil, butter, canola oil, safflower oil or sugar-free mayonnaise. Try to choose healthier, unsaturated oils instead of saturated fats.
Carbohydrate Sources
During induction, you can eat 20 grams net carbs per day, with 12 to 15 g coming from nonstarchy raw or cooked vegetables. The remainder of your net carbs comes from low-carbohydrate foods such as full-fat cheese, salad dressings or toppings or herbs. Later phases allow you to add in more foods. During the second phase, you can have cottage or ricotta cheese, nuts and seeds and berries, and by the third phase, you can have limited amounts of beans, starchy vegetables and a wider variety of fruit.
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