The Atkins Diet is a low-carbohydrate eating plan that severely reduces carbohydrate intake to stimulate weight loss. When your body is depleted of carbohydrate stores, it turns to other sources of energy, including protein and fat. Eating a high-fat diet, like the Atkins Diet, forces the body into ketosis, or fat-burning for energy. Ketosis results in fast weight loss.
Induction Phase
You start the Atkins Diet in the Induction phase. Induction limits carbohydrate intake to 20 g or less per day. During the first three to seven days, your body uses carbohydrate stores for energy. After carbohydrates are gone, the body turns to fat consumed through diet and stored in fat cells for energy. If you need to lose 20 lbs. or less, you can lose between 7 and 15 lbs. during Induction, which lasts two weeks. If you have more than 40 lbs. to lose, you may lose up to 30 lbs. during Induction if you stay in this phase for longer than two weeks.
Ongoing Weight Loss Phase
The Ongoing Weight Loss phase of Atkins is designed to slow down weight loss to an average of 1 to 2 lbs. a week. You increase carbohydrate intake by 5 g per week until weight loss stops. You then back your carb intake down by 5 g to start weight loss again. Atkins suggests staying in the Ongoing Weight Loss phase until you are within 10 lbs. of your goal weight. Your total weight loss during the this phase depends on how much weight you have to lose.
Pre-Maintenance Phase
You will find your Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibrium during the Pre-Maintenance phase. During this phase, you add 10 g additional carbohydrates per week until you start gaining weight. Back down the number of carbohydrates to the previous level, where you maintained weight or lost weight slowly. This number is your ACE. Continue eating at the ACE level until you reach your goal weight. You can expect to lose about 10 lbs. in the Pre-Maintenance phase.
Lifetime Maintenance
During the maintenance phase, you add 10 g carbohydrates to your daily intake per week until weight loss stops. This is your carbohydrate level for maintaining weight loss. Lifetime Maintenance is not a weight-loss phase so you will not lose a significant amount of weight, but daily fluctuations in weight could cause some weight loss or weight gain. If you gain weight, drop carbohydrate intake to Pre-Maintenance or Ongoing Weight Loss levels to lose the weight.
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