Atkins is a diet for weight loss and weight maintenance. The theory behind this low-carbohydrate diet is that when you nearly eliminate your dietary carbohydrates, your body switches to using stored body fat for energy so that you lose weight. Atkins severely restricts many nutritious foods, so talk to your doctor or a nutritionist because going on the Atkins diet.
Diet Overview
You do not count calories on Atkins, but you have a daily limit for net carbs. The net carbs are the carbohydrates in a food that affect your blood sugar levels; you can calculate them by taking the total grams of carbohydrates minus the grams of dietary fiber in a serving of food. The diet progresses through four phases with increasing daily net carb limits. Since the food choices are so limited, Atkins recommends a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement to prevent nutritional deficiencies.
Phase 1
You can only have 20 g daily net carbs during phase 1, called Induction, and 12 to 15 should come from vegetables such as spinach, tomatoes, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. The rest of your net carbs can come from certain full-fat cheeses, olives, sour cream and low-carbohydrate protein sources such as oysters or bacon. Every meal should have 4 to 6 ounces of protein such as tofu, fish, chicken, beef, pork or eggs. Keep the skin or visible fat on your meat, or add some additional fat, such as oil or butter, to your meal.
Later Phases
During the phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss, eat an extra 5 g of daily net carbs per week until your weight loss is about 1 pound per week. Your carbohydrates can come from any foods included during Induction, plus you can add in some nuts, berries, more cheeses and lemon or tomato juice. During phase 3, Pre-Maintenance, add in 10 g of daily net carbs per week until your weight loss is very slow and you are almost at your goal weight. You can have small amounts of starchy vegetables, beans, more fruit and certain grains. You can eat about 45 to 100 g of net carbs during phase 4, Lifetime Maintenance, to maintain your weight.
Considerations
The only way to lose weight is to cut your calories, whether from carbohydrates, protein or fat. MayoClinic.com notes that a reason you may lose weight on Atkins is because the food choices are limited, so you may become bored and eat less. Boredom can also discourage you from continuing the diet and achieving your goals. Atkins may lead to constipation, since it is low in fiber. It may also be high in saturated fat and cholesterol if you regularly choose fatty meats, whole eggs, full-fat cheese and butter.
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